text:
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 1656-1675, Abridged

=The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, 1656-1675, Abridged=

Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites

The original French, Latin, and Italian Texts, with English translations, 1896-1901. Translation to modern English, 2016.

EDITORIAL STAFF:

Editor Reuben Gold Thwaites

Editor John Swapceinski (2016)

Finlow Alexander [French]

Percy Favor Bicknell [French]

John Cutler Covert [French]

William Frederic Giese [Latin]

TRANSLATORS:

Crawford Lindsay [French]

Mary Sifton Pepper [French & Italian]

William Price [French]

Hiram Allen Sober [French]

John Dorsey Wolcott [Latin]

Assistant Editor Emma Helen Blair

Bibliographical Adviser Victor Hugo Paltsits

The original English translation is housed on the College of Arts and Sciences webserver at Creighton University. The physical volumes were scanned and transcribed by Thom Mentrak, Historical Interpreter at Ste. Marie Among The Iroquois, and then formatted and organized by Rev. Raymond A. Bucko, Jesuit. Editing and further translation by John Swapceinski.

YEAR 1656
NEW FRANCE, IN THE YEARS 1655 AND 1656. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER LOUIS CELLOT, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS IN THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

For twenty years, vessels have not reached this country so early, or in greater number. Five or six at a time were seen anchored in the roadstead at Quebec, and that in the beginning of June, to the delight of the entire country. But, not finding in the vessels a single one of our Fathers come to help us in the conquest of souls, we were keenly disappointed.

In September of last year, 1655, two of our Fathers went up to the country of the Onondaga Iroquois, to start a new Mission among people who, after killing, slaughtering, burning, and eating us, came to request our services. During the entire Winter, we were apprehensive of the failure of this enterprise; but last Spring, the return of one of the two fathers, accompanied by several Iroquois Captains, changed this fear into some confidence, which led us to hope for success.

This hope was notably increased by the courage exhibited by four of our Fathers, two of our Brothers, and fifty young Frenchmen, who went to lay the foundations of a new Church in a place where the Evil One and cruelty have reigned ever since the Flood. The Onondaga Iroquois, who had come to visit us, exulted with joy on seeing us favor their purpose, and their delight, as shown in word and look, over flowed into our own hearts. But this joyous mood soon became clouded by the massacre or capture of seventy-one Christian Hurons, killed or seized by the Mohawk Iroquois on the island of Orleans, 5 miles from Quebec. Ours was a mingled portion of good and ill, of joy and sorrow.

Toward the end of August, we perceived fifty Canoes and Two hundred and fifty Indians approaching, laden with the treasures of the country. They were coming to trade with the French, and to ask for Fathers of our Jesuits to go and teach them in their dense Forests, 1250 miles away from Quebec. In the face of so pleasant a day, we forgot all the unpleasant nights of the past. Two of our Fathers and one of our Brothers embarked with thirty Frenchmen, but the Mohawks -- whom we call The lower Iroquois, and who have never consented to make peace with our Allies -- cut The thread of our hopes in a moment by attacking these unfortunate people on their return, and killing one of the two fathers who were going to preach the Gospel to them in their country.

Quebec, this 7th of September, 1656.

Jean de Quen.

JOURNEY OF FATHER SIMON LE MOYNE TO THE MOHAWK IROQUOIS.

IN the Summer of last year, 1655, it was thought necessary to send a Father of our Jesuits into the country of the Mohawk Iroquois, so we might, by this show of friendship and confidence, confirm the peace with them. The lot having fortunately fallen upon Father Simon le Moyne, he left Montreal on this errand, on the seven teenth day of August, with twelve Iroquois and two Frenchmen.

The route is one of Precipices, lakes, and rivers, of hunting and fishing, of weariness and recreation, varying in different parts. Soon after their departure, our travelers killed eighteen wild Cows within less than an hour, on Prairies prepared by nature alone for those ownerless herds. They were wrecked, a little farther on, in an impetuous torrent, which carried them into a bay where they found the gentlest calm in the world. Some days' journey, therefore, hunger overtook them and made them relish all that they took in hunting, whether a Wolf or a Wildcat, a Bear or a Fox, any animal at all. They were sometimes forced to lie down at night with no refreshment but boiled water, mixed with earth and clay. Wild fruits lost their bitterness, and seemed delicious to the taste, hunger serving excellently to sweeten them.

The Father reached the village of Mohawk on the seventeenth of September, and was received with extraordinary cordiality, being presented at the outset with three wampum collars. The first was to stop any possible bloodshed on the way, which might alarm him, that is, he was not to fear death by treachery. The second was to cheer his heart, and prevent any emotion from disturbing his rest. Finally, they must anoint his feet with a precious balm, to allay the fatigues of so long a journey; and such was the purpose of the third wampum collar.

On the following day, when all the people had assembled in the public place, the Father displayed the presents brought by him from Onontio, Governor of the Country. Instead of beginning this ceremony with a song, as is their custom, he invoked God in a loud voice and in the language of the country, calling him to witness the sincerity of his heart; and asking him to take vengeance on those who should violate their faith, and break a promise given so solemnly in the sight of the Sun and of Heaven. This pleased these people.

One of the Iroquois Captains exhibited, in his turn, some rich presents, in answer to the various articles of peace proposed by the Father. The first and finest of these presents was a large image of the Sun, made of six thousand wampum beads, its purpose being, as he said, to dispel all darkness from our councils, and to let the Sun illumine them even in the deepest gloom of night.

These Nations are composed only of rogues, and yet we must trust ourselves to their fickleness, and surrender ourselves to their cruelty. Father Isaac Jogues was killed by those traitors while they were showing him the most love.

After this council, which passed in many exchanges of courtesy, the Father decided to push on as far as New Netherland, 25 or 30 miles beyond. A Huron woman -- a Christian, and for six years a captive among the Iroquois -- was awaiting him on the way with holy impatience, and received him with joy, bringing him a little innocent to baptize, whom God had given her in her captivity.

The Father was received with great demonstrations of affection by the Dutch, who had recently met with a serious disaster. Some Indians living near Manhattan, the chief town of New Netherland, in a quarrel with a Dutchman had come to blows, and had fared ill, leaving two or three of their men upon the spot. To avenge this grievance, the Indians rallied, to the number of about two hundred, and burned 20 small Farms, slaughtering those who resisted, and carrying the rest -- men, women, and children, about a hundred and fifty in all -- into captivity. We do not know how the affair terminated.

Upon his return from this journey to New Netherland, the Father was in great danger of falling a victim to a demon of hell, or a man who pretended to be possessed by a Demon, who ran through the cabins like a madman, and sang in a tone of frenzy that he was bent on killing Ondesonk (for so was the Father called). Demolishing everything in his path, he approached the Father, hatchet in hand; he was stopped in the act of raising it to deal a blow, apparently intending to split his head. But he continued his frenzy and his direful chant, until an Iroquois woman said to him: "Kill my dog, and let him be the victim instead of Ondesonk; for he is too great a friend of ours." At these words he grew calm; and cleaving the animal's head with a hatchetstroke, he bore it around, as if in triumph.

On the following morning, the madman's relatives brought the Father a present of wampum, to wipe away the dust of the night, as they told him; for all this had occurred in the dread hours of darkness.

Among these people one must be ever in fear, and yet fear nothing; for not a hair shall fall from our heads without the permission of him who holds us in his hand and cares for our lives -- and still less, if we surrender them to advance his glory.

A Huron Christian, captured a year before by the Iroquois, suffered something worse than fear; his head was split without ceremony, upon a mere suspicion that he had revealed to the Father certain purposes of theirs which they wished to conceal from him.

The occurrence did not hinder the return of the Father and of the two Frenchmen, his companions, three Iroquois joining them as escort and guides. As the Winter was far advanced, much suffering was experienced, especially after meeting with some Mohawk Iroquois, who had been pursued by an Algonquin band that had captured three of their companions. This fear of the Algonquins, whom they dreaded to encounter, compelled our travelers to abandon their canoes and almost all their baggage, and to take refuge in a pathless fir forest, where they found nothing but marshes of stagnant and half-frozen water. Unluckily, the Sky became clouded; and as the Sun, the universal compass and guide of these peoples, was hidden, they utterly lost their way in the woods. Night compelled them to halt at the foot of a tree, but for whose roots and a little moss they would have lain in the water. This was on the ninth day of November.

The next day, they were forced to proceed at daybreak, in the rain, across those marshes, from where they found no outlet until near night time. Issuing from there, they encountered only streams and boggy ground, where they sank in the mud up to their knees. At the end, they found their way obstructed by a wide and deep river.

Immediately they felled five or six trees of suitable size, and pushed them into the water, where they lashed them together, making a raft a floating bridge; on this they crossed the river, using long poles which served as oars or paddles, all this without having had a morsel to eat.

On the next day, although they occasionally climbed trees, to reconnoiter the country, they were just as much at a loss as ever. But, toward evening, they came to a stream that was known to them, where, however, they found nothing to eat.

On the fourth day of their long wandering, of their sore weariness, and of the cruel hunger which ever pursued them, they came in sight of Montreal, on the opposite bank of the river. When they had made a fire and discharged three or four musket-shots in announcement of their return, our French people's charity was prompt to aid them, and to convey them by canoe back to the place from where they had started, nearly three months before.

EMBASSY OF THE ONONDAGA IROQUOIS WHO ASK FOR SOME FATHERS OF OUR JESUITS TO CONVERT THEM TO CHRISTIANITY.

AT the time when Father Simon le Moyne was sent to the Mohawk Iroquois, who are nearer Montreal and Quebec, and who, while making Peace with us, have never desisted from their hostile plans on the Algonquins and Hurons, the Onondaga Iroquois, who are more distant, came on an Embassy representing all the upper Iroquois Nations, to confirm the Peace, not only with the French, but also with the Algonquins and Hurons. The delegation consisted of eighteen men, who came to Quebec by way of Montreal and Three Rivers, to see Sir de Lauson, Governor of the country, and also the Algonquin and Huron Indians living here.

A great crowd assembled on the date fixed for the council, Sunday, the twelfth of September, 1655, at noon. In the midst of this assembly the chief Ambassador, who acted as spokesman, displayed twenty-four collars of wampum -- the pearls and diamonds of this country, in the Indians' eyes.

The first eight presents were designed for the Hurons and Algonquins, whose foremost chiefs were in attendance. Each gift has a separate name of its own, according to the impression which they wish to produce upon the minds and hearts of others, "You have wept too much," said the Ambassador to the Hurons and Algonquins; "it is time to wipe away the tears shed so plentifully by you over the death of those whom you have lost in war. Here is a handkerchief for that purpose." Such was his first present.

The purpose of the second was to wipe away the blood which had crimsoned mountains, lakes, and rivers, and which was crying for vengeance against those who had shed it.

"I wrest from your hands hatchet, bows, and arrows," said he, exhibiting his third present; "and, to strike the evil at its root, I take away all thoughts of war from your hearts."

These people believe that sadness, anger, and all violent passions expel the rational soul from the body, which, meanwhile, is animated only by the sensitive soul which we have in common with animals. That is why, on such occasions, they usually make a present to restore the rational soul to the seat of reason. Such was the purpose of the fourth present.

The fifth was a medicinal drink to expel from their hearts all the bitterness, gall, and bile with which they might still be irritated.

The sixth present was to open their ears to the words of truth and the promises of a genuine peace, in the knowledge that passion stupefies and blinds those who yield to it.

The seventh, to give assurance that the four upper Iroquois Nations were Peacefully inclined, and that their hearts would never be divided.

"There remains only the lower Iroquois, the Mohawk, who cannot restrain his warlike spirit. His mind is ever inflamed, and his hands delight in blood.

We will take the war-hatchet out of his hands, and check his fury; for the reign of Peace must be universal in this country." That was the eighth present, and the last of the words addressed to the Algonquins and Hurons.

The following were for the French, being addressed to our Governor, whom they call Onontio; one, to dry the tears of the French; another, to wash away the blood that had been shed; another, to soothe our feelings; and the last, to serve us as a medicine, and as a drink sweeter than sugar and honey.

The thirteenth present was an invitation to our Governor to send a company of Frenchmen to their country, to make but one people of us, and to confirm an alliance like that formerly contracted by us with the Huron Nation during our residence there.

The fourteenth was a request for some Fathers of our Jesuits, to teach their children and make of them a thoroughly Christian people.

They further asked for French Soldiers, to defend their villages against the inroads of the Eries, with whom they are at open war. That was their fifteenth present.

The object of the sixteenth present was to assign us a place in the center of all their Nations, where we hope to build a new Saint Marie, like that whose prosperity we formerly witnessed in the heart of the Huron country.

That the annoyances commonly attending the founding of a new settlement might not deter us, they spread out a mat and some camp-beds for our greater comfort and repose.

The eighteenth present was a May-tree, which they erected in front of that new house of Saint Marie, so high that it reached the clouds. By this they meant that the center of the Peace, and the place for general reunions, would be in that house, before which should be erected this great May-tree, so lofty that it could be seen from every direction, and all the Nations, even those most distant, could come to it.

The purpose of the nineteenth present was to fix the Sun high in the Heavens above this May-tree, so as to shine directly down upon it, and admit of no shadow, in order that all councils held and treaties concluded there might take place, not in the obscurity of night, but in open day, lighted by the Sun, which sees all things and has only abhorrence for treasonable plots, which court darkness.

They next lighted a fire for all who should visit us in that place.

The twenty-first present strengthened Onontio's arms, that is, as our Governor has cherished the Algonquins and Hurons in his bosom, with all the love of a mother holding her child in her arms, he now extended to the Iroquois also a Father's care and love. "You, Onontio," they said to the Governor, "have sustained life in all the Nations that became your allies and took refuge in your arms. Clasp them more firmly, and weary not of embracing them; let them live within your bosom, for you are the Father of the country."

The twenty-second present assured us that the four upper Iroquois Nations had but one heart and one mind in their sincere desire for Peace.

After that, they asked for weapons against the Eries.

Finally, the last of the presents was offered by a Huron Captain, formerly a captive of the Iroquois, and now a Captain among them. This man, rising after the Chief of the Embassy had finished, addressed the Hurons as follows: "My brothers, I have not changed my soul, despite my change of country; nor has my blood become Iroquois, although I dwell among them. My heart is all Huron, as well as my tongue. I would keep silence, were there any deceit in these negotiations for Peace. Our proposals are honest; embrace them without distrust." Thus speaking, he gave them a collar, as the seal of his pledge, and to assure them that they were not deceived.

A response in kind to all these presents would have been necessary, had we not planned sending to their country two of our Fathers to enlist their more cordial support, and to spare no effort in promoting so important an enterprise. This blessed lot fell on Fathers Joseph Chaumonot and Claude Dablon, of whom Chaumonot knows the language and commands the sympathies of the Indians; while Dablon has recently come from France, with heart and soul bent upon this Mission.

Our minds had been divided regarding the propriety of exposing our Fathers to this new risk before the return of Father Simon le Moyne, who was still in the hands of the Mohawk Iroquois. For nothing would have been more in accord with the disposition of those Nations, treacherous as they are, and having such an advantage over us in the possession of men whom they knew to be dear to us, than to fall upon us and our Hurons and Algonquins, when we were no longer fearing them and when thoughts of Peace had, in most minds, displaced hostile distrust. Still, our Governor was of opinion that we must risk all for the sake of winning all, as it was to be feared that, if we allowed this opportunity to pass by, our course would cause a rupture of the Peace, as showing too evident distrust on our part. His council agreed with him; the Fathers, likewise knew that it was their duty to depart upon this Mission.

Finally, on the nineteenth of September, our Fathers and these Ambassadors left us. I give the journal sent us by Father Dablon.

JOURNEY OF FATHERS JOSEPH CHAUMONOT AND CLAUDE DABLON TO ONONDAGA, A COUNTRY OF THE UPPER IROQUOIS

THE People named the Mohawks are called the Iroquois of the lowlands, or the Lower Iroquois; while we speak of the Onondagas, and other Nations near these, as the Iroquois of the highlands, or the Upper Iroquois, because they are situated nearer the source of the great Saint Lawrence River and inhabit a country full of mountains. Onontae -- or, as others pronounce it, Onondaga, -- is the chief town of the Onondagas; and there our course was directed.

Having left Quebec on the 19th of September, 1655, and Montreal on the 7th of October, we ascended the Lachine Rapids; these are formed by currents of water intercepted by rocks that extend for about 2 miles. The passage being rather rough and difficult, we made only 10 miles that first day. On the next, we walked a half mile from our halting-place, to join some of our Indians, who had started out ahead of us, to have time, while waiting for us, to make some Canoes. We passed the rest of the day with them, waiting for them.

On the 9th, we crossed Lake Saint-Louis, and situated in the middle of the bed of the Saint Lawrence River. This great stream forms Lakes in some places, by expanding its waters over flats and shallows, and then gathering them together again into its channel.

On the 10th, which was Sunday, while our guides were waiting for the rest of their number, we quickly erected an Altar and what might be called a living Chapel, since it was formed of foliage. Wine we made from the native grapes, borne in considerable abundance by the wild Vines. Our devotions finished, we embarked; we had proceeded scarcely 2 miles, when we met some Seneca hunters, who told us that their Nation was to send an Embassy to the French toward Autumn -- which they did.

On the 12th, we ascended many rapids by force of hard paddling; and in the evening, instead of resting after our conflict with these currents, which extend for about 12 miles, we were forced to watch and keep guard; for we had caught sight of some Mohawks, great enemies of the Hurons, of whom our band was partly composed.

On the 13th, we made small progress, because, our provisions failing, our hunters and fishers went to seek their food and ours in the woods and streams.

The 14th. Both fishing and hunting failing, our provisions being short, and our appetites sharpened by hunger, we devoured a wild cow, or species of hind, these animals having horns like the stag's, and not like those of our European bull. That poor animal had drowned, and her flesh smelled badly; but appetite is an excellent Cook, who, although he flavored this dish with neither salt, pepper, nor cloves, yet made us relish it highly.

The 15th. God made us pass from scarcity to abundance by giving our hunters eight bears. Immediately, we saw almost all our men turned butchers and cooks, while all around us was to be seen nothing but meat, fat, and skins. Four pots were boiling constantly; and when knives and teeth were called into service, no one asked for bread or wine, salt or sauce. True, bear's flesh is good in such circumstances without condiments. Rain coming on at this point forced our famished company to spend the whole day in recuperating, which they did without the grief of losing fine weather.

On the 17th, the plenty continued; our men killed thirty bears, one man killing ten as his share. One of the ceremonies of the feast that followed this great slaughter was the drinking of bear's fat after the meal, as one drinks wine in France. Then they all rubbed themselves from head to foot with that oil -- for bear's fat when melted resembles oil.

During the night of the 18th and 19th, we were diverted by an amusing incident. One of our Indians awoke at midnight, all out of breath, trembling, crying out, and tossing about like a maniac. We thought at first that he had epilepsy, so violent were his convulsions. We ran to him and tried to soothe him; but he so redoubled his cries and his frenzy that the rest were frightened and hid the weapons, in case he might gain possession of them. While some prepared a potion for his cure, the others held him as well as they could; but he escaped from their hands and, running away, leaped into the river, where he acted most strangely.

He was followed and dragged out, and a fire was made for him. He said he was cold, yet to get warm he withdrew from the fire, and took his position near a tree. The medicine that had been prepared was offered to him, but he did not think it suited to his ailment. "Give it to that child," said he, pointing to a bear's skin stuffed with straw. They had to obey him, and pour it down the animal's throat. Up to that time, everyone had been anxious; but finally, when he had been thoroughly questioned concerning his ailment, he said that he dreamed that a certain animal, whose nature it is to plunge into water, had awakened him and jumped into his stomach; that, to fight the creature, he had leaped into the river; and that he was determined to vanquish it. Then all fear was changed to laughter. Still, it was necessary to cure the man's diseased imagination; they all, therefore, pretended to be mad like him, and to have to fight animals which plunge into the water. Then, they prepared to take a sweat, to persuade him to do so with them. While he was crying and singing at the top of his voice in the little tent used as a sweat-box, and imitating the cry of the animal with which he was contending, they too began, every man of them, to cry and sing in imitation of the animals with which they were supposed to be afflicted, all, in time with their song, beating that wretched man. What confusion!-- 20 voices imitating ducks, teals, and frogs; and what a spectacle, to see people counterfeiting madness to cure a madman! Finally, they succeeded; for after our man had perspired well and become thoroughly tired, he lay down on his mat and slept as peacefully as if nothing had happened. His ailment, coming in a dream, disappeared like a dream in his sleep. He who deals with pagan Indians is in danger of losing his life through a dream.

On the 19th, we advanced barely 7 miles.

On the 20th, we passed the falls of the Lake, after dragging our canoes through four or five rapids in the space of a mile. The current here is strong, and extremely turbulent.

Early on the 24th, we reached Lake Ontario, at the entrance to which five stags were killed, toward evening. Nothing further was needed to stop our company's progress. We contemplated at leisure the beauty of this Lake, which is midway between Montreal and Onondaga. It marks, however, the end of by far the more difficult half. Furious rapids must be passed, which serve as the outlet of the Lake; then one enters a beautiful sheet of Water, sown with various Islands distant hardly a half mile from one another. It is pleasant to see the herds of cows or deer swimming from isle to isle. Our hunters cut them off, on their return to the mainland, and lined the entire shore with them, leading them to death wherever they chose.

On the 25th, we advanced 20 miles up the Lake's mouth, which is barely 2 miles wide.

We entered the Lake itself on the 26th, proceeding 17 or 20 miles. Such a scene of awe-inspiring beauty I have never seen, nothing but islands and huge masses of rock, as large as cities, all covered with cedars and firs. The Lake itself is lined with high crags, frightening to see, mostly overgrown with cedars. Toward evening, we crossed from the North to the South side.

On the 27th, we proceeded 30 good miles through a multitude of Islands, large and small, after which we saw nothing but water on all sides. In the evening, we met a group of Seneca hunters, who were eager to see us; and to do so more at their ease, they invited us to a feast of Indian corn and beans, cooked in clear water, without seasoning. This dish has its charms, when flavored with a bit of genuine love.

Toward 9 o'clock on the morning of the 29th, we arrived at the Salmon River, where we were offered the kettle of welcome, and all crowded about to see us eat. The Salmon River is a river emptying into Lake Ontario, narrow at its mouth but wide for the rest of its course. It flows through meadows, which it fertilizes and cuts up into many islands, high and low, all suitable for raising grain. Such is the richness of this stream that it yields at all seasons various kinds of fish. In the spring, as soon as the snows melt, it is full of gold-colored fish; next come carp, and finally the achigen. The achigen is a flat fish, half a foot long, and of fine flavor. Then comes the brill; and at the end of May, when strawberries are ripe, sturgeon are killed with hatchets. All the rest of the year until winter, the salmon furnishes food to the Village of Onondaga.

We made our bed last night on the shore of a Lake where the natives, toward the end of winter, break the ice and catch fish, or, rather, draw them up by the bucketful. This was our first lodging in the country of the Onondagas, who received us with profuse demonstrations of friendship. 20 Hurons, who were here fishing, showed their joy at seeing Father Chaumonot, some throwing themselves upon his neck, others inviting him to a feast, and still others sending him presents. "Public Prayers must be held," said one of them; "the cabin is too small, and it is not a thing to be kept secret." And the infidels present took no offense. The Father hears Confessions, and instructs these poor people, who have not heard God's name since their capture. The Hurons of the Village of Contareia, who, because of their strong aversion to the Faith, never allowed themselves to be instructed, are already beginning to yield.

The Father met here Otohenha, the host of the late Father Garnier and of Father Garreau, when they visited the Petun nation. He was so overjoyed at seeing the Father that at first he could not speak, and had to defer until another time the narration of his adventures, which were as follows: When, with all his family and Ondoaskoua, daughter of the good Rene, he was on a journey, conveying a canoe laden with skins, and bearing presents from two Captains of his country, who asked for a dwelling-place at Quebec, he unluckily met with the Onondagas. His entire family was captured, and scattered in different cabins. A woman of their number, being secretly warned that the relatives of him for whom she had been given intended to burn her, fled into the woods with her child, after Rene had Baptized it.

No less sad was his account of the death of that famous Marthe Gohatio, whose piety is so well known. Having gone to war last year, our narrator said, against the Eries, together with the Onondagas, upon taking and sacking a Village, he found the good Rene Sondiouanen among the dead, and his daughter among the prisoners, together with this Marthe of whom we are speaking. It was an occasion for mutual encouragement to keep their promise to God and to die in the profession of the Faith. Poor Marthe, who, because of a swollen knee, and a little child, whom she had much difficulty in carrying, was hardly able to keep pace with the victors, was cruelly burnt on the way. Two of her children escaped from the Onondagas; but they have never been heard of. It is pitiful to hear these poor people tell about their servitude. Many were killed, even by those who had given them their lives, only a slight disobedience or an illness being necessary to provoke a hatchet-stroke on the head.

On the 30th, we left the water, and prepared for our trip overland to Onondaga. In the afternoon, there appeared 60 Oneida Warriors, on their way to fight the so-called Amikwas, beyond the rapids. They were led by Atondatochan, the same who came to Montreal in the second Embassy sent by the village of Oneida. He is a man of fine appearance, and an eloquent speaker. He asked us to stay here one day longer, so he could learn our errand.

These Warriors having all assembled on the 31st, Father Chaumonot, after the ceremonies customary on such occasions, addressed Atondatochan; he said, first, that he congratulated himself and thanked God at seeing that great man, whose voice had rung out so loud at Montreal that it was still to be heard there, so great was its strength. In the second place, he said that he was led to visit that country to secure the fulfillment of his promise, to speak from that time but the same language, to have but one Sun, and one heart, to be from then on brothers. These two clauses were received with the customary applause, and the faces of all showed how much they enjoyed this speech. In the third place, as the report had spread here that peace had been concluded between the French and Mohawks without including the Algonquins and Hurons, the Father added that he had come to negotiate a genuine peace between all parties. And, in the fourth place, he presented 1500 wampum beads, to request kind treatment for the two Frenchmen who were among those whom they were going to fight.

We had decided to make Atondatochan a considerable present to persuade him to stop his soldiers; but learned privately that we would certainly have been refused, because of their keen resentment at the loss of some of their number, which they were bent on revenging at any cost.

After the Father had spoken for half an hour, the Chief began the song of response; and all commenced to sing, in wondrous harmony, in a manner somewhat resembling our plain-chant. The first song said that it would take all the rest of the day to thank the Father for so good a speech as he had made them. The second was to congratulate him upon his journey and his arrival. They sang a third time to light him a fire, that he might take possession of it. The fourth song made us all relatives and brothers; the fifth hurled the hatchet into the deepest abyss, so peace might reign in all these countries; and the sixth was designed to make the French masters of the river Oswego.

At this point, the Captain invited the salmon, brill, and other fish, to leap into our nets, and to fill that river for our service only. He told the fish they should consider themselves fortunate to end their lives so honorably; named all the fishes of that river, down to the smallest, making a humorous address to each kind; and added a thousand things besides, which excited laughter in all those present. The seventh song pleased us still more, its purpose being to open their hearts, and let us read their joy at our coming.

At the close of their songs, they made us a present of two thousand wampum beads. Then the Father raised his voice, and told the Chief that his fine powers of speech would ever increase in volume; that, until now, they had resounded through all the confines of Lake Ontario, but, in future, they would speed across the greatest of all Lakes, and be heard as thunder throughout France. At this the Captain and all his followers were extremely pleased. They then invited us to the feast which concluded the ceremonies.

We started overland for Onondaga, on the 1st of November, meeting on the way a good Huron woman named Therese Oionhaton. This poor woman, upon learning of the Father's arrival, came from her home, 7 miles away, to wait for him as he passed. Her joy was great at seeing the black Gowns once more before her death. The Father asked her whether the little child whom she held in her arms were Baptized, and by whom. She replied that she herself had Baptized it, with these words: "Jesus, take pity on my child. I Baptize you, my little one, so you may be blessed in Heaven." Then the Father instructed her, Confessed her, and comforted her. At the end of 12 good miles, we passed the night by the side of a brook, and broke camp at dawn on the 2nd of November. After making 15 or 17 miles, we lodged at our invariable inn, namely, the beautiful Star, leaving it on the 3rd, before Sunrise.

On the way, the Father met the sister of that Therese; with tears in her eyes she told him her misfortunes. "I had two children in my captivity," said she; "but they were slaughtered by those to whom they had been given; and I am in daily fear of a like fate, having death ever before my eyes." We had to console and Confess her, leaving her soon to follow our guides, who were leading us that day to Tethiroguen, a river which has its source in Oneida Lake. Oneida, a Village of one of the Upper Iroquois Nations, is at the head of this Lake, which, narrowing, becomes the river Tethiroguen, and, further down, forms a water fall or cascade, a pike's length in height, called Ahaouete. As soon as we had reached this stream, the more notable men among a large number whom we found fishing there came to salute us, and then led us to the most comfortable cabins. On the 4th of November, we covered about 15 miles, still on foot and encumbered with our small baggage. We passed the night in a field, 10 miles from Onondaga.

THE FATHERS ARRIVE AT ONONDAGA.

ON the 5th of November, 1655, as we were continuing our journey, a Captain of note named Gonaterezon, came a good 2 miles to meet us. He made us halt, pleasantly congratulated us upon our arrival, put himself at the head of our Company, and gravely led us to a spot a half mile from Onondaga, where the Elders of the country awaited us. When we had seated ourselves beside them, they offered us the best dishes they had, especially some Squashes cooked in the embers.

While we were eating, one of the Elders, a Captain named Okonchiarennen, arose, imposed silence, and addressed us a good quarter of an hour. He said that we were welcome; our coming had been desired and long awaited; and since the young men, who breathed only war, had themselves asked for and procured peace, it was for them, the Elders, to lay aside their arms and to ratify and embrace it in all sincerity, as they did. He added that only the Mohawk was bent on darkening the Sun, which we made so bright by our approach; and he alone generated clouds in the air, at the time when we dissipated them; but all the efforts of that envious one would fail, and they would finally have us in their midst. Courage, then; we were to take possession of our domains, and enter our new home with all assurance.

After the speaker had explained this theme, and spoken in what seemed a rather affected manner, the Father answered that Okonchiarennen's speech was an agreeable drink to us, and took away all the fatigue of our journey; that he came on Onontio's behalf, to satisfy their demands; and that he knew that they would be content when they learned his errand. All the People listened with attention and admiration, delighted to hear a Frenchman speak their language so well. Then he who had Introduced us arose, gave the signal, and led us through a great crowd of people, some of whom were drawn up in rows to see us pass through their midst, while others ran after us, and still others offered us fruit, until we came to the Village, the streets of which were carefully cleaned and the cabin-roofs crowded with children. Finally, a large cabin, which had been prepared for us, received us, and also all the people it could hold.

After resting a little, we were invited to a feast of bear's meat, but excused ourselves on the plea that it was Friday. This, however, did not prevent us from being treated, in different places, all the rest of the day, to beaver and fish.

Very late in the evening, the Elders held a Council in our cabin, where one of them, after greeting us on behalf of all the nation, made us two presents. One of these was 500 wampum beads, to wipe our eyes, wet with tears shed over the murders committed in our country that year; and as grief causes loss of voice, having, he said, clearly perceived our weakness of utterance upon our arrival, he added a second present of 500 beads, to strengthen our lungs, to the phlegm from our throats, and to make our voices clear, free, and strong. The Father thanked them for their good will, saying that Onontio and Achiendase, -- the names of the Governor and of the Father Superior of our Missions, respectively -- had their eyes turned toward Onondaga to see our condition from Quebec. He then presented to them 2000 beads, so they might open the door of the cabin where they had lodged us, so all the French might see the kind treatment we received, the beautiful mats upon which we reposed, and the pleasant faces greeting us. They were delighted with this compliment.

On the following day, November 6th, we were invited at dawn to various feasts, which lasted all the morning; but this did not prevent the Father from visiting some sick persons, who promised to receive instruction if they recovered.

On the 7th, Sunday, a secret Council of 15 Captains was held, to which he was called, after he had directed the prayers of 20 persons who presented themselves to him. In this assembly, they said to the Father:

1. That Garacontie, -- who is the King of this country -- and Onontio had voices of equal power and firmness, and that nothing could sever so suitable a tie.

2. They would give some of their most active young men to conduct home the Huron Ambassadors who had come with us to negotiate Peace.

Thirdly, they asked that Onontio might be informed that, even if one of their own people should be ill-treated or even killed by the Mohawks, yet that would not hinder the alliance; and they desired the same assurance on Onontio's part, in case any ill befell the French from the same quarter.

In the fourth place, as they had learned that the most acceptable thing they could do, in Onontio's eyes, would be to inform him that Autumn that they had built a Chapel for the Believers, they said that they would take steps to that end at the earliest moment.

In reply to this Clause, the Father took the word, and told them that they had discovered how to win the heart and the entire good will of the Governor. All gave a shout of approval, with which the Council ended.

Toward evening, conversing familiarly with the Father, they asked him to tell them a little about France; and he, embracing an opportunity so favorable to his plans, showed them that France had formerly been subject to the same errors as themselves, but that God had opened our eyes through the mediation of his Son. Then, in explaining the great mystery of the Incarnation, he refuted all the slanders current in their country against the Faith. So skillfully and agreeably was this done that, though he spoke for a good hour and a half, they showed no sign of weariness.

The council was followed by a feast, and an apology for the inferiority of Onondaga's entertainment compared with that given to their Ambassadors at Quebec. The day closed with a large gathering of people who came, some to pray, and others to satisfy their curiosity.

THE FATHERS NEGOTIATE WITH THESE PEOPLES.

The First day was spent, partly in feasting, partly in negotiating peace for the Algonquins; and as this was the most difficult matter, it demanded the most serious deliberation. For that reason, the Father notified the Elders that he had a private communication to make to them. When they were assembled, he addressed them to the following effect:

1. The Huron question being closed, he said no more about it; but he assured them that the Algonquins would send an Embassy the next Spring, if they saw their minds inclined to peace.

2. When the Hurons plant their Villages near us, the Algonquins also would wish to visit us.

3. In the third place, to be fully assured of the Onondagas' desire for peace, the Algonquins hoped to see some of their captive nephews returned, since they themselves had so freely released their prisoners, at the request of the governor of Montreal, and had sent them back with presents, to which, however, no response had been made.

4. In the fourth place, if they wished the peace to be General, they Must cease to raise the hatchet against the Nation of the Amikwa.

The answer was that they would deliberate on these four Points.

On the evening of the same day, some thirty Elders, who had gathered in our cabin, invited the Father, as if by way of diverting him, to tell them something entertaining. For a full hour, the Father talked to them about St. Paul's Conversion, with which they were so delighted that they asked him to continue, and to tell them something about the beginning of the world. He did so; and he also preached on the chief mysteries of our Religion, with such success that, at the close, one of the company began to pray in public to God; while two others asked what they must do to become believers.

On the 9th, in the afternoon, there came two Deputies from the Iroquois of the Village of Oneida, asking leave to be present at the Council. In the evening, a large assembly was held in our cabin; and after a long speech, one of the company, addressing the Father, presented to him a collar of a thousand beads, to make us share their joy at our coming. The answer was that, as Onontio and Garacontie were now one, the Oneidas must be children of Onontio as well as of Garacontie. A present was made for their adoption, which pleased them beyond measure.

On the eleventh, while the Father was laboring to restore the ancient foundations of the Huron Church, the others visited the salt Spring, 10 miles away and near the Lake called Onondaga. This is the site chosen for the French settlement, on account of its central position among the four Iroquois Nations, being accessible to them by canoe, over Rivers and Lakes which make communication free and easy. Hunting and fishing render this position an important one; for, besides the fish caught there at different seasons, eels are so abundant in the Summer that a man can harpoon as many as a thousand in one night; and as for game, which is always abundant in the Winter, turtle-doves from all the Country around flock there toward Spring, in so great numbers that they are caught in nets. The spring, from which good salt is made, issues within a beautiful Prairie, surrounded by full-grown forests. At a distance of 200 or 250 feet from this salt spring is found another of fresh water; and these two, though of opposite characters, have their sources in the same hill.

On the 12th, a prisoner from the Eries was brought in, to bear the brunt of these people's rage, no quarter being now given between the two tribes. He was a child of nine or ten years, and was to be burnt in a short time, which made the Father resolve to attempt the rescue of his soul from the fires of hell, not being able to save his body. But, the hatred of these Indians being so excessive that they are unwilling that their enemies should be happy even in the other world, it required adroitness to instruct and baptize this poor unfortunate in secret. The Father, after seeing and speaking with him, feigned thirst and was given some water. In drinking, he purposely allowed some drops to run into his handkerchief, one was enough to open Heaven's gates, and baptized the boy before he was burnt. He was only two hours in torment, because of his youth; but he displayed such courage that not a tear or a cry escaped him from amid the flames.

The 14th, which was Sunday, could not have been better begun than with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which we offered on a little Altar in a chapel in the cabin of Teotonharason, one of the women who had gone down to Quebec with the Ambassadors. She is esteemed here for her rank and her possessions, but especially because she has declared herself openly for the Faith, Professing it publicly and instructing all her family. Already she has made urgent request for Baptism for herself, her mother, and her daughter, having explained to them the mysteries of our Religion and taught them to Pray.

Toward 10 o'clock of the same day, which had been assigned for making the presents, when we had said Prayers, publicly and on our knees, while all the assembly maintained a profound silence, word came that the Deputies from Cayuga were entering the Village. We were forced to break off there, and prepare to receive them in a manner becoming their rank. The Father made them two presents, by way of greeting; they responded with two others, and added a third as a petition that he would postpone the ceremony to the next day, as the day was far advanced. This was granted.

THE FATHERS GIVE THEIR PRESENTS.

ON Monday, November 15th, between nine and ten o'clock in the morning, all the Elders and the people assembled in a public place, in compliance with our request, as we wished to satisfy the general curiosity. We began, as on the preceding day, with public Prayers. Then the Father adopted the people of Cayuga as his children. After this, he displayed a large wampum collar, saying that his mouth was Onontio's, and the words he was about to utter were the words of the French, Hurons, and Algonquins, who all spoke through him.

The first present was intended to hush the cries heard everywhere by the Father, and to wipe away the tears that he saw coursing down their cheeks. But, since it did not suffice to wipe them away, and as he could not dry up this stream while the source was still running, he offered a second present to calm their minds, the seat of all these griefs; and as the seat of the mind is in the head, he made them a crown of the proffered collar, which he put on the head of each one successively. They were surprised at this novelty; they were pleased, however, when they saw the Father holding a little kettle, full of an excellent beverage, of which he made them all drink, as a third present -- to dispel their grief and apply the remedy to their hearts and bowels. This was accompanied by a beautiful collar. And, to wipe away the blood, and implant joy in every breast, leaving no trace of sadness anywhere, the Father presented four Beaver-skins to the four Iroquois Nations, one for each.

The 9th present affected them even more. He brought forward a small tree, whose upper branches bore the names of their deceased Captains, and were lopped off to indicate their death; but the tree had many other branches, strong and in full leaf, representing their children, through whom these departed Heroes would be restored to life in the persons of their descendants. This tree attracted much more attention than the beads accompanying it.

The two following gifts were to assure them that Annenrai and Tehaionhacoua, two famous Captains killed in war -- Annenrai had taken an oath of fidelity before the Governor of Montreal, and Tehaionhacou had died invoking Heaven -- to give assurance that these two brave men were not dead, but continued as firmly united with the French as the collars, presented in their name, were inseparably attached to each other.

The eleventh present pleased them still more; for the Father, drawing out his handkerchief, showed them there, on one side the ashes of a certain Teotegouisen, buried at Three Rivers, and on the other those of the French; and mixing them together, he declared that the Iroquois and the French were but one, both before and after death. He added a second collar to the one accompanying these ashes, to restore that man to life. Here the applause was great, and they were eager to see what would follow. The most beautiful collar of all was produced by the Father, when he said that all he had so far offered was but a slight alleviation for their woes; he could not prevent them from being ill, or from dying, but he had a powerful remedy for all sorts of afflictions. That was properly what brought him to their country, and they had given excellent proof of their good sense in going down to Quebec in quest of him.

The addition of another present was necessary, to exonerate the Faith from the slanders circulated against it by the devil's agents. To impress his meaning upon their minds, he showed them a fair sheet of white paper, symbolizing the integrity, innocence, and purity of the Faith; and another, all soiled and blackened, on which were written the slanders uttered against it. The soiled sheet was torn and burnt as these lies were answered and refuted. The Father proceeded with so much fervor and enthusiasm that all appeared deeply moved.

As a relief to all this, there followed the present of the Ursuline Mothers of Quebec, who made a cordial offer to receive into their house the little girls of the country, for education in piety. Then came the present of the Hospital Mothers, who had quite recently built a large and splendid Hospital, for the charitable nursing of any sick persons of their Nation who might be at Quebec.

With the seventeenth present, we asked that a Chapel be built as soon as possible, in which we might perform our functions with freedom and propriety; and with the eighteenth, that the supplies be provided necessary for us during our Winter's labors among them.

The four following were a pledge that, in the following Spring, some young Frenchmen would come, and they must then launch their canoes early and go to receive them; and that these, upon their arrival, would build a palisade for the public defense. They were also advised to prepare at the same time the Mat for receiving the Algonquins and Hurons who would follow the French. At this news, a shout, louder than usual, was given in expression of their sentiments.

To please the Onondagas, the next two presents were an invitation to the two other Nations to move their Villages nearer, in order to share the advantage of the vicinity of the French. We had to add a present urging them to stay the Mohawk's hatchet; and another to unite their minds, so from now on they might be as one.

The first of the four following, which were offered in behalf of the Algonquins, was a pledge that the Algonquins would send an embassy the coming Spring; the second, that when the French and Hurons should have become settled, the Algonquins would probably follow them; the third, that they would like to see again one of their captive nephews; while the fourth was to remind them of the presents given by the Ottawas, upon delivering thirteen prisoners to the French of Montreal.

We felt obliged to give one more present, of considerable value, for a young Frenchman named Charles Garmant, who has been for some years among the Oneidas. The Chief of that Nation was addressed by the Father, and told that he had too much sense not to see what course to pursue in the matter; that he, the Father, would not picture to him the pleasure he would afford Onontio and all the French, by restoring their brother to them; that he saw well enough what joy his relatives would feel at his return; and therefore, all that was left to his discretion.

With the present next to the last, the Father cleared his path for walking, with head erect, through all the Iroquois Villages, and gave them like liberty to traverse the entire country of the French.

Finally, the last present was given to repeat all that had been said, and to impress it so firmly on their minds that their ears should never again open to any slanders invented by the enemies of the public peace.

The Council closed with repeated applause on both sides, and a brief reply that on the following day a fuller response would be rendered. It is past belief how the Father's speech and his engaging ways charmed these people. "Though he had spoken until evening," said some, "our ears would never have been full, and our hearts would still have been hungry for his words. "Others added that the Dutch had neither sense nor tongues; they had never heard them mention Paradise or Hell; on the contrary, they were the first to incite them to wrong-doing. The rest expressed themselves in some other way, but all were unanimous in saying, in their own tongue, Nunquam sic loquutus est homo -- which appeared plainly in the issue; for the chief of the deputies from Cayuga came to the Father, after the Council, to say that he wished to adopt him as his brother -- a mark of great confidence with these Peoples.

In the afternoon, when the Father had retired to a neighboring wood, to say his prayers in quiet, four Iroquois women went in quest of him for the purpose of being instructed; and before evening, nine of them did the same, among whom was the sister of the chief of all the Captains. Although some of the men already make public profession of prayer, yet they are more bashful, as they admitted on that evening, when, coming in great number to our cabin, and hearing the Father speak for two hours without wearying them, they confessed that they believed at heart, but dared not yet declare themselves. They added that what made them believe was partly their last victory over the Eries, their enemies, when they were only twelve hundred against three or four thousand; and as they had promised, before the battle to embrace the Faith if they returned victorious, they could not now retract after so successful a triumph. This speech ended, the Father made them all pray; and one of the Deputies had the prayer repeated to him several times, so he could learn it by heart.

REPLY TO THE FATHERS PRESENTS.

THE sixteenth day was still more successful than those preceding, being appointed for receiving a reply to our presents; and this reply was as favorable as could be desired. Toward noon all the notables of the Village assembled in our Cabin, with the Deputies of the other Nations, and all the people that it could hold. They began their acknowledgments with six airs, or chants, which savored nothing of the savage; and expressed naively, by the variation of tones, the different passions which they sought to portray.

The first chant was composed of these words: "Oh, the beautiful land, the beautiful land that the French are to occupy!" Garacontie, represented by an Elder, who continued just as if the chief himself had been speaking, began alone; then all the rest repeated his exact words and tones, harmonizing remarkably well.

In the second chant, the Chief intoned the words, "Good news, good news;" and the others repeated them in the same tone. Then he resumed: "my brother we are speaking together; we have a message from heaven."

The third chant had an ornament, in the form of a musical refrain, and was as follows: "My brother, I salute you; my brother, be welcome. Ai; ai, ai, hi. O the beautiful voice, O the beautiful voice That you have! Ai; ai, ai, hi. O the beautiful voice, O the beautiful voice That you have! Ai; ai, ai, hi."

The fourth chant had another ornament; the Musicians, namely, beat time by striking their feet, hands, and pipes against their mats. This they did in such perfect accord that the sound, so regular, blended with their voices and became a harmony pleasing to the ear. The words were as follows: "My brother, I salute you; again, I salute you. In all sincerity, and without stimulation, I accept the Heaven that you have shown me; yes, I approve it, I accept it."

The fifth time, they sang as follows: "Farewell, war; farewell, hatchet! We have been fools until now, but in future we will be brothers; yes, we will be brothers."

The final song was composed of these words: "Today the great peace is made. Farewell, war; Farewell, arms! For the affair is entirely beautiful. You uphold our Cabins, when you come among us."

These songs were followed by four beautiful presents. With the first, Garacontie, after a long speech testifying his gratitude that he and Onontio were now but one, said that, since the Hurons and Algonquins were Onontio's children, they must be his also; he therefore adopted them by offering the first two presents, which he cast at the Father's feet.

The third and most beautiful of all the presents offered was a collar of seven thousand beads, which, however, was as nothing compared with his words. "It is the present of the Faith," said he; "it is to tell you that I am a Believer, and to urge you not to weary in teaching us." Then, wishing to make a striking display of his enthusiasm, he took the Father by the hand, raised him and led him out before all the company, and threw himself on his neck in a close embrace. Then, holding the beautiful collar in his hand, he made for him a belt with it, declaring before Heaven and earth his determination to embrace the Faith as he embraced the Father, and calling all the spectators to witness that this belt, with which he encircled the Father so closely, symbolized his own future close union with the Believers.

The fourth and last present was little in comparison with the preceding, its purpose being merely to inform the Father that the kettle of the war against the Eries was over the fire; that hostilities would be opened toward Spring; and that the Huron Ambassadors would be dismissed the next day, with an escort of fifteen of the Country's leading men.

After this Captain had finished speaking, the Chief Deputy from Cayuga arose and made a speech of thanks, of much wit and eloquence, which lasted a good half-hour. The essence of his polite address was that he and all his Nation deemed themselves obliged to Onontio for the honor of adoption by him; that they would never become unworthy of that high distinction, or fail to do honor to so illustrious a connection; and that it did honor to Onontio, since neither the speaker nor his people had ever been adopted except by people of rank; yet that this adoption of them by Onontio crowned all the glory which they derived from all their previous ties and alliances. To show his joy over this glory, the Deputy began a song, which was as pleasing as it was new. All present sang with him, but in a different and a heavier tone, beating time on their mats; while the man himself danced in the midst of them all, performing strange antics, keeping his whole body in motion; making gestures with his hands, feet, head, eyes, and mouth, -- and all this so exactly to the time of both his own singing and that of the others that the result was admirable. He sang these words, A, a, ha, Gaiandere, gaiandere; that is, translated into Latin, Io, io triumphe. And then, E, e, he, Gaiandere, gaiandere; O, o, ho, Gaiandere, gaiandere. He explained what he meant by his Gaiandere, which means, among the natives, "something excellent."

He said that, what we call the Faith, would be called by them Gaiandere; and to explain it better, he offered his first present of wampum.

He offered the second in behalf of the Oneidas, because, as they both were twin brothers, he thought that he ought to thank Onontio, since he shared the happiness of being adopted by him.

The third was an assurance that the present offered by us the day before, to unite the minds of the Mohawks with those of the four other Nations, would be effectual.

The fourth pleased us, being given in declaration that not only the Father, but also his two children, would all become sincere Believers, meaning that both the Onondaga, who is the father, and the Cayuga and Oneida, who are his children, would embrace the Faith.

With the fifth, he adopted the Hurons and Algonquins as his brothers; and with the sixth, promised that the three Nations should unite, and go, in the following Spring, to bring the French and the Indians who should desire to come into their Country.

It was necessary to make a reply to all this, which the Father did in two ways, each accompanied by a present. One was to repair the rents made in our Cabin by the people who crowded it every day, and who could not see their fill of us; and the other was to clean the mat on which future Councils between their Country and the French and their Allies were to be held.

On the seventeenth, we were taken out to make measurements for a Chapel. It was built on the following day, which was the day of the Dedication of the Church of saint Peter and saint Paul. It is true that all our marble and precious metals were only bark.

THE FIRST-FRUITS GATHERED IN THIS MISSION.

Dreams form one of the chief hindrances to their Conversion; and to these they are so attached that they attribute to them all their past great successes, both in war and in hunting. As they well know that the belief in dreams is incompatible with the Faith, they become even more obstinate; especially, as they are aware that the moment the Hurons received the Faith and abandoned their dreams, their ruin began, and their whole country has ever since been declining to its final total destruction. The devil still circulates false reports, through certain Huron prisoners and renegades, who proclaim that the black gowns will pursue the same course here; that we write down the names of children; that we send them to France, where their bodies are marked with charcoal; and that, in the same ratio as these marks gradually become defaced, the persons bearing them are afflicted with ailments, until at last they die.

The Father was sent for, but too late, to baptize a poor captive girl of the Eries, who was cruelly murdered by order of her Mistress, whom she displeased by her occasional obstinacy. On the twenty-seventh of December, her Mistress took a notion to get rid of her; therefore, without much deliberation, she commissioned a young man to kill her. Taking his hatchet, he followed this poor victim on her way to the woods; but he changed his mind, and came back to do the deed in the sight of all.

Accordingly, he allowed her to return, and, when she was at the entrance to the Village, struck her on the head with his hatchet, felling her to the ground, apparently dead. Yet, she was not mortally wounded, and was therefore carried into a neighboring Cabin to have her wound dressed. When, however, the murderer was taunted with his lack of skill in head-splitting, he returned, snatched his prey from those who held her, dragged her away, and gave her more blows which killed her. This murder did not startle the children playing nearby, or even divert them from their game, so accustomed are they to the sight of these poor captives' blood. Toward evening, the murderer, or someone else, went crying aloud through the streets and cabins that such and such a person had been put to death; then all began to make a noise with their feet and hands, while some beat with sticks the bark of their cabins, to frighten the soul of the departed and drive it far away. The preachers are daily exposed to like dangers among these Peoples.

A good Iroquois woman, a Christian trainee, who abhorred such cruelty, gave the Father evidence of her attachment to the Faith. Being sought in marriage by one of the leading men of the Country, a brave warrior and a good hunter, two qualities which here mark a desirable suitor, she told him at once that, intending to become a good Christian, she would take no Husband who had not the same desire. He promised to seek instruction; and as he had a strong passion for her, went to find the Father for that purpose. These were fine beginnings. The Christian trainee was glad to win this man to God and to marry him; but, being told by the Father that she could not be united to him, as he already had a wife, she nobly declared that she would not take him, as it was against the Laws of the Religion which she wished to embrace.

Then another man offered himself, with the same advantages and the same disqualification, and she bravely rejected him. Those were two severe assaults for a Christian trainee. She was told that now she must not hope to marry, as there was no unmarried man in the Village; that she must not expect any more such good offers; and that she would be universally censured. But she held firm; and what she did a month later well shows the spirit with which she embraced Christianity. One of the chief Captains of the Village, a man of proud and arrogant bearing, sought her one evening in her cabin for the purpose of seducing her to evil -- something so common among these Iroquois that it is done almost openly and without shame. The poor woman did not pay attention to the rank of that wicked man; she refused him, gently at first; and when he persisted, she repulsed him. He asked, threatened, flew into a passion; and the poor woman, seeing him carried away with wrath, escaped and fled into a cabin where the Father was.

SOME REMARKABLE CURES. THE FATHER CONTINUES HIS TEACHINGS. THE INDIANS OBEY THEIR DREAMS.

The devil still opposes us with two other enemies, namely, dreams, and the permanence of Marriage. Men are told that they will have ill luck if they disregard their dreams; and women that there will be no more marriages for them if they become Christians, because then they cannot take another husband when they have left a bad one.

Toward evening of the ninth of January, we were spectators of the most subtle sorcery of the Country, employed for the cure of a sick woman of our cabin who had long been ailing. The Sorcerer entered with a Tortoise-shell in his hand, half full of small pebbles, such are their instruments of magic. He took a seat in the midst of a dozen women who were to help him in banishing the disease, and the neighbors gathered about to see this superstitious ceremony. All it consists in is that the Magician strikes the Tortoise-shell against a mat, and intones a song, while the women dance about him, in time with his singing and with the noise of the Tortoise shell.

You see them move their feet, arms, head, and entire body, with such violence that great drops of perspiration soon cover their bodies. At the first trial, the disease was not expelled, or at the second, or at the third; this caused the dance to be prolonged far into the night, while the patient's illness abated not a particle.

On the fifteenth, after Baptizing a young Huron in our Chapel, we spent a good part of the morning in teaching, and directing the prayers of our visitors, who came in such numbers as to fill our Chapel -- seven times over.

As we explain our Mysteries to them; so they at times relate their legends to us. They have an amusing myth touching on the creation of mankind on earth. They say that one day the Master of Heaven, plucking up a large tree, made a hole leading from Heaven to earth; and a man of that Country, becoming angry with his wife, threw her into this hole, and so made her fall from Heaven to earth. She was not hurt, however, though she was pregnant with two children, a boy and a girl. By these Twins the earth was populated.

The slander circulated by some malicious Hurons is more dangerous. They say that, to take revenge for injuries received from the Iroquois and other Indians, we wish to lead to Heaven as many of them as we can, to burn and roast them there at our pleasure; and that this revenge is the sole recompense that we expect in return for all the pains, troubles, hardships, and labors that we undergo in converting them. Others, who are not so dull as to be caught by these stupidities, say that the Faith is good for the French, to whom Heaven belongs; but, as for themselves, they have no such high pretensions, and are content, after death, with the abode of their Ancestors.

There are some who are not displeased to hear about Heaven, and the pleasures promised to believers; yet they are unwilling to be told of death and Hell, or to be urged to set dreams at nothing, which to them represent the great Demon and Genii of the Country, to whom all sacrifices are rendered. This will be illustrated by what follows.

Not long ago, a man of the Village of Cayuga saw one night, in his sleep, ten men plunge into the frozen river, entering through a hole made in the ice, and coming out through another. The first thing that he did on waking was to prepare a great feast, to which he invited ten of his friends. They all came; joy and gladness prevailed, with singing, dancing, and every accompaniment of a good feast. "This is well," said the Master of the feast, "you give me pleasure, showing by your joy that you like my entertainment. But it is not all; you must show me whether you love me." Then, he told them his dream, which did not confuse them; for instantly, all ten offered to fulfill it. Accordingly, they went to the river and pierced the ice, making two holes, 35 feet apart. The Divers stripped, the first one prepared the way for the others, plunging into one of the holes and coming out successfully at the other. The second did the same, and likewise the rest, until the tenth man's turn came, who paid the penalty for all; he could not find his way out, and perished miserably under the ice.

In the same Village of Cayuga, there occurred last year an event which caused all the inhabitants much anxiety. One of them, having dreamed that he gave a feast of human flesh, invited all the chief men of the Country to his cabin to hear a matter of importance. When they had assembled, he told them that he was ruined, as he had had a dream impossible of fulfillment; that his ruin would entail that of the whole Nation; and that a universal overthrow and destruction of the earth was to be expected. He enlarged at great length on the subject, and then asked them to guess his dream. All struck wide of the mark, until one man, suspecting the truth said to him:

"You wish to give a feast of human Flesh. Here, take my brother; I place him in your hands to be cut up on the spot, and put into the kettle." All present were seized with Fright, except the dreamer, who replied that his dream required a woman. Superstition went so far that they adorned a girl with all the riches of the Country, with bracelets, collars, crowns, and all the ornaments used by women, just as victims of old were adorned for sacrifice; and that poor innocent, not knowing why she was made to look so pretty, was led to the place appointed for the sacrifice. All the people attended to witness so strange a spectacle. The guests took their places, and the public victim was led into the middle of the circle. She was delivered to the Sacrificer, who was the one for whom the sacrifice was to be made. He took her; they watched his actions, and pitied that innocent girl; but, when they thought him about to deal her the death-blow, he cried out: "I am satisfied; my dream requires nothing further."

Not only do they believe in their dreams, but they also hold a special festival to the Demon of dreams. This festival might be called the festival of fools, or the Carnival of wicked Christians; for, in both, the devil plays almost the same part, and at the same season. They call this celebration Honnonouaroria, and the Elders announce it through the Village streets. We witnessed the ceremony on the twenty-second of February, of this year, 1656. Immediately upon the announcement of the festival by these public cries, nothing was seen but men, women, and children, running like maniacs through the streets and cabins, this, however, in a far different manner from that of Masqueraders in Europe, the greater number being nearly naked, and apparently insensible to the cold, which is almost unbearable to those who are most warmly clothed.

Some give no further evidence of their folly, than to run half naked through all the cabins; but others are mischievous. Some carry water, or something worse, and throw it at those whom they meet; others take the firebrands, coals, and ashes from the fire, and scatter them in all directions without noticing on whom they fall; others break the kettles, dishes, and all the little domestic gear that they find in their path. Some go about armed with javelins, bayonets, knives, hatchets, and sticks, threatening to strike the first one they meet; and all this continues until each has attained his object and fulfilled his dream. In this connection, two things are worthy of note.

First, it sometimes happens that one is not bright enough to guess their thoughts; for they are not clearly put forth, but are expressed in riddles, phrases of covert meaning, songs, and occasionally in gestures alone. Consequently, a good Oedipus is not always to be found. Yet, they will not leave a place until their thought is divined; and, if they meet with delay, or a disinclination or inability to guess it, they threaten to burn up everything, a menace which is only too often executed, as we nearly learned to our own cost.

One of these maniacs stole into our cabin, determined that we should guess his dream and satisfy it. We had declared at the outset that we would not comply with these dreams; yet he persisted for a long time in shouting, storming, and raving -- in our absence, however, for we retired to an outlying cabin to avoid the riot. One of our hosts, annoyed by these cries, came to him to learn what he wanted. The madman answered, "I kill a Frenchman; that is my dream, which must be fulfilled at any cost. "Our host threw him a French coat, pretending that it had been stripped from a dead man; at the same time, working himself into a frenzy, he declared his determination to avenge the Frenchman's death, saying that his destruction should be followed by that of the whole Village, which he was going to reduce to ashes, beginning with his own cabin. Then, he drove out relatives and friends and servants, and all the crowd which had gathered to witness the outcome of this hubbub. Left alone, he shut the doors, and set the whole place on fire. At the moment when all were expecting to see the entire cabin burst into flames, Father Chaumonot, returning from an errand of charity, arrived on the scene. He saw a fearful smoke issuing from his bark house, and was told the reason.

Breaking in a door, he rushed into the midst of the fire and smoke, removed the firebrands, extinguished the fire, and gently forced his host to withdraw, to the surprise of the entire populace, who never thwart the fury of the Demon of dreams. The man's frenzy, however, did not abate; he ran through the streets and cabins, crying at the top of his voice that he would set everything on fire, to avenge the Frenchman's death. A dog was offered him, to become the victim of his wrath and of the Demon of his passion. "That is not enough," he said, "to wipe out the shame and indignity done me in wishing to kill a Frenchman lodged in my house. "A second dog was offered him, and he became pacified at once, returning to his cabin as calmly as if nothing had occurred.

Just as he who has captured a prisoner in war, often takes only his apparel, and not his life, so he who has dreamed that he is to kill someone, often contents himself with his clothes, without attacking his person. For that reason, the dreamer was given a Frenchman's coat. Our host's brother, like all the rest, wished to play his part. Dressing himself somewhat like a Satyr, and decking his person from top to toe with the husks of Indian corn, he had two women disguise themselves as Furies, their hair flying, their faces coal-black, their persons clothed with a couple of Wolfskins, and each armed with a handspike or large stake. The Satyr, seeing them well fitted out, marched about our cabin, singing and howling at the top of his voice. Then, climbing to the roof, he went through a thousand antics, with an outcry as if the day of destruction had come. After that, he came down, and proceeded solemnly through the entire Village, the two Furies walking before him, and striking with their stakes whatever chanced to come under their hands.

Scarcely had our Satyr and Furies passed out of our sight, when a woman, armed with a musket which she had obtained through her dream, rushed into our cabin. She was shouting, howling, and singing, saying that she was going to war against the Eries, that she would fight them, and bring back some prisoners -- with a thousand imprecations and curses on herself, if what she had dreamed should not take place.

This Amazon was followed by a warrior, who came in carrying his bow and arrows and a bayonet. He danced and sang, shouted, and threatened; and then suddenly rushed at a woman who had entered to view this comedy. He leveled the bayonet at her throat, then seized her by the hair, but was satisfied with cutting off a few locks; after this, he retired, to give place to a Diviner, who had dreamed that he could guess the location of any concealed article. He was ridiculously attired, and bore in his hand a sort of divining-rod, which he used for pointing out the place of concealment. Still, his companion, who carried a vase filled with some kind of liquor, had to take a mouthful and blow it out upon the head, face, hands, and divining-rod of the Diviner, before the Diviner could find the object in question.

A woman came in with a mat, which she spread out, and arranged as if she wished to catch some fish; she therefore indicated that some must be given her, to satisfy her dream. Another simply laid a pickaxe on the ground. It was guessed that she wanted a field or a piece of ground, which was exactly her desire. She was content with five furrows for planting Indian corn. After that, a little grotesque figure was put in front of us. We rejected it, and it was placed before other persons; after the mumbling of some words, it was carried off without further ceremony.

One of the Village chiefs appeared in wretched attire, and all covered with ashes. Because his dream, which called for two human hearts, was not guessed, he caused the ceremony to be protracted one day, never ceasing his foolish actions during that time. Entering our cabin, in which there are several fireplaces, he went to the first, and tossed ashes and coals into the air; he repeated the performance at the second and third, but did nothing at ours, out of respect.

Some come entirely armed, and behave as if they were engaging the enemy. They assume the attitudes, shout the battle-cries, and join in the scramble of two armies in action. Others march about in companies, and perform dances with contortions of body that resemble those of men possessed. One would never end if he tried to relate all that is done during the three days and three nights in which this nonsense lasts, such a din prevailing the while that scarcely a moment's quiet is to be had. Yet this did not prevent us from holding Prayers as usual in our Chapel, or hinder God from showing his Love toward these poor peoples in certain miraculous cures, granted by virtue of baptism, Of them, however, we shall not speak here. Let us finish the account already begun of their obedience to their dreams.

It would be cruelty, nay, murder, not to give a man the subject of his dream; for such a refusal might cause his death. Therefore, some see themselves stripped of their all, without any hope of retribution; for, whatever they give away will never be restored to them, unless they themselves dream, or pretend to dream, of the same thing. But they are too scrupulous to employ lies, which would, in their opinion, cause all sorts of misfortunes. Yet there are some who overcome their scruples, and enrich themselves by a shrewd piece of deception.

The Satyr mentioned above found his cabin stripped of many articles, for which we were indirectly responsible; because great and small dreamed of the French, and as we would not listen to their demands, he, being fond of us, satisfied them. But, at length, wishing to reimburse himself, he impersonated the phantom which he feigned had appeared to him in the night with an order to collect forty Beaver-skins. This he accomplished in the following manner. He began to shout through the streets that he was no longer a man, but a brute beast; then the Elders held a council for the restoration of one of their Chiefs to his original form. This was accomplished as soon as he had been given what he wished and pretended to have dreamed about.

A poor woman was less fortunate in her dream running about day and night, and catching only an illness. They wished to cure her with the commonest remedies of the Country, which are emetics compounded of certain roots steeped in water; but they gave her such a quantity that she died immediately, her stomach bursting to let out two kettlefuls of water that she had been made to take.

A young man of our cabin came off with a good powdering. He dreamed that he was buried in ashes, and, on awaking, was bent on making the illusion a reality. He invited ten of his Friends to a feast for the purpose of fulfilling his dream, and they acquitted themselves most excellently of the commission, covering him with ashes from head to foot, and rubbing them into his nose, ears, and all parts of his body. We were disgusted with such a ridiculous ceremony, which all the rest viewed with silent admiration, as some great mystery. I see clearly that some of us will have to die for these dreams.

On the twentieth of this month of January, the Elders, in full Council, presented the Father with a collar of two thousand beads, in return for one that we had given, requesting the deliverance of the young Frenchman in the hands of the Cayugas. Their present indicated a serious intention to liberate him, and their hope that soon they would speak otherwise than through wampum.

CEREMONIES PREPARATORY TO WAR. SOME ENGAGEMENTS.

TOWARD the end of January we witnessed the Ceremony performed every Winter in preparation for war, to which they incite one another in two ways.

First, the war-kettle, as they call it, is hung over the fire in Autumn, so each of the Allies may put there some choice bit to cook all Winter; that is, so they may participate in the intended enterprise. When the kettle had boiled until February, many Hunters being present from Seneca and Cayuga, they held the war-feast, which lasted several nights. They sang, danced, and made countless grimaces, as a public announcement of their determination never to draw back in this fight, and to die in all sorts of torment rather than yield. With this declaration, they threw live coals and hot ashes at one another, exchanged heavy blows, and burned one another, to see if any were likely to fear the enemy's fires. One must bear it all, and submit to be roasted by his best friends, without showing a sign of pain; otherwise, he would be disgraced and branded as a coward.

The Father was invited to put something into the kettle to make it better, and he told them that he intended to do so; then, adapting himself to their ways, he said that the French would put some gunpowder under it, which pleased them.

The other ceremony that they perform every Winter, to gain courage for fighting, regards the drugs used in dressing wounds. For this, all the Village Sorcerers or tricksters, the Physicians of the Country, assemble, to give strength to their drugs, and, by the ceremony performed, to impart to them a virtue entirely distinct from that derived from the soil.

The chief Sorcerer takes his place in the middle of the group, surrounded by a great crowd. Then, raising his voice, he says that he is about to impart to the drugs or roots in his pouch the power of curing all kinds of wounds. Then, he begins to sing at the top of his voice, the other Sorcerers responding and repeating the same song, until the desired virtue has been infused into the roots. To prove this, he does two things. First, he bites his lips, drawing blood and letting it run down his chin; then, in plain sight of all, he applies his drug to his lips, adroitly sucking up the flowing blood; and the people, seeing the bleeding checked, applaud loudly, as if the drug had quickly cured the wound.

And, to show that his remedies not only restore the sick to health, but also raise the dead to life, he causes to come out of his pouch a little dead Squirrel, which he holds by a cunning attachment to the end of the tail. He places it on his arm; all see that it is dead; then he applies his drugs, and, pulling the string as slyly as possible, he makes it return to his pouch, apparently revived before the spectators' eyes Producing it again, he makes it move, as the tricksters of France move their puppets. In that large assembly, there is scarcely a person who does not show his admiration for the virtue of the herbs which work so mighty a miracle. After this great marvel, the Master sorcerer parades through all the streets, followed by a great crowd, singing at the top of his voice, and showing off his medicines. All this is done to make the young warriors fearless of wounds in battle, since they possess so powerful a remedy. It is not in America alone that people seem to take pleasure in being deceived, but in Europe also.

THE CAUSE OF THE WAR AGAINST THE ERIES.

THE Eries had sent thirty Ambassadors to Seneca to confirm the peace between them; but it happened, by some unexpected accident, that a Seneca was killed by a man of the Eries. This murder so incensed the Senecas that they put to death the Ambassadors in their hands, except five who escaped. Therefore, war was kindled between these two Nations, and each strove to capture and burn more prisoners than its opponent.

Two Onondagas were captured by the men of the Eries; one of them escaped, and the other, a man of rank, was taken home by the enemy to be burnt. But he pleaded his cause so well that he was given to the sister of one of the thirty Ambassadors who had been put to death. She was absent from the Village at the time; but the prisoner was still clothed in fine garments, and feasting and good cheer prevailed, the man being all but assured that he would be sent back to his own Country.

When she to whom he had been given returned, she was told that her dead brother was to be restored to life, that she must prepare to feed him well, and then give him a gracious dismissal. She, however began to weep, and declared that she would never dry her tears until her brother's death was avenged. The Elders showed her the gravity of the situation, which was likely to involve them in a new war; but she would not yield. Finally, they were compelled to give up the wretched man to her, to do with him as she pleased. All this occurred while he was still joyfully feasting. Without a word, he was taken from the feast and brought to this cruel woman's cabin. Upon entering, he was surprised at being stripped of his clothes. Then he saw that his life was lost, and he cried out, before dying, that an entire people would be burned in his person, and that his death would be cruelly avenged. His words proved true; for no sooner had the news reached Onondaga than twelve hundred determined men started forth to exact satisfaction for this affront.

We have already observed that the Cat Nation (Erie Nation) is so called from the large number of Wildcats (raccoons?), of great size and beauty, in their Country. The Climate is temperate, neither ice nor snow being seen in the Winter; while in Summer grain and fruit are harvested in abundance, and are of unusual size and excellence.

Our Warriors entered that Country, remote though it was from Onondaga, before they were perceived. Their arrival spread such a panic that Villages and dwellings were abandoned to the mercy of the Conqueror, who, after burning everything, started in pursuit of the fugitives. The fugitives numbered from two to three thousand combatants, besides women and children. Finding themselves closely followed, they resolved, after five days' flight, to build a fort of wood and there await the enemy, who numbered only twelve hundred. Accordingly, they entrenched themselves as well as they could.

The enemy drew near, the two head Chiefs showing themselves in French costume, to frighten their opponents by the novelty of this attire. One of the two, who had been Baptized by Father Le Moyne and was instructed, gently urged the besieged to capitulate, telling them that they would be destroyed if they allowed an assault. "The Master of life fights for us," said he; "you will be ruined if you resist him."

"Who is this Master of our lives?" was the arrogant reply of the Besieged. "We acknowledge none but our arms and hatchets." Then, the assault was made and the palisade attacked on all sides; but the defense was as spirited as the attack, and the combat was a long one, great courage being displayed on both sides. The Besieging group made every effort to carry the place by storm, but in vain; they were killed as fast as they advanced.

They hit on the plan of using their canoes as shields; and bearing these before them as protection, they reached the foot of the fortification. But it remained to scale the large stakes, or tree-trunks, of which it was built. Again they resorted to their canoes, using them as ladders for surmounting that stanch palisade. Their boldness so astonished the Besieged that, being already at the end of their munitions of war, with which, especially with gunpowder, they had been but poorly provided, they decided to flee. This was their ruin; for, after most of the first fugitives had been killed, the others were surrounded by the Onondagas, who entered the fort and there wrought such carnage among the women and children that blood was knee-deep in certain places.

Those who had escaped, wishing to retrieve their honor, after recovering their courage a little, returned, to the number of three hundred, to take the enemy by surprise while he was retiring and off his guard. The plan was good, but it was ill executed; for, frightened at the first cry of the Onondagas, they were entirely defeated. The Victors did not escape heavy losses, so great that they were forced to remain two months in the enemy's country, burying their dead and caring for their wounded.

COUNCILS HELD BY THESE TRIBES. MEETING WITH HURONS. EXECUTION OF A PRISONER. AN INDIAN'S VISION.

ON the fifth of February, there came to Onondaga many Hunters from Seneca and Cayuga, whom the Father greeted with two presents of a thousand beads to each Nation; telling them that they entered not only the country of the Onondagas, but also that of the French, since the two formed but one People. He added that the joy at their coming was general; and he wished that Onontio could have seen what fine children he had in that Country, for he would be especially pleased with them. He also, with the present offered in his name, wiped away the blood still remaining on their persons from their latest engagement with the Eries. They responded with two similar presents, after which they prepared for their war-feast. We withdrew, to leave them at liberty to carry out fully the ceremony already mentioned.

On the seventh, the Village Elders made a present to these new guests, asking them to pay us respect, and not to take offense at our ways or find fault with our prayers, but to behave toward us as good children have to behave toward their Fathers.

Among these Hunters were many Christian Hurons, who cheered the Father by showing him that disaster had not extinguished the Faith in their hearts, and by giving him some account of the remains of that poor Huron Church. A good woman I named Gandigoura, when asked whether, during her six years' captivity, she had kept her religion, answered that she was careful not to forget a thing which she held dearer than life.

Another woman, named Gannendio, said that, after seeing her children slain, and herself receiving nine knife-wounds, by order of those to whom she had been given, she consoled herself with thoughts of Heaven, where she expected to go with her little innocents; but that God had miraculously restored her to life.

Rene Tsondihouannen, she said, who was killed at the taking of Erie, had prayed to God morning and evening during his captivity, and every Saturday reminded those whom he could of the approaching Sunday, so they might observe the day. He himself had Baptized his sister Aatio's twin children.

This same Aatio showed that the Faith was deeply graven on her heart, as she never wavered amid the severest trials. Her son, Tehannonrakouan, having been killed by the Susquehannocks, there remained to her in her captivity only her twins, whom she carried on her back a long time, following the Victors and cheering herself with this precious burden, the sole relics left from the destruction of her large family. But, as this dear burden prevented her from making such rapid progress as her conductors desired, they murdered the two poor innocents before their mother's eyes. She never lost patience, but prepared herself for further misfortune. And indeed, her knee becoming diseased, and so badly swollen that she could scarcely drag herself along, those cruel Barbarians, unwilling to grant her a speedy deliverance from the pains of this world by a hatchet-stroke, caused her to be burned to death.

On the eleventh of February, a Deputy from Oneida came to negotiate the general affairs of the country. He told the Father that the peace between the French and the Mohawks was a permanent one, and so well compacted that there was nothing to fear on either side. But I would not place much confidence in it.

He caused a council to be held, and, when the Deputies of the other Nations had assembled, with the Elders of the Village, the Father was invited to attend, for the sake of learning this Deputy's errand. He went, and, addressing the representatives of Oneida and Cayuga, he told them that he was glad to see them, urged union upon them, and asked them not to give ear to the slanders of the envious. His speech ended with a present of a thousand beads to each Nation.

The Deputy from Oneida rose, and brought forward a handsome collar of two thousand beads, which he presented to the Father, to wipe away the blood shed by the Mohawks since the first negotiations for peace. He gave him another similar one to thank him for adopting them as his children and compatriots, urging him to be a Father, not only in word, but also in reality, as he was expected to be. The third present was to encourage him in the enterprise, which he and Garacontie had begun and nearly completed. Then, to attest his joy at being adopted by Onontio, he sang, and made his companions sing. That done, he spoke for a full half-hour, declaring his sentiments upon his adoption, and naming all the relatives he had at Quebec, at Three Rivers, and at Montreal. Never had an Actor played his part better than this man did, especially when he entertained the company for more than two hours with his Countrymen's deeds of prowess, portraying, by voice and gesture, battles, assaults, exploits, victories, defeats, the dead, the living, and all with a grace and simplicity beyond conception.

Toward evening of the same day, three Soldiers of this Village arrived with three scalps, taken from some people of another language than that of these Regions, and of a country far distant from here. They also brought home two young men of the Eries, well formed, well dressed, strong, and between twenty and thirty years of age. Whether because the Onondagas had not taken them in regular warfare, or because they, in despair of escaping, had given themselves up voluntarily, they thought that they should not be treated as captives; and upon their arrival, they were assigned to two of the most honorable families, to take the place of two deceased members. The younger and handsomer one, a Nephew of the other, was given to the greatest warrior of the Country, named Aharihon, a Captain famous for his warlike exploits, but as arrogant and bloodthirsty as he is brave.

One of Aharihon's brothers having been recently killed by the Eries, he was replaced by this newly-adopted man. This cruel Captain held his brother in such high esteem that he had already made him a sacrifice of forty men, causing them to be burned, since he did not believe that there was anyone worthy to occupy his place. When, accordingly, this young man was given him as a substitute for the deceased, he presented to him four dogs, upon which to hold his feast of adoption. In the middle of the feast, while he was rejoicing and singing to entertain the guests, Aharihon arose, and told the company that this man too must die in atonement for his brother's death.

The poor lad was astounded at this, and turned toward the door to make his escape, but was stopped by two men who had orders to burn him. On the fourteenth of February, in the evening, they began with his feet, intending to roast him at a slow fire, as far up as the waist, during most of the night. After midnight, they were to let him rally his strength and sleep a little until daybreak, when they were to finish this fatal tragedy. In his torture, the poor man made the whole Village resound with his cries and groans. It was fearful to hear him shrieking in the dead of night. He shed great tears, contrary to the usual custom, the victim usually glorying to be burned limb by limb, and opening his lips only to sing; but, as this one had not expected death, he Wept and cried in a way that touched even these Indians. One of Aharihon's relatives was so moved with pity that he advised ending the sufferer's torments by plunging a knife into his breast -- which would have been a deed of mercy, had the stab been mortal. However, they were persuaded to continue the burning without interruption, so that before day he ended both his sufferings and his life.

On the seventeenth, three thousand wampum beads having been lost, the fortune teller was consulted. Covering his face and blindfolding his eyes, to see more clearly, he ran about through the streets, the people following. After he had run for a considerable time, he went straight to the foot of a tree, where he found two thousand beads -- the third thousand being retained by him to pay for his trouble. Then followed great applause, and an imitative presentation of riddles while he was in heat.

On the twenty-fourth, while the Honnaouaroria -- of which we spoke above, in connection with dreams -- was being held, there arrived three Warriors, returning, after more than a year's absence, from the war against the Eries. One of them announced, on his arrival, that he had a matter of great importance to communicate to the Elders. These having assembled, he told them that, while seeking the enemy, he met a Tortoise of incredible size; and later he saw a Demon in the guise of a little Dwarf, who is said to have already appeared to others. They call him Taronhiaouagui, which means "he who holds up the Sky." This Dwarf or Demon spoke as follows: "I am he who holds up the Sky, and the guardian of the earth; I preserve men, and give victories to warriors. I have made you masters of the earth and victors over so many Nations; I made you conquer the Hurons, the Petun nation, the Neutrals, Atiraguenrek, Atiaonrek, Takoulguehronnons, and Eries; I have made you what you are; and if you wish me to continue my protection over you, hear my words, and execute my orders.

"First, you will find three Frenchmen in your Village when you arrive there. Secondly, you will enter during the celebration of the Honnaouaroria. Thirdly, after your arrival, let there be sacrificed to me ten dogs, ten wampum beads from each cabin, a collar ten rows wide, four measures of sunflower seed, and as many of beans. And, as for you, let two married women be given you, to be at your disposal for five days. If that be not executed item by item I will make your Nation a prey to all sorts of disasters; and after it is all done, I will declare to you my orders for the future." So saying, the Dwarf vanished. This vision the man immediately told his companions, who witnessed, as they affirmed, its verification that day. Seeing a Stag, he called it from a distance, and implored it to come to him. The Stag obeyed, approaching and coming up to receive its death-stroke from our Visionary. Though the whole story was probably only a fiction of these three Warriors, who invented the dream to cover their shame at returning empty-handed after so long an absence, still the man was as wasted, pale, and depressed, as if he had spoken with the Devil. He spat blood, and was so disfigured that one scarcely dared to look him in the face. The Elders offered the sacrifice as commanded, so prompt are they to obey whatever resembles a dream.

FATHER CLAUDE DABLON'S DEPARTURE FROM ONONDAGA TO RETURN TO QUEBEC.

WE were perplexed how to inform those at Quebec of the state of affairs here, and of this people's passionate desire for our speedy settlement among them. They made their wishes known for the last time in a notable Council, held on the twenty-ninth of February, when they told the Father that he must employ his last resources to this end. They said that they had been waiting the coming of the French for more than three years, but had always been put off from year to year, until at last they were tired of so many postponements; and if the affair were not settled now, it was needless to think any more about it, for they would break with us entirely, in view of the continued delay. They added that they knew well that it was not trade which brought us to their country, but solely the Faith. They urge our settlement in their Country, and reproach one another for not making us come. The Elders say that they cannot resist the young men's desire for the French; the Young men say that the Elders are bent on ruining the whole country by calling us into it; and yet both groups press the matter vehemently, and threaten us with their hostility unless we speedily become their Compatriots.

Therefore, fearing to lose so favorable an opportunity, we sought every possible way to send word to Quebec of their state of mind, and to hurry the coming of the French. Toward nine o'clock on the second day of March, we started. On the first day, we advanced 12 miles, in spring rather than winter weather; but it soon changed, and we were forced by rain to spend a day and two nights in the woods, in a house without doors, without windows, and without walls.

On the fourth of March, after proceeding 15 short miles, we camped on the shore of the lake which ends at Tirhiroguen. This was a hard day's journey, through almost uninterrupted snow or water up to our knees. Again a day and two nights were passed in this second halting-place, as the Lake, which we planned to cross on the ice, was beginning to thaw; but the cold of the second night convinced us that the passage would be free and the bridge firm.

We did accomplish 4 miles on the ice, after which it was a pleasure to walk over the soft snow; we were, however, forced to wade in deep water to cross a small River that had withstood the heavy frost.

On the seventh of March, after a light meal, we started in the morning and walked until evening without eating. We were unable to reach Oswego until nearly noon on the following day. We hoped to be able to cross the great Lake in canoes; but, though it was not frozen, its entire shore was so encumbered with piles of snow and great blocks of ice that it was nearly inaccessible. Accordingly, we made 5 short miles along the smooth sand; and after hunting an incredible number of Canadian geese, which make their winter retreat there in a little swamp, we made ours in the same place for that night.

The ninth was a hard day for us. We proceeded over a frozen Pond, but with our feet always in the water, as the rain that had fallen in the morning was not yet frozen. At length, we reached a fine sandy beach on the great Lake, but were stopped by a deep River, the ice on which was too weak to bear us. We sought all kinds of expedients for crossing, but, as we found none, my people called a halt to deliberate on our course. They spent more than three hours trembling with cold, rather than consulting; and you may believe that I had my share in this. The result was that we retraced a part of our steps, seeking a suitable place for passing the night. So we crossed another Lake, under the same inconvenience as in the morning, but with the addition of a heavy rain, which finally compelled us to take refuge under a shelter of bark.

The next day, we ascended 2 miles above the mouth of the River which had stopped us, and there found it frozen firmly enough for crossing. But oh, how hard it was to resume our course! We were forced to cross a vast prairie flooded with water, to make our way over soft and half-melted snow, through woods and across ponds; and after surmounting all these difficulties, we were three times compelled to wade through water, to cross the Rivers in our way. Finally, after walking all day, we found toward evening that we had advanced only 7 miles on our route.

On the eleventh, we walked nearly all day over the frozen surface of the great Lake, but with our feet constantly in the water, owing to the thaw which made our steps none too secure; for we occasionally heard the ice cracking under us, and some of the bolder ones had to go ahead and test its strength. Yet, we were not deterred from going out 5 and 7 miles from land, to find a shorter route than that along the shore of the Lake. After making 17 good miles, we were stopped by rain, which did not cease during the night or on the next day; it so increased in violence during the second night that, lying as we were on the ground, we soon found ourselves stretched in the water. Our little cabin had become, in a short time, a great pond.

We rose and tried to find a dry place. Some went up on little hills, but exposed themselves to the downpour of water from the Sky, while seeking to avoid what was on the earth. Others went to look for higher ground, to make a fire and build a cabin; but darkness, snow, and rain prevented them. The more lazy remained until daylight as they were. The most patient were the best bedded.

Day breaking, we found ourselves all soaked and in disorder, yet were forced still to have patience; for wind, snow, and rain seemed to conspire to detain us in our wretched position. We left it after two days and three nights, and, advancing 17 miles over ice and snow, built our inn on a site that was slightly more tolerable. Our Indians, weary of bearing these hardships on a diet more meager than one of bread and water only, we started out to hunt. They killed a Deer and some Wildcats, which restored our vigor.

We left on the sixteenth, with fine weather; but the charms of hunting were too great for men who find all their happiness there. After making 5 miles, some built themselves a cabin, while the rest hunted Deer. It was an easy day; for, besides the shortness of our march, we had to wade only once in water as high as our knees.

We passed all the seventeenth with feet in the water, weather rough, and road frightful. At times, we had to climb with feet and hands over mountains of snow; again, to walk over great ice-blocks; and again, to pass over Marshes, plunge into thickets, fell trees for bridging Rivers, cross streams, and avoid precipices; while, at the day's end, we had made barely 10 short miles. Finally, to comfort us, we lodged at an inn where there was neither bread nor wine nor bed.

On the eighteenth, we proceeded 15 miles.

On the nineteenth, St. Joseph's day, as we were pursuing our course over the ice of the great Lake, it opened under one of my feet. I came off better than a poor Onondaga Hunter, who, after a long struggle with the ice, which had given way under him, was swallowed up and lost in the water beyond the possibility of rescue. Having escaped these dangers, we entered a road of extreme difficulty, beset with rocks as high as towers, and so steep that one makes his way over them with hands as well as with feet. After this, we were again forced to run 7 miles over the ice, never stopping, for fear of breaking through; and then to pass the night on a rock opposite Otonniata, which is on the route commonly taken by Beaver-Hunters.

We made a canoe for crossing the Lake; and as we were a company of twenty, a part went over first. On nearing the other shore, they struck their prow against an ice-floe; and there they were all in the water, some catching at the battered canoe, and others at the ice that had wrecked it. They all succeeded in saving themselves, and, after repairing this Boat of bark, sent it back to us, so we could follow them.

We did so on the night of the twenty-first of March. We had eaten for dinner only a few roots, boiled in clear water; yet we were forced to lie down without supper, on a bed of pebbles, at the inn of the Stars, and under shelter of an icy north wind. On the following night, we lay more softly, but not more comfortably, our bed being of snow; and the day after, rain attended us on a frightful road, over rocks frightening to see, both for their height and for their size, and as dangerous to descend as they are difficult to climb. To scale them, we lent one another a hand. They border the Lake; and as it was not yet wholly free from ice, we were forced to undergo this labor.

On the morning of the twenty-fifth, a Deer delayed us until noon. We made 7 miles, in pleasant weather, and over a tolerable road, finding fortuitously, at our halting-place, a canoe, or rather a whole tree-trunk hollowed out, which God seems to have put into our hands for completing the passage of the Lake without fear of the ice.

The next day, seven of us embarked in this dugout, and in the evening reached the mouth of the Lake, which ends in a waterfall and turbulent rapids. Here, God showed us still another special favor; for, on leaving our dugout, we found a fairly good bark canoe, with which we accomplished 100 miles in a day and a half, not having made more than that on foot during the three preceding weeks, owing both to the severe weather and to the bad roads.

Finally, on the thirtieth of March, we arrived at Montreal, having left Onondaga, on the second. Our hearts found here the joy felt by Pilgrims on reaching their own country.

Letters have recently been received from Quebec, by the Latest vessel, saying that Father Claude Dablon, whose journal we have just seen, has returned to Onondaga with Father Francois Le Mercier, Superior of that Mission, Fathers Rene Menard and Jacques Fremin, and Brothers Ambroise Broar and Joseph Boursier. They are all going to join Father Joseph Chaumonot, who remained in the Iroquois Country. They are escorted by fifty valiant Frenchmen, who have already begun a good settlement in the center of these Nations; and we shall hopefully see its success next year. The Fathers ask for Gospel Laborers, and the aid of prayers from all who desire the salvation of those Tribes. As the expense of maintaining such an enterprise is great, if those who profess to contribute toward the Conversion of the Indians would support this Mission, they would render a great service to God. Within a recent period, there have been Baptized, in different places, despite the disturbances and hindrances of war, more than four hundred and fifty Indians, children and adults. If the Preachers of the Gospel can be maintained in those Regions, which I would willingly call the Land of Martyrs, many more will be Baptized.

THE ARRIVAL OF A COMPANY OF ALGONQUINS CALLED THE OTTAWA.

ON the sixth day of August, 1654, two young Frenchmen, having received permission from the Governor of the Country to embark with some of the Indians who had come down to our French settlements, began a journey of more than 1250 miles under the guidance of these Argonauts, conveyed in little Gondolas of bark.

The two Pilgrims fully expected to return in the Spring of 1655, but those Peoples did not conduct them home until toward the end of August of this year, 1656. Their arrival caused the Country universal joy, for they were accompanied by fifty canoes, laden with goods which the French come to this end of the world to procure. The fleet rode in state along our mighty river, propelled by five hundred arms, and guided by as many eyes, most of which had never seen the great wooden canoes of the French, that is, their Ships.

Having landed, amid the stunning noise of Cannon, and having quickly built their temporary dwellings, the Captains ascended to Fort saint Louys to salute our Governor, bearing their speeches in their hands. These were two presents, which represent words among these Peoples. One of the two gifts asked for some Frenchmen to go and pass the Winter in their Country; while the other made request for some Fathers of our Jesuits, to teach all the Nations of those vast Regions the way to Heaven. They were answered, in their own way, by presents, and were willingly granted all that they asked. But, while those assigned to this great undertaking are making their preparations, let us learn some news from the two French Pilgrims and from their hosts.

First, it is good to note that the Huron language extends fully 1250 miles toward the South, and the Algonquin more than 1250 miles toward the North. I know that there are some slight differences among these Nations; but they consist in certain dialects, which are soon learned, and which do not affect the fundamental principles of the two languages.

In the second place, there are in the Northern regions many Lakes which might be called freshwater Seas, the great Lake Huron, and another near it, being as large as the Caspian Sea.

In the third place, we were told of many Nations surrounding the Nation of the Sea which some have called "the Stinkards" (Winnebagos), because its people formerly lived on the shores of the Sea, which they call Ouinipeg, that is, "stinking water." The Illinois, their neighbors, comprise about sixty Villages; the Sioux have fully forty; the Dakota, at least thirty; and the Cree surpass all the above in extent, reaching as far as Hudson Bay. The Country of the Hurons, which had only seventeen Villages, extending over about 42 miles, maintained fully thirty thousand people.

A Frenchman once told me that he had seen, in the Country of the Winnebagos, three thousand men in an assembly held to form a treaty of peace. All those Tribes make war on other more distant Nations; so true is it that men are Wolves toward men, and that the number of fools is infinite. These fools practice mutual slaughter, each wishing to prescribe the law to the other.

In the fourth place, these two young men have not undergone hardships for nothing in their long journey. Not only have they enriched some Frenchmen upon their return, but they also caused great joy in Paradise during their travels, by Baptizing and sending to Heaven about three hundred little children.

THE DEPARTURE OF THE OTTAWA ALGONQUINS, AND THEIR DEFEAT.

WHILE these People were doing their small trading, thirty young Frenchmen equipped themselves to bear them company to their Country, and to bring back furs. I gave them Fathers Leonard Garreau and Gabriel Druillettes, well versed in the Huron and Algonquin tongues. A Brother of our Jesuits, named Louis le Boesme, wished to be one of the group, as assistant to the Fathers, whom also three young Frenchmen joined, to live and to die with the preachers.

On the day fixed for departure, this squad joined the main body, composed of Indians; the canoes were launched, and the men quickly embarked; paddles were set in motion, and the last Farewell resounded from the cannons' mouths.

Scarcely had this Fleet of more than sixty Vessels accomplished one day's voyage on the great river, when it met two French Soldiers in a Canoe, who had been sent by the Governor of Three Rivers to give warning that the Mohawk Iroquois, bitter enemies of the Algonquins and Hurons, were in the field, and would be sure to lay an ambush for them on their journey. As a matter of fact, they had concealed themselves behind a point, to surprise our Indians as they passed; but this time they were outwitted. Our men, mustering their courage, plied their paddles with such strength and skill that they passed swiftly in the darkness without being seen, and arrived safe and sound at the Village of Three Rivers.

Our thirty Frenchmen, who had equipped themselves at short notice for a journey of 1250 miles, seeing, from the experience of 70 miles already accomplished, that their Canoes were poor, several leaking already, and that their provisions were scarcely sufficient for so long a journey, knowing that they would be forced to resort to weapons if the Mohawks should attack their Fleet, thought best to postpone their expedition until the Spring of the following year.

Our two Fathers, though clearly perceiving the dangers before them, were also well aware that the trade in Souls was nobler than that in skins; and they were unwilling to turn back. They embarked with the Brother and the three Frenchmen who had joined them. See them on their way, with two hundred and fifty Indians, all Algonquins, except a few Hurons escaped from the wreck of their former Country.

The Mohawk Iroquois, who numbered only about 120, seeing that the enemy had slipped by, followed them stealthily with all speed. They proceeded by night, in close order and without noise, hiding in the woods by day, and sending out Spies to reconnoiter the Algonquins. Soon they discovered them; for these unfortunate men, though cautioned to be on their guard, were constantly making a great noise. Many of the young men, who had bought firearms from the French, having never handled them before, took a singular pleasure in the thunder made by their muskets in the echoes of the forest. It was even said that a young Iroquois, a friend of peace, came and warned them to proceed quietly, saying that his companions were on the lookout to surprise them. But these young hot-heads, trusting in their courage and their numbers, had ears only for the noise made by themselves, halting often to fire at game encountered on the way.

The Iroquois went ahead and seized an advantageous position on the great River, in the path of the Algonquins. First, they entrenched themselves on a slight eminence covered with trees, which they soon felled. The Sentinels, posted advantageously for commanding a long view of the great river, gave their Captain warning when the fleet appeared, and he placed a large number of brave musketeers among the rushes and tall shrubbery, on a point by which our men would pass.

Six Canoes of Hurons, and some Algonquins, preceding the main body by about 125 or 150 feet, recklessly rushed into the snare, and received so prompt and fierce a shower of lead that many were killed without knowing who dealt the blow. The Iroquois had no sooner fired their pieces than they burst from their ambush like Lions from their lair, rushing upon those who were still alive, and dragging them into their fort. Father Leonard Garreau, who was in this advance-guard, was wounded by a musket-shot which broke his spine.

Those who followed, upon seeing the state of affairs, seized their arms, leaped ashore, and pursued the enemy, but soon came to an entrenchment, or fort, which opened fire on all sides. They surrounded and attacked it, and many were killed or wounded on both sides; the Iroquois, however, maintained so strong a defense that the Algonquins could neither take the fort by storm, nor draw them out to open combat. The Algonquins knew their enemy's inferiority in number, and that the Lion's skin failing him, he had wisely assumed that of the Fox.

Our men took their hatchets and soon constructed a fort at no great distance from that of the Iroquois, for shelter and recuperation. They waited for the Iroquois to leave their Fort, so they could pursue them; but they held themselves under close cover. The Algonquins, as the season compelled them to hurry their return Homeward, parleyed with the Iroquois and gave them a present to persuade them to decamp, themselves retiring first to leave the way clear. But the others refused to listen and rejected the present, deciding to attack our group once more. They were outwitted, however, for the Algonquins, feigning that they wished to strengthen their fortifications for the purpose of awaiting the Iroquois' departure, made a noise like that of felling trees with heavy strokes of the hatchet. During this din, and under cover of the night, the Captains had their men go softly to their Canoes; and therefore they made their escape, leaving in their fort Father Gabriel Druillettes with his Companion, and the three Frenchmen who had joined them. The Father wished to accompany them but no one would take him into his canoe.

FATHER LEONARD GARREAU'S DEATH.

ON the devastation of the Country of the Hurons, those poor People were scattered in all directions, some joining the neutral Nation, a large company taking refuge with the French at Quebec, and others seeking a retreat in the Country of the Algonquins called Ottawas, of whom we have just been speaking. A part of these poor fugitives had come down to Quebec with the Algonquins; and as they had known Father Leonard Garreau in their own Country, and had already received some tint of our Faith from him, it was easy for them to obtain their former Pastor upon request. He was more eager to preach Jesus Christ to them than they were to receive him. Accordingly, he joined them, resolved to give his blood and his life for the Gospel, and seeing almost inevitable death in the dangers of an undertaking as holy as it was arduous. He expected either to be slain on the way, as was the case, -- or to perish with hunger in a Country 1250 miles away from the French, or to meet his death because of some Barbarian's dream. But none of these prospects frightened him.

On Wednesday, August thirtieth, of this year, 1656, the Iroquois, firing from their ambush upon six Canoes of Hurons, who were in the vanguard, as we have described, mortally wounded this good Father. He fell back into the Canoe that bore him, his spine broken by a bullet. Immediately, the Iroquois dragged him like a dog into their fort, stripped him naked, taking away even his shirt, and leaving him only a small pair of drawers. They turned him over and over, to remove the ball from his body, and gave him a drink, by way of medicine, which he would not take. Three days he lay flat on the ground, bathed in his own blood, without food or drink, without Physician or Surgeon, and with no help but that of Heaven. Though wounded on Wednesday, he was not taken to Montreal until Saturday morning, when they offered two wretched little presents, according to their custom. One of them was to show their regret at the accident that had happened, and the other to dry our tears and relieve our grief. All the people of Montreal esteemed and honored this poor Father as an Apostle and Martyr.

Meeting there Father Claude Pijart, one of our Jesuits, he opened his heart to this good Father, who has given us an account of his death. As soon as he was wounded, he exclaimed, Domine, accipe spiritum meum, "My God, receive my soul;" Domine, ignosce illis, "Lord, forgive them." He told the Father that he had felt, neither in the attack, nor in his capture, nor during his ill treatment at his murderers' hands, any indignation or even coldness toward them; that he had experienced a feeling of compassion for those who were taking his life.

Another Father, to whom he wholly unburdened himself, speaks of him as follows: "We learned this evening, September fourth, of the happy death of Father Leonard Garreau."

Wounded by the Iroquois and dragged into their Fort, forgetting his nakedness and making nothing of the wounds from which he was dying, he dragged himself toward some Huron Captives, and addressed them in a voice weak indeed, but full of fire, of love, and of spirit. He encouraged them to suffer with firmness the torments which he knew were awaiting them, assuring them that they should soon see each other in Heaven, if they stood fast in the Faith which they had embraced. Finally, after hearing their confessions, he purified them in the Sacrament of Penance.

He perceived a young Frenchman, who, from a feeling of spite, mingled with anger and treachery, had gone over to the Iroquois. Calling him, he won his heart, and made him see the enormity of his crime. Wringing regrets and tears from this faithless man, he made him confess all his sins, and, absolving him, prepared him for death, which he did not think was so near. Betrayed by an Iroquois to the French at Montreal, he was seized and led to Quebec, where he was sentenced to capital punishment, which he bore with a resignation edifying to all witnesses.

YEAR 1657
NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1656, TO THE SUMMER OF 1657.

EMBASSY OF THE SENECA IROQUOIS THWARTED BY THE MOHAWK IROQUOIS.

There are five Iroquois Nations, of whom the three principal ones are the Senecas, who are the most numerous, and the most distant from the French; the Onondagas, among whom we have lately commenced a good Mission; and the Mohawks, who trade with the Dutch, neighbors to New England. On the 8th of September, 1655, Father Joseph Chaumonot and Father Claude Dablon started from Quebec, to reconnoiter the country of the Senecas, who urged us to go and teach them, and to establish a French settlement in their country. Their journey was fully described in last year's Report. Shortly after their departure from Quebec, three persons of importance arrived from the country of the Senecas; they informed us that the minds of their nation were inclined to peace, and that next winter they would come in good number to contract a permanent alliance with us, and with the Hurons and Algonquins. A mutual exchange of presents took place, according to the custom of these peoples, after which one of the three decided to spend the winter with us, to serve as a hostage for their dependability. The two others set out at the beginning of November of the same year, 1655, to carry more promptly to their own country the happy news of the welcome that they had received.

These two Ambassadors were killed on their return journey, as we learned when, 7 or 10 miles above Montreal, one of the dead bodies was found, all covered with wounds and blood. Suspicion of this murder could fall on none but the Mohawk Iroquois, who are jealous of the friendship which the other Iroquois nations seek to form with us, and attempt to thwart it by every possible means.

This did not prevent us from seeing here, at the beginning of January, 1656, the Embassy of which word had been sent us. It consisted of ten men, the chief of whom was one of the leading Captains of their entire country, from fifty to sixty years of age, -- a wise man, and one skilled in such matters, eloquent beyond expectation, whose heart was entirely French and who was already won over to the faith.

Of the twenty-one presents that he gave, the richest and most striking was the one by which he loudly proclaimed that his entire nation wished to be instructed. This Captain -- upon whom our hopes were resting -- was snatched from us in an instant. These Ambassadors had gone, for sport, to hunt Beaver between Three Rivers and Quebec, while waiting the end of the winter to set out on their return journey. A band of Mohawk Iroquois, who came at the same time to hunt men, chanced upon their tracks, and, surprising that Captain in a lonely place, without approaching him closely enough to recognize him, killed him with a gunshot which pierced his heart.

After this blow, which was sufficient to cause war between those two Iroquois Nations, they both retained the confidence they had in us; for they knew that our hearts were open to all the tribes of these countries, and they regarded our French as a neutral Nation and our settlement as a place of safety. In fact, a band of Algonquin warriors happening to be at Three Rivers at the same time as the Mohawk, their mortal enemy, they conversed peaceably with each other, joyfully fed themselves together, and, to see them, one would have thought that they were friends.

PLAN OF THE MOHAWK IROQUOIS AGAINST THE HURON COLONY ON THE ISLAND OF ORLEANS.

ON the twenty-fifth day of April, 1656, two Mohawk Iroquois slipped through the woods below Quebec, at a place where there is an abundance of water-fowl; two Hurons landed from a canoe, and were each received with a gunshot. One fell dead on the spot; the other, though severely wounded, had still sufficient courage and strength to push his canoe into the water, and was fortunate enough to escape.

On hearing news of this, twenty Hurons embarked at once, to cut off at some place the murderers, who had fled by land. At a distance of over 50 miles from there, they found some tracks on the bank of our great river, and overtook their prey; but, as these two fugitives had separated from each other only one was captured. He was taken to the Island of Orleans, where he was condemned to death and to the fire, which doubtless he richly deserved.

We did, by gentle means, all that could be done to have his life spared, so he might be made use of to turn away a band of three hundred Mohawk Iroquois, by whom we knew that the Huron Colony on the Island of Orleans was threatened. But their minds were too hot with resentment at a crime which they had so recently seen committed before their eyes, and for which the father and mother of the deceased urgently demanded justice. They were the wealthiest people of all the Huron village, and were weeping at the loss of their only son, who was a young man, full of good qualities, destined for the office of Captain; within two years he had spared the lives of five Mohawks, whom he had made prisoners of war.

On the same day, while they were burning that Iroquois prisoner, -- who was fortunate in his misfortune, as he received Baptism and died a Christian, -- some Frenchmen from Three Rivers met, at a distance of 25 or 30 miles from there, the three hundred Mohawks who were coming to fall upon the Hurons. Those warriors treated our French kindly; they gave them some of their game, and on parting they presented them with some wampum beads, in order that information of their expedition might not be sent from Three Rivers to Quebec.

On the following day, three of their Captains came themselves to Three Rivers, to learn where it was desired that they should camp, and to protest that they wished to continue the Peace with us. To stop them on the way by gentle means, the Governor of Three Rivers gave them three fine presents, asking them to return to their own country, because, as they were at peace with us, and as the Hurons were likewise our allies, we must spare the blood and the lives of both.

The Iroquois replied with eight presents of wampum beads, the four most remarkable, of which were as follows.

Their Chief showed a great collar of wampum beads, and said: "Here is an iron chain, larger around than the trees that grow in our forests, which shall bind the Dutch, the French, and the Mohawks together. The thunder and lightning of heaven shall never break that chain."

With another present he said: "I know Onontio's mind. I know that the Frenchman is truthful in his promises. If I see any of my people killed on the River, I will have no suspicion that it was through the treachery of the French. I ask you also to believe the same of me; and if any Frenchman be found killed in a secluded place, do not accuse the Mohawk Iroquois of it. Our hands will be innocent of it, and will not betray our hearts, which breathe but Peace."

"Whenever any misfortune," he said with another present, "shall happen to the French or to the Mohawk, we will mingle our weeping and our tears, and our hearts shall have the same sentiments; for I have from now on but one heart with you."

With the last of these presents he said: "I obey Onontio. I return to my own country, and this time my hatchet will not be reddened with the blood of the Hurons. But I also wish the Frenchman to obey me in one thing; that is, to close the doors of his houses and of his forts against the Onondaga, who wishes to be my enemy, and who is hatching some plot of war against me."

The giving of these presents was over, but the meeting had not yet dispersed, when three canoes were observed coming from above. It was Jean Baptiste Ochionagueras, an Onondaga Captain, who had embraced the faith two years before, and, as his heart had become quite French, had vigorously aided in securing the Peace between us and the upper Iroquois Nations.

When the Mohawk Iroquois saw that captain -- whom they knew to be a man of great renown, and a distinguished warrior -- they asked our French not to let him know anything of the present which they had just made, -- asking us to close our doors against the Onondagas and not to enter into an alliance with them.

On the following day, we received information at Quebec of all that was passing at Three Rivers through special messengers, who accomplished 75 miles in one day, with such good luck that they eluded all the vigilance of the Mohawk Iroquois, who had stationed pickets on all the roads to bar the way.

It was considered necessary for the public welfare; to send one of our Fathers to meet those three hundred Mohawks, to stop their advance; for we suspected that, contrary to their word, they would persist in their plan to push on as far as the Island of Orleans, and would avenge the death of the Mohawk Iroquois who had been burned there within the past few days.

Father Simon le Moyne, who loves the Iroquois and is tenderly beloved by them, was fortunately in Quebec at the time, and in less than an hour he was ready to start without delay.

At midnight, he meets on his way some Iroquois canoes which guard the approaches and watch for whatever may happen. He is taken into a palisade, about a mile away, where the main body are camped. He gives them ten presents, to persuade them to abandon their plan and retrace their steps. After protracted deliberations, they tell him that his voice has an all-powerful effect on them; and to convince him of it by deeds more than by words, they utter a yell in the camp which disbands all the troops, -- that is, it is a signal for the small bands, which usually consist of ten or twelve men, to scatter. Some go one way, to hunt for moose; others go in another direction, to hunt for beaver; some, to the number of three or four, pretend to go on a hostile raid, to strike a blow in some isolated spot. The majority, they say, return to their country.

This news caused joy in Quebec, and gave some assurance to the Hurons on the Island of Orleans; it did not, however, dispel all their fears. They still felt some distrust of the treacherous spirit of the Mohawk; if only it had been greater.

THE HURONS ON THE ISLAND OF ORLEANS ATTACKED BY THE MOHAWK IROQUOIS.

ON the 18th of May, 1656, those deceitful foes concealed themselves in the woods, 25 or 30 miles above Quebec, where they could see without being seen. They allowed a band of French and Indians to pass, who were on their way to the country of the Onondagas.

But their hands itched, and, their habituation to massacre goading them on, they fell upon some canoes that formed the rear-guard; they wounded, they captured, they pillaged, they ill-treated those who were in the canoes. But, finally, when the Onondagas and the French began to threaten them, those treacherous assailants pretended that they had made a mistake. As we shall see in the following Chapter, they gave up their prisoners, but on the condition that they should continue their journey, and that not a single one of them should be allowed to go down to Quebec.

When this storm had passed, our People pursued their voyage along the great River Saint Lawrence. But, on the night of the nineteenth to the twentieth of the same month of May, those wretches, under cover of that dark night, descended the river noiselessly, and passed before Quebec without being perceived. They landed, before daylight, below the Huron village; and after hiding their canoes in the woods, they scattered in all directions, stationing themselves at the approaches to the fields that were then being sown with Indian corn.

In the morning, all the Christian Hurons attended Mass according to their custom, and, happily, most of them confessed themselves. A group issued forth to work; the enemies in ambush fell upon them, massacred some on the spot, and carried off others as prisoners. The remainder took refuge in our House, which is surrounded by a palisade, easily defended, and fortified for such emergencies.

After this defeat, the enemies withdrew toward the South. They had about forty canoes which appeared on our great river, taking, on their return, the same route that they had followed during the night to strike that unfortunate blow. Our loss consisted of seventy-one persons, including a large number of young women who were the flower of that Colony.

The French on the Island of Orleans, who were encountered by those Barbarians, were not made prisoners; for the Iroquois said that they were at Peace with us. This did not prevent them from pillaging some abandoned houses, for which they have since offered excuses, condemning on the one hand the insolence of their young men, who throughout the earth are difficult to restrain when heated by victory; and on the other hand, accusing those of our French who had abandoned their houses, because, they said, they had taken fright unnecessarily. The Iroquois respected the places which they found inhabited, even by women alone, and behaved there with all possible gentleness.

This misfortune happened on Saturday, the twentieth day of May.

Among the captive Hurons there were eleven members of the Congregation who, in the extremity of their misery, did not lose the spirit of piety. One of them was Jacques Oachonk, then the Prefect of the Congregation, and the most fervent of all our Christians.

When that good Christian found himself a prisoner, instead of singing of his warlike achievements, according to custom, he took for the subject of his song what he had most at heart. "Do not pity me," he said; "do not consider me unfortunate; I shall be happy in heaven. I fear not fires which my blood can extinguish; I fear the fire of hell which never dies out. This life is nothing to me, when my thoughts carry me to Heaven." He sang this chant in so powerful a voice that he made himself heard at a distance of nearly a mile, and the water and wind bore his words to our ears. He consoled the others, and encouraged them to bear their sufferings. While he was being burned in every part of the body -- with hatchets heated red-hot in the fire, and with blazing firebrands -- he uttered not a cry, or any complaint of the cruelty which made him suffer death a thousand times before dying once. He prayed to God in the midst of the flames, and said aloud that when he raised his eyes to Heaven with the words, "Jesus, have pity on me," he felt each time an alleviation of his pains, with an increase of strength and courage.

We have learned all these details from another Christian who was a captive with him, named Joachim Ondakont. He was himself in the flames with Jacques, and admired his constancy amid the tortures.

This Joachim was the principal man among all those who had been taken captive; he was a great warrior, and his life had been but a series of victories and combats, in which his bravery had often saved him. On this last occasion, he had already been burned up to the waist, his fingers had been cut off, and he was all covered with blood. On the night which was to be his last, he was awaiting the dawn of the day on which his torture was to be ended. The cabin in which he had been burned was filled with as many executioners as there were Iroquois in it, of whom more than fifty were guarding him.

Sleep overcoming them, he was fortunate enough to break his bonds, and to make his way out. Finding himself at liberty, with his body all naked and torn, without food, without weapons, and without assistance, he walked for fifteen entire days, through devious paths, to find safety in losing himself. His strength was exhausted when he reached the shores of the great Lake Ontario, where, by good fortune, he met the band of French who were going to Onondaga. Had it not been for them, he would have died. They gave him some food, a canoe, and a young man, a Huron, whom they detached from their group, and with whose assistance he was able to finish his journey and come to Quebec.

JOURNEY OF THE FATHERS OF OUR JESUITS, AND OF SOME FRENCHMEN, TO THE COUNTRY OF THE UPPER IROQUOIS, CALLED ONONDAGAS.

As these people had asked for us, we sent, in 1655, two Fathers of our Jesuits to their country, to ascertain their dispositions toward the Faith and their inclinations toward the French. After associating with them for about six months, one of the two came down to Quebec. Although he spoke favorably of the good will of those Iroquois, still he did not remove from our minds the distrust of their deceit and treachery that we had, with reason, conceived. And so, when it became necessary to cast the bell, as the saying is, and to decide upon the establishment of a Mission and a residence in their country, we found ourselves extremely perplexed, as also did our Governor, upon whom the matter devolved at the start. We fully examined the reasons both for and against; and found strong and forcible arguments on both sides. We were aware that falsehood, deceit, and treachery were almost as natural to those people as life itself. We knew how much they were addicted and accustomed to bloodshed, fire, and carnage. We remembered the destruction of our poor Huron Churches, and the cruelties which they had practiced on our worthy Algonquins. We had before our eyes the horrible tortures which they had inflicted upon several of our Fathers, whom they had burned at a slow fire, applying hatchets heated red-hot to the most sensitive parts of their bodies, pouring upon their wounds kettlefuls of boiling water in derision of Baptism, and cutting off great strips of their roasted flesh, which they ate in their presence.

A captive Huron, who had escaped from the village of Onondaga, made his appearance while we were in the midst of our deliberations. He assured us that he had studied the minds of those people and had penetrated their thoughts, and that their sole plan was to attract to their country as many French and Hurons as possible, and then to kill them in a general massacre. He advanced such strong arguments in support of his opinion that his Huron countrymen, who had promised the Onondagas to go to their country and to accompany us there, retracted their word. They told us that fervor for the Faith would cause our death, and implored us not to cast ourselves into so manifest a danger.

In addition to this cause of fear, the Mohawk Iroquois, with whom we had recently concluded a treaty of Peace, showed a jealousy almost verging on fury, because we wished to dwell with those people; for it was to the benefit of their trade that the Onondagas should always be compelled to pass through the Mohawk country. Besides, as those Nations have no need of the French, and are under no restraint, either as regards God, whom they do not know, or human Authority, -- which Has control over them only so far as it serves their own interest, -- we saw that they might put us to death with impunity in a fit of passion.

All this, added to the dangers and difficulties of the road, and to the excessive and frightful expenses that would have to be incurred to commence and maintain this undertaking, caused us extreme anxiety. However, we paid no attention; we decided to grant to those people what they so urgently asked, and to establish ourselves in the heart of their country, whatever might happen. Here are the reasons that persuaded us to do so:

One was grounded upon the authority and the opinion of our Governor, who saw that it was necessary to perish so not to perish; and to expose oneself to dangers of all kinds, to avoid all dangers. We had been warned that, if we rebuffed those Barbarians by refusing what they so urgently demanded, they intended to unite at once with the Mohawks, to fall upon the French, to wage endless war against them, and to exterminate them entirely. We were not at that time in a position to withstand the revolt of all those tribes, without running a greater danger than that of exposing a handful of French, whose resolution might exercise some restraint over those peoples in their own country.

The other reason arose from a consideration more divine than human. The Fathers of our Jesuits -- who so far have never paled at the sight of their own blood, or feared the fires and the fury of the Iroquois in their most horrible tortures -- said that they would surely, before their death, baptize a number of dying persons equal to their own; in such case, they said, by giving their bodies for Souls, they would lose nothing by the exchange.

Finally, the conclusion was reached that it was necessary to take the field and to give the Onondagas the satisfaction which they demanded. No sooner said than done. A good number of French prepared to embark, with Father Rene Menard, Father Claude Dablon, Father Jacques Fremin, Brother Ambroise Broar, and Brother Joseph Boursier, -- whom Reverend Father Francois le Mercier, Superior of the Missions of our Jesuits in these countries, took with him to wage war against the Demons in their Stronghold, and to consecrate those peoples and all of their country to Jesus Christ. But let us follow him who has tracked their journey for us on paper, and who was one of the group.

WE started from Quebec on the 17th of May, 1656. Our Main body comprised four Nations, -- some French; some Onondagas, who had come for us; some Senecas, who had come to contract an alliance with us; and some Hurons. We filled two large sailboats and several canoes. As we left port, we were followed by the acclamations of a multitude, from various peoples, who stood on the bank. Many of them looked upon us with compassion, considering us as so many victims destined to the fires and the fury of the Iroquois.

Such a misfortune nearly happened to us on the day following our departure. Our sailboats had anchored at night, about 30 miles above Quebec, near a place called the Point of Saint Croix. We all decided to land there on the following morning, for the purpose of celebrating Mass. Our Sailors forgot this resolution; they raised anchor before daylight and therefore obliged us to continue our journey. The danger was great; for, at the same spot, three hundred Mohawk Iroquois lay hidden, who could have captured us without a fight and without resistance, because our People would have landed unarmed, believing that those Treacherous foes had returned to their own country, as they had promised to our French at Lake Saint Pierre, above Three Rivers.

We escaped that danger without knowing it. The Indians did not show themselves, although they saw us; but they attacked our canoes that were separated from us. They overturned one into the River; they slightly wounded one of our Brothers with two gunshots; they tied and bound the Hurons; they ill-treated the Onondagas, both by word and deed, for they could not allow our alliance with them. But, in the end, fear of becoming involved in a war with that people cooled their anger, and compelled them to rely on apologies; they alleged that they thought at first that the canoes were filled only with Hurons, with whom they are not at peace.

Afterward, they set everyone at liberty, including the Hurons. Those who had escaped at the beginning of the fray, ran naked through the woods, overtook our sailboats, and informed us of what was happening. Everyone immediately rushed to arms. We observed twelve canoes, rapidly paddling toward us, and thought that they were the Advance-guard of the enemy; but, as we were preparing to receive them, we saw that they were our own People who had separated from our sailboats.

We reached Three Rivers on the 20th of May, and left there on the 29th. On the 31st, we arrived at the settlement of Montreal, from where a canoe was dispatched on the first day of June, to give notice of our coming to the Village of Onondaga.

On the eighth of June, we embarked in twenty canoes; the sailboats could no longer be of use beyond Montreal, on account of the rapids and Falls which are encountered on leaving that settlement. We had not proceeded 5 miles when a band of Mohawk Iroquois saw us from afar. Mistaking us for Algonquins and Hurons, they were seized with fear, and fled into the woods; but when they recognized us, on seeing our flag -- which bore the Name of Jesus in large letters, painted on fine white taffeta -- flying in the air, they approached us. Our Onondaga Indians received them with a thousand insults, reproaching them with their treachery and banditry; then they fell upon their canoes, stole their arms, and took the best of all their equipment. They said that they did this by way of reprisal; for they had been pillaged a few days before by the same tribe.

We killed a number of Elk, and of the Deer which our French call "wild Cows." On the thirteenth of June and the three following days, we found ourselves in currents of water so rapid and strong that we were at times compelled to get into the water, to drag behind us, or carry on our shoulders, our boats and all our baggage. We were wet through and through; for, while one half of our bodies was in the water, the sky saturated the other with a heavy rain. We exerted all our strength against the wind and the torrents, with even more joy of heart than fatigue of body.

On the seventeenth of the same month, we found ourselves at one end of a Lake which some confuse with Lake Ontario. We gave it the name of Lake Saint Francis, to distinguish it from the one that precedes it. It is fully 25 miles long and 7 or 10 miles wide in some places, and contains many beautiful islands at its mouths. The great Saint Lawrence River, widening and spreading its waters at various points, forms those beautiful Lakes, and then, narrowing its course, it once more assumes the name of River.

On the twentieth of June, we passed the grand Sault. Five fawns killed by our hunters, and a hundred Catfish taken by our fishermen, made our troubles easier to bear. Our larder was as well stocked with meat and fish at that time as it was deficient in everything at the end of our journey.

On the twenty-fifth, we baptized a child, which the wife of one of our Onondaga guides delivered on the way; this did not prevent her from proceeding with the rest through a downpour of rain, which accompanied us all day and all of the following night.

Toward evening, some hunters perceived us, and, on seeing so many canoes in our company, they fled, leaving behind them some booty for our People, who seized their weapons, their beaver-skins, and all their baggage. But, capturing one of those hunters, we found that he belonged to the tribe of the Susquehannocks, with whom we are not at war. Our French, therefore, gave back to them what they had plundered; this, however, did not persuade our Indians to display the same civility.

On the 26th, at about nine o'clock in the evening, we heard a human voice, loud but wailing. We suspected that it must proceed from some escaped captive. Sir du Puis, a brave Gentleman who commanded our French soldiers, ordered the drum to be beaten, to show him that we were French. The poor man, who had not dared to approach us, ran toward us as fast as he could, on hearing the noise. He was a Huron, named Joachim Ondakont, of whom we have spoken earlier. He was nothing but skin and bones. He had escaped, half-burned, from the country of the Mohawks, and had walked for seventeen days amid the woods and rocks, with no other food than some small wild fruits. Our people made him drink a certain beverage to prepare his stomach, so he could eat without danger after starving so long. We gave him a canoe and some provisions, to enable him to go down to the French settlements.

On the 27th of June, we passed the last rapid, which is half-way between Montreal and Onondaga, that is, at a distance of 100 or 125 miles from both places.

Entering Lake Ontario, one of our canoes was broken, an accident which happened several times during our voyage. We landed, and our Ship Carpenters found everywhere material with which to build a vessel in less than a day, that is, our Indians had no difficulty in procuring what was needed to make the gondolas which carried our baggage and ourselves. The Architects of this country build their Houses, Palaces, and Ships much more rapidly than those of Europe; and if one be not lodged there so sumptuously, still one often dwells there in greater comfort and gladness.

On the 29th, after traveling night and day because our stock of provisions was getting low, we met three canoes of Mohawks returning from man-hunting, who brought back with them the scalps of four Indians of the Amikwa Nation, and a woman and two children as captives.

On the first of July, we saw and chased a canoe; when we overtook it we found that it belonged to the village of Onondaga. We were told that we were expected there, and that Father Joseph Chaumonot, who had remained there alone, was in good health.

On the third day, we began to be oppressed by hunger, and attempted to reach a place called Oswego, -- an area renowned for the large quantities of fish that are taken there every year. We hoped to meet a good number of fishermen there, and to obtain some relief from them. Sir du Puis, before arriving there, ordered two small pieces of cannon to be mounted in the canoes and discharged, to give notice that we were not far off; but the fishing season was over there, and we found no one there. This compelled our Guides to send a man in advance, traveling night and day, to carry the news of our arrival to Onondaga, and to have provisions sent to meet us. As this Courier could not return soon, because he had still a distance of 75 miles to go, we sent some French to a nearer place; but the fish had gone, and so had the fishermen, and neither the nets that we cast into the water, nor all our industry, could help us. Meanwhile, hunger held us by the throat; and to crown our affliction, our Father Superior had fallen ill some time before. We had no other bed to give him than the earth, and no other shelter than the sky. In all our inns, we found neither bread, nor wine, nor meat, nor fish. God gave us a small wild fruit, called here Atoka. The young people went to gather it in the neighboring meadows, and, although it is neither palatable nor substantial, hunger made us find it excellent. It is almost of the color and size of a small cherry.

Our Indians, although accustomed to remain for two or three days without food, were not content with such slender and light meals, and their number decreased daily. And so, out of the forty with whom we had started, there remained only five, who assured us that they would never abandon us. The Senecas left us here. We gave them two presents of a thousand wampum beads; one, to prepare the way to their country for us; the other, to enable them to forget the trouble and fatigue that they had undergone in coming to seek the alliance of the French, and to persuade them to receive us well when we should go to see them. We privately gave two coats and some other small presents to the chief men, to gain their good will.

On the fifth and sixth of July, we caught some fish; but they were so few that we could give only a rather small pike as a meal for sixty men.

On the seventh, about it ten o'clock at night, we reached the mouth of the River which forms Lake Onondaga, on the shores of which we intended to establish our residence. When we awoke on the following day, we encountered currents of water so rapid that we had to exert all our strength and paddle vigorously to ascend. I must admit that the faces of most of us, already wan and emaciated, appeared dejected to an extraordinary degree. At night, all our company lay down, having taken nothing but a drop of brandy; and in the morning, we had to start out and contend all day long against breakers, which made us recede almost as far as we advanced. In fact, we made only 2 miles that day; for some of our people fell ill, and the others lost courage, owing to their weakness.

In this state of complete dejection, we observed a canoe, loaded with provisions, coming toward us, which seemed to be propelled by wings instead of paddles. The sight cured nearly all our sick; our strength returned to us through our eyes; and our fatigue did not wait to disappear until we should have rested. The sight alone restored us to joy and health. We landed; and he who was the Master of the convoy, after a short greeting, presented us, on behalf of the Elders and of Father Chaumonot, with some sacks of Indian corn and some large Salmon that had just been cooked. This small canoe was followed by two larger ones, as well filled as the first. On every side, Kettles are hanging over the fire, and there is nothing but rejoicing.

That night one of our men caught twenty large Salmon, and some Catfish. And, on the tenth of the same month of July, while passing a rapid 12 miles in length, -- the longest that we had met, -- our people killed on the way thirty-four other Salmon with spears and paddles; there were so many of them that they were struck without difficulty. In the evening, we found, on the spot where we intended to pass the night, one of the leading Captains of Onondaga. He received us with a fine speech, in which he stated that the joy felt by the whole country at our arrival was not slight; that all the four tribes joined in it, and that all the Elders were impatiently waiting for us. On the eleventh of July, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, we reached the entrance to Lake Onondaga, on the shores of which we intended to establish our residence.

Here the Elders, who knew that this was the spot upon which Fathers Chaumonot and Dablon had decided, awaited our arrival with a great multitude of people.

In size, the Lake is about 5 miles in length, and a mile in width. We have observed three remarkable facts in connection with it.

The first is that, South of it, there are springs of salt water, although the Lake itself is far from the Sea, -- just as in Lorraine, where there are similar springs. But I do not think that salt can be obtained there with as much facility as here; for it is found ready-made on the soil in the vicinity of those springs, and when the water is boiled, it is easily turned into salt.

The second is that, in the Spring, so great numbers of Pigeons collect around these salt-springs that sometimes as many as seven hundred are caught in one morning.

The third remarkable fact is that, at the same place, there are found certain snakes, which are seen nowhere else. We call them rattlesnakes, because, as they crawl along, they make a noise like that of a rattle, --- or, rather, of a cicada. At the ends of their tails, they have round scales, so joined one with another that, by opening and closing them, they make that noise, which is heard at a distance of 50 feet. These rattles or scales also make a noise when they are shaken after the death of the snake; but it is not so loud as what the snake makes when alive. The natives of the country say that its scales are an excellent remedy for toothache, and that its flesh, which they find as well flavored as that of the eel, cures fever. They cut off the tail and the head, which is quite flat and almost square, and eat the remainder.

The body is about three feet long, thicker than a man's wrist, and all speckled on the back with black and yellow spots, -- except on the tail, which is almost entirely black. It has four teeth, two above and two below, as long as our small needles, but much sharper. It bites like a dog, and injects its poison into the wound through a small black sting, which it draws out of a bag containing the poison. When a person is bitten, he at once swells up, and, unless he receives prompt assistance, he dies in a short time, entirely covered with red pustules.

When these Snakes see a man, they hiss and shake their tails, sounding their rattles, either to frighten the enemy, or to excite themselves for the fight, -- or, rather, because God has given them that instinct so men may be on their guard at the approach of so dangerous an animal. I do not know whether these Snakes are attracted by the salt; but I do know that the spot on which we have built our dwelling, and which is surrounded by fine springs of fresh water, is not infested by them, although it is on the shore of the same Lake. But let us continue our journey.

OUR ARRIVAL AT THE PLACE WHERE WE HAD DETERMINED TO ESTABLISH OUR ABODE, AND THE RECEPTION GIVEN US BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY.

I STATED that on the eleventh of July we entered the Lake called Onondaga, on the shores of which we were to build our dwelling. When we had advanced to a distance of a half mile from the spot, we landed five small pieces of cannon, the light thunder of which we made resound along the waters of the lake; this was followed by the discharge of all the muskets in the hands of our people. Such was the first salute that we sent over the water, through the air, and through the woods, to the Elders of the country, who were awaiting us with a great multitude of people. The noise, rolled over the water, burst in the air, and was most agreeably reechoed by the forests. After this, we advanced in fine order, our canoes or small boats proceeding four by four along this little Lake. On landing, our French fired a second discharge or salvo, so skillfully that they delighted all these poor people.

The Elders had caused two scaffolds to be erected, from which to pay us their compliments aloud, and to deliver to us their speeches. These were interrupted by a downpour of rain, which compelled us all to seek shelter.

It is the custom of these peoples to entertain during a portion of the night those who come to visit them, -- either with compliments or with speeches seasoned with the graces of the country, and full of polite sayings after their fashion; or, again, with their customary songs and dances. But, when they saw us so fatigued after so long a journey, they told us that they would withdraw, so their civilities might not disturb our rest, to which they said that they wished to contribute, by singing around our cabins the softest and most agreeable airs, and those most capable of sending us to sleep.

On the following Sunday, which was the sixteenth of the same month, we fulfilled a vow that we had made amid the dangers of our journey; we had promised God to receive Communion all together. All our French received the sacred bread at a Mass that was most solemnly chanted. On that occasion, we displayed all our ornaments, which would be considered poor in France, but which were deemed magnificent here.

On Monday, the seventeenth, we set to work, to build lodgings for ourselves, and a good redoubt for the soldiers, which we built on an eminence commanding the Lake and all surrounding places. There is an abundance of fresh water springs; and the spot seems as beautiful as it is convenient and advantageous. While the workmen were so employed, our Father Superior, whom Our Lord had restored to health, went with fifteen of our best soldiers to the Village of Onondaga, at a distance of 12 short miles from our residence. The people, who had been notified of the coming of the French, came forth in crowds to meet us. At a half mile from the Village, some Elders asked us to halt and take breath, to listen to a polite speech, full of compliments, delivered to us by a Captain, one of the leading men of the country. He then walked before us and led us through a great crowd formed in ranks on both sides. We marched behind him quietly, and in fine order, followed by another Captain, -- who came after us, to prevent the great crowd from pressing too closely on us.

At the entrance to the Village, our soldiers fired a fine salvo, which delighted all the spectators. We were brought to the Cabin of the principal and most renowned Captains of the country, where everything was prepared for our reception in their fashion. Fruit was brought to us from all sides; there was nothing but feasting; and for ten days all the game and fish of the village were used in feeding the French. All the families vied with one another as to which one should have us. Some time afterward, another squad of French in fine attire marched in, with the drum beating. Never were seen so many bright faces; it seemed as if the hearts of the Indians were leaping out of their eyes. If after all that they betray and massacre us, I will accuse them not of duplicity, but of inconstancy, which in a short time can change the affection of those Barbarians into fear, hatred, and treachery.

On the evening of our arrival, the envoys from some nations came to pay us their respects, and to show the esteem in which the Onondagas held Achiendase, -- that is the name of the Father superior. By means of a present, they expressed their wish that his Mat should be the place for holding councils and meetings, -- that is, the Palace where all the affairs of the country should be discussed. The Onondagas also gave us their presents with great civility.

The Mohawks, unable to avoid complying with the common law of the country, did give their presents. But, as they wished to attain their end in spite of every obstacle, and could not bear to see our alliance with those tribes, they delivered a speech full of jests and teasing against the French. To excuse themselves for not having distributed the presents which they had received at Quebec for all the Iroquois nations, they said that the French were stupid enough to give them things which could not be divided, and that therefore they had been obliged to give all those presents to their own nation.

The Father superior replied to their deceits in so emphatic a manner that they soon repented of their false accusations. He told them that memory never failed the French, who had their pens in their hands; and that if their minds forgot anything their paper reminded them of it when necessary. He then told all that had happened at the Council between the French and the Mohawk Iroquois; he enumerated all the collars of wampum beads, all the muskets, all the coats, -- all the presents that had been given by the great Captain of the French; he mentioned the nations, and even the persons of rank, for whom each present had been designed. Then he asked the worthy Mohawk whether such things could not be given separately. He inquired of the envoys from the nations whether at least the remembrance of these presents had been brought to their country, since the Mohawk admitted that he had retained them. The poor man, who thought that we could only stammer in their language, like the Europeans who trade with them, was so surprised when he heard the Father that he afterward sought every means to ingratiate himself with him.

After that meeting, we employed ourselves for some days in visiting and winning over the various nations that were at Onondaga; they were arriving there daily, to be present at the decision of two weighty matters, and at the great council of war which is usually held in that village.

When the envoys from Seneca and Cayuga arrived, we went to greet them. The Seneca envoy, mourning the death of one of their Captains named Ahiarantouan, who had been killed by the Mohawks in the vicinity of Three Rivers, filled the air with their mournful chants. We gave them a present to allay their grief; but, when the time came to reply, the Cayuga spoke, and said that the wound received by the Senecas had changed their joy to tears, and their voices to sighs and mournful songs.

When all the nations had assembled, it was necessary, before the council was held, to console the Village on account of the death of a Captain, which had taken place during the previous night. This consolation was made by means of two presents, one of which served to wipe away the tears of the Onondaga, and to restore his speech, of which death had deprived him; the other was to clean away the blood that might have fallen from the dead body upon the Council Mat. The Onondaga replied with two other presents; one was to promise that the body should be buried, and the other to state that the Council would afterward be opened.

These people had called together all the States of the country, or rather all the allied Nations, to reconcile the Mohawks with the Senecas, who were on the point of going to war on account of the death of the Captain whom we have just mentioned; to negotiate our establishment in the heart of the country; and to invite all those tribes to put something into the war-kettle, that is, to consult together about the means of attacking and defeating their enemies, and of contributing toward the general expenses. Such were the plans of these poor people; but God had other and higher ones. It was his will to be announced and preached in an assembly, a more notable or more numerous one than which can scarcely be held in these countries.

That great council was held on the 24th of July, when all the Nations placed in the hands of Achiendase, (who is our Father Superior) the settlement of the difficulty between the Senecas and the Mohawks, which was soon ended. They then agreed that we should establish ourselves and reside in their country. Finally, each one deposited his presents in the war-kettle. As these people are great orators, and frequently make use of allegories and metaphors, our Fathers adapt themselves to this custom of theirs, to win them to God. They are delighted when they see that we succeed as well as they.

We had so well displayed, arranged, and disposed our presents that they made a wonderful show; but Father Joseph Chaumonot, who speaks Iroquois as well as the natives of the country, seemed to add to their value in interpreting their meaning. These presents consist entirely of wampum collars, beads, muskets, gunpowder and lead, coats, hatchets, kettles, and other similar articles. These are purchased from the Merchants with beaver-skins, which are the money that they demand in payment for their wares. If a Jesuit receives or collects some of these furs, to help to pay the enormous expenses that have to be incurred in Missions so distant, it would be desirable that those persons who ought to incur these expenses for the preservation of the country should not condemn the fervor of those Fathers, and to paint them blacker than their gowns. They should leave slanders of that kind to the low rabble, and whose slanders may be excused through their ignorance. They write to us from France that they can no longer provide means for the heavy expenditure that we incur in these new undertakings.

Before giving an explanation of our presents, all our Fathers and our French knelt down, removed their hats, clasped their hands, and intoned aloud the Veni Creator at full length. This astonished and delighted the spectators, to whom we explained that we never dealt with any matter of importance without first asking the assistance of the Spirit who governs the whole world.

Then Father Joseph Chaumonot arose and explained the meaning of eight or ten presents, given to relieve their grief for the death of several Captains, and to obtain that some worthy Christians of both sexes, who had lately passed from earth to heaven, might live again in the Faith of their children and their friends. In distributing these presents, he included the Algonquins and the Hurons, so they might form but one heart and one people with all those Nations. He proclaimed that, as Onondaga was the Parliament of the whole country, and Garacontie the most esteemed captain in all those regions, Achiendase, as the mouth of Onontio, came to unite with him, to help him in raising up the houses that had been overthrown in bringing the dead back to life, in maintaining what was in good condition, and in defending the country against the disturbers of the peace. While the Father explained all these matters in detail, he was listened to with admiration and with the acclamations of all those peoples, who were delighted to see us so well versed in their ways.

He gave a present to return thanks that they had shared with Onontio the spoils taken from their enemies; for they had sent him two children, whom they had taken and brought here from the Eries. He gave two others; one, in acknowledgment of their reception of us into their country, which was as courteous as the invitation had been urgent; and the other, to persuade them to place in the water the canoe, so it could carry news of us to Quebec.

Finally, the Father assumed a louder tone, and with impassioned words he exclaimed: "It is not for purposes of trade that you see us appear in your country. We aim much higher. Your furs are of too little value in our eyes to persuade us to undertake so long, so difficult, and so dangerous a journey. Keep your beaver-skins, if you choose, for the Dutch; even those which may come into our hands will be used for your own good. We seek not perishable things. For the Faith, we have left our country; for the Faith, we have abandoned our relatives and our friends; for the Faith, we have crossed the Ocean; for the Faith, we have left the great Ships of the French, to embark in your small canoes; for the Faith, we have given up fine houses, to lodge in your bark cabins; for the Faith, we deprive ourselves of our natural nourishment, and the delicate foods that we might have enjoyed in France, to eat your boiled meal and other food, which the animals of our country would hardly touch."

Then, taking up a fine collar of wampum beads, artistically made, he continued: "For the sake of the Faith, I hold this rich present in my hand, and I open my mouth to remind you of the word that you pledged us when you came down to Quebec to conduct us to your country. You solemnly promised to lend ear to the words of the great God. They are in my mouth; listen to them; I am but his spokesman. He informs you by his Messengers that his Son made himself man for love of you; that that Man, the Son of God, is the Prince and the Master of Mankind. His law is easy; it forbids doing injury either to the property, or the life, or the wife, or the reputation of one's neighbor. That is what brings us to your country; that is what opens our mouths; and we are so certain of all those truths that we are prepared to lose our lives in maintaining them. If you reject them in your heart, be you Onondaga, Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga, or Oneida, know that Jesus Christ will one day cast you into Hell."

These and many other words, full of fire and uttered with most Christian vehemence, caused those poor Indians such astonishment that they seemed quite beside themselves; their minds wavered between joy and fear. The approval was so universal that one would have said that all wanted to place the Father in their hearts.

The next day, which was the 25th of July, day had hardly broken when the Envoys of all the Nations came to thank us in the most cordial manner that can be imagined. I do not know whether the Mohawk, who was the first to begin, employed his usual deceit, or whether God had touched his heart. But he faithfully repeated all that the Father had said, respecting the Law of God; he highly praised our plans; he protested that he could not resist our arguments, and that he wished to become a Christian. He gave us presents, as also did the other Nations, who pressed us to go and instruct them in their country.

When, on the 26th, the Mohawks asked us for Letters to take to the Dutch, with whom they trade, we praised their Elders, who seem inclined to peace; but we strongly blamed their young men for having pillaged several houses in the neighborhood of Quebec. We told them that such bad conduct had entailed upon them a war with the tribe called the Mahicans, and with the Susquehannocks; and that the same misfortune might happen to them with regard to the French.

On the 27th of July, we returned to the shores of the Lake, where a considerable portion of our French were engaged in building a residence, which we shall call Saint Marie of Onondaga Lake.

On the 30th, the eve of the feast of saint Ignatius, the chief men of Onondaga came to see us; they gave us some presents, to unite us so closely with them that we might be but one people, and to warn us not to place any confidence in the Mohawk, because that Nation was deceitful and treacherous. They also asked us to fortify ourselves well, and to make our house large enough to receive and shelter them from their enemies in case of necessity. They also informed us that they were about to take up their hatchets to make a canoe, which should bear news of us to Quebec.

August was a time of exercise for us in every way. We had built a Chapel at Onondaga, to which some of our Fathers were attached, while the others went through the Cabins. The French at Saint Marie of Lake Onondaga, worked at all the trades practiced in a city, to provide a lodging for all of us, and to protect us in the midst of those barbarous Nations. All this was done, with trouble. It was necessary to work hard, to sleep little, to lie on the earth sheltered by miserable pieces of bark, to eat as a rule only a little meal of Indian corn, boiled in water, without bread, without wine, with no other sauce than appetite, and to be pestered night and day by little flies or gnats, which attack one on all sides and at all hours.

All that, added to the change of air and the great fatigues of the journey, so affected our constitutions, at the hottest season of the year, that we all fell sick. It was pitiful to see sometimes as many as twenty heaped almost one on top of the other. But at the height of our misery and privations, God sent us so much game and so many fish into our Lake, before the usual season, that the sick were relieved, the convalescent were strengthened, and those who were cured were sustained in doing their work. He so touched the hearts of those people that they brought us some of their corn and their dainties, such as the beans and squashes of the country, which are firmer and better than those of France. They also gave us fresh ears of their corn, which are not disagreeable.

And so, we all escaped with a few attacks of tertian fever, which caused us to experience every possible kindness at the hands of the Indians during our illness. They came to us from all sides; some brought us fish, others reproached us that we did not send often enough to their fishing-place to take some according to our needs. One of the chief men of Onondaga came to reside near us for a short time. He gave presents to our Father Superior for the good treatment that his son had received at Quebec. He wished to contract a brotherly friendship with him, and to bind it closely, he presented him with a collar of wampum beads. A Seneca, who was considered a great hunter, came and offered him a covering to preserve the warmth of the friendship that he had just contracted with him.

News has come to us here that the Dutch wish to bring us some horses and other commodities, as they are glad that we dwell in these countries.

A former Captain of Cayuga, an intelligent man engaged in public affairs, came to see us on behalf of all of his Nation. He requested Achiendase to give them some of our Fathers, assuring him that they would build a Chapel for them, and that the people desired to be instructed in our belief. He was given Father Rene Menard and two Frenchmen, despite our great scarcity of workmen. Father Joseph Chaumonot is to accompany him as far as Cayuga; from there he will go to Seneca, to lay from afar the foundations of a fine Mission, and to sow the seeds of a great harvest, which we hope to gather to preserve peace for us and to send us workmen.

A PORTION OF THE HURONS GO TO DWELL AT THE MOHAWK NATION.

AFTER the defeat of the Hurons on the Island of Orleans, those who remained sued the Mohawk Iroquois for peace. It was granted to them last Autumn, on condition that, in the following Spring, they should all go up to Mohawk, (that is the name of the country of the lower Iroquois), so in future they might inhabit but one land, and be but one people with them. The Agreement was concluded, and, to ratify it, three Hurons bore it to the elders of the Iroquois country. They signed it in their fashion with fine presents, which they gave to all the Hurons through their Ambassadors; they promised to come and get them in their little gondolas, and sent word to warn them to be prepared for it without any further excuse, or postponement. When the time specified had elapsed, a band of a hundred young and resolute warriors started from their country to carry out that plan. The main body halted three or four days' journey above Quebec, and thirty were detached to present themselves before the Hurons and summon them to keep their word.

On the day following his arrival, the Captain of this band asked for an audience, at which he explained to the assembly of French and Hurons the object of his Embassy, and stated that he had come for the Hurons. He addressed them in these terms: "My brother, it is to you that my words are addressed. Four years ago, you did ask me to take you by the arm, to raise you and bring you to my country; you did sometimes withdraw it when I wished to comply with your request; that is why I struck you on the head with my hatchet. Withdraw it no more; for I tell you to get up. It is time for you to come. Here, take this collar to assist you to rise" (this was a present of wampum beads that he gave him). "Fear not; I no longer look upon you as an enemy, but as my relative; you will be cherished in my country, which shall also be yours. And, so you do not doubt it, take this other collar of wampum beads as a pledge of my word."

Then, turning his eyes and speaking to the Governor, with presents in his hand, he said: "Onontio, open your arms and allow your children to leave your bosom; if you will hold them so closely any longer, it is to be feared that you may be wounded when we wish to strike them when they deserve it. Receive these wampum beads to open your arms. I know that the Huron loves prayer. I wish to do as he does. Permit Father Ondesonk to come with us and instruct us in the Faith. And, since we have not enough Canoes to carry so many people, lend us your sailboats. Here is something with which to attract the black gown, and to put the canoes in the water." These were fine collars which he presented to the Governor.

When the council was over, each withdrew to his own quarters to think over the answer that he should give. The Huron, doubtless, would have liked to retract his word; but it was no longer possible to do so, the fault had been his, and he had to bear the consequences. It was no longer time to delay; he must go, or die by the hand of the Iroquois. The whole night was passed in consultation. Opinions were divided; the Nation of the Cord, one of the three who composed the Huron Colony, refused to leave Quebec and the French; the Nation of the Rock turned its thoughts toward Onondaga; and the Nation of the Bear decided to place itself in the hands of the Mohawk. When this decision had been reached, and when the Captain of that Nation, called le Plat ["the Dish"], had informed his people of it in the morning, the Council once more assembled, and Father le Moyne opened it in the name of the Governor, somewhat in the following terms: "Onontio loves the Hurons. They are no longer children in swaddling-clothes, but are old enough to be out of guardianship. They can go where they wish, without being hindered in any way by Onontio. He opens his arms to let them go. I am quite ready to follow my flock, when he who governs me permits me to do so. I shall teach you also, my Mohawk brother, how to obey God and how to pray to him; but, knowing what your nature is, I know also that you will not care for prayer. As for our sailboats, we cannot lend you any; you see that there is not one in our ports; they are all needed for the trade, and for proceeding to meet a new Governor whom we expect." This speech was received by the Iroquois with joyful acclamations and a thousand thanks.

When the Captain of the Nation of the Bear found that he was called upon to speak and to state the decision that he had made during the night with his Nation, he began his short speech in a loud tone and a powerful voice. "My brother," he said to the Mohawk, "it is decided; I am at your service. I cast myself, with my eyes shut, into your Canoe, without knowing what I am doing. But, whatever may happen, I am resolved to die. Even if you should break my head as soon as we are out of range of the cannon here, it matters not; I am quite resolved. I do not wish my cousins of the two other Nations to embark this time with me, so they may first see how you will behave toward me."

Another Captain, a great friend of the one who had just spoken, immediately cast before them three presents, to ask the Iroquois to treat his friend well on the road. "Take care," he said to him, "that my brother Atsena, who gives himself to you, does not fall into the Mud in disembarking; here is a collar to make the earth firm where he will set foot on it. When he disembarks, do not allow him to sit on the bare ground; here is something with which to make a Mat for him on which he may rest. And, so you do not laugh at the women and children when they weep at seeing themselves in a strange country, here is a handkerchief that I give you to wipe away their tears, and the sweat from their brows."

A third Captain, who was unwilling to embark, and who did not offer himself to the Iroquois, did not conceal his thought from him. "I see the whole River," he said, "bristling with long and great teeth; I would put myself in danger of being bitten were I to embark at present. It will be for another time."

When the Iroquois saw himself frustrated in his hope of obtaining sailboats, he decided to make Canoes; and he pressed the work so well that, in less than five or six days, he had enough to embark all those who had given themselves up to him.

While they worked at the Canoes in the daytime, the nights were passed in holding farewell feasts. The most splendid was the feast given by the Captain of the Bear Nation, to take leave of the Governor, of the Black Gowns, and of the Indians. On that occasion, the Captain gave proof of his wit and eloquence, and showed still more the affection that he had for the French. "Take courage, Onontio," he said; "take courage, Ondesonk. I leave you, but my heart does not leave you. I am going away, but I leave you my cousins, who are better than I am. And, to show you that Quebec is ever my country, I leave you the large kettle, which we use in our greatest rejoicings."

ANOTHER PORTION OF THE HURONS GO TO DWELL AT ONONDAGA.

THE Upper Iroquois, whom we call Onondagas, wished to have, as well as the lower Iroquois, a share in the remnant of the Hurons of Quebec. To carry out their ends, both took the same way, and made use of the same devices, employing force where address failed them. For three years the Onondaga had urged the Huron to side with him, and to retire to his country, to form but one people with him. In 1655, he came down to Quebec for that purpose, and gave the Huron, in the presence of the French and the Indians, fine presents, which were heartily accepted. The Huron promised to go and take up his residence forever in the village of Onondaga, provided he could also bring the Black Gowns there. The Fathers did go there. But the Huron, yielding to the presents and threats of the Mohawk, gave himself up to him, breaking the promise which he had given to the Onondaga. This stroke of cunning and of barbarian policy on the part of the Mohawk, who had therefore outbid his neighbor, and the imprudence of the Huron in giving himself to two Masters, aroused jealousy in the mind of the Onondaga, and made him resolve to prevent what he thought he already possessed from being snatched from him; at the same time, it inspired him with a desire for revenge upon the Huron, by whom he thought that he had been deceived. With this plan, one hundred warriors set out from Onondaga, resolved to remove the Hurons from Quebec, either with their consent or by force.

They made their appearance on our frontiers at the beginning of Spring. They prowled about in every direction to strike some evil blow; but as all were on their guard, they could not accomplish their plan. After enduring toil and fatigue for ten days, some of the band, pressed by hunger, entered the fort at Sillery, and asked to speak to Ondesonk -- that is, to Father le Moyne -- and to the Hurons, to hold a council with them on a matter of importance. The Father explained to them that the Hurons were at Quebec, that that was the place of Council, and that they must go there if they wished to transact any business; that he would take them there in safety, promising them that they would be favorably received.

They went there with that safe-conduct, without delaying until the following day. The Council met, at which they first excused themselves for having come for the Hurons, their brothers, with arms in their hands; the news which they had heard last Winter, that the Huron had retracted his word and had changed his mind, had compelled them to take these measures. But, having since learned from the mouth of Ondesonk that this rumor was false, they were quite prepared to lay down their arms and to behave as brothers toward the Hurons.

Ondesonk replied to the Onondaga in the name of Onontio, and said to him: "you are to be praised, my brother, for appearing here unarmed and with a mind inclined toward peace; but you should have started from your country with the same equipment and in the same disposition. You have too readily believed the false reports made to you against the Huron; that hasty belief has led you to take up arms too soon. You should first have sought information from the French who are with you, and who, by means of the Letters that they receive, would have shown you the falseness of the rumor that has spread in your land. When I see you stealthily pass by our settlements, with a hatchet in your hand, without any Letter from our French, what else can I think but that, after ill-treating us in the upper country, you come to ill-treat us also down here? have you forgotten the fine present that I made you in your own country three years ago, which said to you that the Huron, the Algonquin, and the Frenchman were no longer more than one head, and that whoever struck one, wounded the other?"

When the Father had finished these reproaches, he gave him a fine collar of wampum beads, to make him receive them more peacefully, and to strengthen the promise which he had given to think no longer of war.

In fact, the Onondaga took in good part the friendly words which had been said to him; and relying upon the assurance which he had received, that the Huron had not changed his mind, he said but two words to him with two presents. These he gave at the meeting on the following day. "My brother," he said to him, "since you have decided to come with me, I need not invite you any more. I tie this cord to your Canoe, to help you to haul it. I know that Onontio will not detain you; here is a collar to make him open his arms and let you go."

To this, the Huron had nothing but thanks to return. "You console me, because you have pity on me, on our women, and on our children. Be not offended, however, if I do not embark today in your Canoe. It is a war-Canoe, and it frightens me; the knife that you have left in it might wound my children, and our women would tremble at the sight of the hatchet that you have not yet removed. As you have come, and are about to return, with arms in hand, it would be said that you are bringing prisoners, and not your friends and brothers. But, as soon as some Canoe belonging to the French who are in your country comes down here, I am at your service, and you may take me wherever you will."

At this stage of the proceedings, an incident occurred which nearly ruptured the treaty. A young Onondaga struck a Huron with his hatchet and killed him; the news of this murder alarmed the Hurons, and they detained in a cabin, as prisoners, two Onondagas who had gone there to pay a visit. On the other hand, the Onondaga did his best to prevent any bad feeling on this account; he disapproved of the murderer's deed, condemned him as insane, and made satisfaction. But, finally, seeing that the Huron, who would yield only to force, was seeking a quarrel with him, the Onondaga seized two Canoes full of Huron people, who were on their return from hunting, and took them into his fort, where he detained the Hurons as prisoners.

Matters would have become serious, had not Father le Moyne intervened and checked their course by his care and diligence. He managed so well in his interviews with both parties that he restored everything to its former condition; he caused the prisoners to be surrendered on both sides and calmed the minds of all.

Then the Onondaga repeated his demand. He urged the Huron to embark with him, while the Huron persisted in excusing himself, on the ground that it was not becoming for him to embark in a war-Canoe, and that he must wait for a peace-Canoe. "From that moment, I am at your disposal," he said to him. "Here is a token of my word and my affection, in the presents that I give you. And, if this be not sufficient to prove that I have given myself to you, three of my people shall keep you company and bear to the elders the assurance of my good will. We shall go to Montreal to await you. When you have reached your own country, send your young men for us."

The Onondaga was satisfied with his promise; he embarked in his little gondola and paddled away, while the Hurons of the Tribe of the Rock, the one which had given itself to the Onondaga, prepared themselves for their journey to Montreal, and said goodbye to Onontio, to the Fathers, and to the Indians who still remained at Quebec. Then, on the 6th of June, they embarked in three French sailboats, which, favored with a light wind from the Northeast, landed them in a few days at Montreal. There they awaited those who were to take them away.

THE JOURNEY OF FATHER SIMON LE MOYNE TO THE MOHAWKS.

THE Mission of the lower Iroquois, which we call that of the Martyrs, is only a traveling mission; we hope some day to see it stationary, like the other Missions. Father Simon le Moyne began it in 1655, when he made his first journey there; he recommenced it in 1656, and is preparing for it again this year. His Superiors might have said to him each year, when they sent him there, that they were sending him like a Lamb among Wolves; for a Jesuit, a Preacher, a Missionary among the Iroquois is a Lamb among ravenous Wolves.

We go to their country once every year, to prepare the way for the Gospel. We go there in the interest of the public welfare, and for the preservation of the peace, which is so frail a matter among these peoples that the mere omission to pay a visit that they expect from their allies is sufficient to break it. We go there to make that peace general among all the Nations. Finally, we go there to prevent the jealousy which might arise between the upper and the lower Iroquois, if, while residing with the upper, we failed to visit the lower.

When Father Simon le Moyne made his first journey to Mohawk, in 1655, he promised to make another in the following year, if the opportunity presented itself. He had pledged his word, and it must be kept; for a man who is found to be a liar loses his credit and his authority among those peoples, as he does among the most honest in Europe.

But, just as the Father was about to start, an incident happened which made it doubtful whether the journey could be undertaken. A band of Iroquois, who had come down to Quebec, attacked the Hurons. Another band prepared an ambush for the upper Algonquins when they were returning from Quebec to their own country, fired a volley at them, routed them, and killed with a gunshot one of the two Fathers who accompanied them.

This misfortune placed us in a disagreeable perplexity; by not making the journey, we would irritate the arrogant minds of the Iroquois, who would suspect that the Frenchman intended to avenge the death of his brother, and would try to anticipate him; on the other hand, to go there seemed to be seeking almost certain death.

We preferred to undergo the danger rather than break our word; the Father undertook the journey, and arrived in the country with presents in his hand, for one never speaks otherwise on matters of importance among these peoples. He assembled the Council, and spoke to the elders as follows:

"My brother, I do not know where you have placed your mind; it seems that you have lost it completely. I come to see you with presents in my hand, and you always visit me in anger, and with a face full of fury. Quite recently, you have killed the Huron at Quebec, and you have just broken with gunshots the head of my brother, the Black Gown. You did promise that you would come for me, and you have not kept your word. You shame me everywhere, and I am reproached that I love a man who causes our death. Of what think you? Here is something to recall your mind which has wandered away. You say that Onontio detains the Huron at Quebec, that he prevents him from coming to you to form one country. You complain that the Huron will not speak to you when you go to Quebec to negotiate with him. I come here to undeceive you. Onontio has already opened his arms to let his children go where they wish; they are free; he detains them not by force. If the Huron will not speak to you, it is through your own fault. How can he speak to you, when he sees you always with a club in your hand to break his head? Lay aside your hatchet, and you will see that his ears are open to listen to you, and his heart to follow you; and so you may not doubt it, here is a collar which he presents to you through my hands."

One of the Iroquois elders addressed the Father and said to him: "Be not angry, Ondesonk; I am your brother. Our young men have no sense; they strike blindly and recklessly. Take this plaster which I give you" (this was a collar of wampum beads); "place it on your heart, and, as your anger will pass away, you will be cured. Assure the Huron of my good will; tell him that I have already spread out his Mat to receive him in my Cabin, and that I send him this collar to draw his Canoe here." After this speech, the young men, who had intended to go down to Quebec to make a last effort to carry off the Hurons, abandoned their warlike plans, and decided to go hunting.

Meanwhile Ondesonk, like a good Shepherd, visited his flock which longed for him. He consoled the afflicted; he taught the ignorant; he heard the Confessions of those who came to him; he baptized the children; he made all pray; he urged all to persevere in the Faith and in avoiding sin. When any Iroquois presented himself, the Father did not allow him to depart without giving him a word of instruction on Hell and Paradise, or the power of a God who sees and knows all, who punishes the wicked and rewards the good.

One day an Iroquois, while conversing with the Father, told him about the conduct of a Christian Huron in the tortures that he had been made to suffer, a short time before, in the village. He was a Christian of long standing. That Iroquois, who had helped to burn him, said to Ondesonk: "We have never seen anyone who loves the prayer like that man. He prayed to God continually on the scaffold, and urged his fellow-captives to think often of Heaven and of God. In fact," added the Iroquois, "there was something more than human in that man. We tortured him, to force a cry out of his lips; but, on the contrary, he never ceased to sigh gently, and always kept his eyes fixed on Heaven, as if he were speaking to someone."

THE RESIDENCE OF SAINT JOSEPH AT THE COVE OF SILLERY.

On the 13th of June of this year, 1657, fire burst out in a pile of wood, without our being able to find out how it originated; we saw in a short time, at the residence of saint Joseph, our house and that of a good Christian Indian all in flames; and the fire drove them so violently and so rapidly toward the Church that it was impossible to save it. The High Altar, enriched with gold and that beautiful coral red which so agreeably attracted the gaze of those good Neophytes, and inspired them with tender affection for their Aiamihimikiouap, -- that is, their house of prayer, -- was reduced to ashes in an instant. One and all urge us to raise those ruins; but our arms are not strong enough, without greater help than they can give us, to retrieve so serious a loss by ourselves.

One of our old Christians displayed the courage of an Amazon in an attack made by a Frenchman upon her chastity, from which she came Forth victorious. Drawing from her bosom a Crucifix that she wore hung on her neck, "Do you see this Crucifix?" (she said to the Father) "on a former occasion it saved my body from the fire of the Iroquois; and last night it saved my soul from the flames of hell. I was pursued, a year ago, by the Iroquois, who wished to rob me of my honor and of my life. To save myself more easily and to escape from their fury, I threw away my baggage and most of my clothes, and fled almost naked into the woods. I took my Crucifix in my hand, -- for there was no one to whom I could rely on except him whom it represented. After a prayer, I felt such bodily strength that I could run swiftly, and soon found myself out of danger from the enemy. My Father," she said, "here is another marvel of which you do not know, and which embarrasses me to tell you, for it is strange. Last night, this same Crucifix saved my soul, which a Frenchman attempted to ruin by seeking to ravish my honor through his own unchastity. He took me by the hand, and, drawing me to one side, he made me enter a house; then, suddenly and violently, threw me upon a bed. I at once began to cry out; repulsing him, I drew out my Crucifix from my bosom and said to him in the heat of my anger: 'Wretch! what do you seek to do? do you wish to crucify once more him who has given his blood and his life? If you do not fear to injure my honor, fear to offend him who may damn you.' At those words, he loosened his hold, and, when I found myself delivered from so great a danger, I withdrew, quite bewildered, into my cabin, and decided to ask Justice of the Captain of the French."

THE NATURE AND OF SOME PECULIARITIES OF THE IROQUOIS COUNTRY.

THE country of the five Iroquois Nations, before their conquests, lay between the 40th and 50th degrees of latitude; at present, we do not know the extent of their dominion, which has been increased on all sides by their military valor. Our residence is situated between the 42nd and 43rd degrees on the shores of the little Lake Onondaga, which would be one of the most spacious and most agreeable dwelling-places in the world, without excepting even the levee of the River Loire, if its Inhabitants were as polished and as pliable.

It has advantages that are wanting in the rest of Canada; for, besides grapes, plums, and many other fruits, which it has in common with the fine Provinces of Europe, it has a number of others, which excel ours in beauty, fragrance, and taste. The forests consist almost entirely of chestnut and walnut trees. There are two kinds of nuts; one kind is as sweet and agreeable to the taste as the other is bitter but, with all their bitterness, an excellent oil is extracted from them by passing them through the ashes, through the mill, through fire, and through water, in the same way as the Indians extract oil from sunflowers. Stoneless cherries are found there.

Fruits grow there which are of the color and size of an apricot, whose blossom is like that of the white lily, and which smell and taste like the citron. There are apples as large as a goose's egg; the seed has been brought from the country of the Eries and looks like beans; the fruit is delicate and has a sweet smell; the trunk is of the height and thickness of our dwarf trees; it thrives in swampy spots and in good soil. But the most common and most wonderful plant in those countries is what we call the universal plant, because its leaves, when pounded, heal in a short time wounds of all kinds; these leaves, which are as broad as one's hand, have the shape of a lily; and its roots have the smell of the laurel. The most vivid scarlet, the brightest green, the most natural yellow and orange of Europe pale before the various colors that our Indians procure from roots. I say nothing of trees as tall as oaks, whose leaves are as large and as open as those of cabbages; or of many other plants, peculiar to this country, because we are ignorant of their properties.

The springs, which are as numerous as they are wonderful, are nearly all mineral. Our little Lake, which is only 15 or 17 miles in circumference, is almost entirely surrounded by salt springs. The water is used for salting and seasoning meat, and for making good salt. It often forms of itself in fine crystals with which nature takes pleasure in surrounding these springs. The salt that forms at a spring about two days' journey from our residence, toward Cayuga, is stronger than that from the springs of Lake Onondaga; for, when the water -- which looks as white as milk, and the smell of which is perceptible from a great distance -- is boiled, it leaves a kind of salt almost as corrosive as quicklime. The rocks about that spring are covered with a foam as thick as cream. The spring in the direction of Seneca is no less wonderful; for its water -- being of the same nature as the surrounding soil, which has only to be washed to obtain perfectly pure sulfur -- ignites when shaken violently, and yields sulfur when boiled. As one approaches nearer to the country of the Eries, one finds heavy and thick water, which ignites like brandy, and boils up in bubbles of flame when fire is applied to it. It is so oily that all our Indians use it to anoint and grease their heads and their bodies.

One must not be astonished at the fertility of this country, for it is everywhere watered by Lakes, Rivers, and Springs, which are found even on the highest mountains. The waters are fruitful; the fish most commonly found in them are Eels and Salmon, which are caught there from the Spring to the end of Autumn. Our Indians construct their dams and sluices so well that they catch at the same time the Eels that descend, and the Salmon that always ascend. In the Lakes, they catch fish in a different manner; they spear them with a trident by the light of a bituminous fire, which they maintain in the bows of their canoes.

The temperature of the atmosphere, which resembles that of France, added to those advantages supplied by the waters and the earth, facilitates the conversion of the Indians. We have reason to hope, therefore, that their capricious disposition, of which we are about to speak, will be the only obstacle to their blessedness.

THE CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS OF THE IROQUOIS.

THE Iroquois, of whose Villages we have discovered only fourteen, are divided into the Lower and the Upper Iroquois. The Lower consist only of the Mohawks, who are the most cruel, and with whom we have less communication. Under the name of Upper Iroquois are comprised the Senecas, who are the most numerous; the Onondagas, who are the most influential and our most faithful allies; the Cayugas, who are the most arrogant; and the Oneida, who are the weakest of all.

The character of all these Nations is warlike and cruel; and as they have no neighbors to fight, because they have subjugated all of them, they go to seek new enemies in other countries. Not long ago, they went to carry war far beyond the country of the Eries, to peoples who have no knowledge of Europeans, by whom they are equally unknown. The chief virtue of these poor Pagans being cruelty, just as mildness is that of Christians, they teach it to their children from their cradles, and accustom them to the most atrocious carnage and the most barbarous spectacles.

Their first expeditions are undertaken merely for the purpose of shedding human blood and of distinguishing themselves by murders; and their infantile bands, armed with hatchets and guns which they can hardly carry, spread fear and horror everywhere. They go to war at a distance of 500 or 750 miles from their country, over inaccessible rocks and through vast forests, provided solely with hope, and leaving in their Villages, for whole years at a time, only their women and little children. A few scalps that they bring back, or a few prisoners of war destined to be butchered by them, are the trophies with which they consider their labors happily rewarded.

Still, these victories cause almost as much loss to them as to their enemies, and they have depopulated their own Villages to such an extent that they now contain more Foreigners than natives of the country. Onondaga counts seven different nations who have come to settle in it; and there are as many as eleven in Seneca. And so their ruin, caused by their conquests, gives us the advantage of preaching the Faith to a number of various Nations, whom we could not visit and instruct each in its own country.

Their marriages make only the bed common to the husband and wife; each one lives, during the day, with his own relatives. The wife goes to her husband at night, returning early next morning to the home of her mother or her nearest relative, and the husband does not dare enter his wife's cabin until she has had some children by him. The only community of property between them is that the husband gives all the products of his hunting to his wife, who in return renders him certain services, and must till his fields and harvest the crops.

They make their most serious illnesses ridiculous by the gross superstition with which they seek to cure them. They are convinced that they are afflicted with diseases only because the soul is lacking something for which it craves; and that it is only necessary to give it what it desires, to detain it peacefully in the body.

They all vie with each other as to who shall be the most liberal, giving to the sick person all the presents that he desires and on which he considers that his life depends. A dying man may be seen surrounded by awls, scissors, knives, bells, needles, and a thousand other trifles, from the least of which he expects to obtain health. If at last he happen to die, his death is attributed to the absence of some article that he desired. "He dies," say they, "because his soul wished to eat the flesh of a dog, or of a man; because a certain hatchet that he wished for could not be procured; or because a fine pair of leggings that had been taken from him could not be found." If, on the contrary, the sick man recover his health, he attributes his cure to the gift of the last thing that he wished for during his illness, and afterward he cherishes it forever, preserving it carefully until his death. And so, as they believe that all their illnesses, are due to the same cause, they also recognize but one remedy for effecting their cure.

The Dead are not more exempt from their superstitions than the sick. As soon as anyone dies in a cabin, one hears in it the cries and lamentations uttered by the assembled relatives of all ages and both sexes; and so frightful are they that one would take that mournful uproar, which lasts for months and even for entire years, for the howlings of Hell. Meanwhile, -- after the dead man is buried, and his grave is filled with provisions for the sustenance of his soul, and after a sort of sacrifice has been offered to him by burning a certain quantity of corn, -- the elders, with the friends and relatives of the deceased, are invited to a feast, to which each one brings his presents to console the most distressed. Thus did they proceed in the presence of a Father of our Jesuits, who, at one of those ceremonies, represented the Governor. One of the most notable of the Elders, with grave demeanor, exclaimed in a mournful voice: Ai, ai, ai, agatondichon. "Alas, alas, alas, my beloved relatives! I have neither mind nor words with which to console you. I can do nothing but mingle my tears with yours, and complain of the severity of the illness that treats us so ill. Ai, ai, ai, agatondichon. I am, still, consoled when I see Onontio and the remainder of the French weeping with us. But, take courage, my relatives! Let us not cause sorrow any longer to so honorable a guest; but let us dry the tears of Onontio by wiping away our own. Here is a present that will dry up their source." The present that he gave at the same time was a fine collar of wampum beads, and it was followed by the gifts and condolences of all the others. The liberality of the women was like that of the men on that occasion. The ceremony concluded with a feast, the best morsels of which were reserved for the sick persons of rank in the Village.

As all this could not stop the tears and the cries of one mother, one of the relatives, to testify his devotion by consoling her, disinterred the dead body; and after clothing it with new garments, he threw the grave-clothes into the fire. This he did two or three times on different occasions, until he found nothing but the bare bones, which he wrapped up in a covering to present them to the afflicted woman. Finally, after these ceremonies, the liberality of those who have given presents of consolation is acknowledged by distributing among them the effects of the deceased, to which other things are added if these do not suffice.

There is nothing for which these peoples have a greater horror than restraint. The children cannot endure it, and live as they please in the houses of their parents, without fear of reprimand or of chastisement. Not that they are not punished sometimes by having their lips and their tongues rubbed with a bitter root; but this is seldom done for fear that vexation might lead the children to cause their own death by eating certain noxious plants, which they know to be poisonous. These are most often used by the married women, to avenge themselves for the ill treatment of their husbands by therefore leaving them the reproach of their death.

However, amid so many defects due to their blindness and to their barbarous training, they still possess virtues which might cause shame to most Christians. No Hospitals are needed among them, because there are neither beggars nor paupers as long as there are any rich people among them. Their kindness, humanity, and courtesy not only make them liberal with what they have, but cause them to possess hardly anything except in common. A whole village must be without corn, before any individual can be forced to endure privation. They divide the produce of their fisheries equally with all who come; and the only reproach they address to us is our hesitation to send to them oftener for our supply of provisions.

We have stated how closely their superstitions were connected with their dreams. A woman, who was ill at Onondaga, had dreamed that she required a black gown to effect her cure. But, as the recent cruel massacre of our Fathers by those Indians deprived them of all hope of being able to obtain one from us, they asked assistance of the Dutch, who sold them, at a high price, the wretched cassock of Father Poncet, who had shortly before been robbed of it by the Mohawks. The woman attributed her cure to it, and wished to keep it all her life as a precious relic. It was in her hands that we recognized it.

They have only to dream of a thing, to be persuaded to undertake long journeys to seek it. Last Summer, a woman -- who could not find at Quebec a French dog that she had come there to get, because a nephew of hers had seen it in a dream -- undertook a second journey of more than 1000 miles, over the snow, the ice, and the roughest roads, to seek the animal at the place where it had been taken. If only we paid as much attention to the inspirations of heaven as these Indians do to their dreams!

Not one of us was ill last winter, without their giving him liberally of their game, just as they afterward showed by their presents the joy which they felt at his recovery.

The alliances that we contract with the Indians constitute one of the most excellent means for advancing the faith among them. Those poor Indians feel like fathers, brothers, children, and nephews toward us when we call them by those names. The most advantageous of those alliances is what the Father Superior, called Achiendase, has contracted with Garacontie, who exercises Royal power and authority over the whole Nation of Onondaga, although he does not bear that title. The contract of their union, which was concluded in the presence of the envoys of the five Nations, has since then always caused them to consider the French as a portion of their people, whom they have to defend with all their might.

Consequently, they have since then always rendered us the same services that they render to their most faithful friends. The chief men among them came with mournful cries to console us for the death of two of our French. He who carried the presents of condolence spoke to the Father Superior, saying:

"The Elders of our country have the custom of wiping away one another's tears when they are afflicted by any misfortune. We come, Achiendase, to perform that friendly duty toward you. As to our two nephews who are dead, they must not go naked into the other world; here are fine grave-clothes with which to cover them. Here is something also with which to place them in their graves, to prevent the sight of them from renewing your grief, and to remove all sorts of mournful objects away from your eyes. This present is to level the earth in which I have placed them; and this other one, to build a palisade around their grave, so the flesh-eating animals and birds may not disturb their rest. Finally, this last present is to calm your mind and restore it to its seat, so our peace may continue as firm as before, and that no Demon may impair it."

Such were the words of the speech of that grave Indian. It was accompanied by eight fine presents of collars of wampum beads, which he gave us on behalf of the public. Several individuals displayed the same civility, which we repaid, with interest, at every opportunity that we could find.

As the alliance that we have contracted with Garacontie makes us also the brothers of the Senecas and fathers of the Cayugas, those three Nations came to express their thanks to us for it. The Senecas, however, displayed more gratitude than the others; they presented to us, to secure our presence among them, a dwelling possessing great advantages, both, because it is furnished with an abundance of all kinds of provisions, and because it can maintain easy communication with the residence of Onondaga.

THE DISPOSITIONS OF THE IROQUOIS TOWARD THE FAITH.

THE Insolence, the superstition, and the extreme immorality of these peoples, led us to expect a result of this Mission quite different from what has been attained. The murderers of the preachers now embrace our religion with more fervor than those whom they have exterminated. They repopulate the Church which their cruelty had depopulated; they build in their own country more Chapels than they had destroyed in that of their neighbors.

Two Fathers of our Jesuits -- who do not leave the Onondaga Mission, where the fervor of Christianity is greatest -- find in the Onondagas a gentleness in their conversation which hardly savors in any way of Barbarism. The children there are docile, the women inspired with the tenderest devotion, the elders affable and respectful, the warriors less arrogant than they seem.

The custom observed by these Nations, of giving one another, each year, friendly presents in the Councils -- and public Assemblies, will afford us on those occasions, when giving and receiving public presents, an opportunity for explaining our mysteries, instead of reciting things that are passed and are the most remote from memory, as they do in performing those ceremonies.

In the same manner, we take advantage of the custom followed by the relatives and elders, of meeting during the night after a funeral, to relate stories of olden times. We turn their curiosity to advantage on such occasions; imperceptibly, we cast the seeds of the Faith into their souls, by explaining to them the marvels of our Religion.

Still, our labors are hindered by obstacles. For, not only do the warlike and impetuous nature, the unbounded lust, and the continual raids of the young men, delay the conversion of the country, but the devil repeats there also all the slanders which he formerly employed to give the Hurons a bad opinion of us. We are frequently accused of urging them to strive for Paradise, so to burn them there at our leisure; and there are some who say that they have risen from the dead and have witnessed all that.

A woman has been able to find some people weak enough to be intimidated by dreams of that kind. While attempting to prepare for Baptism and for death, that poor Pagan woman, whose jaw was dislocated, fell into a swoon, and, on recovering consciousness soon after, told news of the other world. She had been taken, she said, to the land where the souls of the French go; but, as she was preparing to enter, she saw a bluish smoke rising from the center of Paradise, which caused her to mistrust what was going on. Then at two different times, she looked more attentively, and saw several of her countrymen being burned by the French amid loud shouting. This persuaded her to escape from the hands of those who were leading her to heaven, and to return to life, to avoid similar treatment, and to warn the public of the danger that lay in believing the French.

We have not so much trouble to clear ourselves of such ridiculous disapprovals, as we have to dissuade the people of the rumors spread by some Huron Apostates, who attribute to the Faith all the wars, diseases, and calamities of the country. They allege their own experience in confirmation of their deceit; they assert that their change of Religion has caused their change of fortune; and that their Baptism was at once followed by every possible misfortune. The Dutch, they say, have preserved the Iroquois by allowing them to live in their own fashion, but the black Gowns have ruined the Hurons by preaching the faith to them. Finally, they mention the case of a Christian trainee, a woman of Onondaga; she fell ill, they say, on our arrival, having been bewitched by the hair of a dog from Quebec, as was discovered by the Sorcerer of the country after attempting for a long while to ascertain the cause of the illness.

This slander made less impression on their minds than the one against the Father who started last Winter from Onondaga to come for us; his journey gave rise to the belief that the great mortality which then prevailed in the country was due to his search for souls, a box full of which he wished to take along with him. Although their traditional belief that Souls issue forth from their bodies from time to time, especially a short while before death, seemed to favor that delusion, this rumor soon disappeared on its own, and had no unpleasant consequences.

The Iroquois have three classes of captives:

The first are those who, having willingly submitted to the yoke of the conquerors and elected to remain among them, have become heads of families after the deaths of their Masters, or have married. Although they lead a tolerably easy life, they are looked upon as slaves, and have no voice, either active or passive, in the public Councils.

The second class are those who have fallen into slavery after having been the richest and the most esteemed in their own villages, and who receive no other reward from their Masters, in exchange for their ceaseless labor and sweat, than food and shelter.

But the fate of the third class is more deplorable; it consists chiefly of young women or girls, who, because they have not yet found a husband among the Iroquois, are constantly exposed to the danger of losing their honors or their lives through the brutish lechery or cruelty of their Masters or Mistresses. Every moment is one of dread for them; their rest is never free from anxiety and danger; the only punishment for even their slightest faults is death; and their most harmless actions may be considered as faults. When a Barbarian has split the head of his slave with a hatchet, they say: "It is a dead dog; there is nothing to be done but to cast it upon the dunghill." Thus a poor Christian captive called Magdelaine, afflicted with a consumptive disease, was cured by her Mistress, who killed her with as much inhumanity as she had previously shown kindness toward her, when she adopted her as her mother. We have but too many examples of this nature.

THE FIRST SEEDS OF THE FAITH SOWN AMONG THE IROQUOIS.

ALTHOUGH the two Fathers who passed the winter at Onondaga, in 1656, had gone there as Ambassadors rather than as Preachers, they disposed the Iroquois to make peace with God by persuading them to make peace with men. They took advantage of the facility with which they could teach the Christian doctrine, hold prayers in a small Chapel, and baptize the children. But they exercised their fervor only with moderation, to obtain afterward opportunities of displaying it more freely, and of opening a wider door to the Gospel, by procuring peace with the French.

Therefore, in the following Summer, after the Fathers were established, they openly declared war against Paganism, not only in Onondaga, but also in all the other Iroquois countries to which they could obtain access. Sixteen or seventeen Nations, differing in country, in customs, and in language, have opened their eyes to the truths that were preached to them. And God, who has, from a distance of 1000 miles around, gathered those captives of various nations, renders the Iroquois language, the only one in which we preach, sufficiently intelligible to them to enable them to be instructed in our mysteries.

THE PREACHING OF THE FAITH TO THE CAYUGA IROQUOIS

IMMEDIATELY after our arrival in the country, we had adopted the Onondagas as brothers, and the Cayugas and Oneidas as children; and to observe the forms of that alliance, we had to go to their land to give them our presents. We shall be obliged to do so every year, to make our kinship more useful to them. This necessity is most agreeable to us, because it gives us the means of preaching the Gospel to them while giving them our presents, as we have commenced to do.

With that object in view, Fathers Chaumonot and Menard started, at about the end of August, 1656, for Cayuga, where they arrived two days later. After remaining there some time, Father Chaumonot went to Seneca, leaving at Cayuga Father Menard, who is working at the foundation of that nascent Church. This is what he writes us about it:

"The aversion to the Faith and to our persons that the Hurons had excited in the minds of the natives of the country, by leading them to believe that we carried disease and misfortune into every region that we entered, caused us to be received with a rather cold welcome, and the presents which we gave for the Faith, to be despised. However, the Elders -- who from motives of worldly interest did not wish to break with us, and who thought that a trial of the Faith would not be dangerous to the lives of their slaves -- caused, four days after our arrival, a Chapel to be built. They themselves worked at it so assiduously that in two days it was finished and in a condition to receive the Christians. After having carpeted it with the finest mats, I hung up in it the Picture of our Lord and that of Our Lady. The novelty of the spectacle so astonished the Indians that they came in crowds to gaze at it, and to observe the faces and the expression of the two pictures. I then had continual opportunities explaining our mysteries to them, as they asked various questions about the Pictures; in fact, I held but one Catechism each day, which lasted from morning until night. This so familiarized their minds that in a few days we had several Neophytes, not only among the Hurons and the slaves, but also among the natives of the country.

"Many brought me their children to be baptized, and assisted me in teaching them their Prayers by repeating them with me. In a short time, grace produced such a wonderful change that the little children, who at the beginning generally made me the butt of their jests and hootings, afterward rendered me the services of good Angels. They introduced me into the cabins; they waited for me at the places where I stopped, and they told me the names of the children whom I baptized, as well as those of their parents. These names the Indians are in the habit of carefully concealing from us, because they think that we write them down to send them to France and there procure their death by magic.

"God's providence supplied me with three good Masters for learning their language. They were three brothers, natives of the country, and of excellent character. The kindness with which they frequently asked me to their homes, and the patience and diligence with which they taught me, soon enabled me to instruct them, and to teach them our mysteries by showing them some Pictures, about which they indicated the greatest possible curiosity.

"The second whom I baptized was a maimed warrior, whose face was covered with a canker horrible to look at. This poor afflicted man received my visit with much joy, and applied himself so well to learning the prayers and the instructions that I shortly afterward administered Baptism to him in our Chapel. Perhaps the graces that God has granted to him are the fruits of the charity that he formerly displayed toward Fathers Brebeuf and l'Allemant. He told me that he had been an eyewitness of their death; that -- as he had acquired some influence among his countrymen by his bravery on that day, having killed eight Hurons with his own hand, and made five others prisoners -- he had had compassion on the two captive Fathers, and had obtained them from the Mohawks in exchange for two fine collars of wampum beads, with the view of sending them back to us; but that soon afterward they had returned him his presents, had taken the two prisoners from him, and had burned them with all the fury imaginable.

"Our Faith is accused of killing all who profess it. The death of some Christians of Onondaga, gave rise to this delusion on the part of the Indians, and a speech delivered at a meeting by a Captain who is hostile to our Religion served to mislead them still more. Therefore, not only did some natives of the country -- who considered it safer to believe that man, in authority among them, than to place any faith in the quite contrary experience of our old Hurons -- not only did they ask me to excuse them from attending the prayers until their dread of me should decrease; but they also accused the Faith of the French of being responsible for all the ills with which the whole people or individual persons seemed to be afflicted. That is what an Apostate tried to make those Indians believe, naming the Dutch as his authority for what he said. He asserted that the children of the Iroquois died two years after their Baptism, and that the Christians either fractured their legs, or wounded their feet with thorns, or became consumptive, or vomited their souls with their blood, or were attacked by some other great misfortune.

"If our reputation be attacked here, our life is in no greater security. A warrior of my acquaintance, coming to lodge in our cabin, gave us trouble. On three successive nights he became possessed in some way, and fell into a frenzy; he showed an inclination to take my life, and would have done me an injury, had he not been prevented by my host.

"I was threatened with a still nobler death than this. A young man, after hearing me instruct a Christian trainee who was ill, and whom I wished to prepare for death, told me that I was a Sorcerer who should be got rid of; that I gave life or death to whoever I wished; and that it was as easy for me to cure that man as it was to lead him to heaven.

"All these obstacles that the Devil raises up against us do not, however, prevent the Faith from daily acquiring more credit among these peoples. I am listened to attentively everywhere; our Chapel is filled with Christian trainees, and, finally, I daily baptize both children and adults."

That is what was written to us by the Father who then had charge of that Mission for two months. He was compelled to leave it, to return and unite his labors to those of the two other Fathers at Onondaga, where they are establishing the foundation and the Seminary of all the other Iroquois Missions.

But since that time, the Father has gone back there, accompanied by five or six Frenchmen and by the most notable man of the Village, who had come and asked him to return among them. He was received with the warmest welcome imaginable. He found the Chapel in the same condition as he had left it; and on the day of his arrival, he began to hold prayers in it. The new Christians and Christian trainees soon showed so much fervor that that Church is just as vigorous as that of Onondaga.

THE PREACHING OF THE FAITH TO THE SENECA IROQUOIS.

THE country of Seneca, which is more fertile and more populous than the other Iroquois Provinces, contains two large villages and a number of small ones, besides the Huron Village called Saint Michel, whose inhabitants sought refuge there to escape the general destruction of their Nation. They retain their own customs and peculiar practices, and live apart from the Iroquois, satisfied to be united with them in good feeling and friendship. As we have not a sufficient number of laborers with which to cultivate so extensive a vineyard, we content ourselves with preaching the Gospel to them when they bring us their presents on ceremonious occasions and in token of alliance, or when we carry ours to them. For, as soon as Father Chaumonot, shortly after our arrival in this country, had adopted the Cayugas as the children of Onontio, he went to Seneca to adopt those people as his brothers, and to make them our brothers by means of the Faith, to which he strove to incline them.

Having assembled all the Elders of Ganondagan, the principal village of Seneca, and having given the presents that are usually given as tokens of alliance, he commenced in a fervent and loud tone to explain the principal truths of the Gospel, which he sealed with the three finest presents of all, which he had reserved for this purpose. As a further inducement, he said: "I give myself with these presents as a warranty of the truths that I preach to you; and if my life does not seem sufficient for you, I offer you those of so many French who have followed me to Onondaga Lake. Will you not trust those living presents, and such bravery and courage? And will you be simple enough to think that so clever a band of men would have left their native country, the finest and most agreeable in the world, and endured such fatigue, to bring a falsehood so far?"

After having maturely deliberated, they replied that they willingly embraced the Faith which we had been kind enough to bring to them, and they asked the Father to reside with them, in order to instruct them in our mysteries.

Annonkenritaoui, who is the Chief of these peoples, was inclined to surpass all in fervor, and was one of the first Christians. A canker that was eating away his thigh compelled him to take to his bed. The Father, although ill himself, went to see him, and converted him to the Faith. He will, doubtless, be a great prop to it in his own country, for God seems to have cured him of a disease which everyone considered incurable.

Among the many Hurons who have preserved their Faith in captivity, the Father met a woman who had retained all the fervor of a good Christian. He learned from her that the Hurons from the Island of Orleans continued to practice our Religion as zealously as ever, and that one of them, called Jacques Otsiaouens, had by his constancy astonished the Iroquois who were burning him, omitting not a single one of his usual prayers, and continually invoking the name of Jesus in his tortures.

The Hurons of Saint Michel were delighted to see once more one of their beloved Pastors. Everyone at first asked either for absolution for himself, or Baptism for his children. Even the old people, who had despised the light of the Gospel while their country was flourishing, now anxiously sought it, and asked for Baptism. So true is it that affliction gives understanding, and that adversity opens the eyes of those whom prosperity had blinded. Still, the Father was soon obliged to deprive himself of those fruits of the Gospel, because more pressing affairs called him elsewhere.

He had a fine opportunity, on the way, of ridiculing the superstition of the Infidels. His guide offered him a piece of wood, to throw upon two round stones which, surrounded by evidences of the superstition of these poor people, are encountered upon the road. It is the custom, in passing, to throw a small stick on the stones by way of homage, and add these words: Koue askennon eskatongot, -- that is, "Here is something to pay my passage, so I may proceed in safety."

THE PREACHING OF THE FAITH TO THE ONEIDA IROQUOIS.

WE were preparing to start on the journey to Oneida, when we received word that it was not safe to go there, and that plots were being laid to kill the French.

The following was the foundation of this rumor. A warrior, but recently returned from Three Rivers where he had treacherously killed some Hurons, was reproached with that deed by his people. Some said that he might as well have killed the French, because the Frenchman and the Huron were so closely allied that they were but one and the same; then, the Brave replied that, if that were all, he would soon find means to kill some, and that the French Ambassadors could not escape him.

Still, we proceeded on our way, after deliberating on the matter with the Elders of Onondaga who were to form part of the Embassy. Fathers Chaumonot and Menard, accompanied by two Frenchmen, were those who undertook the journey.

Their first halting-place was in a forest, where the Captain addressed his band as usual. "Ah," he said, "how weary you are! What trouble to walk over the snow, over the ice, and through the water! But courage; let us not complain of the work, since we have undertaken it in so good a cause. you Demons who dwell in these forests, be careful not to harm those who compose this Embassy. And you Trees that are laden with years, and that will soon be cast down to the earth by old age, delay your fall, and involve not in your ruin those who go to prevent the ruin of the Provinces and of the Nations." He also addressed a commendatory speech to the women who carried the provisions for the journey, praising their courage and perseverance.

On their arrival at the Village, after speeches and compliments on both sides, they were taken into the cabins assigned to them. There they were told at first that, because of the Onnonhouaroia, which is a kind of Carnival among those peoples, they could not be offered anything to eat, and that an effort would be made to shorten the ceremony on their account. This was done soon afterward, the Elders obtaining its postponement to another time.

The first day was passed in receiving the visits of the old Huron Christians and the civilities of the Oneidas, who frequently repeated this compliment to the French: "O my Fathers, what trouble you have taken to come and see your children!" On the same day, they gave and received various small presents of slight importance, such as were only exchanged between individuals.

On the following day, which was set apart for the solemn presents, the Father, who was the spokesman, spread out twenty, giving an explanation of each one, especially of the three finest. One of them was given to adopt the Oneidas as the children of Onontio; and the two others, to instruct them in the Faith. Then, the Father explained our mysteries to them. This he did lengthily, without being interrupted; for they who speak in those Assemblies have the right to say all that they please, and no one has the right to interrupt them. This seed was so favorably received that there was reason to hope for a good harvest, had not the Elders of Onondaga, who were still fearing some surprise, hurried the Fathers' departure.

THE PREACHING OF THE FAITH TO THE ONONDAGA IROQUOIS.

Over two hundred persons were baptized within a short space of time, among whom are five of the most notable persons of that nation. When one of the two Fathers who labor in this Mission asks, on entering a cabin, who are the Christians, the answer he receives is that there are no longer any but Christians, since the elders have become Preachers of the Christian Law. Such is the influence exerted by the example of the leaders of Provinces and cities over the minds and conduct of the people.

There is no one who would not be touched by the information sent us by one of the two Fathers who labor at Onondaga. Here are the words of his Letter:

"The good Christian Huron woman, of whose death I informed you yesterday, left in the cradle a child three or four months old, whom we had baptized in our Chapel. In spite of our efforts, he was buried alive with the dead body of his mother, through a motive of compassion which is only too common among our Indians: they prefer to put an infant at the breast to death at once, rather than allow it to drag on a languishing and miserable life after the death of its mother, who alone can nurse it."

To judge of the successful progress of the Faith in the new Church at Onondaga, it is sufficient to know that there is not a single family in Onondaga which does not welcome us with joy; that not one of the Elders openly opposes the Faith; that there is not a poor slave or stranger who does not receive instruction; that there are few children in the village who do not know the Catechism; that, in spite of slanders, the majority of those who departed this life were benefited by our care, and died in the Christian faith; that, while a great mortality has prevailed in the country since we have been here, in which many children were carried off, two only died without Baptism; that we have the happiness of having sent to heaven since we have been here the Souls of men, of more than twelve different Nations.

These fruits would perhaps not have been less among the other Iroquois Nations, if we had been able to transport ourselves at the same time to various places, or if we had had the assistance of the good Gospel laborers whom we hope for.

THE FRESH HOPES FOR THE PROGRESS OF THE FAITH IN THE MISSIONS OF NEW FRANCE.

We have already prepared an Iroquois Dictionary to facilitate learning the language.

The little fear that we show when we hear them say, "It is I who killed such a black Gown," "It is I who burned that other," gives them a favorable impression of the truths that we preach.

Very few of our Indians come back from Quebec without greater esteem for our mysteries, and without a desire to be instructed and to embrace the Faith; they say that they experience quite different feelings when they return from the Dutch settlements.

Our location in the center of these Nations is a most advantageous one with respect to the conversion of the Indians, both because the Missions can easily be extended from there into the neighboring Provinces, and because a great number of travelers constantly make this place populous. Those who have not yet had the courage to declare themselves Christians at their homes come here to serve their apprenticeship in the virtues and duties of a Christian. They are certain to find opportunities for doing it properly; Catechism is taught here every day to all in common; the prayers are recited; the ceremonies of the Church are solemnized; public Instructions are given; and on Feast-days, sermons are preached in Iroquois.

There are many poor slaves, whose Faith has been sorely tried by the misery that they have endured, and who hope that the liberality of the French will be strong enough to burst the bonds of their slavery. We assist them to the best of our ability, until such time as we can procure them that happiness. And so, in addition to the maintenance of a large number of French who have accompanied us to this country, we relieve the wants of all these poor wretches, keeping open house for the Indians. If we could settle in the land of the Senecas, who urge us to do so, and could display the same liberality, we would have every reason to hope that all the Indians, not only of that Nation but also of all the surrounding countries, would soon submit to the truths of the Gospel.

Our Iroquois have discovered, beyond the Eries, other and numerous Nations who speak the Algonquin language. There are more than thirty villages whose inhabitants have never had any knowledge of Europeans; they still use only stone hatchets and knives, and the other things that these Indians used before they began to trade with the French. Since the Iroquois carry fire and war there, why should not we carry to them the fire and the peace that Jesus Christ brought into the world?

LETTER WRITTEN TO REVEREND FATHER LOUIS CELLOT, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE, BY FATHER FRANCOIS LE MERCIER OF THE JESUITS. 1656.

Here is a Letter that could not be printed last year, because it was received too late. The Father, who was then superior of those Missions, wrote this Letter from Montreal, through which he passed on his way to the country of the Iroquois.

Reverend Father,

We are on the eve of our departure to go among the Iroquois. I think that, in mentioning those Barbarians, I say all that can be said; for their name alone shows the risk which we run.

These Indians have eaten us with relish and have drunk with pleasure the blood of the Fathers of our Jesuits; their hands and lips are still wet with it, and the fires in which they roasted their limbs are not yet extinguished. We have not forgotten the fires that they have kindled to consume our houses, and the cruelty that they have practiced on our bodies, which still bear its marks. Their whole policy consists in knowing how to plot treachery, and to conceal all their plans for it. They had but to continue to massacre the remainder of the French Colony, for they met with hardly any resistance either from the French or from the Indians, our Confederates.

For over three years, they incessantly sent presents and embassies to ingratiate themselves with us, and to request us to make peace. Old and young, women and children, place themselves at our mercy; they enter our forts; they act confidently with us, and spare no effort to open their hearts to us, and to make us believe their requests are as sincere as they are pressing.

They are not content with coming to us, but for a long time they invite us to go to them, and offer us the finest land that they have, and that is to be found in this New world. Neither the necessities of trade, nor the hopes of our protection, persuade them to do all that; for they have both those things with the Dutch, much more advantageously than they can ever hope to do with the French. But not only have they asked for Preachers to instruct them, and publicly professed in open Council that they were Believers; but the Fathers of our Jesuits who have passed the last winter with them have also observed so many good dispositions that we depart to cause the name of Jesus Christ to resound in those lands.

We have a good number of our Fathers, who not only have the courage to expose themselves to everything, but also possess the capacity of teaching those Indians, whose language, as well as that of many other Nations still more remote, is not different from that of the Hurons. This revives their fervor and gives to old men the courage to go among those peoples, and to spend the remainder of their lives, with the same fervor that they showed fifteen or twenty years ago when they labored in the Huron Missions.

The stumbling-block which might hinder our plan lies with the lower Iroquois, called Mohawks, with whom we do not go to dwell. They may presume that, if we unite ourselves so closely with the four Upper Nations, it will be to place ourselves in a position to fear them no longer. But, even if they should oppose our establishment, we far prefer to have them alone for enemies than the four Nations together; these would become irritated if we refused them our friendship. And so, a refusal would be followed by the total ruin of this New France, which, after being reduced to extremities by a single Nation, could not long withstand the efforts of the five together, if they conspired against her.

Francois Le Mercier

From Montreal, this 6th of June, 1656, of the Jesuits,

LATEST NEWS OF NEW FRANCE.

I share the happy news that we have received by the latest ship. It is the conversion of more than four hundred Indians, by Father Menard, a fervent Jesuit. But, as there is no bliss without sorrow, we have received, by the same ship, a Letter which causes us distress; for it informs us of the treachery of the Senecas, as you will see.

On The Road From Quebec To Onondaga, This 8th Of August, 1657.

Reverend Father,

Since our departure from Montreal on the 26th of July, together with fifteen or sixteen Senecas, thirty Onondagas, and about fifty Christian Hurons, men, women, and children, the road to Onondaga has been grievous for us.

I foresaw that we were to have a great deal of trouble on that journey, from the reluctance that I noticed, at the outset, on the part of our Onondagas respecting the embarkation both of our French and of the packages, the greater portion of which we were compelled to abandon 12 miles above Montreal. I had difficulty in finding someone who would take me on board; and I was compelled to embark in a last canoe, abandoned on the beach, with our Brother Louis le Boesme, two Frenchmen, and two Indians, whom I found it difficult to win over. For all my provisions, I took but a small sack of flour.

Every day I experienced fresh difficulties; I found either some of our French stranded on the way, or packages left behind. I had to attend to all this, and, except among our good Christian Hurons, I met with nothing but a cold reception everywhere. We were afraid of encountering a hundred Mohawks, who were said to be waiting for us at the entrance to the great Lake Ontario, to make themselves Masters of our Christian Hurons, and to take them captive. But the misfortune that befell our Hurons came from the Onondagas, who had promised them such permanent dependability in so many parleys for peace, in so many embassies from both sides, and by so many solemn presents.

On the third day of this month, between four and five o'clock in the evening, our canoes reached an Island where we were to stop. An Onondaga Captain began the first Act of that Tragedy, by splitting, from behind, with his hatchet, the head of a Huron woman, because she had persistently refused to consent to his lewdness after having been solicited to it for four days. When the news reached the spot where we were, the Onondagas took their arms, as if they intended to fight the Senecas.

That lascivious Captain of the Onondagas went among the Huron men, women, and children that were interspersed amid his people, going from one side to the other, as if to calm their minds. I also came and went, now to one group, now to the other, after warning our French not to interfere in the matter, but to remain quiet. That Captain and I had different plans; I attempted to allay the storm, while that wretch excited it.

Finally, the lightning that had caused the thunder shot forth, and fell on those poor innocent victims, who were massacred before the eyes of the women and children. Seven Huron Christians were killed with hatchets and knives; the women and children were made captives, and were robbed of all their goods, their beaver Robes, their ornamented Moose-skins, their collars of wampum beads, and the presents that had been given them at Quebec.

When night came, I assembled the Onondagas and the Senecas in a public Council, to speak to them about what had happened. I told them that the blows that had fallen on the heads of the Hurons had rent my heart, and that I could not restrain my tears at so pitiful a sight; that a father and a mother could not see their children massacred and reduced to slavery without sharing their sufferings. I added that I had the heart of a Father and the tenderness of a mother for those poor Christian Hurons, whom I had had under my charge for twenty years, who loved me, and for whom I retained a friendship that could be severed by death alone. "Yes," I said to them, "kill me, burn me, and let them live, if by my death I can bring them back to life. But, since such wishes are vain, I have three words to carry to you:

"The first is that you stay your fury and your hatchets, and that you do not continue to vent your cruelty on those who remain.

"The second is that you treat kindly those poor captive women and children, and consider them not as a nation different from yours, but as being the same people with you.

"The third is that we continue our journey as if nothing had happened." I used for this six thousand wampum beads. They replied that they would pay attention to what I said.

But that wretched and treacherous Captain had the insolence to tell me publicly that the Governor, Father Mercier, and Father Chaumonot had empowered him to perform that act of cruelty. I loudly replied to him that it was a falsehood. He had no answer to make except that I did not know all that he knew.

We were secretly informed that on that night, they would finish the last act of the tragedy on our own persons. Everything seemed to be prepared for it, and we were ready; but God has so far been content with just our willingness.

Paul Ragueneau

of the Jesuits.

YEAR 1658
NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1657 TO THE SUMMER OF 1658. THE RETURN OF OUR FATHERS AND OUR FRENCHMEN FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE ONONDAGAS.

The Iroquois are subtle and adroit, yet I cannot persuade myself that they possess so much intelligence, and are such great politicians, as to employ, for the sake of destroying the French, Hurons, Algonquins, and their Allies, the subterfuges and intrigues accused of them.

For several years, they requested, with incredible urgency, with marks of special affection, and even with threats of war if their friendship were slighted, and their request rejected, they urged and asked that, as a sign of peace and alliance with them, a good number of Frenchmen should go up to their country -- some to instruct them, and others to protect them against their enemies.

As the Mohawks were bent on thwarting this plan, the two sides Fought with each other until the ground was stained with blood and murder. Some believe that all this was a mere feint to mask their game the better; but it seems to me that the game is hardly a pleasant one in which bloodshed and human lives are involved, and I doubt whether Iroquois policy can go so far, and whether Indians, who have little dependence on one another, can so long conceal their intrigues.

I rather believe that the Onondaga Iroquois were sincere in asking for Frenchmen, but their views in doing so were widely different. The Elders, finding themselves involved in great wars against many Nations whom they had provoked, asked for some Hurons, for men who could swell their forces; while they desired some of the French for the sake of obtaining firearms from them, and having them fix the broken ones. Also, as the Mohawks sometimes treated them rather roughly when they passed through their Villages to go and trade with the Dutch, they wished to free themselves from this dependence by opening commerce with the French. And that is not all.

As they were constantly at war, they asked our Frenchmen to build a large Fort in their country, to serve as a retreat for themselves, or at least for their wives and children, in case their enemies should press them too hard. Such were the views of the Iroquois politicians. The common people did not penetrate so far; curiosity to see strangers, and the hope of realizing some little personal gain from them, inspired a desire for their coming. But the Christian Hurons captive among these people longed for the coming of the preachers.

But -- as soon as the Captains and Elders saw themselves masters of their enemies, having subdued all the Nations whom they had attacked; as soon as they believed that nothing could further withstand their arms -- the remembrance of the wrongs which they claimed to have suffered from the Hurons in times past, and the glory of triumphing over Europeans as well as Indians, made them resolve to wreak vengeance on the Indians, and to destroy the Europeans.

Consequently, as soon as they saw the Eries, whom they feared, subdued by their arms and by the forces of the Senecas, their Allies, they would have laid violent hands on all the French at Onondaga, had they not intended to use them as bait to attract some of the Hurons, whom they planned to murder, as they have done. And if regard for some of their own number, who had remained at Quebec, had not stayed their hands, the road from Onondaga would have served as a tomb for the French as well as for the Hurons. From that time, our People, having discovered the conspiracy and recognized that their own death was resolved upon, thought about making their retreat.

LETTER FROM FATHER PAUL RAGUENEAU TO REVEREND FATHER JACQUES RENAULT, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS IN THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

This is to inform you that we have returned from the Iroquois Mission laden with some spoils wrested from the powers of Hell.

We bear in our hands more than five hundred children, and many adults, most of whom died after Baptism. We have restored Faith and piety in the hearts of a poor captive Church, whose first foundations we had laid in the country of the Hurons. We have proclaimed the Gospel to all the Iroquois nations, so that from now on, God will be fully justified in his conduct toward them on the great Judgment-day.

The Devil made use of the Iroquois' fickleness to expel us from the heart of his Estates. For those Barbarians, without other cause than their own restless humor, resumed war against the French. They also inflicted the first blow on our good Huron Christians who, toward the end of last Summer, were going with us up to Onondaga, and who, by the most flagrant treachery imaginable, were cruelly murdered. Their poor wives were then made prisoners; and some were even burnt at slow fires, together with their children three and four years of age.

This bloody execution was followed by the murder of three Frenchmen at Montreal, by the Oneidas, who took their scalps and bore them in triumph into their villages, in sign of a declaration of war.

This stroke of barbarous cruelty compelled Sir Dailleboust, then in command over this country, to order to be arrested and put in irons, at Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec, a dozen Iroquois -- partly Onondagas, but mostly Mohawks -- who were in those places at the time. Both of these Iroquois nations became irritated at this detention of their men, claiming that it was unjust; and to take cruel vengeance, they convened a secret council, in which they formed a plan of warfare against the French. Still, they deemed it beneficial to deceive for some time, until, by sending back Father Simon le Moyne, who was then at the Mohawk nation, they should have gained the release of their own Men, who were in irons. They counted on venting, immediately after this, the force of their fury upon us Frenchmen who were at Onondaga, to the number of fifty or sixty, imprisoned in the heart of their country, from where they believed it impossible for us to escape.

They even held the view, at this Council, that in our persons, they would hold precious hostages, whether for recovering by exchange those Iroquois who were in our prisons, or for obtaining anything that they might desire when, in plain view of our French settlements, they should make us feel the effects of their cruelty. Undoubtedly, sights like these and so fraught with horror, together with the sad cries of forty or fifty innocent Frenchmen, would have placed in a difficult position the Governor and the French inhabitants.

We knew only in secret these wretched schemes of the Iroquois, but saw openly their minds prepared for war. As early as February, various companies took the field for this purpose -- 200 Mohawks on one hand, and 40 Oneidas on another, while some troops from Onondaga had already started out in advance, pending the muster of the main army.

We could not hope to extricate, from the dangers surrounding us on every side, some fifty Frenchmen who had entrusted their lives to us, and for whom we felt ourselves responsible. What caused us still greater anxiety was not so much the fires into which a part of our Frenchmen were to be thrown, but the miserable captivity for which a number of them were destined by the Iroquois, in which the loss of their souls was more to be lamented than that of their bodies. This was cause for greater fear to the majority, who, regarding themselves as prisoners already, preferred a hatchet-stroke, or even death by fire to such a bondage. The French were even determined, to avoid that final misfortune, to exhaust every effort and to flee to the woods, each man for himself -- either to perish there from hunger and destitution, or to attempt to reach one of the French settlements.

In the midst of these rash plans, our Fathers, myself, and a gentleman named Sir du Puis, who commanded all our Frenchmen as well as a garrison of ten Soldiers (nine of whom had already decided to abandon us), deemed it more advisable to retreat together, in order either to encourage one another to die, or to sell our lives more dearly.

To this end, we needed to take our departure without conveying any suspicion of our movements; for the slightest suspicion entertained by the Iroquois of our retreat would have caused the disaster we wished to avoid. The Indians did not think that we would have the courage to undertake this move, knowing that we had neither canoes nor boatmen, and that we were unfamiliar with the route, which was bordered with precipitous bluffs, where a dozen Iroquois could have easily defeated us. Besides, the season was unendurable in the frigid temperature of the icy water, through which the canoes must be dragged, ourselves immersed sometimes up to the neck, and remaining so for whole hours; and we had never undertaken such expeditions without Indians to guide us.

Leaving our house of Saint Marie, near Onondaga, toward eleven o'clock on the night of March 20th, we were guided by God, amid all imaginable dangers, and arrived at Quebec on the 23rd of April. We had stopped at Montreal and at Three Rivers before the launching of a single canoe had been possible there, the river being closed to navigation until the day of our appearance.

All the French settlements regarded us as persons come from the other world, and marveled that God had freed from uneasiness all the French of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec. The latter had been feeling forced to bear, at the hands of the Iroquois, things that were unbearable, and had to restrain themselves, for fear of retaliation falling upon us who were at the mercy of the common enemy.

We reached our journey's end early; for we learned at Montreal that two hundred Mohawks, who had come with hostile intent, were near there; and even on the way we had perceived traces of them, and seen the fires of several scattered bands, -- who would have given us a rough reception, had we not hurried our progress.

Some other hostile war-parties also appeared at Three Rivers, taking prisoner three young men who had just left the place to go to their work; nor could any attempt at rescue be made, though the Iroquois dragged them off in plain sight of all the people of the village.

At Quebec, the same enemy made his appearance in the neighboring fields, killing people almost at our doors. He pounced upon poor Algonquin women, taking them by surprise in broad daylight, killing some of them on the spot, and leading the rest away captive, -- who, however, were afterward recovered. Our Frenchmen, the Hurons, and the Algonquins pursued the enemy, and intercepted him; but the murderers made their escape, disappearing as soon as they had perceived their inferior strength. They are foxes in their methods of approach, they attack like lions, and, in retreating, they disappear like birds.

Upon our arrival at Quebec, we learned from different sources -- both from certain Hurons who had come from Mohawk, where they had been in captivity, and from others arrived from Onondaga -- that the plan of the Onondagas had been to massacre all our Frenchmen immediately upon their arrival at Onondaga, in 1656; but that its execution had been deferred until the following year, when the Hurons should have been drawn there by our means; and that upon them, the Onondagas were to exercise the same cruelty. Consequently, the kind reception given our Fathers and our Frenchmen, from the time they reached Onondaga, had been merely a result of this deceitful scheme, and a trick of the Iroquois Elders and Captains.

They were secretly conducting their treachery in the hope that, the Hurons remaining at Quebec would believe that there was nothing for them to fear at Onondaga; and then, going up there in this belief, their wives and children would be made prisoners and they themselves murdered.

On the third day of August of last year, 1657, this plan was cruelly executed upon our good Huron Christians, who were going up with us to Onondaga. That we were not included in this cruel slaughter was owing to fifty Onondagas having gone down to Quebec in quest of the remaining Hurons -- who, through a presentiment of the disaster that befell us, had been unwilling to go up with us. These fifty Onondagas saved our lives without intending to do so, as their fellow countrymen decided to await their return before exercising upon us that final act of hostility. Those fifty Onondagas did not return to their own country before the news arrived there of the arrest and imprisonment, last year, of certain Iroquois at Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec. This intelligence interrupted all their evil plans against us. In the meanwhile, we made a successful escape from the bondage to which we were subjected in the midst of this barbarous and hostile people.

The sentiments of the Converted Huron women were truly Christian at the death of their husbands and fathers. As one of these stout-hearted women, named Dorothee, was being butchered with hatchets and knives at the entrance to the village of Onondaga, seeing the tears of a little girl eight years old who had been at the Ursuline seminary, she said to her: "My daughter, weep not for my death, or for your own; we shall today go to Heaven together, where God will have pity on us for all eternity. The Iroquois cannot rob us of this great blessing." Then she cried out, as she died, "Jesus, take pity on me!" And her daughter met her death by the knife immediately afterward, uttering the same words that her mother had used.

Two others, on being burned at a slow fire, cried out from amid the flames that they were dying as Christians, and that they deemed themselves happy that God saw them in their torments. These mothers embraced their children who had been cast into the flames.

Quebec, this 21st of August, 1658.

Paul Ragueneau.

OUR FRENCHMEN'S DEXTERITY AND COURAGE IN THEIR RETREAT FROM ONONDAGA.

FATHERS Jean De Brebeuf, Gabriel Lallemant, Isaac Jogues, and most of the others who have been burned and eaten by the Iroquois could have escaped easily enough from the hands and teeth of those cannibals; but their desire to administer the Sacrament of Penance to some Neophytes before their death made them prefer the fires and rage of the Iroquois to the sweetness of life. The fate of all our Fathers and all our Brothers at Onondaga would have been sealed, had they found themselves similarly situated; but, seeing that their death would be of no service to a poor captive Church which they were forsaking, and that their bondage would not afford any relief, as these Indians were sure to bind them with cords and take them to Quebec to exchange them for their own countrymen, whom our French were holding in irons, -- seeing that their death and captivity would work more harm than profit to the French Colony, they decided to make their escape, and to exert themselves to save the Frenchmen, who were on the point of throwing their lives away by dividing and separating from one another.

The resolution made, it was necessary to find the means to execute it. Our Frenchmen found no difficulty in deciding to save their lives and escape death; but the ice, the winds -- the impossibility of starting -- delayed them until the eve of the day decided upon for their massacre. Not one of them doubted the necessity of retreat, and that at the earliest moment.

LETTER FROM FATHER PAUL RAGUENEAU TO THE FATHER ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN NEW FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

Here are the details of our departure from Saint Marie among the Iroquois. We nearly perished on our way up; death awaited us upon our arrival; our departure was always considered impossible; and yet we are alive.

The decision made to abandon those regions, the difficulties of its execution, for which we were lacking in all things, appeared insurmountable. To supply the lack of canoes, we had secretly constructed two boats of a new and excellent model for shooting the rapids. These boats drew but little water, and carried a heavy load, fourteen or fifteen men, and fifteen or sixteen hundred coins in weight. We had also four canoes of the Algonquin pattern, and four of the Iroquois, which were to complete our little fleet for fifty-three Frenchmen.

The difficulty was to embark unseen by the Iroquois, who constantly threatened us. The conveyance of the boats, canoes, and all the equipment, could not be accomplished without much noise; and yet, without secrecy, there was nothing to hope for except a general massacre of our whole company, at the moment when it should be perceived that we had the least thought of taking our departure. Therefore, we invited all the Indians in our neighborhood to a grand feast, where we exerted our utmost skill and spared neither the drums nor the musical instruments, to lull them to sleep by an innocent charm.

He who presided at the ceremony played his part with such skill and success that each one was bent on contributing to the public joy. They vied with one another in uttering piercing yells, now of war, now of glee; while, out of agreeableness, the Indians sang and danced in the French manner, and the French in that of the Indians. To encourage them in this fine game, presents were distributed to those who best played their parts, and who made the most noise for drowning the noise made outside by forty of our men in transporting all our equipment. When the loading of the boats was completed, the feast came to an end at the appointed time; the guests withdrew, and, sleep having soon overcome them, we left our house by a rear door and embarked with little noise, without saying Farewell to our Indians. They were playing a shrewd part, and thought to beguile us with attestations of good will until the time fixed upon for our slaughter.

Our little Lake, over which we paddled silently in the darkness of the night, froze as we advanced, and we feared that we should be stopped in the ice after escaping the fires of the Iroquois. From this disaster, however, God delivered us; and after proceeding all night and all of the following day, past waterfalls and frightful rapids, we reached Lake Ontario in the evening, 50 miles from our starting point.

That first day's journey was the most dangerous; for, had the Iroquois perceived our departure, they would have intercepted us; and had they been only ten or twelve in number, it would have been easy for them to throw us into confusion -- the river being narrow, and being also obstructed, at the end of 25 miles, by a fearful precipice. Here we were forced to land, and, for four hours, carry our baggage and canoes through a wilderness covered with dense Woods, which would have served the enemy as a Fort where they could have killed us at every step and fired upon us unseen.

We passed through perils that made us shudder after escaping them, and at night, after spending the whole day in the water and amid blocks of ice, we had no lodging except upon the snow.

Ten days after our departure, we found Lake Ontario, over which we were voyaging, still frozen at its mouth; so we were compelled to take hatchet in hand to cleave the ice and make a passage -- which led us two days later into a waterfall, where all our little fleet was nearly swallowed up. For, having entered unawares a rapid of considerable extent, we found ourselves in the midst of its billows, which, meeting with many large rocks, raised mountains of water, and hurled us into an abyss at every stroke of our paddles. Our boats, the sides of which were barely half a foot high, soon shipped a great quantity of water; while our men were so thrown into confusion that their cries, mingling with the roar of the torrent, filled us with visions of direful shipwreck. Yet we were forced to go on, the violence of the current bearing us along, in spite of ourselves, through extensive rapids and byways never navigated before. Our fears redoubled at seeing one of our canoes swallowed up by a breaker which extended across the entire width of the rapids, and which afforded the only route by which all the rest were to go. Three Frenchmen were drowned here, a fourth luckily escaping by clinging to the canoe, and being rescued at the foot of the falls, when he was on the point of relinquishing his hold, strength and life nearly failing him at the same time.

At nightfall, on the 3rd of April, we landed at Montreal, from where the ice had disappeared only on that day; it would have blocked our way had we arrived earlier. We found ourselves obliged to tarry there fourteen days, the Rivers farther down being not yet open.

On the 17th of April, we went to Three Rivers, where the ice had cleared away only on the preceding day. Here we spent the Easter Festival.

We arrived safely at Quebec on Tuesday. A day earlier, we would have been unable to land, there being nothing but one bridge of ice from coste de Lauson, from where the River had been crossed dry-shod as late as Easter.

WHAT OCCURRED BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND THE INDIANS.

From the word Onnonta, which in the Iroquois tongue means "a mountain," is derived the name of the Village called Onondaga, or, as others name it, Onnontae, because it is situated on a mountain; and the people dwelling there are consequently called Onondagas. These people having long and urgently requested that some Fathers of our Jesuits be sent to their country; finally, in 1655, Fathers Joseph Chaumonot and Claude Dablon were granted them. The Indians took them away by canoe on the 19th of September, and landed them at Onondaga on the 5th of November of the same year, 1655.

In the following year, 1656, as these two good Fathers saw that they were listened to with good will, Father Dablon left Onondaga on the second day of March, to come to Quebec for assistance. He arrived here at the beginning of April, and left on the 17th of May, together with three Fathers and two Brothers of our Jesuits, and with a good number of Frenchmen, who all turned their faces toward this new country, where they arrived on the 11th day of July of the same year, 1656.

In 1657, as there was promise of a fine harvest in all the Villages of the upper Iroquois, and as the common people listened to the good news of the Gospel with simplicity, and the Elders with a cunning guile, Fathers Paul Ragueneau and Francois Du Peron, some Frenchmen, and several Hurons started from Montreal, on the 26th of July, to go and help their brothers and compatriots.

On the 3rd day of August of the same year, 1657, the Iroquois' deceit began to show itself through the massacre of the poor Hurons whom they were conducting to their country, after having made a thousand statements of good will and a thousand oaths that they would treat them as brothers. And had not a number of Iroquois remained with the French at Quebec to try to carry off with them the rest of the Hurons, who, distrusting these treacherous rogues, had been unwilling to embark with the others, the fate of the Fathers and of the Frenchmen who went up with them would have been sealed; and soon afterward, the same lot would have befallen all those who dwelt on the shores of Lake Onondaga. But the fear, in case the French should take vengeance on their countrymen, prevented their plan.

Our Fathers received secret information of it immediately after their arrival in the country. A Captain who knew the Elders' secret, and who had conceived some fondness for the Preaching of the Gospel, upon falling seriously ill asked for Baptism. Having received it after sufficient instruction, he revealed to him who conferred it the wicked plans of his compatriots, and soon afterward went to Heaven.

On the 9th of the same month of August, twenty Mohawk Iroquois landed at Quebec; and there was rivalry as to which group should carry off to its own country the remnants of the poor Huron Nation. Both the upper and the lower Iroquois were inviting them, with the fairest promises in the world, while the sole intention of them all was to destroy these people.

On the 11th, there appeared Sir Bourdon's barque. It had sailed down the great River toward the North, and proceeded as far as the 55th degree, where it met a great field of ice, which made it turn back, after losing two Hurons, who had been taken as guides. The Eskimo, Indians of the North, had slain them, and had injured a Frenchman with three arrow-shots and a knife-cut.

On the 21st, some Hurons, joining the Mohawks of whom we have just spoken, embarked at Quebec to go and dwell in the country of the Mohawks, not knowing that captivity awaited them.

On the 26th, Father Le Moyne followed them with some other Hurons, taking home a young Mohawk Iroquois who had gone to France, and had been sent back by us to Quebec, where he had been recalled.

On the 3rd of September, the Onondagas, who had lingered around the French settlements, sent two of their Men to the Hurons of Quebec, to urge their adoption of Onondaga as their country, giving them a thousand assurances that they would be welcome. There was a rivalry as to who should obtain the remnant of this poor nation. Although they did not know what had happened to their brothers, they still tried to persuade these Deputies to postpone the expedition until the following Spring. This was a stroke of Divine providence; for that postponement compelled several Iroquois to spend the Winter near the French to wait for the Hurons, which prevented the Onondagas from putting to death or seizing our People who were in their country. This special providence gave them the means of escape.

On the 9th of the same month of September, our Fathers at Onondaga dispatched two canoes to bear to Quebec the news of the massacre of the poor Christian Hurons, who had been put to death with unheard-of treachery by these Barbarians, as we have noted above under date of August 3, 1657. They were also to deliver Letters explaining the condition of the country, and disclosing the evil intentions of this people's chief men toward the French. Some of this matter we appended to last year's Report. The Oneidas, getting wind of the dispatch of these two canoes, got ahead of them, intending to slay the messengers, and to throw their Letters into the fire; but our Men eluded their ambushes and pursuit, and finally arrived at Quebec, on the 6th of October, with astonishment on the part of our French people.

On the 16th, a sailboat brought word to Quebec that two Frenchmen had been plundered at Cap a l'arbre by the Iroquois. These Indians, feeling secure in that they held some of our People in their country, were committing many acts of insolence, pillaging houses and killing the cattle on the French farms. The settlers having often complained of this, finally, on the 21st of the same month, Sir Dailleboust, who was then in command, called the chief men together to see what remedy could be applied to these disorders.

It was decided, 1st, that we must not take the initiative in irritating the Iroquois, but that we could without difficulty repulse their wanton assaults with force; 2nd, that we were always to treat as friends the Hurons and Algonquins, our Allies; and 3rd, that we must prevent the Iroquois, whether upper or lower, from doing the Hurons and Algonquins any injury in sight of our settlements.

He assembled on the same day the Algonquins and Hurons, who asked him how they should conduct themselves toward the Iroquois. He replied that they might attack them and fight with them out of sight of the French settlements; but that we would protect them only within those limits, and would never violate the peace unless the Iroquois first committed some hostile act.

On the 25th of the same month, October, some Oneida Iroquois, neighbors of the Onondagas, shot and killed three Frenchmen at Montreal, taking the scalps of two of them and bearing them in triumph to their own country. Upon the occurrence of these murders, Sir de Maisonneuve had arrested and put in irons an Onondaga Indian, who had been hunting on the Island of Montreal and who most frequently sought shelter among the French.

On the 29th, three Oneidas present themselves at the Fort of Montreal, asking to speak with Sir de Maisonneuve, the Governor. They protest their innocence, and their deep regret at the outrage committed upon our People; while one of them produces seven presents, composed of nine wampum collars. These he offers in the following words: "I wipe away the blood shed upon the mat or upon the ground where I stand. I open your mouth, that you may speak well. I calm your mind, irritated by this evil deed. I cover the earth, stained with blood; and I shut up that wicked deed in forgetfulness. I inform you that it was the Cayuga who slew you. I give you a drink, to make you well. I make firm again the May-tree that has been shaken, around which are to be held the Councils of the Iroquois and the French."

Sir de Maisonneuve received the presents, not yet having sufficient light upon the treachery of those rogues, who appeared innocent. He invited them, however, for the sake of observing their movements more closely, to make their abode for some time near our French. But, as they were conscious of guilt, and were accomplices (as is believed) of those who had slain our Men, and as, besides, they saw an Onondaga Indian in irons, they stealthily took flight by night.

On the 1st day of November, the canoe sent by Sir de Maisonneuve to Sir Dailleboust, to carry him word of these murders, appeared at Quebec after stopping at Three Rivers. At the same time, Sir Dailleboust ordered the arrest, throughout the French settlements, of all the Iroquois that should present themselves, from whatever quarter they might come. A beginning had already been made with the seizure, at Three Rivers, of twelve Mohawks, a part of whom were sent to Quebec.

On the 3rd of the same month, some Algonquins, going to the Richelieu Islands to hunt, and to carry on a petty warfare, killed an Onondaga Indian whom they met, and brought his scalp to Quebec. His companion escaped and took refuge at Montreal, where he was put in irons.

On the 5th, Sir Dailleboust assembled the French and our Indian Allies, to announce to them his plan of dispatching two of the Mohawks that had been sent to us from Three Rivers, to inform Ondesonk -- that is, Father Le Moyne, who was at the village of Mohawk, or, as others call it, Aniegue -- to inform him that three Frenchmen had been killed at Montreal, and that some Mohawk Iroquois had been detained in our settlements. The following is a summary of the message that was to be carried to the Elders of the country:

1. Three Frenchmen have been killed at Montreal, the murderers being thirty in number, although so many did not show themselves.

2. The relatives of the deceased wished to take vengeance on the Mohawks who came to Three Rivers soon after the news of this murder reached that place.

3. Opposition to this mode of vengeance was offered by Onontio -- that is, the Governor of the French.

4. The men were simply arrested, no harm being done them.

5. We are resolved to hold them during the journey of those whom we send to complain of this outrage to the Elders of the country, and to learn whether it was not committed by their young men.

6. Assurance is given that those who are held in custody will be well treated; and so there may be no doubt of this, Onontio writes all these articles to Ondesonk, and has explained them clearly to the Mohawks who are released to go and negotiate this matter.

On the 7th of the same month, November, two Mohawks started from Quebec, and were joined by a third one at Three Rivers, to go and carry this message to their country. They were given many letters from different sources to be delivered to Father Le Moyne; a part of these were to be sent to our Fathers and our Frenchmen at Onondaga through the Mohawks, who often go to that country.

At about this time, Sir de Maisonneuve also sent an Onondaga prisoner to his own country, to convey to our Fathers letters informing them of all that was occurring among the French. He assigned this Indian to deliver to the Elders of Onondaga nearly the same message that had been entrusted to the men from Mohawk; but there was bad faith in both instances.

The Mohawks delivered the letters faithfully to Ondesonk, because they feared some harm might be done to their Fellows in the custody of the French. But, as for the letters addressed to our Frenchmen at Onondaga, the Mohawk who bore them threw them into the river; or, as is probable, gave them to the Elders of the country, and those good people, who wished to get rid of the preachers and of their assistants, threw the letters into the fire.

The Onondaga sent by Sir de Maisonneuve did still worse; for he told the chief men of his Nation that the French had allied themselves with the Algonquins, in order to make war upon the Iroquois, and that they had killed his companion. It was an Algonquin going to war who killed the Onondaga. Nothing more was needed to excite those madmen, who had already determined upon the death of some and the captivity of the others. Yet they wished to act in concert with the Mohawks, who did not relish the detention of their Men, thinking it unjust.

Our poor Frenchmen were meanwhile surprised not to receive any news from either Quebec, Three Rivers, or Montreal. Those Barbarians had cut them off from all such communication, so that Sir Dailleboust's orders were not delivered to Sir Du Puis, who commanded the Soldiers; nor was any letter transmitted to a single one of the Frenchmen.

On the 17th of November of the same year, 1657, there appeared at Quebec a sailboat full of Indians, who brought word that more than sixty canoes, laden with furs, had arrived at Three Rivers. They came from the Nation of the Atikamekw, and from other tribes still farther distant from the great River; some of these men had never seen either Frenchmen or Europeans. There were about three or four persons in each canoe, all of fine appearance and tall stature.

I do not know when the three Mohawks sent by Sir Dailleboust reached the village of Mohawk, neither do I know the day or the arrival of the Onondaga dispatched by Sir de Maisonneuve to Onondaga; but I know that, on the 3rd of January of this year, 1658, three Mohawks -- not the three that had been sent home -- brought to Quebec from Father Ondesonk -- that is, from Father Le Moyne -- a letter of which I give a summary.

First, he said: "The three Mohawks visiting you bear to Onontio -- that is, to the Governor -- three presents symbolizing the three following articles. The Elders say: 1. 'We have been killed in the persons of the French, whom we come to bury.' 2. 'Ondesonk is alive, and is as free in our country as he would be in yours.' 3. 'We come to ask for our nephews now in your hands.'"

Secondly, the Father added that two hundred Mohawks had started on a hunting expedition toward Tadoussac; that in the Spring they were to make some canoes opposite that place, on the other bank of the great River, which is fully 25 miles wide there; and that it was their plan to surprise all the Innus and the Algonquins, who ordinarily return at that season from their hunting excursions. The two chief Captains of that group were called Aouigate and Anguieout.

In the third place, another band of 400 Soldiers had also set out to join the upper Iroquois and form with them a body of about 1200 men, for the purpose of invading the country of the Ottawa and wreaking vengeance for the death of thirty of their own People, who were killed in war about a year ago, in those regions far distant from the Iroquois. Teharihoguen was General of that little army.

In the fourth place, he said that the three Ambassadors were only young men who were to have gone to war with the others; but that they had been detailed from the main body and sent to Quebec, to recover the prisoners from the hands of the French; that there were only old men left in the Mohawk villages, all the young men having gone to war in January; and that, if their enemies appeared, they would destroy their whole country.

In the fifth place, he deplored the calamity that had befallen the poor Hurons, who had placed confidence in those traitors and had followed them into their country, where they were treated as slaves. The husband was separated from the wife, and the children from their parents; they were serving those Barbarians as beasts of burden. It was a warning to the Hurons who remained and who still dwelt among the French, not to trust themselves lightly to the Iroquois, unless they wished to lose body and soul. Such were the contents of the letter written by Father Le Moyne to our Fathers at Quebec.

Let us now come to what was said in public after the arrival of these Ambassadors, the oldest of whom was not over thirty years of age, while the other two appeared almost like boys.

On the 1st day of February, Sir Dailleboust assembled the French, and afterward the Indians, to communicate to them the news brought by these three Iroquois. Audience was given to these on the 4th day of the same month. The eldest of the three produced nine wampum collars of considerable beauty, of which he presented seven to Onontio and two to the Indians, our Allies, with these words:

1. "Ondesonk is alive and well; he lodges in our cabins."

2. "The Iroquois and the Dutch are united by a chain of iron, and their friendship cannot be broken; this is to make Onontio enter that union."

3. "We do not know who killed the Frenchmen at Montreal. It must have been the Seneca or the Onondaga or the Oneida, but we do not know which of the three; we only know that it was not the Mohawk."

4. "I rejoice to see my brothers alive; this is to testify my joy and satisfaction."

5. "As a proof that I would much like to see them in my country, I make you this present.

6. "This collar will serve as a hammer to break their irons and set them free."

7. "And this other will furnish the things needful for their return."

8. "As for you, Algonquin and Huron, what I offer you will show you that my heart is still in the right place. Tell us in what attitude is your own."

9. "Here is an obstacle to prevent you from wounding me in Onontio's house. Hide your hatchet and knife, if you have any; for you would put him to shame by hurting me."

This short summary of an Indian's speech makes evident that they are not lacking in intelligence, but rather in education, and in a knowledge of the true God.

On the 5th of February, Sir Dailleboust held an assembly of Frenchmen; and upon the Island, he called together the Hurons and Algonquins. In these two assemblies it was decided what answer should be made to the three Ambassadors. Sir Dailleboust had the reply written, and gave it to his interpreter, who delivered it in public, as I am about to relate.

On the 12th of the same month, the French, Algonquins, and Hurons having assembled in a great Hall, the three Mohawks entered, and the French Interpreter spoke to them nearly as follows, adapting himself to the peculiarities and customs of the country:

"It is a strange thing that you, Mohawk, consider me only a child. If I speak to you, you pretend to hear me. You treat me as if I were your captive, imagining that you will kill me when you choose. You do not rate me with men, but take me for a dog. When a dog is beaten, he howls and runs away; but if he be given something to eat, he comes back and fawns on him who beat him. You, Mohawk, kill me; and I the Frenchman, cry out, 'I am killed;' and you mockingly throw me a wampum collar, as if to soothe me. 'Be still,' you say to me; 'we are good friends.' Know that the Frenchman thoroughly understands war, and will exact satisfaction for your deceit, which has continued so long; he will no longer suffer you to despise him. There is only one word that fits the case; render satisfaction, or tell who committed the murder. I will not answer your speech at greater length. You do not act like a man; you keep none of your promises. I am well aware that your army has taken the field; you said as much to the Onondaga, upon calling at Montreal, and also to your countrymen in custody at Three Rivers. And yet you think to beguile me with a collar of wampum. The blood of my brothers cries out loud; and if I be not soon appeased, I will render satisfaction to their souls. How is it that Ondesonk does not appear here? I asked for him and not for his writing, which is already so old that I no longer recognize it. You have the insolence to dare ask the restoration of some hatchets and rags taken from certain of your People. Have you brought back the plunder taken by your countrymen, the things stolen during the last two years from French houses? Drop your treachery, and let us make war if you will not have peace. The Frenchman does not know what it is to fear, after he is determined upon war.

"You ask the Algonquin and the Huron what they have in their hearts. Your brother, the Onondaga, has slain the Hurons, and you came to murder the Algonquins; do you ask them what they have in their hearts? They allow me to save your life, because they obey me; but except that they respect me, the collar that you gave them as a present would serve them as a halter with which to strangle you."

An Algonquin Captain added these few words: "You say that you have not heard of the Frenchmen's death. Think you we are such children as to believe that you did not see their scalps, which your People carried to their country? Your people constitute but a single cabin, with five fires; and yet have you not seen those trophies? Ondesonk presented to you your nephew, whom Onontio and I sent back to you; have you uttered a single word of gratitude for that?" He referred to the young Iroquois captured in war by an Algonquin, who gave him to Sir de Lauson, Governor of the country. The Governor sent him to France, where he remained for some time. Then he returned to Quebec in 1657, and from there was taken back to his own country by Father Le Moyne. The Algonquin continued his speech. "Also, my brother," (said he to the Mohawk), "be not astonished at seeing your Countrymen in irons. Onontio, who is our Father, often treats us so when we are drunk."

The Mohawk, seeing that the Council was adjourning, and that no one spoke of sending him back to his own country, presented two more gifts. With the first he said: "I do not know the murderer of the Frenchmen. When I visited Montreal, I learned that it was the Oneida or the Cayuga; but if, Onontio, you will let two or three of us go and carry word to our Elders of the state of our affairs, you will see in the Spring Ondesonk and the murderers." With the second present, "Pending full and entire satisfaction for these murders, I wipe up in advance the dead men's blood that has been shed on the ground."

While these assemblies were being called and Councils held at Quebec, the Mohawks, in February, held a secret one, attended by a small number of the chiefs and Elders of all the Nations. It was determined there that, as soon as the Mohawks and Onondagas in the custody of the French should be recovered, violent hands should be laid on the men near Onondaga; and that, if Onontio did not release those prisoners, a part of the black gowns and of the Frenchmen should be killed, and the rest placed in confinement, to be exchanged for their countrymen who had been put in irons in the French prisons.

I have been informed that, before this general Council of the Iroquois Nations convened, a special one had been held in Onondaga, where the death of our Fathers and of our Frenchmen was determined upon. The execution of this decree was to have followed soon, had not a Captain, a great friend of our Fathers, adroitly stayed proceedings, saying that they must not be hasty; our throats could easily be cut whenever they chose; we could not escape; and to strike the blow with more safety and less danger of loss, they must await the return of the young men who had gone to war.

What were the thoughts of our poor Fathers, to whom this news was told in private? What resolution could be adopted by fifty-three Frenchmen, upon seeing themselves surrounded by enemies on all sides, and learning every day that various bands and companies were on their way down to our French people, bent on massacring them as well as our Indians? I have also been told that our Fathers, to stop these undertakings, made presents to the Elders of Onondaga; but the Elders replied that they could not restrain their young men.

It is also said that the murderers of the three Montreal Frenchmen, on being asked why they had attacked the French after making peace with them, mockingly answered: "The French hold the Hurons and Algonquins in their arms; so when we wish to strike those of one Nation, the blows sometimes fall upon the others."

Fear of the stake and of bondage almost caused a division of the French forces; but they all united and adopted a wise plan of action. On the 20th of March, they forsook their house, and departed from that poor and wretched country.

On the 25th, Father Ondesonk, having gone from the Iroquois Villages to New Netherland, wrote me a Letter which was brought to me from Dieppe, reaching Paris in November of this year, 1658. From it I have extracted the following: "Our French at Onondaga do not know whether we are at peace or at war; for the latest company of our best Huron Christians, who voluntarily went up with them to live in the country of the Onondagas, were all cruelly massacred midway by the Indians conducting them, and that done before the faces of their brothers, the French, who expected to fare no better themselves.

"As for me, I am believed at Quebec to be dead; and the probabilities supporting that conjecture are not inconsiderable. Since my arrival at the Mohawk nation, nearly five months ago, a murder has been committed at Montreal of three of its principal citizens, the scalps of two and the head of the third were carried off. There have been seen, at Quebec and at Three Rivers, bands of Iroquois warriors proceeding against the Algonquins. In this suspicious state of things, Sir Dailleboust deemed it best to put a considerable number of them in irons, where they have remained for five or six months.

"This detention nearly caused my death, and here I am today with the Dutch, on the eve of delivering myself to a barque which they are fitting out for Quebec. I am informed from all sides that the Mohawk felt nothing but regret at my presence in his country, where, after the imprisonment of his countrymen, I was rendering assistance to our Christian Hurons.

"Our poor Algonquins, both upper and lower, are today running the risk of total destruction, unless God intervene. For the Iroquois is playing his last card, having left his country to go and exterminate them. A part of them have been in the field for two months, and are not expected to return until next Autumn. Their purpose is to sweep away the large Village of Hurons and Algonquins, where the late Father Garreau was going. The remainder left upon my arrival in their country, planning to put to rout all whom they might encounter, whether on the Saguenay or at Tadoussac.

Simon Le Moyne.

New Netherland, March 25, 1658.

On the 3rd of April, our Fathers and our Frenchmen, after a thousand dangers, finally reached Montreal, where the ice opened to give them passage. They were compelled to tarry there about fourteen days, because the lower river was not yet clear. As the country of the Iroquois is farther to the South than that of the Algonquins, they had found its lakes and rivers much less obstructed with ice. Montreal received them with great kindness.

On the 17th of April, they appeared at Three Rivers, where they were looked upon as People escaped from fire, water, and ice. There they had to make a short stay, owing to the same difficulties of passage, the River opening later in places farther Northward.

On the 23rd of the same month, April, they landed at Quebec, where each told his adventures more than once.

We saw above, under date of February 12 of this year, 1658, how the Ambassadors from Mohawk promised that the French should see Ondesonk in the Spring; and he did land at Montreal toward the end of May. When the Mohawks conducting him assured Sir de Maisonneuve that their countrymen had not broken the peace with the French, he released, upon their petition and that of the Father, two Mohawks whom he had recently arrested. Upon their arrival at Three Rivers, the Governor of the place put them into a sailboat with five Mohawks, and they were conveyed to Quebec, to Sir Dailleboust.

Immediately an assembly of French and of our Indian Allies was convened, to hear these new Ambassadors. Those who were present having, in large numbers, gone from the Hall of the Fort into a gallery overlooking the great River, this gallery, which was badly decayed, proved not strong enough to support so many people. Consequently it broke down, and all the French and Indians, the free and the captive, landed pell-mell outside the Fort, without having gone out by the door; but no one was seriously injured. When all had re-entered, the speeches were delivered and presents offered in the usual manner. As a result of this Council, those who had brought Father Le Moyne -- called Ondesonk by the Indians -- returned to their own country with presents and some prisoners, to invite the Elders to visit Onontio for the purpose of concluding a general peace embracing all the Nations. Pending that event, it was decided to retain a part of the Mohawks, treating them well. The departure from Quebec was in June; I do not know the exact day. At this same time, Father Le Moyne, who had paused at Montreal before proceeding to the Mohawks' country, returned there at the request of two good and worthy priests dwelling there.

In the same month of June, a band of Oneidas, who had set out from their country before our Fathers and our Frenchmen had left Lake Onondaga, captured three Frenchmen at Three Rivers and carried them off with them to the Island of Montreal. Here, while they were bent on taking some of our People by surprise, one of their own number was killed; which so angered them that they burned on the spot one of the three Frenchmen whom they held captive, carrying off the other two to their own country, where they are said to have been put to death at a slow fire.

On the 11th of July, there arrived at Quebec the Viscount d'Argenson, sent by his Majesty and the members of the Company of New France to govern the country. As soon as his ship had dropped anchor, Sir Dailleboust, who had been filling his place until his arrival, went to salute him as he landed, while the citizens of Quebec stood at arms upon the quay. After taking possession of the Fort, the Viscount d'Argenson paid a visit to our Lord in the Parish Church and afterward in our Chapel, going then to the Hospital, and from there to the Ursulines.

On the next day, which was the 12th of the same month, July, while he was washing his hands before sitting down at table, the cry arose, "To arms!" and a report came that the Iroquois were killing some people, at a spot so nearby that the cries of both the attackers and the attacked were heard from the neighboring houses. The Governor left the company and the dinner, instantly raised 220 men, without counting the Hurons and Algonquins who joined the group, and chased these skirmishers. The skirmishers, to make their escape, dropped two Algonquin children whom they were carrying away, after leaving as dead three poor Algonquin women; one of these had indeed been killed on the spot, the second died of her wounds some time afterward, while the third recovered.

On the 13th, the Governor started forth at daybreak with 250 men; but after a six hours' march they found only the Iroquois' trail, who themselves had retreated. Therefore, the Governor was forced to lead his men back, determined to march out in good order at the first certain information he should receive of the enemy's approach.

On the 28th, the Governor honored our Fathers by visiting their College, which is not so largely attended as the one in Paris. But small though the school was, the pupils received him in three languages, -- which pleased him, as also a large company of French and Indians who were present.

On the 1st of August, the Indians went to salute the Governor, and presented him with their gifts, as a sign of the hope which they entertained of being delivered, by his means, from the ills inflicted upon them by their enemies. The Viscount paid them his compliments, and then gave them a feast, after the custom of the country.

Some time afterward, -- receiving information that two Iroquois had come to Three Rivers to make some proposition to Sir de la Poterie; and believing, with reason, that they were advance-scouts of some army, and were coming to spy out the condition of this place, its defense, and the attitude of its inhabitants, -- he started out with 150 Frenchmen and 100 Indians, and went up as far as Three Rivers. But not finding anything in sight, after settling Sir de la Poterie as special Governor over that place, he pushed on as far as the Islands of Lake St. Pierre, halted on the old site of Fort Richelieu, and, the wind not permitting him to ascend the river to visit Montreal, returned to Quebec with all his militia.

On the 14th of the same month, 20 Mohawks who were opposite the Fort of Three Rivers, on the other side of the great River, and who were well aware that the (Governor had arrived there went down in the night toward Quebec, and, after prowling stealthily about our settlements to capture some poor Huron or some Algonquin, pounced upon two Frenchmen at Cap-Rouge. One was the son of a settler named Haiot, and the other was a servant of Sir Bourdon. They were robbed and stripped, but received no farther injury, as they adroitly escaped from the enemy's hands.

Toward the end of August, these twenty hunters of men and beasts went up again by stealth to Three Rivers. A Frenchman who saw some oF them stealing like thieves upon their prey, aimed at one of the band, but was balked oF his purpose by a young Iroquois who shot him in the arm. As he was not far from the village, he made his escape. These Indians, not thinking that he was wounded, divided into two bands; ten remained hiding in the dense woods, while the remaining ten were so bold as to go and present themselves before the French, saying that they came upon Onontio's invitation to discuss a permanent and general treaty oF peace.

We have just noted above, under date of June, that the Mohawk Ambassadors who had restored Father Ondesonk to us had received orders to return to their own country, and to tell their Elders that their prisoners would not be released until they themselves come to arrange for a general treaty of peace between all the Nations. Whether those Ambassadors had met on the way these twenty hunters or warriors, or had actually made their report to the country, these twenty men had started out to come and negotiate with the French, the twenty made every effort to capture by stealth all the Hurons, all the Algonquins; and perhaps all the French, whom they could catch.

As they found their number too large to make people believe that they came as Ambassadors, they divided, and only ten presented themselves. But they fell into the pit which they were digging for others, and, wishing to deceive us, were themselves deceived; for he who was in command at Three Rivers adroitly accomplished their capture, and sent seven of them to the Governor at Quebec. These poor wretches barely escaped being murdered by the Algonquins, upon landing, even under guard of the French, who were more than fifty strong, and well armed for conducting them from the river bank to a tower not far distant.

The Governor not having yet made known his purpose to the Algonquins, they believed that he wished to free these prisoners. So they became infuriated against them, remembering the acts of deceit, treachery, and murder committed upon their poor fellow-countrymen. I believe that they are now satisfied with the Governor's course of action, seeing that he has at heart the interests of the Faith, of the Christian Indians, and of all our Allies.

The Captain of this band of Mohawks is called in his own tongue Atogouaekouan, and in the Algonquin, Michtaemikouan, or "the large spoon." If he is the same one who came to Quebec in 1645 to negotiate for peace with Sir Charles de Montmagny, he is a tall, well-formed man, daring, valiant, deceitful, eloquent, and given to teasing. Such were the fine qualities observed in him even at that time. This was the condition of the country on the 6th of September of this year, 1658, when the first vessel weighed anchor to return to France.

DIFFERENT ROUTES FROM CANADA TO HUDSON BAY. THE NAMES OF MANY RECENTLY DISCOVERED NATIONS.

Our Fathers perish at sea, are killed on land, are burned, eaten, slandered, and persecuted everywhere. They entrust themselves to the river Saguenay; ascend it despite its swift current, penetrate the gloom of the thickest forests, and go everywhere in search of poor abandoned tribes. The enemy slays the sheep and the shepherds. They follow the people called the Atikamekw into their country, and are put to death. They go up to the land of the Ottawa, and are murdered. They visit the Nipissings, the Hurons, and the Neutral Nation, and are captured on the way and burned. Banished from among the Hurons, the Nipissings, and other neighboring tribes, they enter the country of the Iroquois, proclaiming the greatness of God. The people conspire against them and against the French.

Nearly everywhere, the door is closed to the Gospel. But all is not yet lost; the Tadoussac Mission and those to the Porcupine Innu, the Atikamekw, and the tribes that associate with them, still remain; as do the Missions to the Abenakis, and to the remnants of the Hurons and Algonquins.

"I send you," says a Father, "some memoranda which I have obtained, partly from two Frenchmen who have made their way far inland, and partly from several Indians who are eyewitnesses to the things which I am about to describe, and which will be of service in drafting a general Map of those regions. You will see, in the sketch that I send, where I have placed Tadoussac, Three Rivers, Lake Nipissing, and Sault Ste. Marie. In it you will also see the new routes for going to Hudson Bay, by way of Tadoussac, by way of Three Rivers, and by way of the Nipissings, with the distances between places estimated according to the number of days taken by the Indians to make the journeys; I estimated 37 miles a day going down stream, owing to the swiftness of the current, and 17 or 20 miles going up. I have traced these routes, following the Rhumb-line marked by the Indians themselves, always in a direction between Northwest and West, or West by South; seldom due North.

"You will also see the names of the principal Nations, which I have noted on the Map that I send you, designating each by a single cabin. All these Nations are stationary and populous, and all speak either pure Algonquin, or pure Innu, or pure Abenaki. Some confuse these three languages, which much resemble one another, so that these Missions as a whole may be called the Algonquin Missions; for anyone who learns the Algonquin language will soon readily understand them all; God has given me a tolerable acquaintance with these three tongues. Let us say a few words about these routes and these Nations."

ROUTES TO HUDSON BAY.

THE first route to Hudson Bay, starting from Tadoussac, runs nearly Northward; its course is as follows: One must ascend the Saguenay river, which empties into the great Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac, and paddle up to the lake called Lac Saint-Jean, distant from Tadoussac about 100 miles in a straight line. The Indians take five days to go up by this route, because of the currents and falls which they encounter; but they need only two long days' journey for the descent, being aided by the swiftness of the current.

"From Lac Saint-Jean, one must proceed to another lake named Outakouami; the distance between the two, according to the Indians' account, is the same as that between Quebec and Montreal, that is, 150 miles, which they accomplish in ten days going up and in five coming down.

"The distance from lake Outakouami to Hudson Bay is about 150 miles. They take five days for this journey, which is slightly descending, by way of a large Bay or inlet which is on the same meridian as this lake, toward the North.

"On the left side of lake Outakouami, as you go toward the West, a river, flowing from the inland region, or rather from the forests with which this country is completely covered, empties into this lake. The Indians say that, on ascending this stream, one comes to the river Metaberoutin, which we call the Three Rivers, about three days' journey beyond a lake called by them Ouapichiouanon; and from there one proceeds to the Bay of the people named Crees, who are on Hudson Bay.

"The second route to Hudson Bay is by way of Three Rivers, going toward the Northwest. One goes from Three Rivers to the lake called Ouapichiouanon, about 375 miles from where Three Rivers empty into the Saint Lawrence. Coming down, the Indians make this journey in seven days.

"From this lake one proceeds in a straight line to the river of the Oukouingouechiouek. Last Spring the Indians covered this distance in three days, although it is fully 100 miles; but, as the route is slightly descending, progress is the more rapid, but, on the upward journey it is considerably delayed.

"From the river of the Oukouingouechiouek to the Bay of the Crees called Nisibourounik, I estimate the distance at about 150 or 175 miles, and it is accomplished in four days. A Cree Indian, coming to the above-mentioned river of the Oukouingouechiouek to trade or barter goods, passed the Winter with these peoples, and promised them to return in the Spring with many of his countrymen. He asserts that it is only a four days' journey.

"Third route. The Nipissings, starting from their lake, which is called Nipissing, and from where they have taken their name of Nipissings, reach Hudson Bay in fifteen days; that is, their lake is distant perhaps 375 miles.

"Fourth route. The Achirigouans, who live on a river emptying into the Freshwater Sea of the Hurons, go in a few days to trade with the Attawapiskat Crees, who are on the sea-shore. We shall see below that there are several clans of Crees.

"Fifth route. The upper Algonquins reach Hudson Bay in seven days, going in three days to the lake called Nipigon, and from there descending in four more days to the Bay of the Crees, which is on the coast.

"There is a new way from the country of the Hurons to Three Rivers, starting from the lake called Temagami, that is, 'deep water,'- which I think is the freshwater sea of the Hurons (Lake Huron), and the source of the great Saint Lawrence River. After proceeding some distance on this great river, one goes across country about 37 miles, passing some small streams, to the lake called Ouassisanik, from where flows a river which takes one to Three Rivers. By this route, about two years ago, twenty-five Nipissing canoes arrived, laden with men, women, children, and furs. They told us that they had everywhere found moose, or beavers, or fish, which had furnished them with food; and assured us it would be easy for our Frenchmen, starting from Three Rivers, to reach the freshwater sea of the Hurons in a month. The above routes are more difficult to travel than the highroad from Paris to Orleans. Let us now note the names of the recently-discovered Nations."

NAMES OF MANY RECENTLY DISCOVERED NATIONS.

FATHER Gabriel Druillettes, from whom we have obtained most of what is contained in this Chapter, conferred the name of Saint Michel upon the first Village which he mentions. Its inhabitants are called, in Algonquin, Potawatomi. In this Village there are computed to be about seven hundred men; that is, three thousand people, since to one man there are at least three or four other persons, namely, women and children. They have for neighbors the Kiskakon Ottawas and the Negaouichiriniouek (Keinouche Ottawas?). There are in this Village about a hundred men of the Petun nation, who took refuge there to escape the cruelty of the Iroquois.

"The second Nation is composed of the Noquet Menominee, Winnebago, and Menominee. These people are but a short distance from the Village of Saint Michel, or from the Potawatomi. They reap, without sowing it, a kind of rye which grows wild in their meadows, and is considered superior to Indian corn. About two hundred Algonquins, who used to dwell on the Northern shores of the great Lake or the freshwater sea of the Hurons (Lake Huron), have taken refuge in this place.

"The third Nation is distant about three days' journey inland, by water, from the Village of St. Michel. It is composed of the Mascouten and Kickapoo. The two Frenchmen who have made the journey to those regions say that these people are of a gentle disposition.

"The fourth Nation has a Village of a thousand men, distant three days' journey from the Village of St. Michel, its total population being four or five thousand souls.

"The fifth Nation, called the Illinois, is larger; it is computed at fully 20,000 men and sixty Villages, making about a hundred thousand people in all. It is seven days' journey Westward from St. Michel.

"The sixth Nation, whose people are called Miamis, is distant 150 miles from St. Michel. It has fully eight thousand men, or more than twenty-four thousand people.

"The seventh, called the Dakota, or Warriors, contains thirty Villages, situated West by North from St. Michel.

"The eighth lies to the Northwest, ten days' journey from St. Michel, and has fully 40 Villages, inhabited by the Sioux and Makoucoue.

"The ninth, situated beyond the Sioux, about 87 miles from lake Nipigon, is called the Nation of the Assiniboine Sioux, or Warriors of the rock.'

"The tenth Nation is that of the Crees, who comprise four Nations or tribes. Those of the first are called the Nipigon Crees; of the second, the Crees of Attawapiskat Bay; of the third, the Crees of the Nipissings, because the Nipissings discovered their country, where they rely on trade or barter goods. They comprise only about six hundred men, that is, two thousand five hundred people, and are not stationary. They are of an approachable disposition. The people of the fourth tribe are called Nisibourounik Cree.

"The fourteenth Nation has thirty Villages, inhabited by the Mascoutens, and is six or seven days' journey Southwest by South from St. Michel. The Onondagas have recently declared war against them."

The Father speaks also of learning from a Nipissing Captain that he had seen at one place two thousand Algonquins tilling the soil; and that the other Villages of the same country were still more populous. This Captain asserted that toward the South and Southeast there were more than thirty Nations, all stationary, all speaking the Abenaki tongue, and all more populous than were the Hurons of old, who numbered as many as thirty or thirty-five thousand people within 42 miles.

"I do not speak," says the Father, "of the Nations that have long been known." Indeed, he says nothing of the Kichesipirini Algonquins, the Kinonchepiirinik, the Ounountchatarounongak, the Mataouchkarini Algonquins, the Ouaouechkairiniouek, the Amikwa, the Ojibwe, the Ouasaouanik, the Ouraouakmikoug, the Oukiskimanitouk, the Maskasinik, the Ojibwes, the Michesaking, the Ojibwes (people of the great Sault), and the Kichkagoneiak Algonquins. All these Nations, several of whom have been maltreated by the Iroquois, use the Algonquin tongue.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE FRENCH, OR THE EUROPEANS, AND THOSE OF THE INDIANS.

Let us begin with the sense of smell. There are found, in these regions of America, animals to which the French have given the name of muskrats, because they resemble the rats of France, except that they are much larger, and smell of musk in the Spring. The French are fond of this odor; the Indians dislike it as if it were a stench. They anoint themselves, and smear their heads and faces with oils and grease that smell to us like carrion. It is their musk, their orangeade, and their perfume. The rose, the pink, the clove, the nutmeg, and similar odors which are agreeable to us, are flavorless to them; and tobacco, which causes nausea to those unaccustomed to smell it, constitutes one of their chief delights.

Concerning the sense of hearing, although the Indians take much pleasure in singing, a concert of music sounds to them like a confusion of voices, and an opera like a bird's twittering. The warbling of birds is not disagreeable to them; but their own songs, which are so heavy and dismal as to give us ideas of night, seem to them as beautiful as the blush of dawn. They sing amid dangers; in torments, and at the approach of death; while the French usually preserve a deep silence on all such occasions. Salt, which seasons all foods eaten in Europe, renders them bitter to the Indian taste. Their smoked meat, which to us is almost soot, is savory to them. Intercommunication causes the palates of some Frenchmen to adapt themselves to smoked flesh, and those of some Indians to salted food.

I have never seen an Indian that did not abhor Dutch cheese, radishes, spices, mustard, and similar condiments. I remember in this connection, the following incident. An Indian was at table with some French people when mustard was served, and his curiosity to taste of every dish, without knowing its nature, made him dip his spoon into this condiment. Taking a tolerably good dose, he thrust it into his mouth before anyone had told him how it was usually eaten. He furnished merriment for all the company. It is an Indian's glory to be a hearty eater, as it is that of many a European to be a lusty drinker; and this good fellow, wishing to show the strength of his courage, strove to keep his countenance. His tears, however, betrayed him, although he set his teeth and compressed his lips to the utmost; until at last the little maintenance of appearances and facial control that he possessed escaped him, and he was left highly astonished at the strength of that "yellow porridge", as he called it. Finally, he was instructed how mustard was to be eaten; but he never put the lesson into practice, being content with that first experience for the rest of his days. Sauces, condiments, dressings, which are the delight of gourmets, would here make a little hell for the Indian's gullet.

Although they have a tenderer and more delicate skin than the French, if one accept the evidence of the lancet and the hand of the Surgeon, who attributes this delicacy to the oil and grease with which they anoint and rub themselves, yet those good people have none of our Europeans' softness and delicacy. They find sleep sweeter upon the earth for a bed, with a pillow of wood, than do many upon down. It is a fact that habit causes the sense of touch to rebel against too great softness, finding its pleasure and satisfaction in things harder and rougher.

I have known Fathers who could not take their sleep on a bed, because they had become accustomed to sleep like the Indians. If they were given, on returning from their Missions, a pallet or mattress, they had to, until they had regained their former habits, pass a portion of the night upon the paved floor of the room, to sleep for a little while more at their ease.

The Indians go almost half naked during the Winter, while the French dress as warmly as they can.

Concerning the sense of sight, it is quite certain that it is more perfect among the Indians than among the French. If any object is to be caught sight of, the French do not trust their own eyes so much as those of the Indians. The Indians all have black eyes, and smaller than other people's. I would readily believe that the superiority enjoyed by them over us is due to their not drinking wine or eating salt, spices, or other things capable of drying up the bodily fluids of the eye and impairing its tone. However it may be, their eyesight often finds beauty where ours sees only ugliness. Those who say that the beauty of a face consists in the symmetry of its parts and in the whiteness and red pigment covering it, must retract one-half of their definition if they would not offend the Africans, the Indians, and many Asiatics.

In France, to make a face more beautiful, it is cleansed of oil and washed as carefully as possible. The Indians, on the contrary, grease it as much as they can, thinking it more pleasing, the more shiny it is. To make oneself hideous in Europe, one daubs himself with black, yellow, and blue; and that is the thing that makes an Indian handsome and of pleasing appearance. When one of them wishes to pay a visit or attend some feast or dance, he has his face painted in various colors by some woman or girl; for that is one of their arts, as it was of old among the Jews. After he has been well bedaubed, he is looked upon as a handsome man, but in Europe he would be taken for a demon.

In France, large eyes, and lips rather compressed than open, are beautiful. In Africa, small eyes, the blackest complexion, and hanging, recurved lips make a beautiful face. In Canada, black eyes and a large face bear off the prize for beauty and grace. In Europe, the whitest teeth are the most beautiful. The Moors and Indians surpass us in this attraction, having teeth whiter than ivory. In some parts of Oriental India, those who eat the Betel-nut have red teeth; and this color constitutes a part of their glory.

In France, hair that is a little blond, well washed with soap and cleansed of oil, carefully arranged and curled, is the most beautiful. Negroes like it short, black, and crisp. The Indians wish it long, stiff, black, and all lustrous with grease. A curly head is as ugly to them as it is beautiful in France. There is nothing so grotesque as an Indian's headdress. Instead of Cyprus powder, they sprinkle their well-greased hair with down, or the tiny feathers of birds, and with this fine adornment think themselves as comely as those who wear ribbons. Indeed, this down is as delicate as the web of the silkworm.

The hair is not dressed according to fashion in that country. Their fancy is their fashion. Some wear it erect on the head, pointing upward. There is a whole Nation called the Standing Hair, because they like this mode of head-dress. Others shave the middle of the head, wearing hair only on the two sides, like great mustaches. Some lay bare all one side, leaving the other wholly covered. Mustaches are worn in France on the sides of the face; but Indian women wear them at the back of the head, gathering up their hair into a little ball which rests on their shoulders. Each thinks his own fashion the most beautiful. Ours often changes in France.

The beard is held to add grace and adornment to man, but this opinion is not everywhere received. In that new world, a beard is the greatest disfigurement that a face can have. The peoples of those countries call the Europeans "bearded," as a gross insult. An Indian, looking into a Frenchman's face with most extraordinary attention and in profound silence, suddenly exclaimed, after considering him a long time, "Oh, the bearded man! Oh, how ugly he is!" They have such dread of this disfigurement that, if some hair is inclined to grow on their chins, they pluck it out immediately, to rid themselves of what is beautiful to us, but ugly to them.

Ladies in Europe take pleasure in having their hair well dressed, and it is indecorous for them to appear bare-headed, and with hair flying in disorder. This is one of the charms of Canadian women; they commonly go bare-headed, and consider themselves pretty when their hair has a bright gloss and is stiff with grease. They wear it loose on each side, but gather it up behind into a little mass which they adorn with small beads of their wampum.

In France, the head-dress distinguishes men from women. When the Indians cover their heads, any head-dress is good in their eyes; a man would use a hood as readily as a woman, if he found that head-gear warm and a good fit for him. Those who mingle with us most often are beginning to make a distinction in their head-dresses, the men choosing our hats or riding caps, and the women our red woolen nightcaps; the longer they are and the more striking in color, the more beautiful they appear to them. But they are not so particular that a woman will not use a riding-cap, and a man a nightcap, in the middle of the day. In Europe, if a boy should dress up like a girl, he would be a masquerader. In New France, a woman's dress is not improper for a man.

The Ursuline Mothers having given a dress to a young girl who was leaving their seminary, the man who married her wore it soon afterward, with as much grace as did his wife; and if the French made fun of him, he only laughed, taking their teasing for approval.

In France, not long ago, the lobe of the ear was pierced for hanging to that a little trinket, and the smaller the hole the more dainty its appearance. In Canada, both men and women have their ears pierced, the operation being performed upon children in the cradle. The larger the holes, the better; and they easily insert a stick of Spanish wax. Not only the lobe of the ear is pierced, but also the cartilage or rim, which the women are accustomed to hang with bits of shell, called wampum.

In other parts of America, some Nations pierce the nose between the two nostrils, suspending some trinket or other; others set precious stones in their cheeks, and still others on their thick and recurved lips -- all this to please their eyes and attain the goal of beauty.

In France, bracelets are worn on the wrist; but the Indians wear them not only there, but also above the elbow and even on the legs above the ankle. Why do not those parts deserve their vanities and trinkets as much as the others, since the natives commonly leave them uncovered?

Only women in France wear necklaces, but in Canada this adornment is more common among men than among women. Instead of pearls and diamonds, they wear wampum beads strung in various ways, like those of rosaries, and little cylinders or tubes of glass or shell-work. I have seen a Huron wear at his neck a boat-pulley, and another some keys that he had stolen. Anything unusual pleases them, provided it costs them nothing more than a theft.

We cut our nails; the Indians let theirs grow. If you accuse them of uncouthness, you will be condemned by whole peoples of Oriental India, who foster the utmost possible growth of their nails as a mark of their nobility -- wishing to indicate that their fingers, encumbered by these natural superfluities, are not fitted for work.

In France, men and women have their clothes made rather tight-fitting, to impart a lighter appearance, the girls especially priding themselves on their slenderness. In Canada, everyone dresses so as to look large, both men and women wearing robes which they gird in two places, below the navel and above the stomach, tucking up their ample robes and letting the fold hang down. And so, they have a great sack around the body, in which they stow away a thousand things. Here mothers put their children, to caress them and keep them warm.

The longer a Lady's dress, the more graceful it is; but Indian women would make fun of a dress that came down much below the knees. Their work compels them to follow this fashion.

In Europe, the seam of stockings is behind the leg; and if the stockings have back-stitches or any other ornamentation, they are on this seam and on the ankle. Among the Indians it is otherwise; the seam of stockings worn by men is between the legs, and here they fasten little ornaments made of porcupine quills, stained scarlet, and in the form of fringe or of spangles -- which meet when they walk, and make a pretty effect, not easily described. The women wear this ornamentation on the outer side of the leg.

In France, pattens and raised shoes are considered the most beautiful; but among the Indians the ugliest, because the most uncomfortable. The Indians' shoes are as flat as tennis-shoes, but much wider, especially in winter, when they stuff and line them amply to keep away the cold.

Shirts are in Europe worn next to the skin, under the other garments. The Indians wear them usually over their dress, to shield it from snow and rain, which are readily shed by linen when it is greasy, as their shirts are; for they do not know what it is to wash them.

The end of a shirt protruding from under the coat is an indecorous thing; but not so in Canada. You will see Indians dressed in French attire, with wool socks and a cloak, but without any trousers; while before and behind are seen two large shirt-flaps hanging down below the cloak. This offends the French, and makes them laugh, but would not cause an Indian to lose his gravity in the slightest degree. That fashion seems all the more tasteful in their eyes because they regard our trousers as an encumbrance, although they sometimes wear these as a bit of finery, or in fun.

The good old Gauls in times past hung their wallets in front; the French now put their purses in their pockets. The Indians wear their pocket, wallet, and purse behind the back, in the form of a pouch, which they hang about the neck by means of a leather thong, and in which they put their tobacco and the other little necessaries that they use most frequently. This pocket, or pouch, is generally seamless, and is made by the Huron women as artistically as a piece of needlework; the Algonquins often make it of a whole skin, either an otter's, a fox's, a young bear's, a beaver's, or some other animal's, so neatly stripped off that you would call it perfectly whole; for they remove neither the teeth, ears, claws, nor tail, but make an opening under the neck, through which they draw out the animal's body entire, and through which the Indians insert the hand into this pocket when it is well dried and cured.

Politeness and propriety have taught us to carry handkerchiefs. In this matter the Indians charge us with filthiness because, they say, we place what is unclean in a fine white piece of linen, and put it away in our pockets as something precious, while they throw it upon the ground. So, when an Indian one day saw a Frenchman fold up his handkerchief after wiping his nose, he said to him laughingly, "If you like that filth, give me your handkerchief and I will soon fill it."

The Romans and some Asiatics used to recline on little couches to take their meals, while their tables were crescent-shaped. Most Europeans now sit on raised seats, using round or square tables. The Indians eat from the ground, as do the Turks, and also many peoples of Asia. The world is full of variety and change, and one will never find unalterable permanence.

In France, food and drink are taken together. The Algonquins follow quite the contrary custom in their feasts, first eating what is served them, and then drinking, without touching food again.

In France, the one who invites his friends, sits at the table, and serves them from the foods that he has had prepared. In Canada, the host does not eat, and he sometimes causes another to pass to the guests the dishes of his feast. In Europe, these dishes are placed on the table, to enable all the guests to help themselves freely from whatever they choose; but in Canada, each one is given his dish and his portion.

The French commonly talk much at table; the Indians little, or not at all.

It is a common proverb that the fish is often eaten for the sauce. This proverb is not accepted in that new world; for an Indian could not eat fish swimming in our sauces. The French do not commonly like eggs unless they are soft, but the Indians declare that soft eggs are still quite raw; therefore they have them boiled hard for eating.

The French have a loathing for eggs partly hatched, while the Indians eat with great relish the little bird still in the egg. Indeed, it is a great delicacy. I have partaken of a little Canadian goose from a well-boiled egg; the flesh, when cleaned of the impure matter surrounding it, is fine and of excellent flavor. As for eggs that are rotten and incapable of hatching, they are regarded as putrid by everyone, I think; yet I would not venture to assert it, so different are the noses and palates of different people.

Fat, taken alone, is nauseating to the French; but the Indians drink it warm and eat it cold. The scum of the Pot is in France thrown away as the refuse of the meat, while the Indians gulp it down as an excellent broth, especially in their time of scarcity.

We wash meat to cleanse it of blood and impurities; the Indians do not wash it, for fear of losing its blood and a part of its fat. We usually begin the dinner with soup, which is the last dish among the Indians, the broth of the pot serving them for drink. Bread is eaten in France with the meat and other courses; if you give some to an Indian, he will make a separate course of it and often eat it last. Yet they are gradually adapting themselves to our way.

In most parts of Europe, when anyone comes to visit, he is invited to drink; among the Indians he is invited to eat.

In France, the butchers sell and deliver their meat with the bones, and it is served therefore on the table. Among our Algonquins, the market-men and market-women -- who are almost as numerous as the whole number of men and women -- dress an animal so skillfully that most of the meat is left free from bones. They always boil the whole together, however; but the meat only is brought in at a feast, the bones being given to the host's servants to pick. When they have been well sucked and gnawed, they are not thrown to the dogs, as in France; that would be unwise, because, they say, the animals would become much harder to catch, being informed by their brothers and relatives that their bones are given to the dogs. Therefore, they throw into the fire, or into the river, or else bury the bones of beavers, from fear in case the dogs may find them. In respect to animals that are devoid of intelligence, those that let themselves be readily caught, their bones are held in contempt, and are thrown to the dogs.

When the Indians are not hunting or on a journey, their usual posture is to recline or sit on the ground. They cannot remain standing, maintaining that their legs become swollen immediately. Seats higher than the ground they dislike; -- the French, on the contrary, use chairs, benches, or stools, leaving the ground to animals.

A good dancer in France does not move his arms much, and holds his body erect, moving his feet so nimbly that, you would say, he spurns the ground and wishes to stay in the air. The Indians, on the contrary, bend over in their dances, thrusting out their arms and moving them violently as if they were kneading bread; while they strike the ground with their feet so vigorously that one would say they are determined to make it tremble, or to bury themselves in it up to the neck.

People, on coming from town and taking off their shoes, put them down somewhere out of the way; the Indians hang them in the highest place in their cabins, to let them dry.

In France, children are carried on the arm, or clasped to the breast; in Canada, the mothers bear them behind their backs. In France, they are kept as well covered as possible; in Canada, they are most often as bare as your hand. The cradle, in France, is left at home; in Canada, the women carry it with their children; it is composed merely of a cedar board, on which the poor little one is bound like a bundle.

In France, a workman does not expect his pay until he completes his task; the Indians ask for it in advance.

In France, we are not pleased to see snow or hail fall; but it makes an Indian leap for joy.

Those who sail in European ships go below when it rains; the Indians, on the other hand, to escape the storm, land and invert their little vessel over themselves and their baggage.

When an Indian takes a tool to rough-hew some wood, or a knife to cut anything, he holds the handle and the blade in just the opposite way to that of a Frenchman; the one handles it pointing inward, the other pointing outward.

Europeans have no hesitation about telling their names and conditions, but you embarrass an Indian by asking him his name; if you do ask him, he will say that he does not know, and will make a sign to someone else to tell it.

In France, when a father gives his daughter in marriage, he allows her a dowry. In Canada, it is given to the girl's father.

In Europe, the children inherit from their parents; among the Hurons, the nephews, sons of the father's sister, are their uncle's heirs; and the Indian's small belongings will be given to the friends of the deceased, rather than to his children. This custom, which is not a bad one, being readily explained, is still observed in some parts of Oriental India.

In France, the man usually takes to his house the woman whom he marries; in Canada, the man goes to the woman's house to dwell.

In France, if anyone fall into a fit of anger, or harbor some evil purpose, or meditate some harm, he is reviled, threatened, and punished; in Canada, they give him presents, to soothe his ill-humor, cure his mental ailment, and put good thoughts into his head again. This custom, in the sincerity of their actions, is not a bad one; for if he who is angry, or is devising some ill to resent an offense, touch this present, his anger and his evil purpose are immediately removed from his mind.

In a large part of Europe, ceremonies and compliments are indulged to such an excess as to drive out sincerity. In Canada, sincerity is entirely naked; if its fruit were shaded with a few leaves, the tree would be more beautiful. But it is better to live with frankness and enjoy truth, than to feast on wind and smoke, under offers of service that are full of falsehood.

In Europe, we unclothe the dead as much as we can, leaving them only what is necessary to veil them and hide them from our eyes. The Indians, however, give them all that they can, anointing and attiring them as if for their wedding, and burying them with all their favorite belongings.

The French are stretched lengthwise in their graves, while the Indians, in burying their dead, make them take in the grave the position which they held in their mothers' wombs. In some parts of France, the dead are placed with their heads turned toward the East; the Indians make them face the West.

SOME NEWS BROUGHT BY THE LATEST VESSEL.

YOU will have noted above how our Fathers and our Frenchmen withdrew from their settlement built on the shore of lake Onondaga, near Onondaga. This was done in the night, noiselessly, and so skillfully that the Iroquois, whose cabins were at the doors of our house, were utterly unaware of the conveyance of canoes and boats, of the carrying and shipment of baggage, and of the embarkation of fifty-three persons. They were robbed of this consciousness by sleep, in which they were deeply sunk after their lusty singing and vigorous dancing. But night giving place to day, darkness to light, and sleep to awakening, these Indians emerged from their cabins, walked about our house, which was securely locked, and wondered at the Frenchmen's utter silence. They saw no one come forth to go to work, they heard no voice.

At first they thought that all were at prayers or in council; but, as the day advanced and the prayers did not reach an end, they knocked at the door, and the dogs, purposely left behind by our Frenchmen, gave answering yelps. The crowing of the cock which they had heard in the morning, together with the noise of these dogs, made them think that the masters of these animals were not far away, and they recovered their lost patience; but at length, the Sun beginning to decline and no one answering either the voices of the men or the cries of the animals, they climbed into the house to see in what state our people were amid this fearful silence. Here their wonder was changed to alarm and perturbation.

They opened the door; the chiefs entered, and went all over the house, ascending to the loft and going down into the cellar; but not a Frenchman appeared, alive or dead. They looked at one another, were seized with fear, and believed that they had to do with demons. Not a boat had they seen, and even if they had, they did not imagine our Frenchmen so rash as to deliver themselves to currents and breakers, to rocks and frightful dangers, amid which they themselves often lose their lives. They persuaded themselves that their visitors had either walked off on the waters, or flown away through the air, or, had hidden in the woods.

They made search for them, but without success, and then decided that they had made themselves invisible, and that they would come and pounce upon their Villages just as suddenly as they had disappeared. This retreat, miraculous in their estimation, showed them that our Frenchmen were aware of their treachery; and the sense of their guilt and of their murderous intentions threw them into the utmost terror. They were everywhere on their guard, and remained armed day and night, every moment imagining that the vengeance of the angered French would burst over their heads.

Finally, seeing no such sign, and observing that everything moved along as usual in their country, they sent some of their forces to the French territory, a part of them as warriors, and the others as Ambassadors, to gain news of their guests, and attempt to recover from us their countrymen who had been put in irons.

Those who came in war were roughly used, and the counterfeit Ambassadors were held in custody. We shall ascertain another year the details of all those events and all those intrigues. I relate what I have learned from those who have returned from that new world by the latest vessels.

They add that a rumor is current in that country; that all the Europeans occupying the long coast line from Acadia to Virginia, incensed against the Iroquois, the common foe of all the Nations, wish to form an alliance for their destruction. I do not desire this people's ruin, but I do desire its conversion.

There are many Mohawk, Onondaga, and Oneida prisoners at Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal; and their countrymen come from every direction to ask the Viscount d'Argenson, Governor of the country, to set them free. As he is a man of prudence, he refuses to let them go until those Barbarians bring the children of the chief men of the country, to be kept securely confined in the Seminaries and reared in the Christian faith, and to serve the French as hostages against the incursions of the Indians, who know no law but that of self interest.

I add one more piece of good news. The Algonquins of the upper countries have sent to the French some canoes laden with furs, promising to come next year, to the number of five hundred men, equipped for war and for trade. They wish for some of our Jesuits to go and carry the faith to their country and to those great Nations that we have mentioned.

YEAR 1659
LETTERS SENT FROM NEW FRANCE TO REV. FATHER JACQUES RENAULT, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS IN THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE, BY REV. FATHER JEROME LALLEMANT SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN THIS NEW WORLD. 1659.

FIRST LETTER. THE ARRIVAL OF THE BISHOP OF PETRAEA IN CANADA.

Reverend Father,

The two vessels that have arrived this year from France have changed the aspect of our hearts and of all the country. They have everywhere aroused joy, -- one, through the happy news of the peace between the two Crowns, and the other, through the coming of Right Reverend Bishop of Petraea. Our joy would be complete if the Iroquois were not troubling it with war, which they have renewed after a brief suspension of hostilities. During that time, we have done the impossible, to win the hearts of these Barbarians. Our Fathers have made three journeys to Onondaga for this purpose, and four to Mohawk.

On the other hand, -- so not to irritate these minds, as arrogant as rebellious, -- not only have we contented ourselves with a slight satisfaction for the murders which they have committed at Montreal, but we have also released to them those of their people whom we kept in prison, -- one after the other, so as constantly to procrastinate, and postpone the misfortune with which we are threatened. After various embassies on both sides, -- in which they have always beguiled us with a thousand promises of peace, and with oaths as solemn as can be expected from a barbarous nation, -- they have finally taken up arms again with more cruelty than before. They have wreaked their first fury upon Three Rivers, where they have taken eight Frenchmen. They have already caused them to feel the effects of their barbarism; for they have burned away their nails, and have cut off their fingers and hands. This beginning, considered by them merely as child's play, is a preparation for the fire and flames to which they destine them, in recompense for the kind treatment shown to their people, whom we have always treated well in our prisons, and whom we have at last set free without having injured a single hair of their heads.

We have learned these details from a fugitive Christian Huron. Having been one of a group who were coming here to war, he met the captive Frenchmen in the Islands of Richelieu, led by the Mohawks who had taken them at Three Rivers. "I was touched with compassion," he said, "on seeing the unhappy condition of those poor prisoners; and I was delighted with their devotion amid their sufferings. At evening I heard them sing the Litany of the Virgin, and in the morning the Veni Creator, with the other prayers. I saw them lift to heaven their mutilated hands, all dripping with blood." The sight made so great an impression on this good man's mind that he then took the final resolve to leave the Iroquois and cast himself into our hands, to preserve his Faith, and to reveal to us a part of the enemy's plans.

The Onondagas have not been more grateful than the Mohawks; for they likewise took at Three Rivers three of our French, two of whom happily escaped from their hands. The third, however, was cruelly burned at his arrival in the village of Onondaga -- where, shortly before, our Fathers had practiced inconceivable charities toward their sick people, and suffered all sorts of labors to instruct them and open to them the way to Heaven. Recently, the Iroquois have taken still another Frenchman near Quebec, after wounding him with a gunshot; and we learn that they are preparing to burst upon us with an army -- next Spring, at the latest, to sweep away some Village of ours, and spread desolation throughout the country.

It is the Custom among these nations to acknowledge the rank of recently-arrived strangers by the magnificence of the feasts which one makes in their behalf; our Indians would not have conceived a worthy idea of the Bishop if he had not adapted himself to their way of doing things, and had not fed them with a solemn feast. It put them in good humor, and they made their speeches to him, interspersed with their usual songs.

The first who spoke was one of the oldest Hurons: "O Hariouaouagui," -- this is the name which they give the Bishop, and which means in their language 'the man of the great work,' -- "we are now nothing but the fragments of a once flourishing nation, which Was formerly the terror of the Iroquois, and which possessed every kind of riches. What you see is only the skeleton of a great people, from which the Iroquois has gnawed off all the flesh, and which he is striving to suck out to the marrow. What attractions can you find in our miseries? How can you be charmed by this remnant of living carrion, to come from so far and join us in the so pitiful condition in which you see us? If you will have a Christian people, the infidel must be destroyed; and know that, if you can obtain from France armed forces to humble the Iroquois, who comes to us with yawning jaws to swallow up the remnant of your people, know that by the destruction of two or three of these enemies' villages you will make for yourself a great highway to vast lands and to many nations, who extend their arms to you and yearn only for the light of the Faith. Courage, O Hariouaouagui; give life to your poor children, who are at bay! On our life depends that of countless peoples; but our life depends on the death of the Iroquois."

This speech, uttered with warmth, was all the more touching because it represented the last sighs of a dying nation.

Quebec, this 12th of September, 1659.

SECOND LETTER. THE ALGONQUIN AND HURON CHURCHES.

Reverend Father,

I sent word to you concerning the universal joy aroused in this country at the coming of the Bishop of Petraea; but the war with the Iroquois much reduces our pleasure.

A good Christian Algonquin woman, named Cecile Kouekoueate, falling sick in the midst of the woods, and seeing herself in extremity without being able to confess, she believed that she might make up for this in some fashion with a present of Beaver-skins, which she bequeathed to the Church of Three Rivers. Accordingly, she ordered her relatives to go there quickly after her death, and present her gift there as a substitute for her Confession. As soon as she expired, they hurried to Three Rivers. Having arrived, they spoke to the Father who has charge of the Indians, and said to him: "Black Gown, listen to the voice of the dead, and not to that of the living. It is not we who speak to you; it is a departed woman, who, before dying, enclosed her voice in this package. She has assigned it to declare to you all her sins, as she herself could not do so by word of mouth. Your handwriting enables you to speak to the absent; she intends to do, by means of these Beaver-skins, what you do by means of your papers. She died two weeks ago; she is Cecile Kouekoueate. See to it, as soon as possible, that her soul be well treated in all the cabins through which it shall pass; and that, on arriving at Heaven, she be not kept waiting at the door." These good people, neither instructed nor baptized, confused their fables with our truths.

Such are some of the details that I have learned about these two afflicted Churches. They are now nothing but the wreck of two suffering Churches, and would serve as the seed of a great Christian people, did not the Iroquois continue to exterminate them.

Quebec, This 10th of October, 1659.

THIRD LETTER. OF THE ACADIAN MISSION.

Reverend Father,

I write to you to inform you of what has occurred in the Mission of Acadia, where three of our Fathers are laboring for the conversion of the Indians on that coast, and for the salvation of the French who are settled there.

Acadia is that part of New France which borders the sea, extending from New England to Gaspe, where the entrance to the great Saint Lawrence River properly begins. All that country, which is fully 750 miles in extent, bears but one name, having but one language.

The English have usurped all the Eastern coast from Canso, Nova Scotia to New England, and have left to the French what extends toward the North; the principal points of the French are called Miscou, Rigibouctou, and Cape Breton. The district of Miscou is the most populous and the best disposed, and contains the most Christians. It comprises the Indians of Gaspe (Micmacs), of Miramichy, and of Nepisiguit.

Rigibouctou is a beautiful river, and important for its trade with the Indians of the river St. John.

Cape Breton is one of the first Islands which one meets on coming from France. For its size it is fairly well populated with Indians. Sir Denis is in command of the principal settlement which the French have in those areas. Such is the country which our Fathers have cultivated since the year 1629, and in which Fathers Andre Richard, Martin Lyonne, and Jacques Fremin are at present laboring.

Jacques Fremin has had for his portion the coast of Rigibouctou, where he has wintered among the Indians. With them he has suffered, besides the scurvy, famine caused by the deficiency of snows, which are the Indians' riches; for the Moose, Caribous, and other animals are caught in them as in a snare, when they are deep enough.

Two years ago, the Indians of these coasts were at war with the Eskimo. These Eskimo are a nation dwelling at the extreme Northeastern end of New France, at about 52 degrees of latitude and 330 of longitude. It is wondrous how these Indian mariners navigate so far in little sailboats, crossing vast seas without compass, and often without sight of the Sun, trusting to instinct for their guidance.

But in this respect the Eskimo arouse even greater wonder. They sometimes make the same transit, not in sailboats, but in small canoes, whose structure and speed are indeed astonishing. They are not made of bark, like those of the Algonquins, but of skins of seals, which abound in their country. These canoes are covered with those same skins. An opening is left at the top, which gives admittance to the one who is to navigate, who is always alone in this gondola. Seated and ensconced in the hold of this little leather boat, he gathers about him the skin which covers him, and fastens and binds it so well that the water cannot enter. Lodged in this pouch, he paddles on each side alternately with a single paddle, which has a blade at each end.

He paddles so skillfully, and causes his boat to move so lightly, that he outruns the sailboats. Besides, if this canoe happens to capsize, there is nothing to fear; for, as it is light and filled with air enclosed within, along with half the body of the boatman, it easily rights itself, and restores its pilot safe and sound above the water, provided he be well fastened to his little craft. Nature joined to necessity furnishes great inventions.

These good people further use sealskins to build their houses, and to make clothes for themselves; for, after thoroughly dressing these skins, they wear them as coverings for their bodies, making robes from them in the same fashion for both men and women. They live chiefly on Caribous, which are a kind of deer, on otters, on seals, and on cod; they have only a few beavers and moose. During the Winter they live underground, in great caves, where they are so warm that, despite the severity of the climate, they have no need of fire, except for cooking. The snows there are deep. They are so hardened by the cold that they bear one as firmly as ice, and, to walk over them, one needs no snowshoes. The iron which they find near the stages of the cod-fishers serves them to make arrow-heads, knives, cleavers, and other tools, which they themselves skillfully devise, without forge or hammers. They are of small stature, somewhat olive-colored, quite well-formed, thick-set, and exceedingly strong.

Some time ago, our Indians were waging war against these peoples. Having surprised our Indians and massacred some of them, the Eskimos spared the lives of the others, whom they took as captives into their own country, not to burn them, for that is not their custom; but to hold them in servitude, or to cleave their heads upon entering their villages in token of triumph.

Quebec, this 16th of October, 1659.

YEAR 1660
NEW FRANCE, IN THE YEARS 1659 AND 1660. SENT TO REVEREND FATHER CLAUDE BOUCHER, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

THE CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY

The Ocean which separates us from France sees, on its eastern side, only rejoicing, splendor, and bonfires; but, on its western, nothing but war, slaughter, and fires. Our invincible Monarch gives peace to all Europe, while our America seems to be reduced to extremities by the most cruel of all wars.

The Indians are, mostly, nomadic tribes, carrying their houses with them in rolls, and building towns at the end of each day's journey. Some of them have embraced the Faith, and perform the exercises of Religion amid the snows and in the forests; others have received only a slight tint of Religion; and the rest have never seen any Europeans.

There are tribes of the same language, both stationary and wandering, as far as Hudson Bay, on whose shores these nations border; and that there are others, recently discovered, extending as far as the southern Pacific Ocean. They stretch out their arms to us, and we ours to them, but on both sides they are too short to unite across such a distance; and when, finally, we are on the point of embracing each other, the Iroquois steps in between and showers blows upon both of us.

The Iroquois prevent the tribes from 1250 or 1500 miles around us from coming down here, laden with furs that would make this country overflow with immense riches -- as was done in a single journey which some of those Nations undertook this year -- although secretly, and by stealth, from fear of their foes.

In spite of this, the prospects of our French colonists would be excellent if the fear of the Iroquois did not render their stay dangerous. The soil is productive; and if the farmer who cultivates it labors with diligence, in a few years he will see himself not merely out of need, but at his ease -- he, his wife, and his children. We see many such men who, having received a land grant, which can here be had for the asking, in less than five or six years, harvest enough grain to feed themselves with all their family, and even to sell some. They are furnished with all the conveniences of a farm-yard, and soon find themselves rich in livestock. In a few years the families increase; for, as the air of this country is healthy, one sees few children die in the cradle.

Though the winters are long, and snow covers the earth for five whole months to the depth of three, four, or five feet, yet the cold often seems more endurable here than in France -- whether because the winters are not rainy here, and the days are always pleasant, or because we have wood at our doors. Besides, the greater the fire one keeps, day and night, to combat the cold, the more does he clear the neighboring forest, and make himself new lands to farm, which yield good harvests of grain, and enrich their Owners.

Often one has fishing in plenty, before his own door, chiefly of eels, which are excellent in this country, not being muddy as they are in France, because they swim in the vast waters of our Saint Lawrence River. In September and October, this eel-fishing is so productive that many a man will catch forty, fifty, sixty, and seventy thousand. And the great advantage is that we have found means of salting them conveniently, and therefore preserving them untainted.

During the winter, Moose are hunted on the snow; and many of our Frenchmen have killed thirty or forty apiece. Their flesh is easily preserved by freezing, and serves as provision throughout the winter, while their skins are still more valuable. Formerly, the hunting of them appeared to our Frenchmen an impossibility, and now it serves them as recreation. They have also adapted themselves to the hunting of the beaver, which forms one of this country's great sources of wealth.

But the warfare of the Iroquois thwarts all our pleasures, and is the sole affliction of New France, which is in danger of becoming utterly devastated unless prompt and powerful relief is rendered from France. For nothing is so easy for these barbarians as to subject all our settlements to fire and massacre whenever they choose, with the exception of Quebec, which is in a state of defense, but which would still be only a prison that one could not leave with safety; and where one would die of hunger, if all the outlying country were laid waste.

What gives the enemy this advantage over us is that all the rural settlements outside of Quebec are without defense, and are distant from one another as much as 20 or 25 miles on the banks of the great River. In each house there are only two, three, or four men, and often only one, alone with his wife and a number of children, who may all be killed or carried off without anyone's knowing anything about it in the nearest house.

I say nothing of the losses that France would suffer if these vast regions should pass from her control. The foreigner would reap a great advantage, to the detriment of French navigation.

In their method of warfare, the Iroquois are so stealthy in their approach, so swift in their execution, and so expeditious in their retreat, that one commonly learns of their departure before gaining any knowledge of their arrival. They come like foxes through the woods, which afford them concealment and serve them as an impregnable fortress. They attack like lions, and, as their surprises are made when they are least expected, they meet with no resistance. They take flight like birds, disappearing before they have appeared. A poor man will work all day near his house; the enemy, hidden in the forest that is close at hand, steals upon him like a hunter upon his game, and deals his blow in safety at the moment when its recipient deems himself most secure.

What is there easier, for a band of eight hundred or a thousand Iroquois, than to scatter through the woods along the entire line of our French settlements and inflict a general massacre, adopting this method of surprise all on the same day, killing the men and leading away captive the women and children, as they have often done already? They would pass before Quebec in broad daylight, laden with this most innocent prey and no one could pursue them, or recover the prisoners from their hands. Our sailboats are too heavy and their canoes too light to render possible our overtaking them. And if there should be anything for them to fear, the night would serve them as a veil to conceal them from our eyes; they would slip into the woods, where they find their way everywhere, although to a Frenchman there seems to be no path whatever; and even though we should outnumber them, they would be in a position of safety, and we would not dare to follow them.

It is a kind of miracle that the Iroquois, although able to destroy us so easily, have not yet done so. This year, they had again left their country for this purpose, to the number of seven hundred; and the consequent alarm was so great here last spring that the country houses were abandoned as prey to the enemy. All thought themselves as good as lost, until the Viscount d'Argenson, our Governor, reassured them by his wise course of action -- putting all the posts of Quebec in such good order that the Iroquois was rather hoped for there than feared. As for the rest of the country, our settlements are so exposed to the enemy that, if they have not wrought general devastation among them, it is because God has stayed their course.

Our destruction would involve that of a countless number of souls; the destruction of the enemy would give new life to this whole country and cause here a reign of peace, the sweets of which France is now tasting, and can share with us if she will. Let France decide to destroy the Iroquois, and he will be destroyed. For what is this Iroquois who causes himself to be talked about so much? Two Regiments of brave Soldiers would soon overthrow him. Most of our Men, more used to handling the hoe than the sword, have not the Soldier's determination.

Some time ago, when our Governor was pursuing these enemies in sailboats, and found himself near the spot where they had retreated, he gave orders to disembark. No one stirred; he was the first to leap into the water, up to his waist, and then all the rest followed him. Good Soldiers would have preceded their Captain; and we hope that such will be sent us, now that Peace makes it possible to select them.

THE CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY OF THE IROQUOIS, AND OF THEIR CRUELTIES.

Of the five tribes constituting the entire Iroquois nation, the Mohawks have had to fight with all their neighbors, with the Abenakis, who are Eastward of them; on the south, with the Susquehannocks, a people inhabiting the shores of Virginia; with the Hurons on the West; and with all the Algonquin Nations scattered throughout the North. We cannot go back far in their past history, as they have no Libraries other than the memory of their old men. What we learn from these living books is that toward the end of the last century, the Mohawks were reduced so low by the Algonquins that there seemed to be scarcely any more of them left on the earth. Still, this scanty remnant, increased in a few years to reduce the Algonquins, in turn, to the same condition as its own. But this condition did not last long; for the Susquehannocks waged such energetic warfare against them during ten years that they were overthrown for the second time and their nation rendered almost extinct, or at least so humiliated that the mere name Algonquin made them tremble, and his shadow seemed to pursue them to their firesides.

That was at the time when the Dutch took possession of these regions and conceived a fondness for the beavers of the natives, some thirty years ago. To secure the beavers in greater number, they furnished those people with firearms, with which it was easy for them to conquer their conquerors, whom they put to rout, and filled with terror at the mere sound of their guns. And that is what has rendered them formidable everywhere, and victorious over all the Nations with whom they have been at war.

But what is more astonishing is that they hold dominion for 1250 miles around, although their numbers are small; for, of the five Nations constituting the Iroquois, the Mohawks do not exceed five hundred men able to bear arms, who occupy three or four wretched Villages. The Oneidas have not a hundred warriors; the Onondagas and Cayugas have three hundred each, and the Senecas, who are the farthest removed from us and the most populous, have not more than a thousand combatants.

If anyone should compute the number of pure-blooded Iroquois, he would have difficulty in finding more than twelve hundred of them in all the five Nations, since these are, mostly, only aggregations of different tribes whom they have conquered, as the Hurons; the Petuns; the Attawandaron, called the Neutrals when they were still independent; the Eries, who are the Cat Nation; the Mascoutens, or fire Nation; the Trakwaehronnons, and others, who, Foreigners although they are, form the largest part of the Iroquois. It is therefore a marvel that so few people wreak such great havoc and render themselves so formidable to so large a number of tribes, who, on all sides, bow before this conqueror.

They have performed some valiant deeds, and have, on certain occasions, distinguished themselves as highly as could be expected from the bravest warriors of Europe. Savages although they are, they still understand warfare very well; but it is usually that of the Parthians, who gave the Romans of old so much trouble, fighting them just as the Indians fight us. The Mohawks especially have always excelled in this kind of warfare, and sometimes even in what demands courage only.

They defeated two thousand men of the Eries in the Eries's own fortifications; and although they were only seven hundred in number, they still climbed the enemy's palisade, employing against it a counter-palisade which they used, in place of shields and ladders, to scale the fortress, receiving the hail of shot that fell on them from every direction. It is said of them that, while there are no Soldiers more furious than they when they form an army, so there are none more cowardly when they are only in small bands, whose glory it is to break a number of heads and carry off the scalps. Yet they have demonstrated, on several occasions, that the courage of individuals went even to the point of rashness, as when one of them passed the night at the entrance to a Huron village, hiding in a dunghill, from where he suddenly emerged at dawn of the following day, like a man risen from the dead, and hurled himself upon the first newcomer, taking flight again after breaking his head in this most unexpected manner.

Two others showed themselves still braver. Under cover of darkness, they stealthily approached a sentry post, where careful watch was being kept after the manner of the Indians, which is to sing at the top of one's voice all night long. When they had allowed the sentry to shout for a considerable time, one of the two nimbly mounted the sentry post, and delivered a blow with his hatchet upon the first man whom he encountered; then, throwing the other to the ground, he took his leisure to kill him and remove the scalp from his head, as the noblest trophy of his victory.

Last year, a Mohawk went all alone to war against Tadoussac; he accomplished a journey of 500 or 750 miles, making his way alone by sea and land, to find an Algonquin who was his enemy and whom he killed at last with his own hand, almost in the midst of the French and of a large body of Indians. He lost his life in the act; but he lost it in defying them and in making his retreat as if he were walking for pleasure, a arrogance that caused his death.

But these traits of bravery are not found in all the Iroquois; mischievousness is more common with them than courage, and their cruelty far exceeds their mischievousness.

All the treaties that we have made with them are proofs of their deceit; for they have never kept a single one of the promises that they have so often and so solemnly sworn to us. And as for cruelty, I would make this paper blush, and my listeners would shudder, if I related the horrible treatment inflicted by the Mohawks upon some of their captives. This has been mentioned in the other reports; but what we have recently learned is so strange that all that has been said on the subject is nothing. I pass over these matters, not only because my pen has no ink black enough to describe them, but much more from a fear of inspiring horror by recounting certain cruelties never heard of in past ages.

It is only a neat trick with them to make a cut around the thumb of a captive, near the first joint; and then, twisting it, to pull it off by main strength, together with the sinew, which usually breaks toward the elbow or near the shoulder, so great is the violence employed. The thumb, therefore removed with its sinew, is hung to the sufferer's ear like an earring, or attached to his neck in place of a necklace. Then they will do the same with a second and a third finger, while, to replace the fingers that have been pulled off, they force into the wounds splinters of hard wood, which cause pains quite different from the preceding, and soon produce a great inflammation and a huge swelling of the entire hand and even of the whole arm.

The Iroquois have the disposition of women; there are none more courageous when no resistance is offered them, and none more cowardly when they encounter opposition. They deride the French, because they have never seen them wage war in their country; and the French have never done so because they have never made the attempt, until now believing the roads more difficult to pass than they are. With our present knowledge of these barbarians, having seen, when we were in their midst, how alarm was everywhere felt when they saw themselves attacked in their own country, it may be said that if an army of five hundred Frenchmen should arrive unexpectedly, it could say, "I came; I saw; I conquered".

There are only five or six hundred men to destroy; for if the Mohawks were defeated by the French, the other Iroquois Nations would be glad to compromise with us, and give us their children as hostages of their good faith. Then those fair Missions would be revived at Onondaga, at Cayuga, and in all the other remaining Iroquois Nations. These have been so well received by the common people that we may not despair of one day reaping abundant fruits. Besides, the great door would be open for so many old and new missions toward the tribes of the North, and toward those newly discovered ones of the West, all of whom we embrace under the general name of Algonquins.

THE CONDITION OF THE ALGONQUIN COUNTRY, AND OF SOME NEW DISCOVERIES.

I CANNOT more clearly describe the condition of the Nations of the Algonquin tongue than by giving the simple account of what one of our Fathers has learned about them, who has been, this year, on the Saguenay River of Tadoussac.

As those Nations are widely extended over 1250 or 1500 miles of forest, facing toward the North, he divides them into three groups, those extending toward the East, those dwelling in the uttermost parts of the West, and those of the North, lying between the two others. Of those of the East he says nothing that has not been given in the preceding Reports; of the two other groups he speaks as follows.

"On the thirtieth of July, 1660, ascending the Saguenay river, to the distance of 80 miles from Tadoussac, I encountered eighty Indians; and among them was one named Awatanik, a man of importance because he was a Captain in rank, and much more so because he had received baptism ten years before in the country of the Nipissings. This man will show us the way -- which will take us to Hudson Bay -- where various Algonquin Nations have sought a retreat, fleeing from the Iroquois, who also prevents us from going in search of them by the usual route of the great River. I will give an account of the various routes, and some incidents of his journey.

"He started, in June of 1658, from the lake of the Winnebago, which is strictly only a large bay in lake Huron (this is probably supposed to say Lake Michigan). It is called by others, the lake of the stinkards, not because it is salt like the water of the Sea, which the Indians call Ouinipeg, or stinking water, but because it is surrounded by sulphurous soil, from where issue several springs which convey into this lake the impurities absorbed by their waters in the places of their origin.

"He passed the remainder of that summer and the following winter near the lake which we call Superior, from its position above that of the Hurons, into which it empties by a waterfall that has also given it its name; and as our traveler halted there for some time, let us pause a while with him to note the peculiarities of the place.

"This lake, which is more than 200 miles long by 100 miles wide in certain places, is studded with Islands picturesquely distributed along its shores. The whole length of its coast is lined with Algonquin Nations, fear of the Iroquois having forced them to seek there a sanctuary. It is also enriched in its entire circumference with mines of lead in a nearly pure state; with copper of such excellence that pieces as large as one's fist are found, all refined; and with great rocks, having whole veins of turquoise. The people even strive to make us believe that its waters are swollen by various streams which roll along with the sand grains of gold in abundance -- the refuse, so to speak, of the neighboring mines. What inclines us to believe this is that, when the foundations of saint Joseph's Chapel were dug on the shore of lake Huron, which is only the discharge of lake Superior, the workmen found a vein, as large as one's arm, of these grains of gold, the sand that was mixed with the vein being so little in quantity as to be almost imperceptible in comparison with the rest. But the workmen, who knew that there were mines of copper in those regions, being persuaded that it was from a brass mine (in ignorance that brass is a composition), filled in the foundations which they had dug, without knowing that they were sealing up a treasure there.

"But there are riches of another nature. The Indians dwelling about that end of the lake which is farthest from us, have given us entirely new light, touching on the route to Japan and China, for which so much search has been made. For we learn from these peoples that they find the Sea on three sides, toward the South, toward the West, and toward the North; so that, if this is so, it is a strong argument that these three Seas, being contiguous, form in reality but one Sea, which is that of China. For that of the South, which is the Pacific sea and is well enough known, being connected with the North sea, which is equally well known, by a third Sea, the one about which we are in doubt, there remains nothing more to be desired than the passage into this great sea, at once a Western and an Eastern sea.

"Proceeding Southward for about 750 miles from the end of lake Superior, we come to Mobile Bay, which lies on the thirtieth degree of latitude and the two hundred and eightieth of longitude, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Florida. In a Southwesterly direction from the same extremity of lake Superior, it is about 500 miles to another lake, which empties into the Gulf of California on the coast of South America, in the great southern Pacific Ocean. It is from one of these two coasts that the Indians who live some 150 miles to the West of our lake Superior obtain European goods, and they even say that they have seen some Europeans there.

"Besides, from this same lake Superior, following a River toward the North, we arrive, after eight or ten days' journey, at Hudson bay, in fifty-five Degrees of latitude. From this place, in a North-westerly direction, it is about 100 miles by land to Button Bay, where lies port Melson, on the fifty-seventh degree of latitude and the two hundred and seventieth of longitude; the distance from there to Japan is to be estimated at only 3550 miles, there being only seventy-one degrees of a great circle intervening. These two Seas of the South and of the North, being known, there remains only that of the West, which joins them, to make only one from the three; and it is the fresh knowledge that we have gained from a Nation which, being situated at about the forty-seventh degree of latitude and the two hundred and seventy-third of longitude, assures us that ten days' journey Westward lies the Sea, which can be only the one we are looking for, it is this knowledge that makes us believe that all of North America, being therefore surrounded by the sea on the East, South, West, and North, must be separated from Greenland by some strait, of which a good part has already been discovered; and that it only remains now to push on some degrees farther, to enter nothing less than the Japan sea. To make the passage of Hudson strait, this is to be attempted only in August and September; for, during these months only, the passage is less blocked with ice.

"If the Iroquois permit, we shall be fully able to go and enlighten ourselves more clearly concerning this discovery, which, being known to us only through the medium of Indians, does not give us all the information we might desire.

Let us follow our guide, who, after wintering in the place I have just described, left it in the following Spring. Advancing by short stages, because of his family who accompanied him, after covering about 250 miles' distance, he arrived at the great Hudson Bay, along which he found various Algonquin Nations who have settled on the shores of that sea.

"This bay is Hudson bay, of which we have just been speaking. In the middle of it our Indian saw a large Island which takes its name from the white Bears inhabiting it. These are water rather than land animals, since they leave the sea but rarely and generally live on fish, but black Bears feed usually only on flesh, and do not leave the land. The white Bears' greatest dainty, excepting the Canadian geese, on which they make war as skillfully as do the most expert men, -- are the little whales, which they are constantly hunting, but with danger of falling into the jaws of the large whales. These, from a natural antipathy, devour in turn those animals by which their own young are devoured. If, as sometimes happens, these white Bears, coming together toward Springtime, are borne out into the open sea on some block of ice that has become detached from the shore, about June, it is then a fine sight to see these new Argonauts voyaging at the mercy of winds and storms, and contending for their lives against the hunger that attacks them on those floating icebergs, or against the whales that wait to devour them when hunger shall force them to leap into the water and fish for sea lions or seals. They often pass whole months in this perilous seafaring, until, by a stroke of good luck, their vessel is wrecked by running aground somewhere; for then these animals leap ashore, utterly famished, and make ample amends for the fast they have endured, devouring everything in their path, and sparing neither man nor beast to satisfy their ravenous hunger.

"But let us return to our Pilgrim. On his way, he met with various Nations. He noticed especially the Crees, who are divided among nine different residences, some of a thousand, others of fifteen hundred men; they are settled in large villages, where they leave their wives and children while they chase the Moose and hunt the Beaver. The skin of the Beaver is of so little value to them since the Iroquois has prevented its sale that they broil the Beavers over the fire, as is done with Swine in France, to render them edible more quickly.

"After visiting these tribes, our man went to the Pitchibourenik Cree, a people dwelling at the entrance to the Bay, where the Hurons and Nipissings formerly went to trade; and from where they procured a great abundance of Beavers in exchange for hatchets, cleavers, knives, and other like commodities, which they carried there. During a certain part of the year, the abundance of Deer is still greater in these regions than that of Beavers; indeed, it is so enormous that they provision themselves with them for a year -- either by smoking the flesh, which is their most usual method, or by letting it freeze. For toward those Northern regions nothing decays or becomes tainted during most of the year; and a little farther Northward human bodies lose none of their beauty for a long time after death, being as rosy and as intact thirty years after their decease as during their lifetime. And so it is said in those countries that the dead are in good health, but the living fall ill. Icebergs are seen there, some of 130 feet, others of three hundred or three hundred and sixty feet. These become detached from the shore, and break sometimes with such violence that, on falling into the sea, they arouse by this downfall, storms that have put vessels in danger of being sunk; they, possibly, caused the destruction of the one whose wreck the Indians have seen on their coast.

"What excites my special admiration in this unfortunate land is to see how Providence fails its creatures in nothing. One views the shores of this sea almost destitute of trees, whether from the severity of the cold, which prevents their growth, or because the rocks with which these regions are almost entirely covered cannot provide nourishment for large forests. Who would think that these lands should be inhabited by man, since they are so destitute of the conveniences of human life? Still, Nations are found peopling these rocks and occupying this soil which is most sterile.

"But how can people live there without fire, when the cold is so intense? God gives them their store of wood every year, and uses the stags as beasts of burden to carry it to them. This fuel consists of the wood or horns of the stags themselves. You may believe what you choose; but we are assured that these peoples have no better fire than what they make with the wood of these great animals, which must be in tremendous numbers to supply with their antlers the branches of oaks and of other trees suitable for burning.

"But let us not leave our Guide, who is coasting along the entire Bay. It is not ill with him, for he has no lack of game, large and small; and a man in his company killed one of those white Bears of which we made mention. We did not learn from him whether its flesh is as good as that of the wild Geese, Swans, and Ducks that are found in the same region in May, as well as countless numbers of little tufted birds and swallows, and likewise martins, white hares, and black foxes. If gunpowder for hunting runs short, one can resort to fishing for trout and salmon, which those Indians well know how to catch, not with lines, but with the harpoon.

"After our Algonquin had visited all the Nations surrounding the Bay, and had laden himself with various presents sent by those peoples to the French and Algonquins of these regions, to attract them to their Bay, so they might all fortify themselves there against the Iroquois, he left the seacoast to proceed inland and seek a road to Tadoussac, through vast forests which were unknown to him. As he was advancing through the woods, without compass and without taking altitude, he learned of Three Rivers, one of which leads straight to our village of Three Rivers. This route he would not take, although it is shorter and surer, as it is more exposed to the Iroquois. The two other Rivers flow into Lac Saint-Jean, from where the Saguenay river takes its rise. He chose the more remote of these two Rivers as the safer one, the other being not far from the country where three Nations were overthrown by the Iroquois, two or three years ago, and were compelled to seek refuge with other more distant nations. The names of these more distant nations are the Kepatawanejach Innu, the Naskapi Innu, and the Ouakwiechiwek Innu.

"Finally, he reached a spot 80 miles from Tadoussac, where he entertained me with an account of his adventures and travels, and began to tell me the condition to which the Iroquois had reduced the Algonquin Nations toward lake Superior and Green Bay. But scarcely had I returned to Quebec when I found two Frenchmen there who had just arrived from those upper countries, with three hundred Algonquins, in sixty canoes loaded with furs. Following is an account of what they saw with their own eyes; it will give us a view of the condition of the Algonquins of the West, as we have until now mentioned those of the North.

"They passed the winter on the shores of lake Superior, and were fortunate enough to baptize there two hundred little children of the Algonquin Nation with whom they first lived. These children were the victims of disease and famine; and forty died soon after Baptism.

"During their winter season, our two Frenchmen made diverse excursions to the surrounding tribes. Among other things, they saw, six days' journey beyond the lake toward the Southwest, a tribe composed of the remnants of the Hurons of the Petun nation, who have been compelled by the Iroquois to abandon their native land, and bury themselves so deep in the forests that they cannot be found by their enemies. These poor people -- fleeing and pushing their way over mountains and rocks, through these vast unknown forests -- fortunately encountered a beautiful River, large, wide, deep, and worthy of comparison, they say, with our great Saint Lawrence River. On its banks they found the great Nation of the Illinois, which gave them a kind reception. This Nation comprises sixty Villages -- which confirms us in the knowledge that we already possessed, concerning many thousands of people who fill all those Western regions.

"Let us return to our two Frenchmen. Continuing their circuit, they were surprised, on visiting the Sioux, to see women disfigured by having the ends of their noses cut off down to the cartilage; in that part of the face, they resemble death's heads. Also, they have a round portion of the skin on the top of their heads torn away. Making inquiry as to the cause of this ill treatment, they learned, to their admiration, that it is the law of the country which condemns to this punishment all women guilty of adultery, so they may bear, graven on their faces, the penalty and shame of their sin.

What renders this custom the more admirable is that, although each man in that country has seven or eight wives, and temptation is consequently much stronger among those poor creatures, some of whom are always more cherished than the others, yet the law is more strictly executed there than it would be in the most highly civilized Cities. What is not done among Christians is practiced by Indians, who cut off the most conspicuous parts of the face that have proved a source of scandal and a stumbling-block.

Our Frenchmen visited the forty Villages of which this Nation is composed, in five of which there are estimated as many as five thousand men. Next we enter the territories of another Nation, which is warlike and which with its bows and arrows has rendered itself as formidable among the upper Algonquins as the Iroquois among the lower; and so it bears the name of Dakota, or 'Warriors'.

"As wood is scanty in supply and small in size in their country, nature has taught them to make fire with coal from the earth and to cover their cabins with skins. Some of the more ingenious make themselves buildings of loam, nearly as the swallows build their nests; and they would sleep comfortably under these skins and this mud, if they did not fear the Iroquois, who come in search of them from a distance of 1250 and 1500 miles."

THE CONDITION OF THE HURON NATION, AND OF ITS LATEST DEFEAT BY THE IROQUOIS.

The poor Hurons now see themselves scattered through all parts of these regions. They are no longer alive, except as are those insects which, on being cut into pieces, still show some signs of life by the movement remaining in the severed parts.

The Iroquois live only on blood and carnage, and breathe only the air of war. Certainly they deserve to be scattered, after having dispersed and ruined all their neighbors, among whom there are none with more cause for complaint than the poor Hurons. In all these regions, they constituted the most settled Nation, and the one best fitted for receiving the seed of the faith; and now they are the most nomadic and the most scattered of all.

When their country met with defeat, those who were killed or burned by the Iroquois formed only the smallest part of the thirty or forty thousand people constituting the nation. Famine -- which follows war as the shadow follows the body, and which brings diseases in its train -- attacked them much more severely.

Those left from the wreck who could flee, scattered in every direction, like an army defeated and pursued by the victor. Some hurried to the Neutral Nation, expecting to find a place of refuge there, because of its neutrality, which had not until now been violated by the Iroquois; but those treacherous people embraced the opportunity to seize the whole Nation, and carry it all into a harsh captivity in their own country. Others sought refuge with the Petun nation, but the Petun was itself obliged to seek shelter among the upper Algonquins. Others wandered for ten whole days in the woods, and still others decided to go to Susquehannock, a country of Virginia. Some sought a sanctuary with the Mascouten and the Eries; while one whole Village even threw itself upon the mercy of the Senecas, one of the five Iroquois nations, and was well received by them, having since then preserved its identity, in the form of a Village apart from those of the Iroquois. Here the Hurons live in Huron style, and the old Christians retain what they can of Christianity.

In this dispersion, those who had cast in their lot with Quebec lived like good Christians on the Isle of Orleans, to the number of five or six hundred souls. They passed eight years there peacefully enough, although they were in no greater security under shelter of the French than under that of their fellow-Indians allied to them.

We saw and lamented their removal, and were bespattered with their blood when the Iroquois, with abominable deceit, murdered them in our arms. There remained to us only a mere handful of them. To preserve this precious remnant of a Christian people, the late Sir d'Ailleboust, who was then in command, caused a fort to be built for them in the heart of Quebec, to ensure the Nation against perishing utterly. But this remnant has finally been taken from us. They at least perished gloriously, since by their death they saved this country, or, at any rate, bore the brunt of the storm that was about to break over us, and averted its fury when we were most threatened by it, as will be seen from what follows.

Forty of our Hurons, toward the close of last winter, set out from Quebec, under the lead of a Captain of considerable renown named Anahotaha, to wage petty warfare, and lay ambushes for the Iroquois when returning from hunting. They stopped at Three Rivers, where six Algonquins joined them under the command of Mitiwemeg, a Captain of note. Then arriving at Montreal, they found that seventeen Frenchmen had already formed a group for the same purpose as their own. They had chosen Sir Dolard as their Chief, a man of accomplishments and generalship; and although he had but quite recently arrived from France, he was entirely fit for this kind of warfare, as he well proved, and his comrades likewise; yet fortune denied them the glory of succeeding.

Our Indians, glad to increase their own number with so resolute a band, embarked, our Frenchmen joining them and paddling along in high spirits, hoping to surprise the enemy soon.

They journeyed by night to avoid discovery. They did not hesitate to pass the Lachine Rapids and the other rapids. They disregarded encounters with the ice, and the coldness of the waters but recently melted; they resolutely leaped into them to drag their Canoes with their own hands amid the stones and the blocks of ice. Having gained lake saint Louis, which is above the Island of Montreal, they turned to the right and entered the River leading to the Hurons, taking their position below the falls of la Chaudiere, there to await the Iroquois Hunters who, according to their custom, were expected to pass that way in single file, on their return from their winter's hunt.

Our warriors had no sooner reached this spot than they were perceived by five Iroquois, who were coming up to reconnoiter, and who returned up stream with all speed to warn all the hunters to combine together, drop the character of huntsmen, and assume that of warriors. The change was quickly made; a small hatchet in the belt, instead of a sword, a musket at the Canoe's prow, and a paddle in the hand -- such was the equipment of these Soldiers. They assembled accordingly all the Canoes, containing two hundred Onondagas, combined, and proceeded in excellent order, steadily descending the rapids.

At the foot of the descent, our men, surprised by so prompt an advance, and seeing themselves far outnumbered, took possession of a wretched remnant of a fort built in that neighborhood the preceding Autumn by our Algonquins, and tried to fortify themselves there with gabions, as well as they could. The Onondaga approached and, after reconnoitering their enemy, attacked him furiously, but was received so warmly that he was forced to retreat with loss. This made him turn toward his customary tricks, to divert our men while summoning to his assistance the Mohawks, whose rendezvous was on the Richelieu Islands. He pretended to desire a parley. The Algonquins and Hurons seemed inclined to give them a hearing, but our French know no such thing as peace with those barbarians, who have never negotiated without having their trickery detected soon after.

Therefore, while all seemed peaceful on one side of the fort, our men, being treacherously attacked on the other, were not taken by surprise, but delivered so hot a fire against the assailants as to compel them to retreat for the second time, in great astonishment that a little handful of Frenchmen could offer resistance to two hundred Iroquois.

Doubtless, they would have been entirely routed and utterly defeated had the French made a sortie from the fort, sword in hand, or had not the Mohawks arrived soon after, to the number of five hundred, with such frightful and piercing yells that all the country around seemed full of Iroquois. The fort was surrounded on every side, and a general discharge of musketry was kept up day and night. The assaults were fierce and frequent. And so for ten days, during which this Siege continued, they had but two duties to perform, to pray and to fight, executing them successively; to the astonishment of our Indians, who were incited by such noble examples to die bravely.

As the heat of the combat was great, and the assaults almost continuous, our men were pressed with thirst more than by the Iroquois. They had to endure a hailstorm of lead, and go with drawn swords to dip water from the River, which was 500 feet distant from the Fort. Here, at last, by force of digging, they found a tiny thread of muddy water -- so little in quantity, however, that the blood ran much more abundantly from the veins of the dead and wounded than the water from this muddy spring.

This necessity reduced the Fort to such extremities that, its defense seeming no longer possible to the Indians occupying it, they thought of negotiating for Peace, and delegated some Envoys to the enemy's camp with fine presents of wampum, which are used in this country on all great occasions of Peace and War. They were received by the Iroquois with loud outcries, whether of pleasure or of mockery, which, however, alarmed our Indians.

Some thirty of these, on being invited by their fellow-Hurons, who were living among the Iroquois, to surrender, with the assurance that their lives would be spared, leaped over the palisade, and left the Fort much weakened by so shameful an act of cowardice. This inspired the Iroquois with the hope of getting possession of the rest, either by threats or by fair words, without striking a blow. For this purpose, some deputies approached the Fort with the Envoys that had left it; but our Frenchmen, placing no confidence in all these parleys, fired on them unexpectedly, stretching some of them dead on the ground and putting the rest to flight. This humiliation so incensed the Iroquois that they rushed headlong to seize our palisade, and set about undermining it with their hatchets, in a spirit of courage that made them shut their eyes to all dangers and to the constant fire that was being leveled at them. To shelter themselves from most of this hail, they made themselves mantlets of three pieces of wood lashed side to side, which covered them from the crown of the head to the middle of the thigh; by this means they seized the curtain-walls under the cannoneers, and, as these defenses were not flanked, carried on their mining in considerable security.

Our Frenchmen employed all their courage and ingenuity in this extremity. As they had no grenades, they supplied the place of these with some of their musket-barrels, which they loaded to bursting and threw down into the midst of their enemy. They even hit on the plan of using a keg of gunpowder, and they threw one over the palisade; but, unluckily striking a branch in the air, it fell back into the Fort, and wrought sad havoc there, most of our Frenchmen having their faces and hands burned by the fire, and their eyes blinded by the smoke which this contrivance created. The Iroquois, taking advantage of this, seized all the loopholes and opened fire from the outside, killing all whom they could see in the Fort through the thick smoke.

Animated by this success, they climbed the palisade, hatchet in hand, and descended into the Fort from all directions; they filled the whole place with blood and carnage, giving vent to such frenzy that only five Frenchmen and four Hurons were left alive, all the rest being killed on the spot, together with the leader of the whole band, named Anahotaha. This man, finding himself about to expire, asked that his head might be put into the fire, to rob the Iroquois of the glory of bearing off his scalp. One of our Frenchmen executed a startling feat. Seeing that all was lost, and that several of his companions who had been mortally wounded were still alive, he dispatched them with sturdy blows of his hatchet, to deliver them, by this inhuman act of mercy, from the fires of the Iroquois. And, cruelty succeeding to fury, two Frenchmen with some breath of life left in them being found among the dead, they were made the prey of the flames. Instead of oil to ease their wounds, lighted firebrands and red-hot awls were thrust into them; and in place of a bed to hold these poor dying men's limbs, they were made to lie on the embers. These poor creatures, in their death-agony, were cruelly burned in all parts of their bodies as long as life was left in them.

As for the five other Frenchmen, they and all the rest of the captives, both those who surrendered voluntarily, and those who were captured, were forced to mount a scaffold, where the first caresses bestowed on prisoners were given them. Some were given fire to eat, others had their fingers cut off, and still others their legs and arms burned; all received marks of their captivity.

This scene of horror, so agreeable to the eyes of the Iroquois, was as agreeable to those of the Angels when one of the poor Huron prisoners assumed the character of Preacher and urged all those sufferers to endure with constancy these cruelties, which would soon pass and be followed by eternal happiness.

After the first fury of the Iroquois had been appeased by the sight of their prisoners and by these trial strokes of their cruelty, they divided their captives. Two Frenchmen were apportioned to the Mohawks, two to the Onondagas, and the fifth to the Oneidas, to give them all a taste of French flesh, and impart to them an appetite and a desire to eat of it, that is, to invite them to a bloody war for avenging the deaths of 20 of their men killed on this occasion. After this distribution, they departed, abandoning their intention to come and overwhelm our settlements, in order the sooner to conduct to their several countries those wretched victims, destined to appease the rage and cruelty of the most barbarous of all Nations.

We must here give glory to those seventeen Frenchmen of Montreal, and honor their ashes with a eulogy which is justly their due. All would have been lost had they not perished, and their disaster saved this country, or, at least, exorcised the storm that threatened to burst over it, since they checked its first movements and entirely diverted its course.

Meanwhile, to make sure of their captives on the way, they every evening stretch them out, almost entirely naked, on their backs, with no other bed than the bare earth, into which are driven four stakes for each of the prisoners, for binding their feet and hands, the hands being open, and the limbs extended in the form of a saint Andrew's Cross. A fifth stake is also driven into the ground and a cord fastened to it, which is tightly wound about the prisoner's neck three or four times. Finally, he is bound around the waist with a belt, a kind of strap that the Indians use for all sorts of purposes; and he who has charge of a captive takes the two ends of the belt and puts them under him while he sleeps, to be awakened if his man moves ever so little. This single position during a whole night, under such constraint and at the mercy of the Gnats and Mosquitoes, which sting incessantly, and suck the blood in all parts of the body, is undoubtedly a severe torture; and such is the treatment that our poor Frenchmen, as well as the other captives, receive every night, to prepare them for the tortures by fire which they expect. Despite all these precautions, several Indians accomplished their escape.

THE CONDITION OF THE SURVIVING HURONS AFTER THEIR LATEST DEFEAT. HEAVEN'S WONDERFUL GUIDANCE OF A HURON SNATCHED FROM THE HANDS OF THE IROQUOIS.

A Christian Huron escaped from the hands of the Iroquois after ten days' captivity. See him, resolved to die, awaiting his fate and resigned to that; when all at once his heart says to him: "No, you shall not die for this; you will see Quebec again." At this inward voice, he recovers his spirits, deciding to attempt escape on the next night. But what likelihood of his accomplishing it, so firmly bound as he was? What gave him courage was that, in the evening, the Iroquois to whom he belonged, upon fastening him to the stakes, did not bind him so tightly -- telling him that he was not cruel to captives, and would let him rest a little more comfortably. These words portended well for our prisoner. Finally, when everyone is asleep, he makes a little trial and attempts to free himself from his bonds. Having luckily a knife about him, but being unable to use it without at least one hand free, turning his right arm this way and that, finds it in some way or other clear of its restraints. He gently unties his left hand, then unfastens the cords from his neck, and finally, with his knife, cuts the one that binds his waist, using such stealth that his neighbor is not awakened. It only remains to untie quickly the cord about his feet and then dart with all haste into the woods.

He raises himself for this purpose, but is startled to see an Iroquois smoking before the fire. This was like a heavy blow on the head to him; a cold sweat like that of the dying started out all over his body, and he thought that he would die with fright -- not doubting that he was discovered, and consequently destined soon to be burned. Although he was perturbed, there still came into his mind this thought: "The horror," he said to himself, "that seizes a soul at the moment of its condemnation to everlasting flames, must be fearful indeed, since the fear of a surprise causes in me such strange disturbance." He escaped, however, with nothing worse than a fright; for he was not perceived. After allowing some time to pass without moving, he again raised himself, but only to drop back once more to the ground in all haste; for an old man was then making the rounds, visiting all the fires and all the prisoners, in case a single one should escape from their hands. He passed our prisoner at no great distance and gave him a greater fright than a thunderbolt would have done by falling at his feet. Upon rising for the third time, seeing no one on guard, he dexterously loosed his bonds, and, without making a sound, walked gently through the midst of the Iroquois sleeping on all sides. No sooner had he gained the cover of the woods than he began to run, all naked as he was, and kept it up for the rest of the night, never letting the brambles, thorns, or thickets check his course for a moment.

Four days and four nights he ran without stopping, at each step imagining the Iroquois at his heels, and having his mind full of the Iroquois fires, which did not even let him look where he set his feet. At last he reached Montreal.

ANOTHER HURON DELIVERED FROM CAPTIVITY BY THE AID OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.

ANOTHER Christian Huron escaped on the first night after his capture. One of his thumbs had just been cut off; his mouth was still seared with the fire which they attempted to make him eat; and an act of cruelty had just been performed on one of his legs, which had been inhumanly burned. Despite all these tortures, he had no sooner been bound in the manner we have described, to pass the night in that position, than he fell asleep; and he saw in his slumbers a Lady of divine beauty, who therefore addressed him: Satiatontawa, -- "Escape from your bonds." At this voice he awoke.

Attempting to free his unwounded hand from its bonds, he succeeded after some effort; the pains taken by the Iroquois to bind their prisoners securely, during the first days, are quite extraordinary. This man, who, after easily freeing one hand, used it to untie the cords around the other, around his feet, and around the rest of his body, without being either seen or heard. Then he took flight, entirely naked, having only a miserable rag around his loins. He ran without pause until daybreak, when he saw that his feet and legs were all torn, and in such pitiful plight as to excite his compassion, although they caused him no pain. To aid him to continue his running, he took the bit of cloth he wore and put it on his feet in place of shoes and stockings; and then he resumed his flight, without thinking of taking breath or drink or food. His legs and thighs, however, becoming inflamed, he was in despair of ever reaching Montreal, when he felt himself strengthened afresh. So he ran vigorously for four consecutive days, disregarding his course, and without taking other refreshment than a little muddy water, which was his only nourishment.

Yet this exertion left him weakened, his strength suddenly becoming so reduced that he could scarcely continue to put one foot before the other. In this extremity, as a last effort, he climbed a tree with much difficulty, to reconnoiter the country where he must die; but, to his great surprise, he found himself at the foot of the mountain of Montreal. He was forced to go to the hospital to have his wounds dressed, and to recover his strength somewhat; but the passage to his stomach was so contracted that he could no longer swallow, and was in danger of dying. However, he asked for some melted Bear's fat, and cured himself by drinking it.

A THIRD HURON WHO ESCAPED MIRACULOUSLY FROM THE MIDST OF THE FLAMES.

GOD restored to us still another of those poor Huron captives. Let us hear his own account of his adventures, which he Will relate much better than I can, since they cost him some fingers cut off, arms roasted, and thighs burned.

"After our capture," said he, "I was taken to Onondaga in a state of uncertainty whether I should there find life or death. On the way I was treated like a prisoner, as were also all the rest who had voluntarily surrendered to the Iroquois. When I arrived within 20 miles of the village, a Huron -- an old friend of mine, and for a long time a captive -- told me secretly that my case was hopeless, that I was condemned to be burned; that, as soon as I should enter the village, I would be given to the flames; and that I must accordingly take thought for my own safety. With these words, he stealthily slipped a knife under my robe, so I could cut my bonds. On the following night, which was to be the last of my life, never was a captive so closely watched as I was, never was a man so securely bound; and even the specters were in league with my enemies to destroy me.

When night had fallen and my shackles had been redoubled, during the deepest sleep of my guards, I seemed to see a horrible phantom in the form of a hideous serpent, and in other shapes, hovering around me, and feigning an attack upon my feet and arms, and even approaching to hiss in my ears; this made the hair of my head stand on end, as if the vision had been a lurking demon, stationed as a sentinel to match over me. If it forced me to move a foot or an arm, my guards immediately awoke and inspected my shackles, to keep them always quite tight, so that, during this whole night, I could not use my knife to set myself free. Day dawning caused these specters to vanish by its light, but did not dispel my fears; on the contrary, they increased with the approach of death, which appeared ever more hideous and more frightful to my fancy, the nearer we came to the village. Prayer is a soothing palliative in such calamities, and is well able to charm away the keenest pains, and even render us insensible to the most frightful cruelties.

This I have experienced on various occasions. At one time -- when fire was applied to my left arm with such severity that its fierce heat, penetrating to the bone, injured all the tendons and rendered my hand entirely powerless, -- I acknowledge that I then resorted to prayer so fervently that I felt scarcely any pain from this cruel burn, and saw rather than felt the injury done to my arm. I made as much use as possible of so good a remedy; and in my death-song, instead of rehearsing my former deeds of prowess, as is our habit, I invited all the French of my acquaintance to pray for me.

Finally, in the midst of these holy thoughts with which I filled my song, we reached the top of the mountain from where may be seen the village of Onondaga. I was seized with fright at this view, I cannot deny; but much more so when, on drawing nearer, I caught sight of a great multitude awaiting me, to inflict on my poor body all the cruelty with which fury and revenge could inspire them.

Then I thought of my knife, which I kept concealed about my loins, and decided to cut my throat to escape by a sudden death -- and one that was gentle -- the thousand deaths that I had before my eyes. I had the knife in my hand, and was ready to deal the blow, when I recalled what the Fathers had told me in times past -- that we are not the masters of our lives, that it is for God alone to curtail our days, and that I could not employ this violence without committing a great sin. After this thought, which from the first made me waver a little in my resolve, I offered myself to God, to suffer all the torments that he should decree; and, to free myself from the temptation, I cast my knife far from me, and bravely took up my march toward all the people awaiting me.

Never did I conceive more vividly all that had been told me of the fury with which the demons pounce upon a damned soul, than I did upon finding myself in the midst of that throng. All leaped upon me in a crowd on every side, some cutting off my fingers, others lacerating my flesh; these discharging on my body a Perfect hailstorm of blows with sticks, and those pulling out my fingernails. My poor hands were insufficient for all the women tugging at them on every side, while one of the boldest of the men tried to cut off one of them entirely. He to whom I belonged objected to this; the other offered violence, and threw himself upon me; his opponent defended me, and snatched away my hand from the grasp of that cruel Indian. The struggle, which cost me only the loss of a finger, made me cleave the throng to enter, as soon as possible, the village which I regarded as my tomb, where I hoped soon to be reduced to ashes, so I could conclude my woes by ending my life.

I expected to proceed straight to the scaffold, which I found ready for the execution, but was turned aside to enter some of the cabins and gratify, with the sight of my person, those who took an interest in my death. In the third one, my death-sentence was pronounced. One of the chief men of the village, rising in the midst of the assembly of all the oldest men, -- who had been convened to hear my condemnation and be present at my torture, -- delivered a speech in a loud voice. Then, -- after thanking the Skies several times for having so favored them as to give them an opportunity to take vengeance on a man of high station, for the death of those who had been slain in the last expedition, -- turning toward me, he pronounced the decree of death, and named those who were to execute it. He ordered the executioners to supply me with leggings that evening, -- that is, to burn my legs, -- preparatory to completing my dress on the following day. He further gave positive instructions not to touch either my arms or my heart, as those were to be reserved and given to eat to an Iroquois of the Village, who had dreamed some months before that he was to eat them. I listened to all this, and prepared myself by prayer to undergo the execution with the utmost courage at my command. They ordered me to proceed to the place of torture.

My captors dragged me to the scaffold, where I saw myself surrounded by fires. I saw the iron implements of all sorts that were being heated to redness for my torture; and at last I saw myself tied to the stake in a manner entirely new -- for my arms were extended, and bound therefore outstretched to a second stake crossing the first, so I might be unable to ease myself by moving during the torture. When all was therefore in readiness, and my executioners had approached the fire to get some firebrands with which to begin my torture, suddenly a bright flash of lightning rent a cloud above my head. This, with a loud clap of thunder, precipitated such a flood of rain that the fires were immediately extinguished, and my executioners were compelled to retire from fear of wetting their fine robes, with which they had adorned themselves in honor of my torture. Thus I found myself alone in the midst not only of the fires but also of the waters, which made me recall my preceding vision. Looking around in every direction a little more freely, I saw some dogs eating the last morsels of the corpse of a Frenchman, who had just been burned at the same stake and on the same scaffold that I occupied. I saw them licking his blood and fighting over some of his limbs, which had escaped the teeth of the Iroquois, only to be devoured by beasts; and my own misery caused me less compassion than that spectacle.

The storm continued, and, the sky appearing wholly overcast, took from my executioners all hope that they could continue the execution on that day, unless the rain should soon cease. Accordingly, they came to unbind me and lead me into the cabin in which I had scarcely set foot when one of the chief men of the family to which I had been given returned from hunting.

Learning that my death had been decreed without awaiting his return to ask his advice in the matter, and seeing that the other Huron captives brought along with me had received mercy, he said that his family was not under greater obligations to avenge the public wrongs than the others, who had, despite these injuries, spared their prisoners' lives. Then, he decided that I should not die, caused my bonds to be broken, arrayed me in fine clothes, and, from so unexpected a change of fortune, made me uncertain whether I were awake, or whether all that was passing were only a dream. I was given food and was made to promise that I would be faithful to the Nation, and would not run away to the French. I feared that all this might be only a piece of sport to give the assembled company a good laugh. That is why I answered coldly enough that I would not run away, saying the words with my mouth, but uttering the contrary in my heart; for I felt my conscience too oppressed to consent to remain with those demons, among whom I would soon have lost the habit of prayer, and would surely have been damned with them.

Still, I put on a good face, and in order to conceal from them my purpose of escaping, I offered to join a war-group about to proceed against the French. On the way, I was often on the point of making my escape, but in each instance the fires to which I exposed myself, in case of recapture, presented themselves with such horror to my mind that I could not muster courage to attempt it. Finally, believing that now was my time, I took a hasty departure, thinking that I would not be perceived. But I had not gone fifty steps before I heard a loud outcry from the whole company, spreading the intelligence of my flight; and I saw myself pursued on every side by those who were the most eager to catch me, and had the greatest interest in doing so. Yet -- whether because I had gained a little start, or because the fear of the frightful inevitable torture gave me wings -- they could not overtake me before night, during which I ran on through the trackless wilderness until day broke, and, by good luck, showed me a hollow tree-trunk just suitable for my reception and concealment until the Iroquois should have finished their first hunt. So I squeezed myself in, arranged some branches to cover the opening, and passed a day and two nights there without moving, drinking, or eating -- but with serious alarms, caused by an unceasing uproar that I heard all about me, made by those who were hunting for me with the greatest fervor.

The second night having passed, and all the woods being wrapped in deep silence, I came out of my lair and took my course through the forest, keeping so far from the main routes that I was sixteen days in reaching Three Rivers. I would have reached it in four, had I not made so great detours, to render my escape the surer; but one does not feel fatigue on such occasions. During the last six days I ate nothing at all, and yet ran as vigorously as at the start, my strength failing me only when I had no further need of it. The kind reception given me at Three Rivers made me forget all my past hardships."

Such is the account of that good Huron's adventures, nearly as he gave it, as well as our tongue can faithfully render the expressions of his own.

A FRENCHMAN BURNED AT ONONDAGA.

IN the engagement described previously, five Frenchmen were captured by the victorious Iroquois and divided among all the Nations, so they could vent their rage on those poor prisoners. One of the five was given to the Oneidas, but was so badly wounded by a ball which had passed through his body that he was burned on the battlefield, in case he should die on the way. Two others were given to the Mohawks, and we know nothing more definite about them than that one was likewise delivered to the flames upon his arrival at the Mohawk nation; while the other, after escaping from the Iroquois, probably died of hunger in the woods, since he has not come back to us. Finally, the other two were delivered to the Onondagas. They presented one of them to the Senecas, who could not wait until they arrived in their own country to burn him, but made him suffer the torture by fire on the way. The fifth, who was left to the Onondagas, is the one of whom we now speak, having learned from the third Huron who escaped some circumstances of his death.

He was a Young man, who had been so courageous as to go with us to Onondaga when we went to the shores of the little lake of Onondaga, to convert those Indians. There he began the practice of an extraordinary virtue, in preparation for a most holy death, as he was cruelly killed by the ones to whose salvation he had contributed by his stay in their country. His was a mild and peaceful disposition, but a brave one. As he was carefully trained in habits of devotion, so he maintained them during all the time of his captivity, inspiring this spirit, by gestures, looks, and the few Indian words he knew, in the Huron captives who were led to Onondaga with him.

Once, he asked this third Huron whether he was a Christian, and whether he had enjoyed the benefit of communion. Learning that he was a Christian, "Very well," said he, "let us then pray, my brother; let us pray together, and make Churches of all these forests through which we are passing." He also asked the Huron, when they were approaching the Village, whether they would be burned there or whether their captors would content themselves with breaking their heads with a hatchet, or stabbing them in the side with a knife. Upon being assured that they would become victims of the flames, the intelligence at first affected him; but then said, "Very well, my brother, since it is God's will that we be burned, let us submit to his decrees."

Upon arriving at the Village, he was subjected without delay to the cruelties commonly inflicted on those who are condemned to death. They began with his hands, cutting off all the fingers, one after another, without leaving a single one. But immediately after the severing of each finger, he threw himself on his knees to give thanks to God, joining his hands and the fingers still left him with a devotion that would have drawn tears from those executioners, had they not been more cruel than tigers.

Finally, -- when all his fingers had been cut off, one after another; he knelt for the last time, and, joining his two poor fingerless hands all covered with blood, offered his prayer before ascending the scaffold, which had been prepared in a manner more than barbarous, and wholly contrary to custom. For, in place of a stake, -- to which the sufferer is fastened in such a way that he can still move from side to side during the application of the fire, -- those Barbarians, ingenious in devising new tortures, had, besides the customary stake, so arranged others that our poor Frenchman was tied there as if astride a fence, -- his feet and hands, however, outstretched in the form of a cross, and bound so that he could not turn either way when the fire was applied. Besides, -- as if firebrands and lighted bark, which are the usual instruments of their cruelty, were only sufficient for the preludes of the torture, -- they heated to redness some hatchets, files, saws, pieces of gun-barrels, and other like articles that we had left in our house of Onondaga Lake upon our departure, and applied these red-hot irons to his body with a cruelty whose record this paper cannot endure.

These finally compelled him to yield to the violence of his agony, and give up his soul to God. This precious body was chopped into bits, of which the more delicate were carried away to be eaten, while the rest were left to the dogs. These animals were devouring them while our third Huron was on the same scaffold, awaiting a treatment similar to that given this virtuous Frenchman. The spot seems to have been consecrated by this brave Man; for our Huron was no sooner tied there than he began to sing his death-song, -- a song, however, full of piety; a song in which he invoked now one Saint, and now another, and called upon us, far distant although we were.

When news of the defeat, of which we spoke, was brought to this place by the three fugitives, it may be imagined what must have been the feelings of so many poor Huron widows, who -- seeing their whole nation exterminated by so fatal a blow, and left without hope of being able to reestablish itself, since no more men remained -- must have been inconsolable. It is the Indians' custom, when such casualties occur, to make the air resound with sad lamentations, cries, and groans -- women calling their husbands by name in pitiful accents, children their fathers, uncles their nephews. And this sad ceremony is enacted not for one day merely, or two, but throughout an entire year, nothing but weeping and lamentation being heard, every morning and evening, in the whole Village that has suffered some great loss. What then did these poor widows do at the first intelligence of this fatal calamity? Perhaps you will have difficulty in believing it, but prayer took the place of lamentation; and instead of the shrieks that those bereaved women were expected to utter, according to the custom of all these Nations, they came into our Chapel, -- with tears in their eyes and sobbing bitterly, but with inward peace.

THE CONDITION OF THE MISSIONS, AND HOW THEY HAVE BEEN REOPENED.

Wherever we turned our eyes, we found, in the four quarters of our America, Indians to convert and lands to conquer for Jesus Christ. These I am going to enumerate, so you can see, on the one hand, the necessity of destroying the Iroquois, and the advantages that Will follow his destruction; and on the other, our present need of a reinforcement of brave Missionaries to meet all these fair hopes, and not allow the treasure of all these Languages that we have amassed to be lost.

First, I begin with the part of this world that must hold the first rank as being first in natural location -- I mean the East. There is located the Abenakis Mission. This, beginning at the river Kennebec, includes on its right the Maliseets of Penobscot, together with those of the river St. John; and on its left all those great Nations of New England that speak Abenaki, as also the Sokoki Abenakis and those six large Villages of the Narragansett -- some having three thousand and others six thousand men, according to the report of the English of New England. The English of New England, although of a different Religion, have yet always told the Father settled there that they approve of the pains he takes in instructing those Indians, who have been asking for and awaiting us for several years. But the Iroquois are too near to let us enter.

Secondly, on the Southwest, the Petun nation has sent one of its Captains. He is making preparations here to conduct some Frenchmen, as soon as spring opens, to a spot 150 miles beyond Green Bay, where his compatriots have taken refuge, and believe themselves safe in the midst of several Algonquin Nations; settled there from time immemorial; but the roads to them are not safe.

In the third place, on the west a great Nation of 40 Villages, called the Sioux, has been awaiting us since the alliance which it only recently concluded with the two Frenchmen who returned from their country this summer. From what they have remembered of that Language, we hold with considerable reason that it has the same structure as the Algonquin, although it differs in a number of words.

In the fourth place, on the Northwest, the Dakota and other Nations -- as numerous as the preceding, or nearly so -- are well-disposed to receive us, and are altogether inclined to that since they have formed together a league, offensive and defensive, against the common enemy.

In the fifth place, farther toward the North, the Nation of the Cree, situated between the upper lake and the sea-bay that we have mentioned, begins or ends that of the Dakota. They have sent Us an invitation by a Christian Captain who came from the upper lake down to Tadoussac by the routes described by us above, and they urge us to form an alliance with them and go next spring to visit their nine Villages, where we shall find people of a gentle and pliable disposition, as well as the Atikamekw and the Innu, with whom they have language and disposition in common.

In the sixth place, due Northward, the Nations dwelling on each side of the bay wish to have the glory of seeing us settled among them first of all; and for that reason they have made haste to send us presents, offering us all their Villages to cultivate; and fully expecting to be the first to receive the French, as they are the first on the route one must take to ascend to those upper districts by way of Tadoussac. The great advantage is that, the languages of all those nations being Algonquin or Innu or Abenaki, we are ready on the instant to give them aid, since we have arranged all the principles of those Tongues exactly according to those of Greek and Latin.

In the seventh place, let us return to the east, to complete our round of the points of the compass. There we shall hear from afar the good Neophytes of the seven Islands calling us more urgently than any of the rest; and they also have more reason to do so, since, having been baptized by our Fathers, they ask, like good sheep, to hear the voice of their Shepherds, who might comfort them in their distress caused by the fear of the Iroquois. That is what prevents them from going to Tadoussac to have their children baptized, and to receive the instructions necessary for wandering Churches, so they may spend the year as good Christians should, being taught what they are to do during their Pastor's absence. They are distant 200 miles from Tadoussac.

In the eighth place, the people of Lac Saint-Jean, who are only 150 miles from Tadoussac, are no less desirous of possessing us, and manifest their minds clearly enough to those who visit them in trade.

In the ninth place, besides the upper Iroquois, -- among whom there would be work for a number of Missionaries, if the lower Iroquois were humbled and reduced to a respectful attitude, -- we were invited some years ago by the people of the Village of St. Michel, who are good Hurons, cultivated of old by our Fathers in their own country, and now residing in a place of refuge among the Senecas.

In the tenth place, the last Mission of which I shall now speak is what we began this year at the first opening that offered. In 1656, a fleet manned by three hundred of the Upper Algonquins coming to this place to trade, we were led to hope that by joining them we could go up together to their country, and work for the salvation of those peoples. Two of our Fathers embarked for this purpose, but one was forced to turn back; while the other, who was Father Leonard Garreau, was killed by the Iroquois stationed on the route they were to follow. This year, 1660, another fleet manned by the same Algonquins, sixty canoes in number, having arrived, two of our Fathers again joined them, to leave no way untried. But one of them could not go beyond Montreal, owing to the whim of an Indian, who would not allow him in his canoe, while the other, Father Rene Menard, passed that place but we do not know whether some accident, similar to what befell Father Garreau, has not overtaken him. For we have learned that a band of a hundred Onondagas was to lie in wait for them above Montreal, for the purpose of attacking them in some narrow pass, or else assaulting them in some rapids, where one has enough to do to contend with currents and rocks, without having other enemies on his hands. We do not know what success the enterprise of the Iroquois may have had, but fear that they will strangle that poor Mission in its cradle, as they have done once already.

If the Father can escape their clutches, he Will follow the Algonquins to a point midway between Green Bay and Lake Superior, where those peoples promise us a residence on another Lake, 750 or 1000 miles from here. Near it, they are to fell, this Winter, the trees for their abode, and to form a center for several Nations who have already appeared there, and who will arrive there from different directions.

A Missionary destined for this great work must make up his mind to lead a strange kind of life, and endure unimaginable destitution of all things; to suffer every inclemency of the weather, without mitigation; to bear a thousand impertinences, a thousand taunts, and often blows from the Infidel Indians, who are at times instigated by the demons, -- and all this without human consolation; to be daily in the water or on the snow, without tire; to pass whole months without eating anything but boiled leather, or the moss which grows on the rocks; to toil indefatigably, and as if he had a body of bronze; to live without food, and lie with no bed under him; to sleep little and journey much; and with all that, to hold his head in readiness to receive the hatchet-stroke oftener than every day, whenever a trickster or some malcontent shall take a fancy to deal it.

One must be a barbarian with these Indians and play the savage with them, and almost cease to live like a human being, to make them live like Christians. In such manner did Father Menard live among the Hurons and among the Iroquois.

SOME PRISONERS CAPTURED FROM THE IROQUOIS AND BURNED AT QUEBEC.

Who would believe that the torture by fire -- which often overwhelms the victim with despair, and sometimes shakes the constancy of the best Christians -- opens to some of the Iroquois the road to Heaven? We have scarcely ever seen an Iroquois burned without regarding him as on the way to Paradise; nor have we considered a single one as certainly on that road whom we have not seen pass through this torture.

The first one to cause us to entertain this opinion was a Young man who came here from the depths of Barbarism, -- I mean, from the midst of the Mohawks, -- to make prisoners of war; but, being himself taken prisoner, he found Heaven while in his chains. He was of the Mahican Nation (the people called by us the Wolf Nation, neighbors of the Dutch and allies of the Mohawks), but had been naturalized among the Iroquois, whose cause he embraced. He was captured by our Algonquins on the Richelieu Islands. Three of his companions were killed on the spot; he, however, had only the tip of his tongue cut off by a musket-ball which passed through his mouth from cheek to cheek.

Brought to Quebec by the victors, he was immediately tried and condemned to be burned, so the rest might lose their boldness in coming to disturb us with impunity at the doors of our houses. The Algonquins, who were the Judges and executioners of this criminal, did not use much formality in the matter. They were Algonquins and he professed himself an Iroquois; that was sufficient to prove him deserving of death by fire. One of our Fathers, who understood his language, employed his time in instructing him; and he prepared himself for receiving baptism, and did receive it a little before ascending the scaffold. There he prayed to God with courage during his torture, and even called for the Father again a short time before he died.

What happened a few days later to four Hurons, captured in war and burned before our eyes, makes the infinite treasures of God's mercy shine forth. Listen to the words of the Father who played his part best in that horrible tragedy, and who received the last gasps breathed by those victims from the midst of the flames, where they lived perhaps better than they had ever done, and where they at least died in the hope of eternal enjoyment.

"Certain Hurons," says the Father, "who were settled among the Iroquois and had left Mohawk last Autumn to hunt the beaver, were urged on their return to proceed to Quebec with hostile intent, to avenge some affront that one of them had received. Arriving there toward the end of the following Spring, they captured, on the coste de Beaupre, a French woman with some children, but were themselves captured with their prey.

"Our Governor laid ambushes in so advantageous positions that the enemy's canoe fell right into them while it was re-ascending the river in silence, and was passing point de Levis. No sooner did our Frenchmen and Algonquins see it in the darkness than they discharged their muskets, plunged into the water, and seized the enemies. Out of their whole number of eight, three were drowned, -- the canoe capsizing upon being boarded, -- and five were seized and led in triumph to Quebec to be burned. Admire the care with which God watched over the safety of that French woman. Seeing herself captured and destined for the flames or for a captivity still more cruel, she should have given vent to cries and tears, as demanded by so lamentable a condition of the mother and her poor children. The children wept pitifully, without knowing their misfortune, since they did not see that they were about to become Iroquois and would be torn from their mother's bosom as soon as they reached the enemy's country; that they would be scattered in different cabins and reared in the native Indian mode of life, so they might imbibe the Iroquois nature with their milk, and lose every trace of Christianity.

"In spite of it all, this poor woman did not give way to vain lamentations during the time of her captivity; but she felt inwardly persuaded that, in passing Quebec on a Saturday, she would be set free, as happily occurred on that evening.

"She received a mortal wound at the discharge made upon the Iroquois canoe; and afterward blessed God a thousand times for permitting her to die in the arms of the hospital Mothers instead of abandoning her to live among the Iroquois.

"But let us return to our captives. I knew them well," adds the Father. "I visited them when the prelude of the tragedy was begun upon them, -- nails torn out, fingers cut off, hands and feet burnt, and all the other treatment of like nature, which was merely the game and diversion of children. Seeing that I could not deliver them from their torments, I spoke to them about God, and they heard me willingly; I tried to make them recall their prayers, and they had not forgotten them; I encouraged them to undergo death with stout hearts, in atonement of their sins, and they resolved to do so.

"The first two put to torture were near relatives, grandfather and grandson, the grandfather an old man between fifty and sixty years of age, powerful and robust, and the grandson a youth of seventeen or eighteen years, of a sensitive nature and a more delicate constitution. As soon as the grandfather saw the fires in which he was to be burned, lighted around him, he had me summoned to help him during his torture, throughout which he uttered only these two phrases, which were heard ringing out from amid the flames: "Jesus, take pity on me! Mary, give me strength!" That was his death-song, and that ended all his cries. With that beautiful invocation he filled the air, but others, as a general rule, fill it with pitiful weeping and wailing.

"I heard him from a distance, and, approaching, gave him encouragement, leading him to hope that his torments would soon be changed to rapture, provided he continued to meet them with courage. 'I Will do so,' he replied; 'and to assure you of it, I promise not to cry out, whatever cruelty may be exercised upon me.' This promise he kept throughout a good part of the night and of the following day, during which time his torture lasted, without ever uttering a cry, or even a sigh, amid intolerable afflictions and agonies that are scarcely conceivable. Seeing him display so much courage in suffering, I invited him to encourage his grandson to rely on God in his torments, which he was unable to bear with such firmness, owing to his Youth and his constitution. 'Yes,' said he, and turning toward the youth, as much as the fires allowed him, 'Courage, my son,' said he to him; 'let us pray without ceasing. The fires separate us at present, and the smoke rising from our roasting bodies prevents us from seeing each other; but we shall soon meet again in Heaven. Let us not desist from praying, for prayer is the sole remedy for our woes.' Then, turning to me: 'Do not abandon us, I ask you; and remind us again of God whenever we are given a little respite. Leave us not, and pray for us continually, making us pray as long as we keep our senses.'

"It was a spectacle such as the Indians of these regions had never seen. As soon as the torturers gave one of those poor sufferers some respite, so they could go and torment the other, I hurried to him to direct his prayers and cheer him with some kind word; and immediately upon their return to this one, with the firebrands and heated hatchets, I went to the other for the same purpose. I would have been discouraged had not the courage they showed in suffering given me sufficient firmness to see their poor bodies so ill-treated.

"I saw them with consolation, hearing the younger one recite his Hail Mary from beginning to end, as soon as he was allowed a little breathing-space. And as he was young and delicate, he made me his excuses for not being able to imitate the constancy of his grandfather, who mocked the torments. 'Alas!' he said to me, 'I am not brave enough to keep back the tears at the height of my sufferings; for they are violent.'

"'Weep and cry out as much as you will,' I answered; 'that does not displease God.'

"But the old man, touched by the pitiful cries of his grandson, -- whose foot they were piercing with a red-hot iron, while they burned the other by pressing it against a stone heated to redness, -- could not refrain from calling out to the executioners: 'Ho! Why do you not let that Child alone! Am I not able to satisfy your cruelty without your exercising it on that innocent?' They threw themselves accordingly on the old man and -- with red-hot javelins, with which they pierced the most sensitive parts of his body; with hatchets, all glowing hot, which they applied to his shoulders; and with firebrands and flames, with which they encompassed him -- did their utmost to make him cry out; but all those cruel efforts were fruitless, and he appeared as if insensible in the midst of that horrible butchery.

"I was touched with pity for him, and wished to persuade him to moan a little, so he could spare himself some of these inhuman inflictions; for it is the Indians' custom not to cease their torments until they have made the sufferer cry out. So I said to him, speaking low in his ear: 'Know, my brother, that it is no sin to cry out; you can do so without displeasing God. Still, I do not ask you to do it.' He gave me no answer, but I saw clearly that he was resolved to continue to suffer with firmness; for neither the red-hot iron plates with which they broiled his more fleshy parts, nor the hot ashes that they threw on his head after removing the scalp, nor all the live coals in which they buried his body, could wrest a single sigh from his breast.

"At last, when his strength was exhausted by loss of blood and by such protracted tortures, he was thrown into the fire, which was to serve him as a grave. But, being a robust and vigorous man, he suddenly arose from amid the flames, parted the throng, and started to run, having the appearance of a demon on fire, his lips cut away, with no skin on his head, and with scarcely any on his whole body. Although the soles of his feet and his legs were entirely roasted, he ran so swiftly that it was difficult to overtake him. But as it was only a last effort of nature, his strength finally failing, he was recaptured. Then his first word was a call for the Father and a request that he would help him still to pray, -- until, a little later, being cast into the fire, he died there.

"The three others were not so courageous, nor were they so strong; but their piety appeared no bit inferior, their constant wish being to have the Father beside them during the execution, while they recited their prayers as long as the intensity of the torture permitted them."

SOME OTHER NOTEWORTHY MATTERS.

One of the most remarkable occurrences in Canada since the coming of the Bishop of Petraea is the almost total suppression of drunkenness among our Indians.

Those who have mingled somewhat with the Indians (I speak only of those living near our settlements) are well aware that drink is a demon that robs them of their reason, and so inflames their passion that, after returning from hunting, richly laden with beaver-skins, instead of furnishing their families with provisions, clothing, and other necessary supplies, they drink away the entire proceeds in one day and are forced to pass the winter in nakedness, famine, and all sorts of deprivation. There have been some whose mania was so extraordinary that, after stripping themselves of everything for liquor, they sold even their own children to obtain the means of intoxication. Children, when they are overcome with drink, beat their parents without being punished for it; Young men use it as a love potion, corrupting the girls after making them drunk; those that have any quarrels pretend to be intoxicated, to wreak vengeance with impunity. Every night is filled with clamors, brawls, and fatal accidents, which the intoxicated cause in the cabins.

Everything is permitted them, for they say, as a satisfactory excuse, that they were bereft of reason at the time. One cannot conceive the disorders which this diabolical vice has caused. We found neither a time to instruct them, nor means to inspire them with horror of this sin; for they were always in a state of intoxication or of beggary -- that is, either incapable of listening, or compelled to go in quest of food in the woods. This condition deeply moved the heart of the Bishop of Petraea, who, seeing the fortunes of this new Christendom in danger of ruin unless these evils were abolished, turned all his attention toward finding a remedy for the evil which seemed incurable. And he happily found a remedy; for, after the King's orders and the Governors' decrees had proved ineffectual, he, by excommunicating all the French who give intoxicating liquors to the Indians, suppressed all these disorders, and they have not broken out again since the excommunication. This result so surprised our better and more discreet Indians that they came expressly to thank the Bishop of Petraea on behalf of their entire Nation, admiring the power of his Word, which had accomplished in a moment what had been so long attempted in vain.

Fifty Iroquois from Cayuga made their appearance at Montreal toward the beginning of August of this year, 1660; and finding the people there well on their guard, four separated from the rest for the purpose of holding a parley. Trusting to the usual kindness of the French, they asked to be allowed to go down to Quebec and speak to Onontio, to tell him on behalf of their Village that, although war had been rekindled between the French and the Iroquois, they, the Cayugas, claimed to observe the neutrality they had always professed, never yet having made war on our settlements. And, as a still greater proof of their dependability, they asked for the black gown who had been a missionary among them, and had started a new Church there during our stay at Onondaga.

The Governor saw their game at once. Regarding them rather as spies than as Ambassadors, of which Ambassador class they bore none of the marks customary among these peoples, he believed that God placed them in his hands so that he might gain two advantages, -- first, so we could gather the harvest in some safety, during their presence among us; second, to obtain the freedom of our Frenchmen in captivity among the lower Iroquois, by exchanging these men for them. With this plan, he ordered that the others, stationed on an Island near Montreal, should be secured, and two or three of them sent back to their own country to tell the elders that if they wished to recover their countrymen, they must send back the Frenchmen whom they had held prisoners for the last few years.

We are awaiting the success of this move. Meanwhile, our harvests have been successfully gathered, and we are beginning to lose our fear of the famine with which we were menaced.

Our fears in one direction are no sooner dispelled than others come to take their place. The Iroquois has not ceased to be an Iroquois, and his last efforts are often greater than his first.

Some news:

First, the three hundred Ottawas who came this year to trade with us, and with whom Father Menard went back to their country to labor at their conversion, encountered a hundred Onondagas stationed below the great falls, but lost only three men, who, advancing too far ahead of the main body of the canoes, were captured by the Iroquois. All the rest, however, passed in safety, the Onondaga finding himself too weak to sustain a conflict.

Second, one of the chief Hurons captured in the defeat of last Spring is expected to conduct some thirty Mohawks by night into the heart of Quebec, to steal away from us the rest of the Huron Colony. It is an easy matter to give us warning of their approach, not merely that we may be on our guard, but also that we may seize the persons of those who carry their courage to such an excess of rashness. Yet we do not believe that they will risk their lives in so perilous an undertaking, unless the whole army be near to sustain them.

Third, of all the Hurons captured last Spring by the Iroquois, seven were burned, while the rest, together with a good number of prisoners of all sorts, are fully resolved to come and throw themselves into our arms, partly to preserve their faith, and partly to escape from so harsh a captivity.

Fourth, in June of this year, 1660, the Mohawks went to Onondaga with costly presents, and invited the people there to form an army corps once more, by a junction of their forces, for the purpose of pouring down upon our settlements in the following Autumn, attempting to sweep away the French Colony of Three Rivers, and spreading general havoc.

But all these schemes may well prove abortive, because of the Cayugas detained at Montreal. At least we know that a detachment of the Onondagas -- who had already entered the field and taken the start in this expedition -- thought of using craft rather than violence for the recovery of these prisoners from the hands of the French. Finally, we are told that next year Will be more dangerous for us than those preceding, because the entire cabin -- so they designate the five Iroquois Nations -- is to form a league, and devise a grand plan of war against us.

YEAR 1661
LETTER OF REVEREND FATHER RENE MENARD TO REVEREND FATHER JEROME LALLEMENT, SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN NEW FRANCE, AT QUEBEC. 1661

One of my first visits at the spot where we were to winter was to a hovel, the most miserable cabin of all, built under a large decayed tree, which served as a shelter for it on one side, and upheld some branches of cedar and Hemlock which kept off the wind on the other. I entered almost on all fours, and under that tree I found a treasure. It was a woman, abandoned by her Husband and her daughter, who had left her two little children, and they were dying; one was about 2, and the other 3 years old. I began to speak of the faith to this poor distressed creature, and she heard me with pleasure which she expressed in these words: "My brother," she said to me, "I know enough that my people do not approve your talks; but I relish them much, and what you say is full of consolation." She drew out from underneath the tree a piece of dried fish, of which she deprived herself to pay me for my visit. But I prized much more highly the Opportunity for assuring the salvation of the 2 little Innocents, by administering baptism to them. The younger of those little Innocents did not long delay in surrendering to Heaven the first-fruits of this Mission, whose devotions he practiced during the short time that he survived his baptism. For, noticing that his Mother prayed to God before eating, he at once, of his own choice, acquired the habit of lifting his hand to his forehead to make the sign of the cross, before drinking and eating. This he continued to do until the end -- a somewhat extraordinary thing in a Child who was not yet 2 years old.

A Young man about 30 years of age has excited the admiration of our Indians by resisting, with a constancy unknown among them, all the temptations of the spirit of impurity, which are probably as frequent here as in any other place in the world. This chosen soul had sometimes approached me on the road, and expressed to me a great desire to become a Christian. But I heard that he was not married, and I persuaded myself that he was worse than those who were settled. I found, however, he was not so; and what is more, that although he was sought after because he was clever and belonged to a great family, he still rejected the advances of all the girls or women who loved him, and that they could never draw any immoral or indecent word from him -- so much so that none amused themselves by asking him in that direction. He was one of the first who came to visit me as soon as I had withdrawn into my little hermitage.

I asked him, after several excellent conversations, why he was not married, and whether he intended to remain always in that state. "No, my Brother," he said; "what I am resolved to do is not to live in the fashion of my people, or to mate myself with any woman who has a coarse mind, such as I find common here in that sex. I will never marry unless I find a chaste woman who is not abandoned like those of this country. I am not in a hurry; and if I do not find one, I am quite satisfied to remain as I am with my brother during the remainder of my life."

This winter, a feast of fornication was held by order of the medicine-men of the country, to restore the health of a man sick beyond hope of recovery. The good neophyte, whom I named Louis in baptism, was asked to be present, to complete the number of the guests; but he refused. When his relatives scolded him to persuade him to go, he got up and went out by one door of the cabin; after remaining for some time at a certain place praying to God, he reentered by another door, giving cause for laughter to those who were present. As he is alone in this kind of life, he must endure a thousand insults on all sides. To this he is already accustomed. His only answer to all that they may say is a slight smile; and he never flinches on a single point when his duty as a Christian is in question.

Here we have neither bread, nor peas, nor corn, nor prunes to give them, as they do down the river. As I have only a few knives or beads, and as it is impossible to obtain any more, all the ways by which I might gratify our Indians are closed to me. I left Three Rivers with 60 or 80 small beads; if I should give them away, I would reach the end of them within a month. I have regretted that I did not bring any medicines with me; for we have none at all. Our surgeon has provided himself with Compresses of Jacinth, J.L.S. in black ointment, and that is all; and therefore, after the lancet has been used, there is nothing left for a sick person to hope for. I have also wished for Tobacco; everything can be done with that Money.

These people are so poor, and we likewise, that we cannot find a scrap of cloth with which to make a compress; or a piece of cloth as large as one's hand with which to mend our clothes. They prize as much as we do whatever things of that kind come from below. You may judge to what a state are reduced we who embarked almost without taking thought, and who, like me, came clad in old clothes that have gone through the ordeal of so long a voyage, as well as the dust and filth of the cabins.

There has been no winter here, to speak of. Our great bay of St. Therese, on whose shore we have wintered, has been frozen over only since the middle of February. I have said Mass every day from All Saints' day to March, without any fear that the elements would freeze or that I would need any fire at the altar. I brought with me only a pint of spanish wine, which is little, considering the great distance. I do not know when that wine will fail me; and I do not know whether anyone will ever bring me some. Vines are not to be seen here any more than other comforts which are fairly common down below. God has preserved my altar-bread inside a small box, which was quite ruined by the Water that entered it, and it may last me until the autumn of 1662. It is a long time until then, and matters Will assume another shape, to determine whether I remain here or leave this place. I must push on to the last post, the Bay of St. Esprit, 250 miles from here. There the Indians have their rendezvous in the early spring, and there we must decide either to leave the country entirely, or to settle permanently in some place where we may hope to grow wheat.

Here is a summary of what has occurred from the 1st of March to the 1st of June. The Indians are living on moose-meat, which came opportunely. The supply of fish failed, and those who wished to keep lent suffered; those who did not keep it, did not suffer.

The Indians invite us every day to their feasts. We decamped from our winter quarters on Easter Saturday, to proceed to a pleasant river where there was good hunting, and where the Indians found what was needed for their subsistence. Game and fish failed us; so we left the Indians and, 6 of us Frenchmen embarking in three canoes, we continued our navigation. At the end of two days, we arrived at that formidable portage which is 2 miles in length, midway between the bogs in which one sinks.

On the 1st of May, we performed our devotions in the Cabins of some Algonquins, who stole a part of our provisions during the night. We left them, and found this great lake all bordered with ice. At a distance of 5 miles from that place, we arrived among other Algonquins where, fearing in case the same thing might happen to us as among the former ones, we passed on, and after 5 days we finally reached the main body. The winter and white frosts continued until the middle of May. On Ascension Day, I saw a Huron who had started 11 days before from the Petun nation. He told me that people were dying of hunger in his country; that, toward the end of May, the Iroquois had fallen upon 14 persons, and killed 4 men upon the spot; that the Sioux had appeared some time afterward and killed 5 Hurons, while the Hurons had killed 8 Sioux; that dysentery had carried off 40 Potawatomi and 60 others; that his people had left the country and traveled a distance of 5 days toward here; that he had come by land in eight days, by a difficult road.

At present, we have not enough food for tomorrow. My lancet is useful to me; and so is the vise of Claude David, who mends the weapons with it. I was invited to a sagamite feast, where there was a double handful of Indian corn. I was given a present of a handful, which we added to our fish; and happy was he who found some in a plate. Our Christians from below have been kind to us since the spring, even Abaoutawe. They are in as great a stress for provisions as we are. Joliet and one Lafleche embarked today for Kataoutrank. Four of us remain, at a distance of a gunshot from 80 Cabins, for the convenience of our Christians.

Rene Menard.

This 2nd of June, 1661. From Notre Dame de bon Secours, called Chassahamigon.

LETTER, ADDRESSED TO THE PRINCE DE CONDE. QUEBEC, OCTOBER 12, 1661.

Monseigneur,

The river saint Lawrence is one of the finest objects in the world. The country is most fertile, and one whose entrance can most easily be closed to any other power; and it can be developed into two states as large as France. Five or six companies of vagabonds have prevented its beauties from being appreciated, and its advantages from being sought.

Three thousand men could settle the country and scatter that rabble, who have received aid through the entrance of the Dutch -- who, as good traders, assist them with arms and ammunition. Or, on the other hand, twelve hundred men and three hundred soldiers could sufficiently check them, if flour for one year were sent to the men, and the subsistence of the soldiers provided for three years. Should the king be unwilling to do either, let him leave the people of the country free to act, and grant them authority. I assure your Highness that all Will go well, and that they Will grow, as all other states have done -- provided they be not burdened with useless functionaries, such as the petty governors and men of law who are sent out to them every day.

If the king does not intervene, and does not send me my bread and that of the hundred soldiers whom I have brought with me, I shall have the honor of saying something more on this subject to your Highness next year. And I would rather rob the altar than impose upon our French here a burden which they cannot yet bear. At Quebec, they are strong enough to resist their enemies; but as to the remainder of the settlements, they are scattered in a still more unsocial fashion than are the Indians themselves. As a proof of this, there are one thousand men, and, in all, less than three thousand people residing over an extent of 200 miles; and these also frequently pay dearly for their folly. For a distance of 4 miles around Quebec, there is sufficient to support a hundred thousand people. That place is two-thirds surrounded by water, and so steep that it cannot be scaled. The approach is 1100 yards. If the whole were arranged with two forts at a distance of a mile away, -- one opposite the head of the island of Orleans, and on the other bank; the other located here, -- Quebec would be the finest, the strongest, and the greatest port in the world; and compared to it, Breisach is only a shadow. From this point to the sea, the distance is 300 miles. Ships of four to five hundred tons burden abound on it; and from here inland, the river is over 1250 miles long, while along its course lakes are encountered, from 500 to 750 miles in circumference, full of most fertile islands.

Dubois Davaugour

Governor

At Quebec, the 13th of October, 1661.

LETTER FROM FATHER JOSEPH MARIE CHAUMONOT, OF THE JESUITS, TO FATHER GERMAIN RIPPAULT, OF THE JESUITS AT DIJON. AT QUEBEC OF NEW FRANCE, THIS 20TH OF OCTOBER, 1661.

Reverend Father,

Since I wrote you last month, the Iroquois of the Onondagas -- among whom I resided for nearly three years and baptized a good number of Indians -- have brought us back nine of our French captives with the assurance that we shall see a greater number of them here next spring.

Father Le Moyne who started from here on the 20th of July with other Iroquois, to take back some of their people whom we held captive, writes to us: 1st, that he received a hearty welcome and was very well treated; 2nd, that they have already built a chapel for him in which he performs in peace the duties of an apostolic man; 3rd, that that nation, with two others of the most numerous Iroquois tribes, again seek for peace with us owing to a new and warlike enemy who has recently declared war against them; 4th, that only two tribes of those Indians continue to war against us, and even they are fighting against three other Indian nations who have already killed many of their people. If our King should send us sufficient reinforcements this year, Sir d'Avaugour is fully determined to exterminate those two small hostile tribes; and to hold the others in check, to send strong garrisons to man good forts which we shall build in their midst.

The Iroquois assert that they Will, next spring, take me back with them, when they come here for the remainder of our prisoners -- even though they all regret me (so they say), and especially those whom I have instructed in the faith.

Joseph Marie Chaumonot,

of the Jesuits.

NEW FRANCE, IN THE YEARS 1660 AND 1661. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER FATHER PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE. PARIS, TO THE KING.

Sire,

About a year ago, your subjects, settlers in this new World -- gave voice to the extreme danger in which they were. Those faithless Iroquois will rob your crown of one of its jewels, if your mandates be not enforced by your powerful hand. So many Peoples will be lost unless they are rescued by Your Majesty's efforts. You will know, Sire, that you are a great King, who, while making Europe tremble, should not be held in contempt in America. If you consider the welfare of your State, your intelligence -- which, at the age of twenty-four, perceives what Many great Princes are blind to at fifty -- will recognize how seriously the loss of so great a country will injure your Kingdom.

I am dwelling too long on this matter for a Heart so royal, a Virtue so heroic, and a Generosity so magnanimous. The Queen, your highly-honored Mother, whose goodness is known beyond the Seas, has prevented the total ruin of New France, but has not set her free. She has delayed her death, but has not restored her to health and strength. That is reserved for Your Majesty, who, by saving the lives and property of your French Colony and the souls of a vast number of Nations, will oblige them all to ask God to confer upon you the name of Saint, as he has conferred it upon your illustrious Ancestor, whose fervor you would imitate by undertaking a holy war.

Paul Le Jeune,

Procurator of the Missions of the Jesuits in New France.

NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1660 TO THE SUMMER OF 1661. THE IROQUOIS WAR FIERCER THAN EVER.

Let us begin with the cause of our fears, and then we shall see the ground of our hopes.

The earthquake, which occurred this last winter at Montreal, made the settlers tremble in advance, causing them to dread the misfortunes which followed that wicked omen. The sad voices which made themselves heard in the air over Three Rivers, were perhaps the echo of those of the poor captives carried away by the Iroquois; and the Canoes that appeared to hover, all on fire, in mid-air about Quebec, were an omen of the enemy's Canoes. These have prowled about our coasts this Summer, setting fire to houses and delivering to the flames many of our people who were taken prisoner.

Finally, the Comet, which was visible here from the end of January to the beginning of March, was soon followed by the disasters of which those stars of evil omen are the forerunners. Its tail, extending westward, pointed toward us and seemed to threaten us with a flagellation, of which it was, to us, a brilliant but fatal portent. And, if that Phenomenon showed itself to you in France, it was a messenger sent you by us from this new world; and it did move from West to East, following the flight of the constellation of the Eagle, at whose head it appeared, although by another movement it tended a little Northward from us. It was a messenger, but one which bore only evil news; and which, brilliant although it appeared, did not show itself except in the gloom of night, -- a too clear omen of our mourning and of our sad fortunes. For scarcely had it ceased to be visible when the Iroquois, as if in collusion with that Star, appeared on all sides like an impetuous flood. If they last year made us cry out loudly enough to be heard in France, they now leave us nothing but tears to shed for our dead.

Our misfortunes began toward the end of the Winter, when a band of a hundred and sixty Iroquois, appearing at Montreal and surrounding without warning thirteen Frenchmen, whose thoughts were more on their work than on their defense, carried them away without striking a blow. With frenzied rage did those barbarians conduct them home in triumph. Some were overcome by the shower of blows received on entering the village, and died under the weight of the cudgels that were to have served as their funeral pile, the enemy's wrath being merciful in its premature cruelty toward them. Others were burned with the usual ceremonies -- barbarous ceremonies, which find their sport in a hell of torments, and cause for laughter in the pitiful tears of a poor sufferer; and still others were scattered, to spend the rest of their days suffering under a bondage more grievous than death.

This first stroke was soon followed by a second, which delivered ten more Frenchmen, likewise from Montreal, to the same captivity. Then others still, and yet again others, fell into their hands; so that, throughout the Summer, that Island has suffered constantly from those wanton wretches. They would now appear at the edge of the woods, and content themselves with heaping abuse upon us; then they would steal into the midst of our fields to surprise the farmer; and again they would draw near our houses, harass us ceaselessly, and, like persistent birds of prey, pounce upon us whenever they found us off our guard, without fear of being captured themselves.

The settlement of Three Rivers received no better treatment, and its heart is still bleeding over the double loss it sustained, almost on the same day -- that of fourteen Frenchmen, who were carried away in a body; and that of thirty Indians from the country of the Atikamekw, our allies. These Indians, going inland on a trading expedition with two Frenchmen, encountered eighty Iroquois, and fought them stoutly for 48 hours -- the total duration of this engagement; and they fought with such enthusiasm that they allowed themselves to be riddled with bullets rather than surrender, preferring a glorious death in their own blood to one in the fires of the Iroquois. Even the women were no bit inferior to the men in courage, sparing no effort to secure their own death, rather than fall alive into hands that would surely have made them suffer as many deaths as they were given days to live.

All were stirred at sight of one of the two Frenchmen, son of Sir Godefroy, who showed his courage by a long and brave resistance. He bore the enemy's assault with a boldness that made him appear as if invulnerable, in the midst of the constant fire directed upon him by the foe. He encouraged his followers both by word and by example, until, all covered with wounds, of which many were mortal, he sank in his own blood and dragged himself, as the others had done, to a heap of dead bodies, there to draw his last breath in the arms of his brave Companions. In this engagement, which was a bloody one for the enemy, since twenty-four of their number were left on the field, all our Algonquins showed marvelous courage to the last; and had it not been for an understanding between the Chiefs, the victory would have doubtless been theirs.

News of this defeat was soon carried to Three Rivers by one of the prisoners, who escaped from captivity and the flames. Calamity was heaped upon calamity, for those poor settlers, who, all Summer long, enjoyed no more rest than the people of Montreal, and were forced to witness the abduction -- before their eyes, and sometimes at the entrances of their village -- of men, of children, without being able to do anything but shed tears.

At Quebec, the affliction was not of such duration, but was more violent and more keenly felt, for we suffered a loss here much greater than all the preceding ones, in the person of Sir de Lauson, Steward of this New France -- a man of courage and resolution, trained in the wars of this country, and one on whom we largely based our hopes for the destruction of the Iroquois. For more than thirty years, his Father has been ceaselessly devoting his energies to the settlement of these new domains. Last year he lost one of his children here, and now the second one has given his life for the preservation of a country which, in some measure, owes its birth to his father.

This gallant Young man could not witness the destruction caused by the enemy's fire and sword, without being stirred by a desire to hunt down the foe, to save the rest of the French who were in danger. Embarking in a sailboat with seven men, he approached a house situated near the middle of the Island of Orleans; for there the Iroquois had stationed themselves in ambush, and it was necessary to engage them there. On the shore, there was a large rock that could be used as a means of defense by those who should first seize it. The enemy, well aware of this, each took two or three pieces of wood which they joined together and bore in front of them as shields, therefore sheltering themselves from the hot fire constantly leveled at them by the French. But the French could not prevent them from seizing this advantageous position, from which the Iroquois had the sailboat within range of their muskets. By ill luck, the sailboat had run aground on the shore facing this rock, and presented its flank to the Iroquois, exposing to their view those to whom it ought to have served as a bulwark of defense.

Then the fight began in earnest, with a discharge of musketry on each side. But what could our men do, only eight in number against forty, and utterly without cover, while those furious demons were ensconced behind their rock? Fully recognizing that they had no defense but what lay in their own courage, they began the attack by joining in prayer, repeating the ceremony three times, while the enemy -- fully conscious of their advantage, and already regarding themselves as victorious -- three times summoned them to surrender, making them a thousand fine promises of life. But the Steward, preferring a glorious death to a shameful captivity, refused to hold any parley with them and answered their invitations only through the mouth of his musket. As he showed the greatest enthusiasm of all, so he was the first to be killed.

The other Frenchmen fell soon after, the enemy keeping up their fire upon them in full security from the shelter of the great rock. When only one was left alive, -- and he wounded in the arm and shoulder and disabled for resistance, -- he was seized and led away by the conquerors to their own country, there to become the victim of their fury and cruelty.

When this sad news, which we learned from a French prisoner who made his escape from the Iroquois, was brought to us, our people were filled with incredible grief at the loss of their Governor, whose courage they held in such high esteem. He won them by a certain familiarity with which he adapted himself to all classes, so that they were delighted to fight under a Leader for whom they felt an extraordinary but well-founded esteem. The Duke d'Espernon had esteemed him highly in France, having honored him, upon his leaving the Academy at the age of nineteen or twenty, with the Ensigncy to the Colonel of the Navarre Regiment -- in which, and in that of Picardy, he served three or four campaigns in Flanders. Afterward, he was unwilling to separate from his Father, whom the King sent as Governor to New France; and there this gallant Gentleman furnished proofs of his noble qualities, giving evidences of his courage up to his last breath.

Following on this news, there came disturbances on all sides, and discouragement made almost everything a Prey to the enemy, who, as masters of the field, everywhere burned, killed, and kidnapped with impunity.

If we had a mind to return to Three Rivers, we would find material for enlarging this Chapter, as Our enemies return there again and again and furnish Us sad accounts by the repeated kidnappings and almost daily murders, which Will render that place more dangerous than the haunts of cut-throats, where one cannot pause with safety. Let us pass it, then, and go up once more to Montreal to witness the catastrophe of this fatal tragedy.

It did not suffice for our misfortune that all states, conditions, and ages, and both sexes, had this year fallen victims to our enemy's fury; to crown our afflictions, the Church was forced to share in these bloody sacrifices, by the violent death of one of her consecrated Ministers. He was a worthy priest of Montreal, Sir le Maistre by name; and one who so emulated the late Father Garreau's death, -- who was killed by the Iroquois, on his way to the Ottawa as missionary, -- that he deemed himself happy if he could mingle his own bones with those of that Martyr for Jesus Christ, as he was accustomed to call him. Sir le Maistre was killed by the same enemy, and likewise had Montreal for a grave.

It Was in September that this good Priest, while he was bearing company to eight men engaged in reaping grain, having gone a little distance from them to recite his prayers more in quiet, suddenly received a discharge of musketry, the injuries from which he felt before knowing their cause. Finding himself mortally wounded, he went to breathe out his soul at the feet of the Frenchmen, who immediately saw themselves attacked on all sides, and surrounded by fifty Iroquois. The Iroquois, issuing from the woods like Lions from their caves, laid one of the Frenchmen dead on the ground at the first onset, captured another alive, and were fully determined to let none of them escape. But the six who remained immediately put hand to sword, and, laying about them to right and left with great courage, cut their way through these fifty foes, and escaped to a neighboring house.

The Iroquois, therefore left undisputed masters of the battlefield, directed their wrath against the dead, since they had been unable to accomplish more against the living. Pouncing on Sir le Maistre, they cut off his head, and, uniting mockery with cruelty, stripped off his cassock, which one of their number donned. Clothed in this precious spoil, he paraded pompously in sight of Montreal, braving the town with an insolence barbaric.

Such has been the course of our afflictions; but the end is not yet; our prophecy has proved only too true, by the kidnapping of many children, by the slaughter of so many men, including a Steward and a Priest, and finally by the death of a hundred and fourteen persons -- more than seventy of whom were French -- all lost within a few months. This year deserves to be included among the disastrous and fatal years; and the next few would witness the extinction of a fine dominion had not the King decided to make of his New France, a land of conquest.

PEACE PARLEY WITH CERTAIN IROQUOIS.

He who glances at the preceding Chapter and at the title of this one Will at first think that our storms are about to subside, and that the all-powerful Hand which has dealt us such hard blows is going to dress our wounds. Yet, if this beginning of tranquility, whose appearance seems to be indicated by peace parleys, did not come from our enemies, and our Iroquois enemies at that, we might think our hopes fairly well founded; but our own experiences make us only too wise, and we have been too often deceived to trust those who have never kept their Word, and not to fear some trickery on the part of a Nation the most infamous of all for its continual rascalities. The Iroquois cry, "Peace, peace!" and at the same time is heard the cry of "Murder!" Peace is proclaimed at Montreal, and war is in progress at Quebec and Three Rivers. And even Montreal is a stage where peace and war play their parts both at the same time; for we there receive into our houses those who slay us in our clearings, and see our Priests and inhabitants slaughtered by those who protest that they are our good friends.

In Montreal, two Canoes manned by Iroquois who, bearing a white flag, came boldly under shelter of that standard, and put themselves in our hands, as if their own had not been still stained with our blood. They had with them a passport that relieved them of all fear, one which could have procured their passage anywhere with safety -- namely, four French captives, whom they were bringing back to us as a pledge of their sincerity. They asked a hearing on matters of moment, saying that they were envoys from the Cayugas and the Onondagas, on whose behalf they were empowered to speak.

The Chief of this Embassy was one of the principal Captains of Cayuga, a man who appeared to be our friend when we were in the Iroquois country, and in whose hut our Fathers lodged while they fostered that infant Church in his village. A day was assigned him for speaking, and he was received as if he had been guiltless of all participation in the murders that had just been committed throughout our settlements. The day arriving, he brought forth twenty fine presents of wampum which spoke more eloquently than he himself, although he made a creditable speech, and explained all the motives of his Mission with intelligence. This aimed especially to secure the liberation of eight Cayugas, countrymen of his, who had been in custody at Montreal for the past year; and this was the most important part of his commission. To persuade us to release these prisoners, he broke the bonds of the four Frenchmen whom he had brought with him, and promised the liberation of the others still remaining among the Onondagas, to the number of twenty and over, assuring us of that Nation's good Will toward us, despite all the acts of hostility committed during the last two years. His speech, couched in good language, was accompanied by many formalities.

First, he made a present to restore the Sun to the Heavens, it having kept itself in eclipse during the wars, whose woes that Celestial body had been unable to contemplate; it had retired, for fear of giving light to so many inhuman deeds with which warfare is commonly attended.

After speaking for Heaven in offering his first present, his next duty was to exert himself for the earth's restoration, wholly upset as it was by the disturbances of war. This he accomplished with a present which made smooth the course of the river, clearing away all its rocks, and leveling out all its rapids, to establish a ready inter-communication.

A third present covered up the blood that had been shed, and raised all the dead to life.

Another restored our spirits, which we had in case in the past disturbances.

Another gave back our voices, and cleared all the passages of the vocal organs, so we might have nothing but pleasant words.

And, to show us how sincerely he desired our alliance, "See," said he, presenting a collar of great size and width, "that is to invite the Frenchman to our country, so he may return to his mat that has been kept for him at Onondaga Lake, where still stands his house in which he lived when he dwelt among us. His fire has not gone out since his departure, and his fields, which we have tilled, only wait for his hand to reap a rich harvest. He will revive peace among us by his presence, just as he banished all the ills of war. And to cement this alliance closely and unite us so firmly together that the evil one, jealous of our happiness, can never more thwart our good purposes, we ask for a visit from the holy maidens, both those who care for the sick and those who occupy themselves in teaching the children." (He meant the Hospital and Ursuline nuns.) "We will build them some large cabins, and the finest mats in the country are set apart for their use. Let them have no fear of currents or falls, for we have removed all these, and have made the river so even that they will be well able themselves to ply the paddle without difficulty and without fear." Then he gave a long account of the conveniences that these good Nuns would find in his country, not forgetting to state the abundance of Indian corn, strawberries, blackberries, and other similar fruits, which were represented in his speech as the most tempting bait that could lure them upon this expedition. The gestures and attitudes with which he selected two presents which he offered with this invitation, showed plainly that he gave them rather through gallantry than in the hope of attaining his end.

But the last Word, which he delivered in a more serious tone, was a request of importance, and not such as to admit of refusal. "A black gown" said he, "must come with me. Otherwise, no peace; and the lives of twenty Frenchmen, in captivity at Onondaga, depend on this journey." Saying this, he produced a leaf from some Book or other, on the margin of which the twenty Frenchmen had written their names in guaranty of the Embassy's good faith.

After speaking, he presented to us the four Frenchmen, whom he set free, and who told us of the kind reception they had at the hands of the Onondagas, and the good treatment given by the Onondagas to those who were detained at Onondaga. They added that these poor Frenchmen implored us to take pity on them; that we had nothing to fear from those people, by whom they were so kindly treated; and that they implored us to send a Father, at the earliest moment, to break their bonds and deliver them from the fires to which they were otherwise irrevocably destined.

Besides, they added that those Iroquois were no longer Iroquois; that the village contained more of the Christian than of the Indian element; that one of the chief men took pains to ring a bell every morning for calling together the French and the Indians to prayers, which were held every day; that the people there talked openly and favorably of the Faith; and that even these French captives were at liberty to baptize the children -- some of whom had, after baptism, gone to Heaven by ways little expected.

All this, taken with what the Ambassador had just said, caused our French people much perplexity, and made them deliberate a long time what resolution to adopt; for they found themselves compelled either to allow the burning of twenty poor Frenchmen, or else to expose themselves again to the faithlessness of those traitors, who had always betrayed us. Besides, they were seeking peace with arms in their hands; and at the moment when they were discussing its terms, were carrying on a bloody warfare all about us. Under these circumstances we feared to be either too timid or too cruel. It was timidity not to dare refuse absurd demands of knaves; it was cruelty to hear the last cries of twenty poor victims, without going to their rescue.

The reply made at Montreal to these presents was that Onontio (therefore they designate our Governor) must be informed of the matter, and that, while messengers went to bear him this news, the Ambassadors could, with entire safety, remain in the fort of Montreal. To this they willingly agreed.

THE MISSION TO THE IROQUOIS RENEWED.

ACCORDINGLY, messengers came hurriedly to Quebec, to convey information of what was occurring at Montreal. The desolation was then so general here -- blood having been shed on all sides, and the enemy having burned down houses, the ruins of which were still smoking -- that we were compelled, on receiving this intelligence, to follow the example of drowning men who clutch at every object they meet, even at a red-hot iron; or of sailors who, losing their course or their rudder in the violence of the storm, let themselves drift at the mercy of the winds, without considering whether they are favorable to them, or otherwise.

All the Frenchmen assembled, to discuss the Embassy's propositions. They knew that the Iroquois are knaves by nature; that this proposal of peace was only in keeping with their old-time policy, and was a new game with which they sought to beguile us. They knew that only one Nation or two sought our alliance, while the other three -- especially the Mohawks, who are the most formidable -- would be on no better terms with us; but that, on the contrary, stung with jealousy, they would be all the more irritated by this treaty of peace, and would undertake our ruin in earnest. It was stated that we must make peace with all the Iroquois or with none; because they are all so alike that we would not be able to distinguish them, and would not dare strike any of them, for fear of striking a friend -- while not one of them would hesitate to strike us, feigning that he was our enemy.

Also, it was a manifest risk of a man's life, and was like throwing him into the fire, to send him among those barbarians, simply trusting their Word. But if one or two of the eight Cayuga prisoners were held back, they would serve as hostages on our side, and would afford some security to those who should enter the enemy's country. It was too great a betrayal of our own weakness to surrender all and reserve nothing.

We were asked to give one of our Fathers, who should go and sacrifice himself for the public, for the rescue of those poor Frenchmen suffering in so dangerous a captivity, and also that he might serve the purposes of God.

Good fortune declared again for Father Simon Le Moyne, who had already four times risked his life among the Iroquois. He was chosen to risk it a fifth time, and to go to a country where the scaffolds are still standing, and the ground is still stained with the blood of the French who were so cruelly burned there last year. If their ashes are so scattered that he cannot kiss the precious relics of those souls, he Will find heads, arms, legs, and other members, mutilated and scorched, of some of our Frenchmen who have quite recently passed through the usual torture by fire; and rescuing them from the dogs that are devouring them, he Will give them burial, unless he himself finds his grave in the flames, and in the bellies of those barbarians.

The Father looked upon the day of his departure as one of the happiest of his life, and he went to meet death as to a triumph. At least, he knew that he could baptize some children, instruct the adults, preach and proclaim the Gospel to those Infidels; foster a captive Church of poor Hurons, who were preserving their faith in their bondage; and offer himself as a substitute to those barbarians, in order, by his own Captivity, to deliver the French captives who were longing for ransom.

Before the Father's departure, it was necessary to answer the twenty presents of the Ambassadors; and this was done in three words.

By the first, Onontio opened the prisons of Montreal, broke the irons of the Cayugas confined there, and restored to them their freedom, placing them in charge of the deputies to go back all together to their own country.

By the second, he gave them Ondessonk, as they call Father Le Moyne, to go and exert himself for the deliverance of the French captives.

And, by the third, he called upon them to keep their promise, whereby they had pledged to return at the end of forty days with the liberated Frenchmen, and with some of their elders, who would deliberate here on public interests, while Ondessonk remained in their country as a hostage to attend to the duties of his Mission.

Under these conditions, the Father embarked and departed, probably to his death; for, at the time when he was borne away from us by the Iroquois, the Iroquois were smiting us, and continuing their usual ravages in our fields. Scarcely had the people of Montreal lost him from sight, when they saw the clearings besieged by those cruel assassins. Doubtless from a feeling of jealousy which is common among them, or in a spirit of deceit, almost at the moment when they were conducting away one black Gown they carried off the head of another, whose murder we already described.

FORTUNES OF THE IROQUOIS MISSION.

To the East, and in the direction of France, a great Vessel, with all sails spread, makes its appearance in the gulf of Saint Lawrence. This blessing is attached to the person of the Baron du Bois d'Avaugour, whom that Vessel is bringing us for Governor, and whose arrival has consoled us for losing the Viscount d'Argenson.

No sooner did the Baron land here than he wished to examine in person all the settlements of this country, their position, their defects and advantages, their Points of strength and of weakness. He visited Our fields and saw them loaded with fine harvests; he inspected our forests, which are only waiting to be felled to disclose extensive lands, and expose to light the lairs of the Iroquois, who will see their strongholds destroyed when the woods are cut down. He also proceeded by boat on our great river from Quebec to Montreal and saw the fine country bordering it, and the beautiful Islands dotting its surface above Three Rivers.

What now holds us in suspense is the fate of Father Le Moyne's Mission. We feared for him before his departure, and our fears are constantly growing since the expiration of the time within which the Iroquois were to have returned to Montreal with the twenty French captives. They had asked for forty days' delay, and already eighty have passed with no sign of them. All that we know about them is what we were told by some Mohawk Iroquois who -- Prowling about our fields with intent to kill, which crime they have committed on various occasions, even since the Father's departure -- made great fun of that Embassy, and represented it to us as a game employed by the Cayugas to abuse our kindness, and to recover from Our keeping the captives of their Nation that were in custody at Montreal.

If we base our opinions on human probability, we have everything to fear for Father Le Moyne, and scarcely anything to hope for the rescue of the French for whom he so bravely exposed himself to the flames and to death. Perhaps he is now on a scaffold, preaching the Faith from amid the flames. But it is possible that he is now in the village of Onondaga, surrounded by the pitiful remnants of a poor captive Church to which he gave birth in the country of the Hurons.

NEW MISSION, NAMED FOR ST. FRANCIS XAVIER, TO THE CREES TOWARD HUDSON BAY.

When those tribes that fringe the shores of Lake superior, 1000 miles from here, offered last Year to take some Missionaries to their country, Father Menard, on whom that lot happily fell, foresaw many difficulties; still, he undertook it; and he has now been two years engaged in that mission, without our receiving any word from him.

We have long known that we have the North sea (Arctic Ocean) behind us, its shores occupied by hosts of Indians entirely unacquainted with Europeans; that this sea is contiguous with that of China, to which it only remains to find an entrance; and that in those regions lies that famous bay, 175 miles wide by 650 miles long, which was first discovered by Hudson, who gave it his name, but won no glory from it other than that of having first opened a way which ends in unknown Empires. Upon this bay are found, at certain seasons Of the year, many surrounding Nations embraced under the general name of Crees.

During the past winter, a Nipissing Captain entertained us with a full account of the number of those peoples, the location and nature of the country, and especially a description of a general fair that was to be held there in the following Summer, to which the Indians of Quebec and Tadoussac were invited. That was a fine opportunity for us to go in person and gain information which we had until now obtained only through the reports, seldom trustworthy, of the Indians. Such information is both important and curious, for an exact knowledge of the longitudes and latitudes of that new country, -- data on which is based in part on the assumption that a passage to the Sea of Japan is to be found there, -- also for seeing what means there are for laboring effectively for the conversion of those peoples.

TO this end, Fathers Gabriel Druillettes and Claude Dablon, with the greater part of our Indians, started from here in May last -- the first-mentioned Father intending to winter in the country itself, and obtain at leisure all information requisite for assuring that Mission's success; the other, to come and tell us about those new discoveries, and describe to us the present condition of those regions. But, as the Iroquois hold possession of all the rivers offering any convenient access to those new Nations, it was necessary to seek out remote routes, so rough and dangerous as to be considered impassable for those pirates.

LETTER WRITTEN TO REVEREND FATHER JEROME LALLEMANT, SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN NEW FRANCE. FROM NEKOUBA, 250 MILES FROM TADOUSSAC, IN THE FOREST, ON THE WAY TO HUDSON BAY, THIS SECOND OF JULY, 1661.

Reverend Father,

We have passed through forests that might easily frighten the most confident travelers -- whether by the vast extent of these boundless solitudes; or by the ruggedness of the ways, since one must journey over nothing but precipices, and voyage over bottomless gulfs where one struggles for his life, in a frail shell, against whirlpools capable of wrecking large Vessels.

At last here we are, almost half-way to Hudson Bay, at a spot which is the middle point between the two Seas -- the one we have left and the one we are seeking. For, in coming from Tadoussac here, we have constantly ascended, and to such a height that our Indians, wishing to explain to us the excessive heat by which these regions are parched, said it resulted from the proximity of the Sun, to which we have come much nearer by ascending such high and numerous waterfalls. On the other hand, we have from now on only to descend, all the rivers on which we are to voyage emptying into Hudson Bay, just as all those behind us now empty toward Tadoussac.

JOURNAL OF THE FIRST JOURNEY MADE TO HUDSON BAY.

WE were detained three weeks at Tadoussac by a kind of contagious disease, until now unknown, which swept away the greater number of those whom it attacked. Their death was due only to the violence of the convulsions, by which they were shaken in the strangest manner, with contortions of the limbs which rendered a patient stronger than three or even four men together. Here was the first exercise of charity that offered, but it caused us all the more trouble since it detained us at the beginning of our journey.

The disease having abated a little, we finally started on the first day of June of this year, 1661, to the number of forty Canoes. We left Tadoussac, but not the illness, which followed us and, again seizing some of our Indians, made our journey hang in the balance at its outset and delayed our paddles. Consequently, we were forced to spend five days in reaching a spot 2 miles from Chicoutimi, where we camped on a rocky Islet, while some went in quest of provisions in the neighboring woods. From the top of this rock, we had a clear view of a part of the Saguenay river, and noted with surprise two rather remarkable characteristics of this noble river.

The first is that, for more than 50 miles from its discharge into the Saint Lawrence river, it constantly flows downward, even when the tide is rising, although above this 50 mile Emit, it has its ebb and flow corresponding to that of the Sea; so its waters flow upward in one direction and downward in the other at the same time. The same is observed in the great Saint Lawrence River: when the Sea in its flood-tide enters the stream, the stream becomes swollen but flows ever downward, up to a certain point where the upward and downward course of flood and ebb-tide are observed every six hours. This is because the river is more rapid and violent toward its mouth than in places higher and farther distant, so that the incoming tide, or flood (as the Sailors say), cannot crowd back its current at that part.

The second strange thing is that, although we are 75 miles above Tadoussac, yet the water is high here at the same time and with the same tide as at Tadoussac, -- a circumstance not observed in other rivers, which are swollen by the tide in successive steps, sooner in places nearer the Sea, and later in those more distant and farther inland.

On the sixth, we arrived at an early hour at Chicoutimi, a place noteworthy as marking the end of good navigation and the beginning of portages, as we call the places where the rapid current and the falls force Boatmen to land, and shoulder their Canoes and all their baggage, to reach a point above the Falls. At this place, we began to carry our little Vessels, which had until then carried us, continuing this for nearly 2 miles. After that, we came to a river on which we proceeded by canoe, but were compelled the next day to shoulder our baggage four times, and twice on the day after. Then we entered a Lake, narrow and about 22 miles long, which the Indians call the long Lake, one of whose shores gave us a lodging-place for the night of the ninth day, -- a lodging-place such as one finds here anywhere, built by nature's hands, and common to men, Deer, and Moose.

On the following day, we paddled over this Lake in high spirits, our progress being easy, and we were not long in reaching its end. Again we had to shoulder our baggage, but replaced it in our Canoes, a mile from the Lake, to paddle in the shade down a little stream -- the tree-branches from both its banks forming a kind of natural arbor by their interlacing, but causing us more trouble by impeding our progress than comfort by shading us. We were not sorry to be compelled to leave this thread of water, -- which could hardly carry us, and also gave us much trouble, -- and enter a river with a somewhat more swollen current, where we in no sense lacked water; for the heavy showers of rain that fell on our heads furnished us more than we desired. This rain bore us almost constant company as far as Lac Saint-Jean, which marks the limit of French navigation, no one having until now dared to go any farther, either because the route beyond is too rough, or because it has been unknown.

This Lake presents a beautiful appearance, being dotted with a number of Islands near its mouth, while beyond them it gently spreads its waters over a fine sandy beach which entirely surrounds it, forming a circle that tends somewhat toward an oval, and is from 17 to 20 miles in diameter. It has the appearance of being crowned with a beautiful forest which shades its shores, and, from whatever point we survey it, forms a kind of verdant scene and fine natural stage, 50 miles in circumference. It is not deep, considering the numerous rivers which empty into it, and which ought to increase its size, since it has but one outlet -- namely, the Saguenay river, of which it forms the source.

Our Indians, charmed with the beauty of this spot, decided to enjoy it for seven or eight days -- either so they could take a little rest after the past fatigues, or prepare themselves for those still to come, which were greater, and of such a nature that they began to doubt whether we could conquer them. So it was that they counseled us not to proceed farther, assuring us that the route was utterly frightful, and consisted of nothing but precipitous falls, where a Frenchman must fully expect to suffer shipwreck, since they themselves still sometimes met with disaster. These were not, they said, ordinary rapids, but gulfs enclosed on both sides by high crags, perpendicularly overhanging the river, between which, if one should make a Single wrong stroke with his paddle, he would be dashed against a rock or hurled into an abyss; and the boldest ones among them confessed that their heads swam in passing those torrents, and that from their effects they were left giddy for a whole day. I am quite inclined to believe their account exaggerated; but certainly what we have seen of these perils surpasses all power of conception. We answered that we were too far on our way to turn back.

What caused us greater concern was the intelligence that met us upon entering the Lake, namely, that the men appointed by our guide for the purpose of summoning the Nations to Hudson Bay, and assigning them a rendezvous where they were to await our coming, had met their death the previous Winter in a strange manner. Those poor men (according to the report given us) were seized with an ailment unknown to us, but not unusual among the people we were seeking. They are afflicted with neither lunacy, hypochondria, nor frenzy; but have a combination of all these, which affects their imaginations and causes them a more than canine hunger. This makes them so ravenous for human flesh that they pounce upon women, children, and even upon men, like werewolves, and devour them voraciously, without being able to appease or glut their appetite -- ever seeking fresh prey, and the more greedily, the more they eat. This ailment attacked our deputies; and as death is the sole remedy among those simple people for checking such acts of murder, they were slain to stay the course of their madness. This news might have stopped our journey if our belief in it had been as strong as the assurance we received of its truth.

We continued to pursue our way, pushing on toward the end of the Lake, where empties the river that was to give us entrance into a country until now unknown to the French.

On the nineteenth, Sunday, we started on our way to enter Satan's dominions in earnest. We left the Lake, upon a river which we named for the Blessed Sacrament. It is beautiful, wide, cut up by Islands and prairies; and has a gentle current on which we proceeded at our ease for the distance of 7 miles and more. We did not think that such peaceful waters could be lashed to so great fury against the rocks disputing their passage; but we soon perceived a loud noise which warned us from afar to prepare for a struggle. And indeed, we encountered four waterfalls, one above another, which forced us to land four times; and while the Canoes were being carried up over the rapids, we had plenty of time to contemplate these natural cascades. But they cause more fear than pleasure to those who view them, appearing to be nothing but foam falling upon rocks which block the channel, and are placed one above another -- now in the form of steps, which seem to be ingeniously fashioned; and now like a collection of little Mountains piled one upon another, with peaks projecting above the water only to menace the voyager with shipwreck.

Then we proceeded for nearly 5 miles on the same river, which resumes its former beauty, and flows so gently that it seems likely never to become turbulent again; but we soon came to a fifth portage, and then to a sixth, which left us so fatigued that we were forced to seek an inn in which to pass the night. The neighboring woods furnished us a fine one, built of great trees.

On the twentieth day after our departure from Tadoussac, the men took their arms at break of day to go and reconnoiter a Canoe which had appeared on the preceding day, and which they thought to be filled with Iroquois. We made a short halt, fearing a surprise from this enemy in some narrow portage. But we had another surprise which followed us much more closely -- namely, death, which, after beginning its assaults on us at Tadoussac, passed all the rapids with us and, having carried off the eldest daughter of a Nipissing Captain, our Conductor, attacked the second so violently that in less than two days she followed her older sister to the other world. The father's grief was such as to make it doubtful whether he would be able to conduct us to the Sea; at any rate, this unhappy occurrence caused us three days' delay for indulgence in the customary mourning, and for the burial.

We began the twenty-third day with three rather difficult portages, after which we found the river gentle again, as usual. This alternation has something charming about it, when, after a vigorous struggle with troublesome waters boiling up around us, we glide over a calm stretch of water, tranquil indeed, but mingled with our perspiration, which the heat of the weather, together with the toil at the paddles, draws forth from the whole body. Scarcely had we accomplished 5 miles when we were told to drop our paddles and take in hand some long poles for propelling us up those famous rapids, the description of which had been intended to frighten us. If the water had been at its usual height, we would have almost despaired of making head against it; for not only would the stream, Swift as it always is, have been deep, but also its banks -- which are, almost throughout, nothing but great steep rocks, extending as far as the eye can reach, planted upright and as if by the plumb-line -- would have been entirely inaccessible. As, however, the waters of this mighty stream were lower than usual, they made the journey both less dangerous and easier for us. Accordingly, we embarked before four o'clock in the morning, and struggled ceaselessly against currents, against rocks, against death, until five o'clock in the evening, taking neither food nor rest; and with all that long day's work, we made scarcely 7 short miles' progress.

On the twenty-fourth we rose still earlier than on the Preceding day; we also had much more Work left to do, to accomplish the passage of the remaining rapids, which we named after St. John the Baptist, having made their ascent on the day of this saint's Festival and the day preceding it.

On the twenty-fifth, we reached a point where the river divides into two branches, the wider one flowing from the right, and the other and narrower from the left. We did not take the right, because it offered much greater difficulties than the left, which did not fail, however, to give us exercise, compelling us to land and reembark five times within a short space.

The twenty-sixth day's journey was a hard one, since we had to carry the Canoes and baggage over high mountains, and travel more by land than by water. It would be a pleasure to pursue our way beneath the shade of large trees and through the dense forests, if we carried no baggage, if the day's journey were not so long, or if we did not make it on foot; and it would also be a great pleasure to travel by boat on the river, if we did not walk most of the way, owing to the excessive proportion of rocks to water. One of these day's journeys seems long when the traveler is constantly discharging the duties either of a boatman or of a porter; but, on the other hand, the evening seems sweet, and one drops to sleep with great ease, even with no bed but the rocks. And these in our case formed here the Emit of our labors and dangers and the beginning of a Lake, which we called the Lake of good Hope, because, upon once reaching it, the worst difficulties and dangers cease.

The three following days were spent in crossing Lakes, then in exploring the woods for rivers, then in resuming our course on more Lakes and rivers, which finally brought us to Nekouba -- a place midway between the two Seas, that of the North and that of Tadoussac. We found its latitude to be forty-nine degrees, twenty minutes, and its longitude three hundred and five degrees, ten minutes; for, proceeding Northwest by West from Tadoussac, we came to Lac Saint-Jean after traveling 87 miles by the shortest route; and still advancing Northwest by West from that Lake, whose latitude is forty-eight degrees, thirty minutes, and longitude three hundred and seven degrees, fifty minutes, we arrive here, having accomplished about 112 miles in a straight line.

Also, Nekouba is a place noted for a Market that is held there every year, to which all the Indians from the surrounding country resort for the purpose of conducting their petty trade. I will describe the reception given us by sixty people who were awaiting us here, and who proceeded to receive us after the native fashion. They began with songs and shouts of joy, with which they made all the banks reecho, and therefore, in their simplicity, showed us more unmistakably the delight they felt at our coming, than they would have done by highly elaborate concerts and royal bands of music. The speeches were then delivered; and as we were still in our Canoes, ready to land, the Orator, who spoke for all, took his stand on a stump that chanced conveniently to be at the water's edge. There he offered us the first greeting, addressing us at some length, -- and with gestures, as if he had been in a gilded Chair, -- until the noise of the muskets, with which we were saluted in a general fusillade, drowned his voice, and formed his speech. This miniature thunder ceasing, the songs were redoubled for the opening of the dance, which was executed by old people and children mingled indiscriminately, but observing such Perfect time that their performance would have won approval in France. Our Indians, who were still in their Canoes, responded to these games with similar ceremonies -- each striving to surpass the others in singing the best, or, at least, in shouting loudest. This was a diversion for us, and made us forget all the past, landing with much pleasure after the repeated greetings on either side.

Nothing beautiful, nothing attractive is to be seen here -- the soil being dry, barren, and sandy, and the mountains covered only with rocks, or with little stunted trees which find insufficient moisture for their larger growth in the crevices from where they spring. One sees here neither fine forests nor beautiful fields; and the people of these regions do not know what it is to cultivate the soil, but live simply as the birds do, on what prey they may secure by hunting or fishing. Often in Winter, when both fail, they fall a prey to famine -- moose and other animals being rare here because, owing to the scanty growth of wood, they find no cover. Birds seem to have withdrawn from these solitudes, so few of them do we see. We find to be true what our Indians told us, namely, that upon arriving here, we have passed beyond the country of Mosquitoes, Midges, and Gnats, as they find nothing to live on here. That is the sole redeeming quality of these deserts, -- their inability to maintain even those little creatures which are exceedingly troublesome to man.

The air here is almost always brown with smoke, caused by the burning of the surrounding woods, which, catching fire all at once, within a circuit of 35 or 50 miles, have sent us their ashes from more than 25 miles' distance. For this reason, we have only rarely enjoyed the beauty of a cloudless Sun, it having always appeared to us veiled by those clouds of smoke -- and sometimes to such a degree that the most Perfect Solar eclipses do not render air, earth, and foliage more gloomy and somber. These fires -- which are common here for a month or two in the Summer, and as a result of which we have seen many forests wholly composed of charred wood -- keep the atmosphere so warm, and make it so stifling, that it is difficult to live in it.

The reason for these strange phenomena might be that the woods are composed entirely of small pines, spruces, and thorns -- all resinous trees whose sap, exuding, coats them with a sticky, viscous gum, rendering a whole forest as flammable as is a Ship from the pitch and tar with which it is made waterproof. From there it results that in these countries, where it scarcely ever rains, the Sun's rays, beating upon the high rocky mountains, heat to such a degree all these substances, which are in themselves combustible, that with the least application of fire -- either by lightning, through carelessness, or through some Indian's mischievous intent -- we immediately see whirlwinds of flame rolling through the forests, and pouncing upon these dwarf woods with such eagerness that, once, we could not prevent them from attacking one of our Canoes which, being suddenly overtaken by them, made us think we were going to be wrecked in the fire.

One thing that is remarkable is that these excesses of heat change to cold spells of such intensity that snowshoes are used for walking on the snow as late as June; and we have noted that violets do not appear here until five months later than in France.

We have seen people from eight or ten nations, some of whom had never seen a Frenchman or heard of God; others, who had been baptized formerly at Tadoussac or at Lac Saint-Jean, had been for many years longing for the return of their Pastors.

DANGERS ON THE WAY TO HUDSON BAY.

Grace and nature are needed to avoid succumbing, on a journey full of all sorts of dangers. For, besides that unknown disease from which we were unable to guard ourselves amid the precipices on our route; to say nothing of the rocks, which threatened to wreck us at every step we took; besides the famine which we found it difficult to ward off, comprising as we did nearly two hundred people, most of whom had not half enough to eat, being in a country which furnishes no dish except moss and leaves, and in which we would have found still less than we did, had not Providence taken care of us; besides our other hardships -- it was quite enough that the Iroquois was always before and behind us, on the right hand, on the left hand, and in our midst.

On our right, he has destroyed the Squirrel Algonquins; on our left, he has cut to pieces the French and Indians from Three Rivers who were going to Nekouba as well as we; in our rear, scarcely had we left Tadoussac when the enemies arrived there, murdering some Frenchmen. In front of us, and at our journey's end, which is Hudson Bay, the Iroquois intended to be there as soon as we.

We have had them in our midst, a hundred and eighty of these rovers having lain in ambush for us on Lac Saint-Jean. Not meeting us, they changed their route. Had they followed and caught sight of us, they could easily have defeated us -- taking us either when we were fighting with the turbulent waters, or else in the midst of some portage, laden with Canoe or packages, without arms or means of defense; and when the women, in utter weariness, found it difficult to drag themselves through the brush; while the children, unable to follow, were filling the woods with their cries.

In these locations, the men seemed to scale the hills with feet and hands, or else, fully laden as they were, they balanced on the pinnacles of rocks, while a single false step would cause a fall from a precipice. Some were hurrying forward, others halting; some singing, others lamenting; while all were perspiring and bending under their burdens. And in these goings and comings, repeated more than a hundred and sixty times in sixty-four portages, everything was done in urgency and disorder, amid the greatest confusion imaginable, and yet a confusion unavoidable in this kind of boating.

The Iroquois have anticipated us, and have surprised the Squirrel Algonquins, several days' journey from there, defeating it utterly -- and so terrifying all the surrounding tribes that they have all dispersed in quest of more remote mountains, and of rocks more difficult to access, where their lives may be safe. The panic is said to have spread even to the Sea-coast where we were going, and where these barbarians fully intend this year to extend their cruelty, to push their conquests as far toward the North as they have done, of late years, toward the South.

Since hearing of that Nation's overthrow, so near our present position, our Indians think of nothing but retracing their steps, as the tribes they were going to visit have dispersed."

The two Fathers say nothing about their return, because, coming back the same way, they encountered the same rocks, cleared the same rapids, and underwent the same hardships. And if the current of the stream, down which they made their descent, lightened their labors, it increased their danger -- as it is difficult to graze the rocks, when going at full speed, without dashing against them; and to make one's way along the edge of an abyss, without taking a false step. In such circumstances, haste brings disaster. One would like to remain longer amid the whirlpools, even though they are viewed only with fear. The floods bear a light Canoe along with such swiftness that one numbers the bottomless gulfs he has escaped by the moments in a day, and by the paddle-strokes he makes, while he scarcely has time to note all the perils he avoids.

THE REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE WHICH BEFELL A FRENCHMAN AT QUEBEC.

ON the twenty-eighth day of last January, three of our Frenchmen were returning from a Moose-hunt when they found themselves forced to cross our great Saint Lawrence River, 2 miles above Quebec, at a season when the cakes of ice that entirely covered it rendered such crossing dangerous. They made ready an old Canoe for the purpose, and, after loading it with their slender spoils, embarked on their voyage, which was to be not long, but perilous. Before proceeding far, they saw themselves involved in the midst of the ice-cakes which, obeying the impulse of winds and tide, jostled and struck one another with a loud noise. The largest of these often made a passage for themselves through the midst of the small ones by force of their own weight -- proceeding at times all alone, while at other times they would push before them a large mass of ice, leaving the river free and open behind them for a short time; other pieces of ice, however, followed, borne along by the impulse imparted by the winds, or by their own weight.

Our Voyagers thought that they could slip between these moving ice-fields, and follow some clearing which should offer them a prospect of passing from one open path into another, gliding through the passages which their good fortune and adroitness might secure for them; but they were not long in recognizing the rashness that had involved them in this disaster.

The masses of ice had separated to give them free entrance into their midst, and then, suddenly coming together on all sides, enclosed them in a prison from where they expected to escape only through the gates of death. These poor prisoners, seeing themselves closely encompassed, thought they were about to be crushed by the ice, or swallowed up by the water; so they relied on Heaven. During their prayers, they could not avoid colliding with a block of ice, which shattered their Canoe and threw all three of them into the water; then two of them, who were brothers, more expert in this kind of boating, seized the prow of the Canoe and held on, clinging to it so as to leave scarcely anything but their heads above water. In this pitiful condition they encouraged each other to keep a firm hold and not let go; but, the younger one's strength failing him, and the intense cold, which penetrated his whole body, benumbing his hands, he cried out: "I cannot hold on any longer, my poor brother. Farewell! I am sinking. O God, forgive me my sins; have mercy on me; receive my poor soul!" Thus saying, he disappeared.

His brother, more robust than he, after a longer resistance to the cold, was luckily brought near a cake of ice on which he threw himself with agility, where he could wait for death more at ease, or for aid. His cries having reached one of the riverbanks, means were found to go to his rescue during the night, and therefore he was safely delivered from a danger that he deemed inevitable.

The fortunes of the third are much more wonderful. This man, before embarking, had his eyes more open to the danger than did the other two. He stepped into the Canoe as into a coffin, such was his opinion of the proposed passage -- which he had opposed for a long time, seeing only certain death in such a hazardous undertaking. Yet he had to follow his companions, and, in spite of his objections, to take paddle in hand, which he was forced soon to drop when the ice came and crushed the Canoe. Seeing himself without a boat, he began to swim, not, however, believing that he could save his life. He had not proceeded far when suddenly he felt, under his feet, a piece of ice on which he found himself standing; but this cake of ice was so small and weak that it could not bear him up out of the water, and so he sank with it, but only up to his knees.

In this unexpected occurrence he fully believed there was something divine. Still, for five hours he was left in this position, upright, both feet in the icy water, balancing this way and that at the will of his cake of ice, and seeing all about him only abysmal depths, into which he would have been hurled had his foot slipped ever so little, or had he failed to maintain perfect equilibrium, -- a position uncomfortable and difficult to maintain for a long time. When his feet were gradually becoming numb with the intense cold, he was fully conscious that they were failing him -- or, to express it better, that they scarcely retained any further sensation.

Meanwhile, his cake of ice still bore him up, gliding between two waters, and following the course of the tide. I am uncertain whether this first cake of ice went and joined a second, or whether that second, much stronger and thicker, drifting on the surface of the water, came and united with the first; but I do know that those two cakes joined, and adhered in one mass, so fittingly for his rescue that he found himself sitting on the second one, the collision with which, though gentle enough, had made him bend his knees, and left him seated as if in a chair. The north wind blew in his face and chilled his whole body, while he was seated on a cake of ice in the middle of a great river, whose current carried him ever farther from its banks, and dragged him over a thousand abysmal depths to certain death. He redoubled his shouts, until the cold deprived him of speech and bereft him of his senses. Then it was that the Virgin put that poor man to sleep on his bed of ice, a sleep so peaceful that he was borne, with the ebb and flow of the tide, from near Cap-Rouge down half-way past the Island of Orleans, and from there back to Quebec, -- covering a distance of 25 or 30 miles, and drifting all night amid a hundred abysses, -- without being conscious of them, or being awakened from his sleep. He was covered with snow, frost, and the shades of night. In the morning he was aroused by the noise and cries of those who were hunting for him, who found him seated on the ice.

WONDERFUL FLIGHT OF A FRENCHMAN ESCAPING FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE IROQUOIS.

One of the prisoners captured at Montreal, toward the end of the Winter, was no sooner in the enemy's hands than he promised to burn with no other fire than that of love for the Virgin, if by her means he could escape the fire of the Iroquois. Still, he was sentenced to be burned. So careful were they to guard this poor victim -- who, it was intended, should die a thousand times on the way before consummating that burnt offering. He was bound every night, and that by a new method: for those barbarians, only too ingenious in devising fresh sufferings, would split large pieces of wood half-way, and put their captive's hands and feet into the clefts. These pieces of wood, opened by force, would, upon closing, cause him a terrible discomfort and torture, making him groan pitifully all night long; but those barbarians were no more moved by this than if they had had souls of stone. The sufferer's pain was increased by the intensity of the cold, since he lay on the bare snow while in this posture. As prisoners are stripped of their clothes upon being captured, they are left naked -- or, at most, are clothed in wretched rags, which generally afford such scanty protection that some have been known to cover themselves at night with decayed wood, moss, and rushes, to protect themselves from the cold. His misery was made still greater by the cruelty of his master, who, for fear his prey might escape him, lay every night on his feet, which were confined in those restraints as described, to be aroused if the captive should chance to move while he himself slept.

This torture continued a long time; for the Victors changed from warriors to hunters, and turned aside from their route to find better hunting. This prolonged the sufferings of the prisoner, who groaned by day beneath the loads placed upon his back, as if he had been a beast of burden, and by night under the pieces of wood which squeezed him so tightly that the night's rest was more unbearable for him than the day's toil. His nightly sufferings increased as he approached the village where it was intended that he should find an end to his woes in the end of his life. This prospect made him resolve to make an effort to escape from his captors' hands. He managed so skillfully one night that he gently rolled his man from off his feet, without awakening him; and freeing himself from his instruments of torture, he plunged into the woods and ran breathlessly through brambles and thickets, stopping neither to pick his way, nor to avoid dangerous places. But this poor man, after a long run, or, rather, a wide circle, found himself exactly at his point of departure. Fright seized him at sight of his executioners, from whom he thought himself far away. Accordingly he darted away at once in another direction, and began to run again more swiftly than before. His fear, redoubling, had rendered him lighter, and made him fearless in plunging now into the melting snow, now into the icy waters; striking now his head against the trees, and now his feet against the pebbles; nothing was held of any account, provided he ran, and increased his distance from his enemies. Finally, as dawn was beginning to break, he almost believed himself led by some magic spell or deceived by some illusion, upon again seeing, after running so long and going astray so many times, the cabin from where he had started. He concluded that he was doomed, and, rather to defer his capture than in the hope of escaping, he climbed a tree from where he could watch every movement of the Iroquois. He saw their astonishment when, at daybreak, they perceived his flight, and he heard them give the cry to start in pursuit. He watched them going and coming all about him, following his footsteps, which were printed clearly enough in the snow. And then he became conscious that his ill luck might be the cause of good luck to him, since, after all the turning and doubling he had made, his tracks were so confused that the Iroquois could make nothing of them, and did not know in what direction to give chase, in the bewilderment of so many footprints, which doubled on their course without order and without sequence.

I leave you to judge with what alarm he was then seized on the treetop, since it needed only a glance to work his destruction. He has since confessed that fear, added to the intense cold that had chilled his whole body, made his teeth chatter with so much noise that he believed that this alone would betray him. The day and the night were passed in these mortal terrors; but on the following day, the entire forest being wrapped in profound silence, he deemed it safe for him to descend and see whether his flight would be more successful by day than by night. As he had noticed the direction taken by the Iroquois upon their departure, he took just the opposite and proceeded at a smart pace, fleeing from, and, at the same time, approaching his own ill luck; for the more he avoided one band of Iroquois, the nearer he came to another, until at last, without intending it, he rushed into the Iroquois's arms. They bound him fast, as a recaptured prisoner.

For the second time, he loosed his restraints with such skill that he once more found himself free. He then made a firm resolve to order his steps with such care that he could not again fall into the snares he had escaped.

Leaving the highways -- if that term can be applied to great forests where neither road nor path is to be seen -- he tried to go astray, wishing to get lost, for fear of being found by another band of those barbarians, whom the poor man was constantly fancying he saw ahead of him. The least puff of wind frightened him, as he was continually taking these whispering breezes for Iroquois voices, while his fears sometimes changed the trees into men, and their branches into swords or muskets. For a number of days he was therefore disquieted, ever advancing and drawing nearer to Montreal. By good luck, Providence made him chance upon a foot, or, rather, a dry bone of a Moose; and this he sucked and gnawed, after which he found himself reduced to nothing but leaves and twigs of trees for food. He never lodged at nightfall without finding in his company two unwelcome guests, -- hunger and fear. He pushed on, drawing nearer and nearer to his goal.

In pursuing his way, he had to climb a little hillock; and here he met with fresh misfortunes. While he was ascending one side of this hill, the same band of Iroquois from which he had first escaped was ascending the other on its way back from Montreal, where it had only recently captured some prisoners; so that, by one of the most unexpected chance encounters possible, he ran into their arms at the summit of this little mountain. With equal surprise on each side, he saw them and they saw him, such an unlooked-for occurrence filling them all with unbounded astonishment.

But that did not prevent the immediate seizure of this unfortunate man, whose strength was exhausted, his face like that of one risen from the dead, his complexion ashy and death-like, his body nothing but a living skeleton, and his voice so weak that he could only lament his ill luck and groan over his hardships. And yet he was bound and manacled, and his bonds were doubled in number, as if this half-dead man could have broken redoubled restraints, and escaped from his captors' midst like a phantom.

Still he did escape, sundering his bonds not by violence, but by adroitness. He pretended to be ill and to fall into convulsions, which arose from the violence done to the vital and animal spirits by all those bandages with which he was so tightly bound, hand and foot. So well did he simulate, refusing all kinds of food, and depicting on his face the emotions of a madman, that he attained his end, -- namely, the slackening of his bonds, so the passages for the spirits could be left free. This was with the plan of gaining his freedom -- as he did, by a miracle. Thus for the third time he escaped, but with entire success, as he met with no further mishap.

And therefore it is that this favorite of the Virgin returned to Montreal, where he paid his acknowledgments to his Deliverer, fulfilling his vow and rendering her his thanksgivings in public.

OTHER EVENTS WHICH BEFELL CERTAIN FRENCHMEN AND INDIANS IN CAPTIVITY.

WE have learned during the past year that one of the seventeen Frenchmen from Montreal who demonstrated their courage in the fight that took place in the Spring, having received a musket-ball in the head, which made the enemy decide to commit him to the flames, as they despaired of being able to conduct him alive to their country, -- we have learned that this Frenchman showed no less piety than constancy in his torture, continually accompanying his torments with prayer. While in the fire, he made the sign of the Cross upon himself, therefore consecrating his flames with his life.

Another Frenchman, captured at Three Rivers and taken to Mohawk, a village of the Iroquois, was so fortunate in his misfortune as to obtain from those barbarians a commutation of sentence from death by fire to captivity. Accordingly he was condemned to lead a wretched life: but, as he had been cruelly maltreated on the way and was all mutilated, those to whom he was given as a slave found him so unsightly that they decided to burn him, as unworthy to live with them. So he heard his sentence, being a criminal only because his enemies had been too cruel; and his pitiful lot, which was enough to melt tigers' hearts, only made theirs the more savage, and rendered him, instead of an object of pity, one of wrath on their part.

Yet this poor man, who was no longer alive except in half of his body, could not lose his love of the little life yet remaining to him. Seeing his guards asleep on the night preceding his execution, he escaped and fled into the woods, where he passed ten days, living like the Moose and eating only leaves of whitewood, therefore keeping his bones alive with a life worse than death, but easier to endure than the fires. He failed to escape after all; for, being recaptured, he was immediately delivered to the flames, which he endured with a Christian resignation.

Some time ago, the Mohawks carried off a poor Huron woman into captivity, and, in crossing a Lake, they were overtaken by a storm which made those wretches turn pale at the prospect of shipwreck and death. The poor woman, being less afraid of water than of fire, witnessed the approach of death with pleasure; but, to prepare herself to receive it by prayer to God, she knelt in the Canoe, a posture that cost her her life -- or, rather, brought her a glorious martyrdom. For the Iroquois, whether in mockery of so holy a ceremony, or because they thought she wished to shake and overturn the Canoe, to involve them with her in one and the same wreck, treated her with a severity that passes belief. Binding her, hand and foot, they held her fastened by the hair, day and night, in a compelled and painful position, until they reached their village and put an end to her woes and to her life, crowning her sufferings with a death that was precious.

A poor Huron woman who, while a slave in Mohawk some years ago, upon the coming of one of our Fathers to the village, did a thing the like of which can seldom be found among the best Christians. Carried away by her fervor, she ran and plunged twice into the water, in cold weather, to cross two rivers and hurry to kneel at the Father's feet as soon as possible, for the sake of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, and of rejoicing with him at his coming. The Father, overjoyed, found in that barbarous country a Church in bondage, but fervent, and so constant in the Faith that secret Assemblies of Christians are held in some outlying cabin, removed from the noise and gaze of the Iroquois. There these good Hurons say their prayers together, and urge one another to guard their Faith more jealously than their lives.

Although our enemies prevent our free passage in all directions, we have, despite all the Iroquois and all the Demons, extended our Missions this year to the four quarters of this New World.

Southward, Father Simon Le Moyne has gone to the country of those Iroquois, perhaps to moisten with his blood those lands which we have bathed with our sweat. Westward, Father Rene Menard is more than 750 miles from here, either dead or alive; for in the two years since he entered there we have been unable to gain any news of him. Northward, two Fathers have pursued their end as far as famine and the Iroquois permitted. Eastward, a little to the North, Father Pierre Bailloquet has pushed on as far as the mouth of our Saint Lawrence River, 400 miles from here, visiting seven or eight different Nations, -- the Papinachois Innu, the Betsiamite Innu, the Nation of the bare Mountains, the Oumamiwek Innu, and others allied to these. Eastward, again, a little to the South, Acadia enjoys the labors of Father Andre Richard, and has been sanctified by the death of Father Martin Lyonne.

Father Martin Lyonne was the only Priest in the settlement called Chedabouctou, where the inroads of a certain contagious malady gave him abundant cause to aid the sick, as he was entirely alone in that region. The disease seemed to spare him, almost alone, while it was attacking all the others with the greatest fury. But, finally, the Father was stricken with the disease. But he was the last one of all, so that he might render the last offices to all his flock before drawing his final breath. At last, love of his neighbor caused him the stroke of death; on being informed by a messenger that someone living at a little distance was attacked with the disease, he dropped everything and hurried to him. Crossing a frozen brook, the ice broke under his feet and he fell into the water, from where he emerged with a part of his body all drenched and chilled. He continued on his way without changing his garments or drying them, aided his sick patient, comforted him, and put him in a good condition. Then the fever seized him; in two days an internal abscess, the result of overwork and insufficient nourishment, broke, and he was borne to his resting-place, January the sixteenth, in this year, 1661.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE IROQUOIS.

As the last Vessel which this year came to anchor in our roadstead was about to set sail, there appeared a Canoe coming from the upper countries, and hurrying as swiftly as paddles could propel it, to bring us news of Father Simon Le Moyne, and all that had occurred at Onondaga in regard to the liberation of the French Captives, for whom he had undertaken that perilous journey.

Not only is the Father alive; not only has he procured liberty for a number of poor Frenchmen; not only do a large part of the Iroquois seem to throw themselves at our feet, deeming themselves obliged to implore our aid against the powerful enemies God has raised up against them; but added to all this is the renewed opening of those fine Iroquois Missions.

The shortness of the time remaining before the sailing of the Vessel prevents us from putting in order all the notes we have just received; but perhaps confusion will not be displeasing, and you will take pleasure in seeing, in various fragments of Letters, how Providence gave us more than we hoped for.

LETTER FROM FATHER SIMON LE MOYNE, WRITTEN TO REVEREND FATHER JEROME LALEMANT, SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN NEW FRANCE. FROM THE CHAPEL OF ONONDAGA, THIS TWENTY-FIFTH OF AUGUST, AND SEVENTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1661

Reverend Father,

It was thought at Quebec that the whole case was desperate, and I was privately told, when on the point of stepping into the boat: "There is nothing else to be done." And yet here are two Missions stretching out their arms to us, one here and the other at Seneca.

On the day following our departure from Montreal, which was the twenty-first of July of this year, 1661, we encountered a Mohawk Canoe lying in wait for us, and on the point of defeating one of our own Canoes, which by good luck began to raise a shout. We halted there until evening, to avert this storm from our lands, -- they at first receiving our presents, but finally returning them to us with a promise to raise the hatchet only against their old-time enemies.

Three days afterward, when we had crossed the rapids, twenty-four warriors from Oneida in three Canoes, having discovered us in the evening, advanced upon us during all the ensuing night. Toward dawn, they charged us, weapons in hand, and also carrying manacles, thinking to make us prisoners. But perceiving their mistake, the most brazen-faced came pressing around me, armed with hatchets and knives with which they acted as if they would cut my throat. This compelled our Ambassadors to parley with them, and give them two wampum collars, to avert their hatchets from my head, and from those of the French at Montreal and other settlements. They at first promised not to proceed farther; but their Chief came and woke me in the night to tell my escort that he brought them back their gifts and to tell them, with a little present of wampum, that he was going to prosecute the war against his ancient foes.

On Lake Ontario, the great Lake of the Iroquois, we met three Canoes from Oneida on their way (as their occupants said) to fight against the Amikwa. They told our men, by way of news, that the Susquehannocks (Indians dwelling near new Sweden) had recently killed in their fields three of their Cayugas.

At Oswego, the first landing-place, we slept with a Canoe-full of Onondagas, eight or ten men in number. They were about to follow thirty more of their countrymen on a hostile expedition led by Otreouati, who was going to Montreal to avenge the insult he believed he had received in having been detained there in prison. Here I received the first polite attentions from these people, who fairly surrounded me with great kettles full of sagamite of all kinds.

5 miles from the village, we met a Captain named Garacontie, the man with whom our Fathers and I have lodged every time we have visited this country. He is a man of excellent intelligence, of a good disposition, and fond of the French, of whom he has gathered as many as twenty in his village -- rescuing them, some from the fires of the Mohawks and others from captivity; so that they regard him as their Father, their Protector, and their sole refuge in this barbarous land. He has undertaken the liberation of all those poor French Captives, and is maintaining peace between his Nation and ours. Therefore he came out 5 miles to meet me, accompanied by four or five other elders -- an honor never paid to other Ambassadors, for whom they deem it sufficient to go scarcely a quarter mile outside of their village. From then on, there was nothing but a running back and forth of the common people, who lined that entire route of 5 miles and devoured me with their eyes, never satisfied with gazing at me.

Each strove to secure the best place for seeing me pass, and they made it a matter of rivalry who should clean the paths, who should bring me the most fruit of all kinds, who should give me the most greetings, and who should shout loudest in sign of rejoicing. They waited for me, as far as they could see me, and measured me from head to foot, but with entirely affectionate looks; and as soon as I had passed, those who had seen me left their posts to run far ahead, and again secure places for watching me go by, repeating this two, three, and even ten times. In this manner, I proceeded gravely between two rows of people, who gave me a thousand blessings and loaded me with all sorts of fruit, with squashes, blackberries, loaves of bread, strawberries, and other things. I gave my cry of Ambassador as I walked; and seeing that I was near the village, -- which was almost hidden from my view, so covered with people were the palisades, cabins, and trees, -- I halted before taking the first step that should introduce me into the hamlet; then, after briefly expressing my thanks for this kind reception, I continued on my way and resumed my cry.

My host Garacontie, prouder than I of this splendid reception, wished to placate the men of his Nation, who might have felt jealous at having no share in procuring this new peace. To that end he led me directly into their cabins, and not into his own, to give them first the honor of lodging me, and to remove all cause for envy on their part at the happiness which he was to enjoy in being my host.

Meanwhile, he prepared, in his own cabin, a Chapel, which he built without cut stones or carpentry work. Our Garacontie thought he could do nothing that would please me more; and I leave the reader to judge what a consolation it was for me and our poor captive Frenchmen, as well as for many old-time Huron Christians, to find ourselves all assembled in the heart of this barbarous land, to celebrate the most noble of our Mysteries. I here found opportunity to address the five Iroquois Nations, in the persons of their deputies, to hear the message of salvation. On the twelfth of August, all the Elders being convened in Council by the ringing of a bell, the deputies were urged to give me their attention -- the summons being shouted through the village, and all taking their places in the cabin where I am lodged, which is one of the largest in the place. To open the Council, I offered a prayer, with most of our Frenchmen, and then addressed the whole Assembly, partly in their own tongue, partly in Huron: "To you, O Onondaga, I address these four words.

"First, your Son, the Cayuga, told me that he was appointed by you to reunite our two heads -- namely, that of Onontio and that of Garacontie;" to make peace between the Frenchman and the Onondaga. "Is it not so?" They answered me that it was so, and I made my present.

"Secondly, he assured me that as soon as I should restore your children, the Cayugas who were prisoners at Montreal, you would likewise return mine, the Frenchmen whom you hold here in captivity. Will you do it?" "Yes," was the answer, and I made a second present.

"In the third place, you have further informed me that you did place at my disposal the bones of your dead, to bury them so deep in the earth that the memory of them should be forever lost. To you, in return, I present the bones of my nephews slain in the last wars, so you may bury them in the same grave with those of your own, so that no further mention may be made of either. Do you approve?" "Yes."

"And you, Seneca, is it true, as you have informed me through these same Cayuga Ambassadors, that you wish to participate in and go on an Embassy to Onontio, to ask him for some of his nephews, who should go and lodge with you in token of perfect reconciliation? Are you therefore minded?" He answered me, "Yes," and I gave him a beautiful collar.

"As for the Mohawk," I added, "he is still determined to play the ill-disposed and the arrogant. I do not address him publicly, for he speaks in secret and makes underhanded presents to secure my assassination; but he will find someone to speak to." After presenting these five words, with the customary gifts, I tried to speak to them, with all the eloquence at my command, concerning Paradise, Hell, the Son of God, and the other mysteries of our Religion. They heard me with respect and attention. The Address concluded, the assembly adjourned, after the usual ceremonies and the exchange of compliments commonly made at these Councils.

Some days later, the Elders were again convened, and I was informed:

First, that seven French prisoners at Onondaga and two at Cayuga were released; but that the others would remain with me during the Winter, -- their detention being, for reasons of State, still thought necessary.

Secondly, that our host Garacontie would himself conduct these nine Frenchmen back to Montreal, and would be declared the Chief of the Embassy they were preparing to send to Onontio.

In the third place, that the Seneca would be of the group and would come, in ten or twelve days, to join the Ambassadors from Onondaga, to proceed all together to the French. Although this was a morsel hard for me to digest, -- to see half of our Frenchmen detained, -- still I was forced to pass it over, after using all the urgency and even menaces at my command. I consoled myself with the promise that was given me, that they should be taken home next Spring.

There were nine who met with good fortune, and who started joyfully on their way under our Garacontie's escort; while the others, to the number of ten, remain to finish their Purgatory here. They turn their hardships to good account for eternity; their restraints bind them firmly to virtue. One of them showed this not long ago, when, upon being tempted to evil by a shameless woman, he not only rebuffed her, but also cast her from him, from the roof of the cabin, showing a boldness that indicated nothing of the captive. The others also strive to sanctify their slavery, and some of them have had the good fortune to send a number of little children to Paradise by administering baptism to these before their deaths.

The French prisoners among the Mohawks are just as virtuous, but more wretched. I append some Letters that I have received from them. The first are from a youth of family, who was captured this Summer at Three Rivers. He is of comely appearance, and delicate, and was the sole delight of his mother, to whom he also writes. His name is Francois Hertel. His words are as follows:

COPY OF TWO LETTERS WRITTEN AT THE MOHAWK NATION, UPON BARK, TO FATHER LE MOYNE WHO WAS AT ONONDAGA.

Reverend Father,

On the day when you departed from Three Rivers, I was captured, toward three o'clock in the afternoon, by four of the lower Iroquois. The reason why I did not make them kill me was that I feared I was not well prepared to die. My Father, if you should come here, and if I could therefore have the happiness to confess, I believe that you would receive no injury; and I believe that I could go back with you if you could come. I ask you, take pity on my poor Mother. From a Frenchman captured at Three Rivers on the first day of August, I have learned that she is well, and that she takes comfort in the thought that I shall be near you. There are three of us Frenchmen alive here.

My Father, bless the hand that writes to you, which has had one finger burnt in a Calumet (tobacco pipe). The other hand has a thumb cut off, -- but do not tell my poor Mother.

My Father, I ask you to honor me with a brief word from your hand, and to tell me whether you will come before Winter.

Francois Hertel.

WHAT HE WROTE TO HIS MOTHER.

My dear and honored Mother,

I well know my capture must have distressed you. I ask your forgiveness for having disobeyed you. My sins have brought me to my present condition. Your prayers, and Sir de St. Quentin's and my sisters', have restored me to life. I hope to see you again before Winter. I ask you to ask the good Brothers of Notre Dame to pray for me, my dear Mother, and you also, and all my sisters. From,

Your poor FANCHON.

I add another Letter which will give us information in regard to the Mohawk Iroquois. The simplicity with which it is written makes us the less doubtful of the truth of its contents.

LETTER FROM A FRENCHMAN IN CAPTIVITY AMONG THE MOHAWKS, TO A FRIEND OF HIS AT THREE RIVERS.

"My Dear Friend,

I have scarcely any fingers left, so do not be surprised that I write so badly. I have suffered much since my capture, but I have also prayed much.

There are three of us Frenchmen here who were tortured together. We had agreed that, while one of the three was being tortured, the other two should pray for him -- which we never failed to do; and we had also agreed that, while the two were praying, the one under torture should chant the Litany of the blessed Virgin, or else the Ave Maris stella, or the Pange Lingua -- which was done. Our Iroquois scoffed and hooted in great derision upon hearing us sing in this manner; but that did not prevent us from doing it.

They made us dance around a great fire, to make us fall into it, they standing about the fire, to the number of forty and more, and kicking us violently from one to another, like the ball in a game of tennis; and after giving us a severe burning, they put us out in the rain and cold. I never suffered such severe pain, and yet they did nothing but laugh.

I must give you news of Pierre Rencontre, whom you knew well. He died like a Saint. I saw him while he was being tortured, and he never said anything but these words: "My God, take pity on me," -- which he repeated continually until he ceased to breathe.

Did you know Louis Guimont, who was captured this Summer? He was beaten to death with clubs and iron rods, receiving so many blows that he perished under them. But yet he did nothing but pray, so that the Iroquois, enraged at seeing him constantly moving his lips in prayer, cut away his upper and lower lips entirely. What a horrible sight! And still he prayed, which so irritated the Iroquois that they tore his heart, still throbbing with life, out of his breast and threw it in his face.

As for Sir Hebert, who was wounded with a musket-ball in the shoulder and arm, he was given to the Iroquois of Oneida, and was there stabbed with knives by some drunken men of the country. As for little Antoine de la Meslee, that poor child moved my compassion deeply; for he had become the servant of these Indians, and then they killed him too with the knife, when out Hunting.

There are yet many more Frenchmen in bondage, but I write you nothing about them, for I would never finish, -- they arrive here almost every day, -- and then my fingers give me much pain. We are a pitiful sight to see, we who are alive; for they think more of their dogs than of us, and we are glad sometimes to eat the scraps left by the dogs. On our way here, although we all had our feet raw with wounds, our captors still made us walk bare-foot, and loaded us with their entire baggage, -- hurrying our steps with blows from sticks, as one would drive a horse. Whenever they met any of their own people, they would pull out some of our finger-nails before their eyes, to welcome them; but we always prayed to God, and always those barbarians jeered at us.

Father Le Moyne is said to be at Onondaga for the purpose of making peace, but he will never make peace with the Iroquois of this country, for they say they will not have it, and they regard the French as dogs. Still, one would never believe how few they are -- they have at no time amounted to two hundred men, all told, in the country; while their three villages have no palisades, except some stakes as large as one's leg, through which one can easily pass. If Father Le Moyne could deliver me from this place, he would do me a great charity; and the same can be said of the other Frenchmen here, for we are wretched. The Dutch are no longer willing to secure our freedom, as it costs them too dearly; on the contrary, they tell the Iroquois to cut off our arms and legs, and kill us where they find us, without burdening themselves with us."

Happily, the writer of the above Letter was himself its Bearer. It was through Garacontie that he was rescued from the Mohawks' hands and restored to our own, and he is incessant in his Praise of that obliging Indian.

But let us see the success of the Embassy to the French, undertaken by Garacontie with the Senecas.

They embarked at Onondaga toward the middle of September, full of joy -- especially the nine Frenchmen whom they were taking home, who at the outset began to breathe a freer atmosphere, almost forgetting the hardships of their captivity; when they encountered a band of Onondaga warriors who were bearing home some French scalps. One of the group was arrayed in a black Gown, of which he made a great parade, glorying in its possession as if it had been an illustrious trophy. At this sight our Frenchmen, as if struck by a thunderbolt, saw all their hopes defeated, especially since they knew that the wearer of that cassock was a Captain of importance, Otreouati by name, who had been held in irons at Montreal two years before, and upon escaping had decided to take revenge for his imprisonment by the death of some Frenchmen of rank -- as he had done by the murder of Sir le Maistre, Priest, in whose costume he had attired himself. The Ambassadors were just as surprised at this meeting than the French. A halt was called, council upon council was held, and deliberations went on day and night. "With what safety," asked the Senecas, "can we go to Montreal, where the blood of a black Gown, but recently shed, threatens us only with irons and imprisonment?" The Ambassadors from Onondaga had much more cause for alarm, as they were more culpable, men of their own Nation being the murderers.

Both parties began to play sick, to be relieved of so dangerous an Embassy. It would have been sport for our Frenchmen to see those long-faced make-believes, had they themselves not been seized with genuine heaviness of heart; and they may be said to have become veritably ill on seeing that feigned illness, which threatened to deliver them once more to a painful captivity, and perhaps to the necessity of dying for the ailments of others.

Still Garacontie, Chief of the Embassy, decided to go on, being fully convinced that the French who were left at Onondaga with Father Le Moyne were a sufficient guarantee for the safety of his own life, especially since he was about to set nine Frenchmen free. Witnessing his determination, our Captives were filled with as much joy as if they had escaped from a shipwreck or risen from the grave. This joy soon subsided at sight of another band of Warriors from Oneida, who were going on a fresh expedition against our settlements. Garacontie, in much perplexity, tried to ward off this blow, rightly judging that the peace he was about to offer the French would be ill received if it were mingled with the blood of this new war. Therefore, by means of presents, he turned these warriors' hatchets in another direction; and at last, having made a clear passage through the band, arrived on the fifth of October at Montreal. There the joy was great at seeing nine Frenchmen escaped from the flames, and they were received as men risen from the dead.

They proceeded at once to the Church, to thank the Author of their deliverance, and to assert at the foot of the Altar that, next to God, they were indebted to the blessed Virgin for their lives, and that the vows they had made to her -- either to fast every Saturday, or to recite certain prayers to her every day, or to imitate her purity by the vow of chastity -- had wrought miracles for their preservation.

After the exchange of embraces and kisses, they recounted all their adventures. Least of all could they keep silence in respect to the kind treatment they had received from the Onondagas, but recounted with pleasure all the endearments that had been lavished on them, all the feasts to which they had been invited, the joy felt at seeing them, and the Charity shown them in clothing them well, lodging them comfortably, and furnishing them every kind of convenience possible to Indian life. What they prized above all was that they were free to assemble every day in a cabin which they converted into a Chapel.

The soul of all this was Garacontie, who rescued from the Mohawks and other Iroquois all the French Captives he could, gathering as many as twenty of them into his village, where they enjoyed entire freedom in living as good Christians. He even made them feel the sacredness of the Sunday Festival by some unusual attention, and by certain little feasts to which he invited them, for the purpose of adding to the solemnity of the day by so charitable a ceremony. So he is commonly called the Father of the French; and the French, on his arrival at Montreal, offered him like attentions. They carried their kindness so far, upon his departure, that everyone, even the children, made him some present; he was delighted to receive from the children handfuls of meal or ears of Indian corn, with which these little innocents loaded themselves, to load his Canoe. He was saluted, upon reembarking, by a general discharge of muskets which were fired from every side, no longer to kill the Iroquois, but to honor him -- even the cannon celebrating the departure of him against whom it had until then been aimed.

But let us consider the motive of his Embassy and the purpose of thirteen fine presents, of which he made a splendid display.

However rich the presents may have been, they were not so precious to us as were the nine Frenchmen whose bonds he broke in offering a handsome wampum collar, with the assurance that in the following Spring we should see him again, with the ten Frenchmen left at Onondaga.

With a second present, he declared that he had reserved them to ennoble the Embassy on which he planned to come, he and the Seneca, -- to conclude a firm peace with us, -- leaving out the Mohawk, who was absolutely determined upon war, and resolved to conquer or perish.

With another collar, he presented us the keys to his own village and to those of Cayuga and Seneca, so we could enter there in perfect safety for the purpose of proclaiming the Faith, and restoring the ruins of the Churches overthrown by the misfortunes of the period.

With another, he invited the French to come and dwell with him in large numbers, to form but one people of French and Iroquois; cause only one Religion to hold sway on the Ontario, and on our great river; and unite again, in a genuine alliance, France and America. Such, in substance, were the purposes of his Embassy.

We do not truly believe these words of peace. If we consider only the past, then we have everything to fear for the future, for we have not yet forgotten the tragic deed they wrought upon our poor Hurons, uniting deceit with cruelty, and slaughtering the Sheep in the arms of the Shepherd. We well remember the secret councils that planned our death in Onondaga, when we were settled among them, and that forced us to flee, so not to become responsible for the death of some fifty Frenchmen, who had entrusted their lives to us. The Onondaga has always had the reputation of being a rogue, as the Mohawk has of being a cruel monster; and that these two characteristics are scarcely ever lost except with life itself. We see almost the same proceedings, enacted by the same persons as four years ago, when we were so solemnly deceived. We know also that, at the time Father Le Moyne was on his way up from Montreal to Onondaga, a band of Warriors were on their way down from Onondaga to Montreal, where they sacrificed a Priest to their fury, while a Father was offering himself in their country as a sacrifice to their caprice. Finally, we are well aware that for nine Cayuga captives restored by us, nine Frenchmen are returned to us; but the retention of ten in captivity still causes us fear of some plot.

Before concluding, let us take a view of so many unexpected incidents, and make the following reflections.

First: of two thousand Iroquois, which is their total number, we see fifteen or sixteen hundred laying down their arms, either permanently or at least for a time. Meanwhile, we have on our hands only four or five hundred, who have to deal with three different Nations, -- the Abenakis, the Mahicans, and the so-called "people of the East," -- against whom they resume hostilities afresh, being so arrogant that they do not think us worthy of counting in the number of their foes.

Second: it is a stroke of Heaven that has caused a diversion of forces and roused up in our behalf the Susquehannocks, Indians of warlike spirit and ever held in dread by the upper Iroquois, against whom war is kindling in such strength that we have now against us only the Mohawks and Oneidas, who form but the smaller part of the Iroquois.

Third: this smaller part of the Iroquois is yet most dreaded by us, for it alone has committed nearly all the ravages from which we have suffered this year. It was the Mohawks who filled with fire and bloodshed the neighborhood of Quebec; they have made a desert of Tadoussac; they have left their taint in the entire Island of Orleans, having massacred there the Steward de Lauson and his brave Companions; they have made Three Rivers mourn, having mingled the tears of poor mothers with the blood of their children, whom they either slew or carried away; and then they pushed their victories and ravages as far as Montreal, and loaded the scaffolds at the Mohawk nation with more French Captives than had ever appeared there before. All this has been accomplished in less than four months by a band or two of these lower Iroquois; and they will from now on play a successful game in cutting us off from all communication with the Upper Iroquois, and in preventing our enjoyment of the fruits of the peace which now presents itself, if they are not checked by some powerful hand.

Fourth: the hour seems to have come when we must overthrow that Nation which is so persistent in attempting our ruin. Our lives have been preserved only by a miracle. We have seen ourselves dying piecemeal, in the same ratio as our foes have grown strong on our weakness and fat on our blood. But -- since one portion of them have so formidable a war on their hands with New Sweden, which is forcing them to seek sanctuary with us almost at the same time that they are driving us to seek one in the remotest grottoes and rocks; while the other portion are offering us their protection and their country together -- so few of them are left that we shall be no longer excusable if we do not urge forward the aid we are expecting from France; that shall extract from our foot this thorn, which is checking the establishment of the Colony.

Fifth: if we are not aided now at so favorable a juncture, the enemy will be able to rally, and then destroy us. It is easier to cure a sick man than to revive a dead one. If we conquer this little handful of arrogant men, we shall make ourselves Masters of all the other Surrounding Nations, who will fear their own fall after the overthrow of this Colossus, and will deem themselves unable to resist the arms that will have secured submission from that Nation before whom all the other tribes are accustomed to bow.

The Onondagas will tremble, and receive from us such Laws as we shall choose to prescribe, whether in respect to our settlement in their country, or in regard to their dealings with us. The Cayugas will not dare to stir, in this reversal of fortune, for they were moderate enough in their attitude toward us even when the Mohawks were inciting them against us. The Senecas, who carry their Beaver-skins to the Dutch with great inconvenience and by long and perilous routes, -- the Susquehannocks laying ambushes for them at every step, and forcing them at present to form Caravans of six hundred men when they go to do their trading, -- these people will be glad to be spared all those difficulties and to avoid all those dangers, by being enabled to visit us in Canoes, and enrich our Frenchmen with the spoils of their chase captured above Montreal. They will be delighted to be able to return by water, laden with goods for which they are now forced to go a great distance, on foot, to the country of the Dutch.

The sixth reflection is that not only shall we render our America French, but we shall also make it wholly Christian. We shall no longer make our way over precipices and by yawning chasms to visit the Crees, since the direct and easy routes will be open to us. We shall seek the upper Algonquins at our ease, and without fear of being either pursued or delayed in our course by the Iroquois. We shall be able to penetrate to those remotest parts of the West where we shall find Idolatry to combat, raising up Christianity in its place. But all this depends upon a little handful of Mohawks, whose sacrifice at the hands of France, seems now to be the will of divine Justice.

The last reflection is that with the opening of next Spring, 1662, we fully hope to undertake, among the upper Iroquois, at least two fine Missions -- one to the Onondagas, in which Father Le Moyne will employ his winter campaign in advance, and one to the Senecas, which will give us several villages to cultivate, especially that of St. Michel, composed entirely of Christian Hurons who carried their Faith with their Colony to their Conquerors' country, after the destruction of their own. These two Missions alone call for many more Missionaries than our present number here; and if we could divide ourselves in pieces, we should find ample employment in many different places at the same time.

Those who have at heart the conversion of the Peoples of New France will be pleased to learn that, since this Report was carried to the Ship which was about to weigh anchor and return to France, there has arrived at Quebec a Canoe with news from Father Rene Menard. The Master and Guide of this Canoe is the son of the host with whom the Father lodges. He tells us that the Father is in good health, and will return in the Spring well attended; and the Father's Letters say that he has discovered many populous Nations, and that the harvest is abundant, but the Laborers all too few. The cry is raised on every hand, "Send aid; save bodies and souls; destroy the Iroquois, and you will plant the Faith throughout a territory of more than 2000 miles extent." Next year, we shall learn details of the journey of the Father, who is alone amid many Villages and Peoples whose wants he cannot meet.

YEAR 1662
NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1661 TO THE SUMMER OF 1662. DIVERSE IROQUOIS WARS.

Perhaps we were so humbled last year and reduced to so lowly a state as not to be hit by the thunder-bolts of the Iroquois, who have turned their arms elsewhere, and are arrogant enough to disdain the conquests to which they are accustomed. They are going in pursuit of others, 750 and 1000 miles from here, leaving no corner of these vast forests that they do not fill with terror and blood-shed.

Some have directed their course Eastward, toward New England, there to fight the Abenakis, Indians of docile nature, and susceptible to all good influences, -- as is testified by one of our Fathers, who has several times gained access to them by frightful roads and ways troubled with famine, and with precipices that must be passed. They dwell on the banks of a River called Kennebec, and cultivate a country so delightful, according to their account, that they maintain, following their Legendary tradition, that the son of him who made all things, choosing to become an Indian, found no land more beautiful than theirs in which to stay. Into that peaceful and delightful region a band of armed Mohawks is about to carry disturbance, to avenge an insult offered to thirty of their number who, wishing to exact a sort of tribute from those people, were themselves all slain by them, with a single exception. This man, after having his upper 8 lip cut off and losing half his scalp, was sent back in that plight to carry the news of what had befallen his Compatriots, being ordered to tell his countrymen that like shame was in store for them if they undertook a similar act of molestation.

Those arrogant people, more accustomed to impose laws than to obey them, immediately took the field, intending to devote two years, before their return, to the avenging of this insult.

We learned recently that they had already made a good beginning, by surprising an entire village when all its inhabitants were intoxicated with liquor, sold to them by the Dutch; therefore, by a wise choice of their time, they captured the village, which was nothing but a great tavern full of drunken men. They made blood flow in the Cabins as freely as wine had flowed there before; and then burned the women and children, and all whom the sword had spared, only one old man meeting with mercy, because he was not drunk at the time and had, shortly before, gone on an Embassy to the Mohawks' country, to negotiate for peace with them. At first he was well received at the Mohawk nation, and, although a captive, was regarded as a man worthy of veneration because of his age and temperance. After remaining some time in Mohawk, he was unfortunately met by five or six drunken Iroquois who seized him and bound him without delay to a stake, where they made him suffer all the cruelties that barbarism added to drunkenness can devise; he, however, bore them with a tranquil countenance, never letting a tear fall from his eyes, or a word of complaint escape from his lips. What a misfortune for this poor man, to perish through the intoxication of four or five rascals, after escaping from that of an entire village! That is the war in the East which is occupying a part of the Iroquois.

Others are pushing their way farther down toward the South, without knowing against whom they bear a grudge, seeking, they do not know whom, and declaring war before they have any enemies. Proceeding more than 500 miles through the Forests, without compass and yet unerringly, they finally reach the sea near the Virginia coast, as we suppose. They find a country where snow is unknown and everything is always green, except the Beavers, which are white. The men there dress like women, and the women like men, especially in regard to head-dress.

Bears, wild Boars, Leopards, and Lions inhabit those wildernesses much more than man; while Turkeys and fowls fly in flocks, as Starlings do in France, and the cock's crow is heard in the woods just as in our villages. There are whole forests of trees similar to palms. These are, our Iroquois say, reeds, in thickness and height equal to oak-trees; they are pithy and have knots at intervals; and they bear leaves three feet long, a foot wide, and two or three inches thick. These leaves are round, and as straight as a sword, and serve as a body guard or support to the trunk, which is, of itself, weak and flabby, but is circled about as with a rampart armed with cutlasses. Our warriors found one of these Trees prostrate, and, upon approaching it, discovered in its hollow three large Bears, which were enjoying spacious lodgings, and had grown fat on the pith of this Tree, which served them for food and shelter at the same time. Thus they leave their house only after they have eaten it.

Proceeding Westerly, another band of Iroquois is going 1000 miles from here in pursuit of a Nation whose only offense consists in its not being Iroquois. It is called Ontoagannha (Shawnee), meaning "the place where people cannot speak" -- because of the corrupt Algonquin in use there. Also, if we believe our Iroquois who have returned from there, and the Slaves whom they have brought from there, it is a country which has none of the severity of our winters, but enjoys a climate that is always temperate -- a continual Spring and Autumn. The soil there is so fertile that, to mention the Indian corn only, it puts forth a stalk of such extraordinary thickness and height that one would take it for a tree, while it bears ears two feet long with grains that resemble in size our large Muscat grapes. No Moose or Beavers are seen there, as they live only in cold countries; but Deer, bison, wild Hogs, and another Species of large animal wholly unknown to us, inhabit those beautiful forests, which are like so many Orchards, consisting almost wholly of fruit-trees. In their branches live birds of all colors and of every note, especially little Parroquets, which are so numerous that we have seen some of our Iroquois return from those countries with scarfs and belts which they had made from these birds by a process of interweaving. One finds there also a kind of Serpent of tremendous size and four yards in length; but these are harmless Snakes, their venom not being hurtful or their sting injurious.

The Shawnee people are not so inoffensive as the snakes, for they make use of a poison with which they understand perfectly the art of infecting springs, and even whole rivers; and they do it with such skill that the water loses nothing of its fair appearance, although it be tainted throughout. Their villages are situated along a beautiful river which serves to carry the people down to the great Lake (for so they call the Sea), where they trade with Europeans who pray as we do, and use Rosaries, as well as Bells for calling to Prayers. According to the description given us, we judge them to be Spaniards. That Sea is doubtless either the Bay of St. Esprit in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Florida; or else the Gulf of California, on the coast of South America, in the southern Pacific Ocean. In any case, against those peoples, the Onondaga Iroquois have turned their arms, to appease (as they say) the souls of those of their number who were killed there eight or nine years ago. Those souls will find no resting-place in the other world until they have been atoned for by fires of burnt captives, -- a cruel atonement, begun last winter with some poor women and infants at the breast, who fell victims to the flames, and to the cruelty of those too pitiless Barbarians.

Another Iroquois expedition is beginning a two years' war against the Sioux; another is turning its course against the Petun nation, in the direction of the Amikwas; and still another, starting out to discover a new country, penetrated so far into the unknown forests that the men perished there of hunger.

The rest were more successful in the new undertaking, this past winter, against our Indians of the North. These are the people whom two of our Fathers visited last year by remote paths from Tadoussac, when they went to Nichabau. Never before had either Iroquois or Frenchman set foot in their country, nor had mention ever been made of Nichabau, either at Mohawk or at Quebec; and in the same year men came there from both places. It was, however, the will of Providence that our Fathers should arrive there first, to rescue from the fires of Hell those who would soon be cast into the fires of the Iroquois.

What we are about to relate, we learned from two Indians, who after being captured at Nichabau by the Mohawks, happily escaped from their hands when they were approaching their village. One of them, twenty years of age, used cunning to effect his escape. After putting the Iroquois in good humor on the way by playing with them, -- now at straws, and now at throwing dice, the games most played by them, -- he challenged them to a race, and defied the most agile of their group, all disabled as he was. Rivalry sprang up in the company, and they gathered around; the nimblest of the Iroquois was chosen, the captive entered the race with him, and, the goals being marked, they started to run, each at his best speed. The prisoner, regarding his liberty as the prize of victory, took the lead, amid the applause of his enemies themselves. But they changed their tone when they saw the Victor passing the goal they had set and plunging into the woods, refusing the praise to which they invited him. Thus he continued on his course. But he was running toward his own ill luck; for he unexpectedly threw himself into the hands of another band of Iroquois. These, however, were no shrewder than the first; since they allowed him to escape, when they were on the point of delivering him to the flames.

Such was the account he gave us upon his arrival at Montreal. He told us that all the lands of the North, which had never before seen any Iroquois, have become so infested with them that there is no cavern in those vast regions of rocks dark enough to Serve as a place of concealment, or any forest deep enough to be entrusted with one's life. In the beginning of the winter, the Iroquois made a great capture of a number of families, composed of men, women, and children, who had never fought against enemies other than their own Beavers and Moose; and pushing their conquests farther, they surprised a large body of Indians at Nichabau engaged in funeral rites. The enemy chose just the time when these were holding the banquet for a dead person and had in hand, instead of arms, nothing but dishes and spoons; and therefore Compelled them to continue, for themselves, the lamentations they had begun for the deceased. We were told that the plan of the Iroquois was not to pause there, but to push on as far as Hudson Bay, to carry off all before them, like a torrent; then to descend by way of Lac Saint-Jean and Tadoussac, ever adding to their prisoners as they went; and finally to return homeward by our great Saint Lawrence river, to pass in front of Quebec and our other settlements, laden with spoils, and with victims who would adorn with their tears and blood the triumphant entry which these Indians are preparing to make into their villages.

And so, our enemies, dispersing through all those regions, have left us in peace for a part of the Summer, because they were waging war all around us. Consequently, our good fortune is due only to the misfortune of others, although our Allies' ill fortune is our own, since the source of Beaver skins is dried up with the ruin of those who bring them to our settlers

SOME MURDERS OF IMPORTANCE COMMITTED BY THE IROQUOIS.

THIS brief respite which we have enjoyed has not been a general one, Montreal having closed the past year and opened the present one with two considerable losses.

One was the death last February of Sir Lambent Closse, who was killed by a band of Iroquois when he was going to aid some Frenchmen in danger. He was a man who possessed extraordinary presence of mind in the heat of battle. At the head of only twenty-six men, he stood firm against two hundred Onondagas, fighting from morning until three o'clock in the afternoon. Unequal though the contest was, he repeatedly forced the enemy to retreat; often routed them from their vantage-ground, and even from redoubts which they had seized; and justly won the credit of saving Montreal, both by his might and by his reputation. So it was deemed advisable to keep his death concealed from the enemy, for fear that they might take advantage of it. This Eulogy we owed his Memory, since Montreal owes him its life.

The other loss is no less severe, being that of a good priest named Sir Vignal. In October of last year, he accompanied some workmen who went out to get stone on an Island near Montreal: and while they were landing, suspecting no danger, some Iroquois, concealed in the woods, rushed upon them unexpectedly with a loud cry. Three were killed on the spot, with the first discharge of their muskets; they wounded the others, and seized Sir Vignal, who, having already received several wounds, died in their hands soon after.

Amid these disasters, our courage is sustained with the hope given us by our good King, of powerful aid which is to introduce the reign of the Faith through the destruction of the Infidels, and give life to more than fifty Nations through the overthrow of four or five villages. We are this year expecting two vessels laden with soldiers.

FATHER PIERRE BAILLOQUET'S WINTERING WITH THE INNU AND ALGONQUINS.

The great trust placed in us by the Indians made them wish to have some of our Fathers with them when they went to pass the winter in the woods Last Autumn; the Innu of Tadoussac and some Algonquins of this place made this request of us with much urgency, their purpose being to go and spend the winter near the Notre Dame Mountains, which are well known here for their height, and for being the most ill-favored and forbidding part of all these regions. But one can find no spot too dreadful for a hiding place from the Iroquois. Father Pierre Bailloquet was assigned to them as the Pastor of that wandering Church.

The life that a Missionary must lead on such expeditions is the life led by the Indians themselves. That means that one has no inn but the woods, no bed but the snow, no fixed abode; but one must seek food from mountain to mountain, with no assured provisions except such as are furnished by providence, which does not always choose to work a miracle to transport moose, as it did of old in sending a shower of quails.

One must have a stomach accustomed to hunger, eyes used to smoke, and feet accustomed to snow. The worse the weather is, the better, because then hunting is more successful, Only rugged, wild, and inaccessible regions are sought, because there the wild animals are more easily found. Pleasant days are unwelcome, but storms make the hunter rejoice, for he does his best work during such most inclement weather; so there is nothing more to be feared than a mild winter, and pleasant seasons cause wide-spread famine. One must live only the life of the Indian, who is adapted to the inclemency of the weather, as are his own elk and beavers.

See how the Father speaks, in the following extract from a Letter written by him concerning his winter's experience:

"I have found that vice reigns in towns much more than in forests; that association with animals is not so injurious as that with men; and that our Indians live in such innocence as to have no frequent need of the Sacrament of Penance.

"Those with whom I could have communication only in the Spring no sooner heard about me than some of them came 45 miles over the snow to confess their sins. They encouraged me to undertake a journey for the consolation of many mothers -- who, although they could neither leave their children nor carry them over such a difficult road, still offered to perform half of that rugged journey. 'We do not' (said they) 'wish you to walk 60 miles on snowshoes for the purpose of visiting all the cabins, at a time when the thawing of rivers and mountain streams renders such a journey not only difficult, but dangerous. Yet come to meet us and we will come to meet you.'

"Sparing them the trouble which they so heartily offered to take, I went to see them all, one after another; and I found that they had never failed, all winter long, to say the customary prayers on bended knees every morning, and the Rosary every evening.

"In all their cabins, I was received with an open-heartedness; hospitality is found in these woods, although they have only Barbarians for hosts. We were so reduced as to have nothing but porcupines to eat, the moose-hunt having been unsuccessful; and not only did our Indians endure famine with resignation, but they also received with all imaginable kindness two sailboat-loads of our Frenchmen, who had been unable to reach Quebec before winter. They were forced to spend that season in our Forests, where they found that all our cabins were like so many inns, in which they were received at the common table without charge. 'We never would have believed,' these Frenchmen say, 'that Indians are so benevolent, had not our own experience proved it to us. Each head of a family would have willingly entertained us if his means had been commensurate with his good will; and the chief man of their number, seeing that one of us was ill, undertook a hard journey in quest of remedies, walking four successive days without halting, not even stopping to shoot at the moose that came in his way, for fear of delaying the relief he wished to bring to the patient.'

FATHER SIMON LE MOYNE'S WINTERING IN THE COUNTRY OF THE UPPER IROQUOIS.

THIS is a Mission of blood and fire, of toils and tears, of Captives and Barbarians. It is a country where the ground is still stained with the blood of Frenchmen; where scaffolds are still standing, strewn with their ashes; where survivors of the cruel torture bear its marks on feet and hands, with nails torn out and fingers and toes cut off; where Father Simon le Moyne has spent a year.

During the entire winter, he has been occupied with three Churches -- one French, one Huron, and one Iroquois. He has maintained the spirit of piety among the captive Frenchmen; he has restored the Huron Church, formerly so flourishing in the Huron country; and he has laid the foundations of a new Iroquois Church, going from village to village to instruct those who were not far distant from the Kingdom of God.

A little Chapel, built of bark and stakes, formed the Sanctuary where God daily received the worship of those three Churches. The French went there every morning, half an hour before dawn, to hear Mass, and assembled there every evening to say their Rosaries together, and often during the day to seek comfort from God in their afflictions, and to throw their burden of bondage upon his goodness. There they joined their hands, half cut in pieces, raising them to Heaven in prayer for those who had treated them so ill.

Here is a Letter sent by one of the two Frenchmen captured with the late Sir Vignal and taken to Oneida. Its writer had his right arm broken in his capture, and is believed to have been one of the two captured whom those Barbarians killed, to avoid being troubled with a cripple. Following is the substance of his Letter. He writes to Father Simon le Moyne, whom he knew to be at Onondaga, about 50 miles away from him.

"There are two of us prisoners from Montreal at Oneida. Sir Vignal was killed by these Indians, having been unable to walk more than two days, because of his wounds. We arrived here on the first Sunday of December, in sad plight. My comrade has already had two finger-nails torn out. Please come here and do your utmost, with presents, to rescue us and take us with you; and then we shall care no longer whether we die or not. We have made a compact to do all we can for the conversion of those who are killing us, and we pray daily for their salvation. We have not found a single Frenchman here. I am writing you with my left hand. Yours, Brignac."

Of all the devices employed by the Devil for thwarting the Father's good purposes, there is scarcely one of greater effectiveness than dreams, which form almost the sole divinity of the country; the people commit a thousand extravagances, for the sake of obeying this God of darkness. Below are some examples, selected from a large number which the French Captives have witnessed.

A warrior, having dreamed that he had been taken prisoner in battle, to avert the fatality of this direful dream, summoned all his friends and implored them to aid him in his misfortune, by treating him like an enemy. Accordingly, they threw themselves upon him, stripped him entirely naked, bound him, dragged him through the streets with the customary hooting, made him mount the scaffold, lighted the fires around him, and prepared to render him that vile service. But he was content with all these preliminaries and, after passing some hours in singing his death-song, thanked the company, believing that after this imaginary captivity, he would never be actually a prisoner.

Another man, having in a dream seen his cabin on fire, could find no rest until he could see it actually burning; and the Elders, after mature deliberation upon the matter, proceeded in a body to set it on fire, which they did with ceremony -- nearly as city Aldermen light the bonfires.

What happened to a third man is far more extraordinary. This wretched dreamer, not thinking it was showing enough respect to his dream to have himself burned in effigy, was determined that the fire should be actually applied to his legs, in the same way as to captives when their final torture is begun. What a spectacle, to see this Martyr to Dreams submitting to a roasting of such duration and cruelty that it took six months for him to recover from his burns!

In their ailments, they find no better medicine than a good dream; it frequently occurs, however, that a hot fever, by causing senseless dreams, gives the poor Medicine-men much trouble. The Father's hostess, being troubled by an inflammation of the cheek, saw herself apparently cured in a dream by men of another nation, who were captives in Onondaga. They were summoned, and ordered to administer to the patient the best drugs used by the Medicine-men of their country. They made their preparations, and all the Village assembled in the cabin to witness a wonderful cure. First appeared some old women, who began to dance to the beating of a sort of Tambourine; and soon afterward there were seen to enter three counterfeit Bears, hopping now on one foot, now on the other, and making as if they would pounce on the sick woman and devour her, although their purpose was merely to apply warm ashes to her swollen cheek. Finally, the men and women joined with these animals in executing a dance which was certainly capable of exciting laughter in those who did not pity these people's blindness. The result was that the woman was left well pleased with the ceremonies, but as ill as before.

Such pieces of foolishness are ridiculous but not dangerous. Those which have several times placed the Father in great peril are ominous, and may well cause anxiety to a poor Missionary. A young man, having in a dream seen himself dressed in the Father's Cassock, although well aware that the fulfillment of his dream would be difficult, was yet bent on gaining his end. With that in view, he cunningly played the madman -- running through the streets, making an attack on the Chapel, and breaking into it; and in his frenzy uttering only his determination to strip Ondessonk (for so the Father is called in Iroquois), to obey his dream.

At another time, all the Elders were forced to intervene, to stop a young man who, in a drunken fit, laid violent hands upon the Crucifix in the Chapel. To begin with, he broke open the Chapel, and, entering like a madman, attempted to pounce upon the cross and carry it away. The Father vigorously opposed such insolence, offering his head to the hatchet rather than permit that impious deed, resolved to give his life than surrender the Crucifix. Accordingly, he took his stand in front of it, to receive on his own person that madman's first acts of violence. The frenzied wretch -- instigated by two Demons, that of Dreams and that of Drink -- rushed upon him with diabolic fury, and, holding his hatchet in hand, was about to let it descend on his head, when by good luck the village Elders, having heard the noise, ran to the Father's rescue just in time. They saved him from that madman's violence, but had no excuse to offer for such a disturbance, except that Dreams are powerful and merit deep respect. Others threw the blame on the Dutch, who furnish them a certain drink that makes madmen of the wisest, and deprives one of his reason. Brandy was what they referred to, which they bring from New Netherland in such quantities as to make a tavern of Onondaga.

The Iroquois of Cayuga -- who are the least cruel, and have shown us the most good will, especially when we were cultivating the remnants of the Huron Church in their country -- were touched with pity for the Father's afflictions; and invited him to stay with them during that state of disorder. Delighted with this offer, the Father paid them a visit of some weeks' duration. He was received with public cheers from all the people, and found use for the lancet of a French Surgeon who accompanied him. God so blessed the Surgeon's labors, in a rather serious disease that was prevalent that a number of patients who had been almost given up were set on their feet. This won the hearts of all those people, and opened to the Father the doors of every Cabin, where he was looked upon with favor and listened to with affection.

A whole month was all too short for him for giving consolation to many good Christian Huron women, from whose hearts a bondage of fifteen or twenty years has not wrested the Faith. They turn their Masters' Cabins into Temples, and serve one another as Pastors.

He was forced to terminate that pleasant stay, which lasted scarcely a month, to return to Onondaga, where Garacontie (the man under whose protection are the French Captives), having returned from Montreal and proclaimed the kind reception which he had there received, rendered the like to the Father on his return from Cayuga. He made him a bountiful present consisting of squashes, with which he fed him. They make a delicious dish when bread is lacking, and when, as is usual, one has but one meal a day, consisting of a little sagamite made of clear water whitened with a handful of meal of Indian corn -- for such was the good Father's customary regimen. This generous Indian, and protector of the French, expressed his pleasure at the presents that had been given him, and at a beautiful wampum collar made by the hands of the Ursuline Mothers. Especially were they delighted upon being told that it was the work of those women who had not feared to cross the sea for their sake, and for the instruction of their little girls, whom they were awaiting at Quebec whenever the parents were willing to send them. They were also told that, if they wished to go there themselves, they would find still other holy maidens (for so they call the Nuns), who would receive them in their ailments in a great Hospital built for them, and would render them the same services the Hospital nuns of Montreal had rendered to certain members of their nation.

That is what we learned, toward the end of the winter, concerning the Father's visit, from some Indians of Onondaga who came over the snow to see us, and who promised to bring him back to us this summer with all the French Captives, as pledges of the sincerity with which they desire our alliance.

FATHER SIMON LE MOYNE'S RETURN FROM THE IROQUOIS COUNTRY.

Finally Heaven has restored to us Father Le Moyne, whom we regarded as a man escaped from the flames, to which he had courageously exposed his life for the rescue of eighteen Frenchmen. It passes belief with what joy those poor Captives were seized leaving the Village of Onondaga, which they had thought was to be their grave.

On the last day of August of this year, 1662, the Father made his appearance in a Canoe below Lachine Rapids, having around him all those happy rescued ones and 20 Onondagas who, from being enemies, had become their boatmen. This Canoe -- flying an ensign, to make itself known as a friend -- gently approached the bank, laden with those happy Argonauts, who gave a volley from all their muskets to salute the land so longed for, proclaiming peace through the mouth of war itself. They landed amid the cheers and embraces of all the French of Montreal. Let us retrace their steps to Onondaga.

Let us begin with the little bark chapel. It was the sanctuary not merely of three Churches, but of eight or ten, since there are in Onondaga that number of conquered nations, some of whom are finding their salvation in their ruin. The Father's greatest care, during his stay among those various peoples, was to let no infant miss baptism. The smallpox, opportunely supervening, gathered in a rich harvest of those innocent souls; for, of more than two hundred who received baptism during the winter, there were over 120 who died soon after.

One of the Father's great consolations was to receive many poor Captive Huron women, who came by stealth from the neighboring Villages to perform their devotions at Onondaga, setting out from Cayuga and from Oneida ostensibly to go and sell or buy some goods of the country, but with hearts fixed wholly on those of Heaven. That Captive Church offers a Picture of what occurred in the Church hidden in England, where our Fathers disguised themselves as Peddlers, to carry on a precious trade for eternity. The Example of the servants touched the Mistresses, and gave some of them a desire to come and receive instruction, so that the Father was furnished an agreeable occupation in both instances.

His great consolation was to be able to celebrate Mass every day in the heart of that barbarous country. But wine was failing him, and he could replenish his supply only from the Dutch -- who, however, were not likely to be willing to furnish any for such a purpose as his. He wrote to them still, telling them that, as he was then situated, he might well have need of some for his health. The Dutch sent him a small bottle, well sealed, giving it to an Indian to carry, and telling him that it was a medicine which the Father needed, of which he himself must not drink unless he wished to contract a serious illness. That was a necessary precaution; for if the Indian, who had a great fancy for the wine of the Dutch, had known what the bottle contained, he never would have delivered it until it was empty. Even the Father was forced to resort to the same deception to satisfy this Indian, who asked to taste a little of that medicine, to see if it was as bad as they said. The Father took some Barbados Nuts, cut them up in a little of this wine, and presented it to his Indian; and it proved a Medicine of such purgative effect as to deprive him of all desire to ask for a second dose.

THE LIBERATION OF EIGHTEEN FRENCH CAPTIVES.

SOME were sent back last Autumn, and the others conducted home this Summer; and they all unite in acknowledging that they owe their lives to Father Le Moyne, who so bravely risked his own in their behalf, fearing not to enter a country still smoking with the charred remains of many of our Frenchmen.

From the time of his arrival, his death was determined upon, and orders were even issued to split his head; but God preserved him for the sake of saving the lives of some, and the souls of others. Escaping these first dangers, as well as the unsuccessful plots formed against him in different quarters, he spent the whole ensuing winter as a captive; but he willingly endured his chains for the sake of breaking those of our Frenchmen. Contrary to all human likelihood, he himself received freedom and gave it to the others. There was only a single man at Onondaga -- and he bore the surname Liberte -- who did not obtain his liberty. Still, he rejoices in that freedom in which the Children of God rejoice in Heaven. Captured at Three Rivers last year, 1661, he was given to Masters who preserved his life, and even felt such good will toward him as to seek a match for him, and plan to marry him in the Iroquois fashion -- that is, to involve him in a perpetual Concubinage. He, feeling an abhorrence of any such union, refused at the outset; and although requested, cajoled, urged, menaced, and almost compelled, remained firm in his refusal.

Finally, his Masters, wearied by his refusals, decided to give him, once and for all, the choice between death and a wife; but with all their threats, they did not move that brave heart. Consequently, they rid themselves of him while pretending to offer him food; for, in the act of presenting him a piece of bread from one side, from the other they leveled a hatchet-stroke at his head, which they therefore crowned with the glory of the Martyrs of chastity.

The other Frenchmen, who were liberated, all experienced the effects of an altogether extraordinary protection on the part of God. The accounts of some of them will not be unwelcome, since they give us reason to bless Heaven for taking such care of that poor captive Church.

One of the men, before the Father's arrival, had yielded to evil influences, and was all ready to give himself up to vice and embrace the life of an Indian, having even cast in his lot with some Iroquois for accompanying them on a hostile raid. God still held him back by the hand -- or, let us rather say, by a finger, which, having been cut off when he was first taken, refused to heal, despite the application of all the usual remedies. The Father, on his arrival, ministered to his more serious ailment, prescribing some acts of devotion to the blessed Virgin, which had so good an effect that in a few days he was rid of his temptation, and cured of the sore he had had on his hand for more than six months.

Then he put that hand, partaking as it did in some sense of the miraculous, to a most excellent service, using it to baptize children. He not only sought them out in the Cabins, but even went to await the Caravans of the Senecas as they passed; for these go on their trading expeditions in large companies, for fear of being met by their enemies. Thus he stopped in some defile all the mothers with their children; and he knew so well how to win their hearts that in a short time he baptized more than sixty children, of which the greater number died of the prevalent disease.

There was another Frenchman in bondage at Oneida, who suffered grievous afflictions, from which God delivered him through the agency of a child only five years old, and scarcely able to talk. Yet the child was so successful in making the Frenchman understand (although the Frenchman did not know a word of the child's Language) that there were plans upon his life, that he took this warning as if it had come from Heaven. Accordingly, he decided to take flight. He left the village of Oneida on the instant, intending to go in quest of the Father at Onondaga, although he did not know even in which direction Onondaga lay. Hastily taking the first path he found, without knowing its direction, he journeyed on for a considerable time by unknown ways, hunger in close pursuit, but the enemy's fires still more vividly before his imagination. In his solitude he consoled himself with the better opportunity he enjoyed for prayer than in the village. Thus he constantly pushed on, slowly, but in considerable security. When now he thought his enemies far in the rear, suddenly he saw a group of them coming toward him at a sharp pace, and thought then that he was lost, already feeling the cruel fires which, as he imagined, were lighted to burn him. He was right, for in the matter of captivity, it is as with diseases, the relapse being worse than the original illness. Still, he leaped warily enough to one side of the path, allowing these Iroquois to pass without their perceiving anything -- a circumstance rare indeed, as their eyes are remarkably sharp for seeing at a distance, and for discovering footprints. The first pursuers having passed on well ahead of him, our fugitive made all haste to take another unknown path, but suddenly he caught sight of a second band, into whose hands he was on the point of falling.

He needed only to be seen to be condemned to the flames; but the same Providence which had concealed him the first time from the eyes of one group, delivered him, for the second, from the hands of the other, leading him in his blindness directly into Onondaga, and, by good fortune, making him enter a Cabin where there were some Indians friendly to the French. As soon as they saw him and recognized him as a fugitive, they threw a blanket over him to hide him, merely giving him some morsel to eat, hunger having reduced him to a pitiful condition. The hand of Providence in his case is seen here; if he had entered the neighboring Cabin, he would have been lost; for there he would have found men of the Nation he was fleeing, who happened to be there at the time; and they would not have failed to seize him, to make a public example of him for all fugitives. When he had therefore been happily concealed, someone went with all speed to inform the Father, in order that he might intervene in his behalf, and give the presents requisite on such occasions.

Meanwhile, the poor unfortunate was drawn forth from his hiding place and sent in person to find the Father; but he had taken only a few steps when he met some drunken men in the street who fell upon him as upon a stranger. At this encounter he sank down in a swoon, either from fear or from weakness. The Father, being notified in time, hurried to him, raised him up, and led him, head erect, into his own Cabin, where he sustained numerous approaches of the Oneidas, who came as often as seven times to recover their prisoner, but were each time met by the Father's answer that he would part with his life sooner than surrender his ward. His affair was finally adjusted after much trouble.

Here is one more remarkable incident. Another of our French captives had made a vow to God to consecrate his freedom, should he ever recover it, to his service. But he had encountered two Mistresses of different temperaments, although of equal cruelty: one was determined that he should not leave the Cabin, even to go to the Chapel to pray; while the other would not let him stay within. One drove him out, and the other kept him in, but neither bore him any good will; on the contrary, they had given, or caused to be given, two presents of considerable value to certain young rogues, to split his head. What is this poor young man to do? If he go out, he is guilty; if he remain within, he is also guilty. He cannot obey one of these Mistresses without disobeying the other, and yet nothing less than his life is the penalty of disobedience. The Father, informed of his straits, procured his escape through the agency of some Iroquois friends of his; but no sooner had he disappeared than those two Furies, who had until now been irreconcilable in regard to him, united in an attempt to catch him, sending out their relatives in pursuit. The poor Frenchman, well aware that he was being pursued with intent to capture, plunged into the water up to his neck and crossed to a little Island, to hide in some rocky hollow and stay there as long as nature could withstand the pangs of hunger. A day and a night he passed without eating.

The Father's friends who had helped the fugitive to escape, seeing the friends of the two Mistresses so strenuous in their search for him, put forth equal efforts on their part, roaming over the whole district, through the woods and along the river, in the pursuit of a similar search, but with far different intentions -- the one group seeking to take his life, the other to save it. Each of the parties called to him, at the top of their voices; but whom was he to answer? He heard their voices from his rocky retreat, but mistook his friends' cries for those of his enemies.

Finally, after both parties had long been running and calling to no purpose, they met as if by agreement near the little Island, and, moved perhaps by some sort of pity, or, rather, despairing of finding the prisoner, exchanged promises that if they should find him they would put him in the Father's hands, to be disposed of as the Father should choose. Had that poor refugee heard these words, he would soon enough have come forth. But hunger prompted him to act; for he came out of his hole, and gave himself up, although he thought that he was sacrificing his life. If ever men were surprised, those two bands of Iroquois were. They marveled at the timeliness with which the Frenchman had delivered himself into their hands -- just at the moment when they had agreed to spare his life.

I end my account by describing an event of considerable note concerning a Crucifix, about two feet in height, which the Mohawk Iroquois carried off last Year from Argentenay in the Island of Orleans, when they committed ravages there. I do not know whether it was in scorn or in esteem that they seized this image. However that was, they carried it off to their own country, exhibiting it in their cabins as one of the most precious spoils taken from the French. Garacontie, protector of the French, happened to see it when he visited Mohawk; and as he knew the respect in which we hold such images, he would not allow that one to be profaned. Accordingly, he attempted to buy it back, making a handsome present for the purpose; while, to insure against refusal, he delivered a eulogy upon this Crucifix, more worthy the utterance of a Preacher than of a Barbarian. He gained his end, both by the richness of his present and through the eloquence of his speech. Returning to Onondaga in triumph at having performed so handsome a deed, he gave this Crucifix an honored place on the Altar of the little Chapel, where the French, Hurons, and Iroquois daily went to render it their homage.

Let us conclude with an examination of the benefit accruing to the public by the Father's stay at Onondaga. While toiling diligently for the welfare of his Church in particular, he spared no Pains to promote the common good of all the French. He it was who averted from our heads the hatchets of the three Upper Nations, preventing the murders with which our lands and houses have each year been stained. We remember only too well last year's disasters, which make us groan even now, for we have not ceased to weep over our blood shed from Montreal as far as Tadoussac -- that is, over nearly 250 miles of territory. Besides, he caused us this Summer to breathe an atmosphere that we had not enjoyed for a considerable period -- an atmosphere of some degree of peace and quiet; and we owe to him the advantage of having planted our crops undisturbed, our harvests being fairly abundant, and unstained with our blood.

Finally, some believe that he has exerted himself to such good purpose that we have now only two nations of Iroquois on our hands, those of Oneida and Mohawk. These two nations are the most cruel; but they are also the least populous, and the nearest. As for the three other more distant ones, they declare themselves our friends and allies, and that through the intervention of the good Father Le Moyne; but, with the Indians, one cannot assume any other standard than that of their own interests. The nations that have received the faith are attached to us in the interests of their salvation; as for the others, who have not embraced it, nothing but the terror and fear of our arms, or the hope of some considerable profit in their trading, or the aid to be obtained from us against their enemies, can hold them in check; and even that will not prevent some from separating from the rest and coming by stealth to slay us. So only the strong arm, present and effective, can securely bind their hands.

CERTAIN MURDERS COMMITTED BY THE MICMACS AMONG THE INDIANS KNOWN AS THE PAPINACHOIS INNU.

ON entering the great Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the way to Quebec, one encounters three places, toward the South, where French Vessels go in quest of Codfish. These Harbors or ports are near one another, and bear the names of Isle Perce, Bonaventure, and Gaspe. Father Martin Lyonne, recently deceased, and Father Andre Richard, both of our Jesuits, for some years devoted their labors to the shores bathed by the waters of this Gulf, as well as to the surrounding districts. Father Richard gives us the following account of an expedition undertaken by certain Indians whom we call the Indians of Gaspe (Micmacs) because they come and camp with considerable frequency near the Bay or Port bearing that name. These Indians having assembled during the winter of last year, 1661, some of them proposed in their Councils to go and wage war against the Eskimo. These are a people hostile to Europeans, and dwell on the shores of the Gulf toward the North and at no great distance from the great Island of Newfoundland, which is situated at the mouth of the great river and Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Ascending still higher, on the same banks, one comes to the Papinachois Innu, next to the Betsiamite Innu, and then to Tadoussac. These two nations, as well as some others allied to them, are good, simple people, fond of peace, who receive our Fathers from Quebec with great affection when our Fathers visit their country as Missionaries. But let us return to our Micmacs:

"When, therefore, some proposed in their Councils and feasts a hostile expedition, they were listened to by one group and opposed by another. But when the Bravos and Ruffians ridiculed those peacefully inclined, about thirty young men raised their hatchets, in sign of their advocacy of war.

"That moved me deeply," continues Father Richard, "because their war is nothing but a man-hunt, quite often undertaken merely to fulfill some dreams which come to them in their sleep, and make them believe that their departed relatives will not rest in peace unless some human beings are sacrificed to them. After passing the whole winter with this purpose in view, they repaired in the Spring to the banks of a River called Bacadensis, which empties into the Gulf. I was with them," proceeds the Father, "and told them the grief I felt at so thoughtless an undertaking, strongly suspecting that they would attack the first persons they met beyond the Gulf, without noticing whether they were friends or enemies. They spurned my counsels and embarked amid ceremonies that were grotesque and superstitious.

"While they were at their feasting, and in Council, two sailboats were prepared for them. These sailboats they buy of the French who frequent their shores for the sake of fishing, and they handle them as skillfully as our most courageous and active Sailors of France. They made a little Bridge of wood to enable them to embark dry-shod in these sailboats, which were held for them ready-launched. That done, and the feast concluded, our warriors emerged from a large Cabin, well armed after their fashion, singing, dancing, and then running quickly to their sailboats. Those who embarked last immediately threw into the water the pieces of wood constituting their Bridges, and, taking the oars in hand with incredible swiftness, were clear of the bank in a moment. Had anyone fallen into the water or wetted himself in embarking, or had the sailboat run aground or been delayed in the least degree, such an ill omen would have brought them to an instant halt and made them change their plans.

"While these Argonauts were plying their oars on the River Bacadensis, two Canoes issued as if from an ambush and started directly toward them to attack them, plunder them, and prevent their expedition. They were filled with young women, active and well dressed, who came to convey an idea and present a picture of the battle these warriors were to fight with their enemies. They passed and re-passed, turning and executing a thousand turns around these sailboats, trying to board them for the purpose of pillaging them, or, at least, of carrying off some little plunder. Bravely attacked, bravely defended. The men repulsed them, discharging their muskets frequently, rather to make a noise than to harm them.

"Finally the young women withdrew, thoroughly tired, and without succeeding in plundering a single article, They returned to the bank where the other women, who were waiting for them, received them with shouting and hooting, as if they had been vanquished enemies, pouncing upon them, stripping them of their new robes and of their ornaments, and giving them some old rags instead. One of these Amazons was ridiculed and mocked because she had not put on her handsome robe and fine attire, having strongly suspected that she would be robbed of them. These women are willing to be therefore robbed for the sake of furnishing a happy omen of the victory which they desire for their relatives and friends.

"But let us follow our Warriors. They had not proceeded far in the Gulf when one of them called a halt. 'I have just now recalled,' said he, 'an order given us by one of my relatives when dying. You know that the commands of the dying are important, and that, the deceased having been a man of influence among us, his wishes must be executed. As he was opposed to the undertaking in which I have inconsiderately joined, I must turn back, and abandon all thought of warfare.' Those who had engaged in this expedition simply from a fear of their comrades' opinion, told the speaker that they would accompany him, as being relatives or friends of the Deceased. Accordingly, the Band was divided in halves, one of the two sailboats heading toward the land and returning to the shore, the other, manned by fifteen Hunters, proceeding forward.

"They finally reached the Island of Anticosti, where the Gulf begins to change into a river. Leaving it to cross to the mainland on the North, they perceived a Canoe issuing from another Island, coming from a hunting expedition. The wind favoring them, they chased with sail and oars; and without inquiring its Nationality, overwhelmed it with a discharge from their muskets. It was enough that it contained human beings; that was the prey and game they were seeking. This Canoe bore a man and a woman, a girl and a little boy. At the first volley the man, woman, and girl were killed, and the little boy wounded. Immediately the enemy pounced upon the slain, cut the skin around their heads, removing their scalps, and took the little boy into their boat, wounded as he was; and their war and hunt were accomplished. The wind changing, they turned their sailboat and came back to their own country, full of pride over so successful an issue. Monarchs who direct the movements of great armies ridicule these poor Indians, who are as proud in their victory over four people as are Princes after slaying ten thousand. And the Angels have reason to mock at both, for both take pride in curtailing men's lives, which are already so short.

"As their departure had been accompanied with superstition, so their return was full of folly and cruelty. Approaching their country's shores, they uttered a loud cry in sign of their victory. Upon hearing the shout," says the Father who furnished these Notes, "I immediately concluded that they had not been so far as their enemy's country, which was too distant for a journey of so short duration. I judged that they might have met with some Indians allied to those of Tadoussac, who might well resent their action some day. As a matter of fact, I was told that they had killed some Papinachois Innus, good friends to the French and to the French's allies.

"At the noise and outcry made by these Warriors, all left their Cabins, the French who were then in the vicinity hurrying to the spot with the rest. I decided not to go, in order to show the indignation I felt at so cowardly a deed. When they were yet at a considerable distance from their proposed landing place, they indulged in a bit of cruel barbarism toward their poor little prisoner, throwing him into the water, wounded as he was in various places. At the same time, they threw into the water the scalps they had taken. Immediately, most of the Indians, both men and women, plunged in and swam, the women straight toward the floating scalps, and the men toward the little boy, who was drowning.

"The women, after seizing the scalps, wished to snatch the little prisoner from the men, and the poor child found himself pulled and torn about like a victim fallen into the clutches of wolves; but finally, after much altercation, he was sentenced and given to the Captain's wife. She, wishing to show that she had courage as well as her husband, and that she could witness human bloodshed without weakness; she drew a large knife from her bosom and plunged it with inhuman cruelty into the arm of that child, -- half-dead as he already was, both from the wounds received in the encounter, and from the cruelty with which he had been treated in the water. Yet he was forced to sing as he saw his own blood, which drew from him neither tear nor cry. The training which parents give their children to display courage in such circumstances, and the noise and din made by those Barbarians, cause such a stupor of their prisoners' senses that even the youngest are not lacking in the sign of courage.

"Our Frenchmen, touched with pity, sought means to liberate the child; but it was not yet time. At the account they gave me of such a cruel proceeding, which I had been unwilling to see with my own eyes, my feelings were so outraged that when, toward evening, those arrogant people presented themselves at the Chapel to receive instruction, I drove them out and shut the door of the Church upon them, telling them that God did not tolerate murders committed upon the Innocent. But, their hearts being still all inflated with pride, spite took possession of them, and made them say to the French that they were going to break the prisoner's head, and start out in their sailboat again for the purpose of continuing their man-hunt.

"Our Frenchmen reported this to me, and added that it was all over with the child's life unless I changed my tactics. That moved me, and, hurrying immediately to the spot where they were assembled, I said to them:

"'My brothers and my nephews, I come to mingle my tears with your rejoicing. You have brought me within two finger-breadths of death; the love I bear you is the source of my pain and grief. Let me weep and bemoan your wrong-doing.'

"'But do you love us?' they asked.

"'Yes, I love you, and more tenderly than you think.'

"'Why, then, did you shut the Chapel door upon us?'

"'Love made me adopt that course, to bring you to yourselves again and open your eyes, in order that you might wash your hands, still all covered with blood, before entering into the presence of God.'

"'We see plainly that you love us,' they replied. 'Continue to love us, my Father; we are no longer vexed; we love you.'

"'If you love me,'" returned the Father, "'do not kill the child; spare its life.'

"'Go, my Father; we love you, and he shall not die.'

"I retired, satisfied with this promise.

"The withdrawal of that band to Isle Perce, where I too went, gave an opportunity to the Surgeon of our Frenchmen, who were fishing there, to dress this poor child's wounds. He had four bullets in his head, of which three were removed, while the fourth, and another which he had in his shoulder, could not be reached. The poor child gave only one little gasp while under a treatment that was severe and painful. Our Frenchmen made every effort to rescue him from those Barbarians' custody, but without any success. Seeing that they were on the point of carrying him away, and judging from his weak and reduced appearance that he was not over seven years old, I baptized him privately, after only slight instruction and with no ceremony whatever, the time and place not permitting it. That done, he was put into a boat to be conveyed elsewhere. The regret I felt at witnessing the removal of this poor little boy, whose life might be sacrificed to the fancy or dream of some Indian, made me resolve to seek out the Captain's wife, to whom he had been given. She was about to take her departure, and I addressed her as follows:

"'My Sister, I have a request to make to you, and I ask you not to refuse me. I have never asked anything of you, nor do I feel inclined ever to do so. My wish is great and my request important. You know what I have done for you, and the occasional aid I have rendered you. Give me your little prisoner; he is dying and will be of no service to you. The presents that I will give you will be a hundred times more useful and advantageous, since he will even be a source of I expense to you.'

"Then I approached her husband and offered him the same arguments. I succeeded so well that they granted me the boy. He was taken from the sailboat and put into my hands: they embarked, weighed anchor, and departed. I withdrew with my prey, highly delighted and astonished that they had not asked me for payment before leaving. They knew me and felt assured that I would keep my promise.

"They had not been long gone when a contrary wind drove them back into port. They came to see me and spoke to me about the presents which I had led them to expect. I told them that I was ready to fulfill my promise, but that it was for them to let me know what they would like. They convened the Council and had me summoned. One of the elders took the word and, after exaggerating the importance of the present given me, assured me that the respect they bore me limited them to a moderate demand. Still, he asked an exorbitant price.

"I answered that they were right in asking a large ransom, and that a human life was too precious to be adequately paid for by presents. But, as they knew, my arms were short, my hands small, and I could not hold much in my embrace. For a long time, my hands had been constantly open to assist them in their needs, and there was only left me what I offered them and displayed before their eyes. They accepted it with demonstrations of great satisfaction, while I was still more pleased, since my little ransomed boy could not be demanded back again, the transaction having occurred in the Council of the chiefs.

"This poor child, finding himself, by a happy mishap, among our Frenchmen, began to breathe again, and to believe that he belonged to the living. His wounds were dressed, and he was nursed and carefully fed, so that in a short time he to whom, in his wretchedness and torture, I had ascribed an age of but seven years, appeared to me, in his good condition, about ten or twelve years old. When he saw none but French people, he was wide-awake, merry, and full of spirit; but as soon as he saw an Indian, he would run away and hide, trembling with fear and utterly stunned.

"As I was forced to return to France, and found no opportunity to send him to Quebec, I took him with me. He is pretty for a child born in Barbarism. So great a fear has he of Indians, having experienced their cruelty, that, in pausing at Rouen on his way to Paris, when he saw a chimney-sweep in the streets and heard his cry, he mistook him for an Indian, and was seized with such violent terror that he fled into a shop to hide himself; and so extreme was his alarm that no words of mine could reassure him. He is now at our College of Clermont, where he makes it evident that our little Indians have as much intelligence as our little French boys. He is of a pliant and docile disposition. His body has been ill-treated by the Indians. In complexion, he is olive-colored, owing to the oils with which he has been anointed from his birth; but he would be just as white as European children born in New France, had he not been darkened and painted in oil, so to speak, from his infancy.

"When I questioned him in his own tongue concerning his relatives, he said to me: 'My father killed my grandmother and three other relatives of mine.' When I asked him the reason, he answered, 'He was in a fit of anger.' So you would say that God had sent the Micmacs as administrators of his Justice, to exact vengeance for that crime."

YEAR 1663
LETTER FROM FATHER JEROME LALEMANT TO THE REVEREND FATHER GIAN PAOLO OLIVA, GENERAL OF THE JESUITS, AT ROME. 1663

Reverend Father,

News of the death of Father Rene Menard has at last been brought to us, three whole years after his departure from us. It occurred as follows.

In 1660, in August, he departed from us with about three hundred Indians of various nations, who had come here to trade; and with eight Frenchmen, one of whom was our life-bound servant. After some weeks, they arrived at a settlement of one of those tribes, 1000 miles away from here, in which they spent the winter.

During that time, as the father sees that He advanced very little, he turned his attention to another nation, not so distant from that kingdom. Their camp was about 250 miles away from the father's winter camp. The good father therefore made ready to visit these, With one of Our Frenchmen, and some Indians as guides for the Way; but when these, after two days, saw that our people advanced at a slower pace, and that there Was danger that the provisions should fail on the journey, they forsook our people and hurried to the appointed place. Our people, proceeding alone at their own pace, after some days of great fatigue, wandered from the right way. In that error, while the Father's companion goes ahead to reconnoiter some path, -- the father being first warned not to leave the bank of the river which they had reached, -- the father appeared no more. His companion could not trace his footprints, although he sought the Father everywhere, and uttered loud shouts, even firing shots from a gun.

The matter being desperate, that good Companion, while seeking for the way which led to the desired village, fortunately encountered some natives in boats, who showed him the way. When he arrived there, he left nothing undone that he might obtain traveling Companions for diligently seeking the Father; but in vain. A certain man, however, was at last found who said that he had seen that Father lying dead beside a lake; but he would neither offer himself, even for a great sum, as a guide, nor yet would he point out in what region that place was.

There was a rumor, and Suspicion, that the good father had been killed by this Indian; further, some Spoils of the father were seen about him. These were either inducements for the murder, as in the case of Father Noel Chabanel, some years before, or were taken from him after he had been killed.

In the colony of Montreal, which comes first as one descends from those remote nations, we no longer have a residence; so secular Priests have occupied it. However, Father Joseph Marie Chaumonot has spent a whole Mission year there, especially at the suggestion of the Bishop and the Governor of the People, -- to the approval of all the orders of priests, notably of those Secular ones. To the same place, Father Simon Le Moyne went, not long ago, to await an opportunity for returning to the Iroquois -- not to those from whom he returned to us when bringing back the captives Last year, but to others, by whom he is expressly sought.

Descending from there, we encounter the residence of Three Rivers, and that of Cape Saint Magdaleine, only the breadth of Three Rivers intervening. At Three Rivers, Father Francois Le Mercier exercised the Parochial offices. At Cape Saint Magdaleine, we have Neophytes and Christian trainees grouped under one head, over whom two of ours preside, and at the same time administer the parish Of the Colony of Frenchmen, which increases there from day to day. Many expenses had to be incurred by us, for gathering and settling men in this way at one place; but only therefore can we look for the result at which we aim on behalf of the Indians.

Next comes the residence of Sillery, the first and principal settlement of the new Christians; at that post two of our Jesuits are in charge, who at the same time administer the parish of a notable part of the adjacent Colony of the French.

Finally, Quebec is reached, which is the principal settlement both of Our Jesuits and of the French; in it, our Jesuits perform all the offices of the Jesuits, and are a help to the priests, especially to the Bishop; to the nuns, to the boys who are students, -- and so, to men of every sort. At home and abroad, all things are at peace, as far as we are concerned.

The whole region was shaken at one and the same time by a violent earthquake, on the 5th day of February -- not continuous, but intermittent; now more, now less violent. There was a wonderful commotion of minds at the start, and conversions, both among the French and the natives; but Conversions so transitory that an increase rather than a decrease of this scourge was desired by many.

Jerome Lalemant.

At Quebec, in New France, August 18, 1663.

NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1662 AND 1663. TO THE REVEREND FATHER ANDRE CASTILLON, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS IN THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

Everything is going on fairly well here, although we are in greater fear than ever. The Iroquois, until now invincible, have met with defeat on all sides at the hands of the Indian Nations allied to us, and of our Christian Algonquins, who have been victorious. If the King send us, by the next sailing, the aid which he has had the goodness to promise us, to carry the fear and dread of the French arms into the country of the Iroquois, that aid will be the salvation of all those countries.

An earthquake, extending over a region more than 500 miles in length and 250 miles in width, -- making 125,000 miles in all -- has shaken the whole country, and caused us to witness some tremendous transformations. Mountains were swallowed up; Forests were changed into great Lakes; Rivers disappeared; Rocks were split, and their fragments hurled to the tops of the tallest trees; thunders rumbled beneath our feet in the womb of the earth, which belched forth flames; sad and terror inspiring voices were heard; white Whales and Porpoises bellowed in the waters; all the Elements seemed armed against us, and threatened us with the direst disaster. But so benign was God's protection over us that not a person lost his life or even his earthly possessions.

Of twelve Jesuits who have ended their lives in Canada, ten were butchered and burned by the Iroquois, or died in the snow when on their way to win souls. This year we have learned of a similar death of one of our old Missionaries, Father Rene Menard, who had penetrated 1250 miles into the interior. We need Missionaries to enter into the labors Of those Who have met with such happy death, and we ask you for them.

Quebec, this 4th of September, 1663.

Jerome Lalemant.

NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1662 TO THE SUMMER OF 1663.

THREE SUNS AND OTHER AERIAL PHENOMENA, WHICH APPEARED IN NEW FRANCE

Over Quebec we saw a great Ball of fire, which illumined the night almost with the splendor of day. This same Meteor appeared over Montreal with a noise like that of Cannon or Thunder; and after traveling 7 miles in the air, it finally vanished behind the great mountain whose name that Island bears.

But what seemed to us most extraordinary was the appearance of three Suns. Toward eight o'clock in the morning, on a beautiful day last Winter, a light and almost imperceptible mist arose from our great river, and, when struck by the Sun's first rays, became transparent, -- retaining, however, sufficient substance to bear the two Images cast upon it by that Luminary. These three Suns were almost in a straight line, apparently several yards distant from one another, the real one in the middle, and the others, one on each side. All three were crowned by a Rainbow, the colors of which were not definitely fixed; it now appeared Iris-hued, and now of a luminous white, as if an exceedingly strong light had been at a short distance underneath.

This spectacle was of almost two hours' duration upon its first appearance, on the seventh of January, 1663; while upon its second, on the 14th of the same month, it did not last so long, but only until, the Rainbow hues gradually fading away, the two Suns at the sides also vanished, leaving the central one victorious.

We here record the Solar eclipse which occurred at Quebec on the first day of September, 1663, and which, being ascertained to be quite eleven digits across in the observation, taken with great exactness, rendered our forests pale, somber, and gloomy. It began at twenty-four minutes and forty-two seconds past one in the Afternoon, and ended at fifty-two minutes and forty-four seconds past three.

UNIVERSAL EARTHQUAKE IN CANADA, AND ITS MARVELOUS EFFECTS.

ON the fifth of February, 1663, toward half past five in the evening, a loud roaring was heard at the same time throughout the length and breadth of Canada. This noise, which gave one the impression that the house was on fire, made all rush outdoors to escape so unexpected a fire; but, instead of smoke and flames, people were surprised to see the Walls tottering, and all the stones in motion, as if they had been detached. Roofs seemed to bend down in one direction, and then back again in the other; Bells rang of their own accord; beams, joists, and boards creaked; and the earth leaped up, and made the palisade stakes dance in a way that would have seemed impossible, had we not witnessed it in different places.

Then all left their houses, animals took flight, children cried in the streets, and men and women, seized with terror, did not know where to take refuge, -- expecting every moment to be either overwhelmed under the ruins of the houses, or swallowed up in some abyss that was to open beneath their feet. Some knelt in the snow and cried for mercy, while others passed the rest of the night in prayer; for the Earthquake continued without ceasing, maintaining a certain swaying motion much like that of Ships at sea, so that some experienced from this tossing the same heaving of the stomach that one suffers on the water. The disturbance was greater in the forests, where there seemed to be a battle between the trees, which crashed against one another, -- not merely their branches, but even, one would have said, their trunks being torn from their places to leap one upon another, with a din and confusion that made our Indians say that all the woods were drunken.

War seemed to be waged even by the Mountains, some of them being uprooted, to be hurled against others, and leaving yawning chasms in the places from where they had sprung. At times, they buried the trees, with which they were covered, deep in the ground up to their topmost branches; and at other times they would plant them, branches downward, which would then take the place of the roots, leaving only a forest of upturned trunks.

During this general wreck on Land, ice of five and six feet in thickness was broken, flying into fragments, and splitting open in various places, from where issued either great clouds of smoke or jets of mud and sand, which ascended to a lofty height in the air. Our springs either ceased to flow or gave forth only sulphurous waters; Rivers either disappeared entirely or were thoroughly defiled, the waters of some becoming yellow and of others red; and our great Saint Lawrence River appeared all whitish as far as the neighborhood of Tadoussac -- a marvel astonishing and fitted to surprise those who know the volume of water carried by this great stream below the Island of Orleans, and how much matter it must have taken to whiten it.

The atmosphere had its disturbances, during those on water and Land; for, beside the roaring which constantly preceded and accompanied the Earthquake, we saw specters and fiery phantoms bearing torches in their hands. Pikes and lances of fire were seen, waving in the air, and burning brands darting down on our houses -- without, however, doing further injury than to spread alarm wherever they were seen. There was even heard what sounded like plaintive and feeble voices in lamentation during the silence of the night; while white Porpoises were heard crying aloud before the Town of Three Rivers -- a unusual occurrence -- and filling the air with a pitiful bellowing. Whether they were real Porpoises, or sea-cows (as some have supposed), so extraordinary a circumstance could have arisen from no common cause.

Word comes from Montreal that, during the Earthquake, fence stakes were plainly seen to jump up and down as if in a dance; of two doors in the same room, one closed itself and the other opened of its own accord; chimneys and housetops bent like tree branches shaken by the wind; on raising the foot in walking, one felt the ground coming up after him and rising in proportion to the height to which he lifted his foot, sometimes giving the sole a quite smart rap; and other similar occurrences, of a highly surprising nature, are reported from that place.

From Three Rivers they wrote the following account: "The first and severest of all the shocks began with a rumbling like that of Thunder, and the houses were shaken like tree tops during a storm, amid a noise that made people think there was a fire crackling in their attics.

"This first shock continued fully half an hour, although its great violence lasted only a scant quarter of an hour. There was not a person who did not think the Earth was about to split open. We further observed that, while this earthquake was almost continuous, still it was not of the same intensity, sometimes resembling the rocking of a great vessel riding gently at Anchor, -- a motion which caused giddiness in many.

Sometimes the disturbance was irregular, and precipitated by various sharp movements -- sometimes of considerable severity, at other times more moderate; but most commonly consisting of a slight quivering motion, which was perceptible to one away from the noise and at rest. According to the report of many of our Frenchmen and Indians, who were eye-witnesses, far up on our river, Three Rivers, 12 or 15 miles from here, the banks bordering the Stream on each side, and formerly of a tremendous height, were leveled -- being removed from their foundations, and uprooted to the water's level. These two mountains, with all their forests, therefore overturned into the River, formed there a mighty dike which forced that stream to change its bed, and to spread over great plains recently discovered. At the same time, however, it undermined all those displaced lands and caused their gradual erosion by the waters of the River, which are still so thick and turbid as to change the color of the whole great Saint Lawrence River. Judge how much soil it must take to keep its waters flowing constantly full of mire every day for nearly three months.

New Lakes are seen where there were none before; certain Mountains are seen no more, having been swallowed up; a number of rapids have been leveled, a number of Rivers have disappeared; the Earth was rent in many places, and it has opened chasms whose depths cannot be sounded; such confusion has been wrought, of woods overturned and swallowed up, that now we see fields of more than 840 acres utterly bare, and as if recently plowed, where a short time ago were only forests."

We learn from Tadoussac that the stress of the Earthquake was just as severe there as elsewhere; that a shower of ashes was seen crossing the stream like a great storm; and that, if one were inclined to follow the river bank all the way from Cap de Tourmente to that point, he would see some marvelous effects of the earthquake. Near the Bay (called St. Paul's) there was a little Mountain, situated on the riverbank and a half mile, or nearly that, in circumference, which was swallowed up; and as if it had only taken a plunge, it came up again from the depths, to be changed into a little Island, and to turn a spot all beset with breakers, as it used to be, into a haven of safety against all kinds of winds. And farther down, near Pointe aux Allouettes, a whole forest became detached from the mainland and slid into the river, where it presents to view great trees, straight and verdant, which sprang into being in the water, over night.

Three circumstances rendered this Earthquake remarkable:

The first was its time of duration, it having continued into August, or for more than six months. The shocks were not always equally severe. In certain districts, as toward the mountains in our rear, the din and the oscillating motion were continuous for a long time; in others as in the region of Tadoussac, the shocks occurred ordinarily two or three times a day, with great force; and we noted that in more elevated places the motion was less than in the level country.

The second circumstance concerns the extent of this Earthquake, which we believe to have been general in all New France; for we learn that it made itself felt from Isle Perce and Gaspe, which are at the mouth of our river, up to Montreal and beyond, as also in new England, Acadia, and other far distant regions. Therefore, knowing as we do that the Earthquake extended over a tract 500 miles in length by 250 miles in width, we have an area of 125,000 square miles, which was all shaken at once, on the same day and at the same moment.

The third circumstance concerns our settlements; for near us we see great clefts that were formed, and a tremendous extent of country utterly wrecked, while we have not lost a child or even a hair of our heads. All around us, we see evidences of overthrow and ruin, and yet we had only some chimneys demolished, while the surrounding Mountains were swallowed up.

GOOD EFFECTS OF THE EARTHQUAKE; AND THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE INDIANS IN THE VICINITY OF QUEBEC.

This Earthquake began on Shrove Monday, at half past five in the evening. From that moment -- a time which commonly introduces the vices of the following day -- every person gave serious attention to the matter of his own salvation. Thus shrove Tuesday was fortunately changed into a Good Friday and also into an Easter. Never were Confessions made which came more from the bottom of the heart, and from feelings of genuine fear of God's judgments. The Holy Lenten season was never passed in greater piety, the Continuance of the Earthquakes causing a continuance in the feelings of contrition and penitence.

Beside the remnants of the Huron Church, we had last Winter in the neighborhood of Quebec between three and four hundred Algonquins. A part of them were formerly Christians and Settlers of Sillery, from where the fear of the Iroquois had driven them, to find a safer sanctuary in the heart of Quebec. The rest were strangers, who had come in part from Acadia, where they had passed three or four years without instruction; and in part from up the Saguenay, the river of Tadoussac, -- fleeing likewise from the common enemy, who, in the preceding year, had carried his ravages even into their country, far distant although it is toward the North. These strangers had never seen any Frenchmen or heard of the Faith, and perhaps never would have heard of it, if a kind providence had not made use of these Iroquois to drive here those whom they prevent us from visiting.

The Devil has raised up against us a domestic Enemy more cruel by far than the public foe. I mean the mania for drinking to excess, which possesses some Indians; and the passion for selling them the drink, which possesses certain Frenchmen. All Indians have, at first, a loathing for our wines; but, having once acquired a taste for them, they seek them with such passion that some strip themselves of everything, and reduce their families to beggary, while others sell even their own children, to obtain the means of gratifying this furious craving. This evil is general in these regions, extending as it does from Gaspe (from where a good priest writes in fitting terms that Christianity is utterly ruined among the Indians, because of drunkenness) as far as the Iroquois.

I will not describe the ills which these disturbances have caused to this infant Church. My ink is not black enough to depict them in their true colors; it would require dragon's gall to express here the bitterness which we have experienced. We tell the whole story in saying that we lose in one month the labors and exertions of ten and of twenty years.

The more self-controlled among our Indians had taken refuge in Sillery, to enjoy the protection of four walls, rather against this Demon than against the Iroquois. Those of Three Rivers found a similar sanctuary in a Fort which we built for them on a Cape named after Sir de la Magdeleine, whose purpose in giving the land was that it should be devoted to the cause of converting the Indians.

VARIOUS IROQUOIS WARS, AND THEIR RESULTS.

LAST year the Mohawks and Oneidas, the most arrogant of the five Iroquois nations, formed an expedition of a hundred men to go and lie in ambush for the Ottawas, who constitute our upper Algonquins, and to fall upon them when engaged in passing some difficult rapid. With this purpose they set out early in the Spring of 1662, depending on their muskets for provisions, and using the Woods which lay in their path as courtyard, kitchen, and lodging-place. The shortest paths are not the best, because they are too much traveled; he who loses his way makes the most successful journey, because one is never lost in these Woods without finding wild animals, which seek a retreat in the remotest forests.

After following the Hunter's calling for a considerable time, they turned into Warriors, seeing that they were approaching the enemy's country. So they began to prowl along the shores of Lake Huron, seeking their prey; and while they were planning to surprise some straggling huntsmen, they were themselves surprised by a band of Ojibwes (for that is what we call the Indians living near Sault Ste. Marie). These Ojibwes, having discovered the enemy, made their approach toward daybreak, with such boldness that, after discharging some muskets and then shooting their arrows, they leaped, hatchet in hand, upon those whom their fire and missiles had spared. The Iroquois, although they are proud and have never yet learned to run away, would have been glad to do so had they not been prevented by the shafts leveled at them from every direction. So only a few escaped to bear such sad news to their country, and to fill their villages with mourning instead of the joyful shouts that usually ring out on the warriors' return. This shows clearly that these people are not invincible when they are attacked with courage.

The three other Iroquois nations had no better success in an expedition undertaken by them against the Susquehannocks, Indians of New Sweden with whom war broke out some years ago. Raising an army of eight hundred men, they embarked on Lake Ontario toward the beginning of last April, and directed their course toward the extremity of that beautiful Lake, to a great river, much like our Saint Lawrence, leading without rapids and without falls to the gates of the Village of Susquehannock. There our warriors arrived, after journeying more than 250 miles on that beautiful River.

Camping in the most advantageous positions, they prepared to make a general assault, planning, as is their habit, to sack the whole village and return home at the earliest moment, loaded with glory and with captives. But they saw that this village was defended on one side by the stream, on whose banks it was situated, and on the opposite side by a double curtain-wall of large trees, flanked by two bastions built in the European manner, and even supplied with some pieces of Artillery.

Surprised at finding defenses so well-planned, the Iroquois abandoned their planned assault, and, after some light skirmishes, resorted to their customary subtlety, to gain by trickery what they could not accomplish by force. Making overtures for a parley, they offered to enter the besieged town to the number of twenty-five, partly to negotiate for peace, as they declared, and partly to buy provisions for their return journey. The gates were opened to them and they went in, but they were immediately seized and made to mount scaffolds where, in sight of their own army, they were burned alive. The Susquehannocks, by therefore declaring war more hotly than ever, made the Iroquois understand that this was merely the prelude to what they were going to do in the Iroquois country; and that the Iroquois had only to go back home as speedily as possible and prepare for a siege, or at least make ready to see their fields laid waste.

The Iroquois, more humiliated by this insult than can be imagined, disbanded and prepared to adopt the defensive -- they who until now had borne their arms in victory through all those regions. But what are they to do? The smallpox, which is the Indians' disease, has wrought sad havoc in their Villages and has carried off many men, besides great numbers of women and children; and as a result, their Villages are nearly deserted, and their fields only half tilled. So there they are, menaced at the same time by three scourges which they have so richly deserved, for the resistance which they have offered to the Faith.

In these extremities, they see no relief from their embarrassment except from the French, who alone can save them by fortifying their Villages and flanking them with Bastions to defend them against the enemy's army if it should come. With this end in view, they prepare a notable Embassy, which is to come with beautiful presents, and invite us to go again and dwell in their territory. They intend to give us the hope of obtaining some of their little girls as hostages, since we have often asked for these to place them with the Ursuline Mothers, to be trained, instructed, and prepared for Baptism under the care of those good Nuns.

The Iroquois were, therefore, arranging the terms of this Embassy, and were ready (as they say) to launch their Canoe, when a fugitive, -- Huron by Nation, but naturalized among the Iroquois, -- escaping from Three Rivers and arriving just as the group was about to start, reported falsely that preparations were in progress at Quebec for a cruel war; that thousands of soldiers had crossed the Sea for the purpose of capturing all the Iroquois Villages, and that the Ambassadors would be murdered, or, at least, sent to France to remain in Captivity the rest of their days. This fugitive had heard something about the relief promised us, and that was what made him speak that way. At this intelligence, alarm seized the Ambassadors; the project was abandoned; and only one man had the courage to come to Quebec, and ascertain the truth of these rumors. We received him as a friend, but regarded him as a Spy, being unable to understand the genuine meaning of his words, so habituated to guile are those people.

We learned that they were grievously afflicted with disease, which persuaded some captive Frenchmen to baptize more than three hundred dying children, and even a number of adults, who -- seeing themselves in a critical condition, and well remembering the teachings received from us when we were in their villages of Onondaga and Cayuga -- asked their captives to endow them with the waters of baptism.

SEVERAL MURDERS COMMITTED AT MONTREAL BY THE IROQUOIS AND THE HURONS.

OUR enemies, being this year engaged elsewhere, have allowed us to till our fields in safety, and to enjoy a sort of foretaste of the quiet which our incomparable Monarch is about to secure for us, to spread beyond the Sea the peace which he has extended in all directions outside the borders of France. Montreal alone has been stained with the blood of Frenchmen, Iroquois, and Hurons.

I begin with the sad calamity that befell some Hurons who had, a short time before, left the enemy's country and taken refuge at Montreal, there to live as Christians. If ever the Iroquois showed notorious deceit, it was in the affair I am about to relate. Last May they appeared on the Hills of Montreal, to the number of seven Mohawks, and asked for a parley. Upon receiving a hearing they proposed the plan of a great Embassy for uniting the Land of the French and that of the Iroquois. This proposition was approved, and three presents were given them as assurance that the Envoys would be welcome, provided they brought with them the rest of the Frenchmen who were still suffering in captivity. This they agreed to do, and, in proof of their sincerity, offered to leave four of their number as hostages, while the three others would go as speedily as possible to the Elders and hurry forward the Embassy. This solution meeting with approval, the four new guests were received with all possible ceremony and, for the sake of lodging them the more comfortably, were taken to the Hurons' Cabin. There ensued nothing but feasting and singing, dancing, and exchanging of presents; no sign of rejoicing was forgotten.

When evening came, the bell for prayers rang as usual for the Indians. The Iroquois attended prayers, and gave one of our Fathers great cause for consolation at seeing such an addition to his little flock. All the rest of the evening was passed in familiar communication, good cheer, and all the intimacy to be desired in the most cordial friendships. After all the rejoicing customary on such occasions, everyone retired to take a little repose. There were in the Hurons' Cabin only a man, two women, a young lad, and three girls, all the others having gone hunting some time before. Toward midnight, those four treacherous rogues arose and made a vigorous assault with their hatchets on these poor sleeping people, dyeing the whole Cabin with blood. After braining the man, they left the two women for dead, covered as they were with wounds, and carried away the three little girls as captives, the young lad having happily escaped the clutches of those Barbarians.

All this did not occur without some noise, and the French hurried to the spot from all directions, but too late. The fugitives, after using the darkness of the night to conceal their deceit, used it still further to cover their flight. A pitiful spectacle was discovered in the Cabin -- three bodies weltering in their own blood and frightfully disfigured. Upon approaching, it was found that one of the two women named Helene, had a little life remaining. She had done in the country of the Iroquois what the good Tibias did among the Assyrians. She aided the poor and the Captive, poor and captive although she herself was; she buried the dead, and, as often occurred in the primitive Church, attended the Captive Christians when they were being burned. She shrank not from mounting the scaffolds to encourage the victims to stand firm in the Faith; or from approaching those half-burned bodies, to suggest to the victims short and fervent prayers at the height of their agony, -- mingling with the Executioners for the purpose of encouraging the sufferers to die as Christians. Her greatest affliction in the misfortune that had just befallen her was not her own condition, mutilated with wounds and dripping with her own blood as she was, but the loss of her poor daughters who had been carried away.

Seeing themselves so badly used by their enemies, the Hurons then sought an opportunity to exact satisfaction for such deceit. The following occasion was offered. On the twenty-sixth of May, there touched at Montreal a Canoe manned by five Onondaga Iroquois, one of whom, being ill, asked to be admitted to the Hospital. Those Barbarians are well aware that at Quebec and Montreal there are holy Maidens (for so they call the Nuns); and, as they have become known far and wide through our forests, winning the hearts even of barbarians by such deeds of charity, these Iroquois were compelled to come and put their patient in such good hands. He was, therefore, received with kindness, and so well cared for that, at the end of a week, he was placed on his feet, and ready to embark with his companions.

But the Hurons who were then at Montreal, and whose wounds had not yet healed, were of the opinion, adopting the view of the French themselves, that these Iroquois were only Spies, and thought it was time to wash away the blood of their relatives with the blood of these Iroquois. Accordingly they allowed them to embark and, awaiting them at a point of land near which they were to pass, fired a volley at them, killing one man on the spot and carrying off his scalp, the usual Trophy and sign of victory. The others, dangerously wounded, were rescued from their hands by the French; and as one was in danger of dying, he was instructed by the Father then at Montreal.

It remains to be seen by what course of events the French were made to share the bloodshed, as well as the Hurons and the Iroquois. On the day before Pentecost, a Band of forty Warriors, partly Mohawks and partly Oneidas, approaching our fields while some farmers were at work there, made a sudden sally against them. Then, according to their custom, filling the air with fearful yells to terrify those whom they were attacking, they discharged their muskets and fell upon two Frenchmen, who were more engrossed in their work than observant of their defense. These they captured and bound, and, as if they had made some great conquest, proceeded homeward in great glee over their Prey, upon whom they were about to sate their cruelty and vent their wrath, as upon poor victims destined for the flames.

One of these two Frenchmen, who had an eye put out in this engagement, offered up a prayer. The prayer had its effect, for he found himself freed from all fear; it did not seem to him that he was going to the stake, so willingly did he follow his Executioners. Every evening, when he was stretched out and bound by his feet, arms, and neck, to stakes driven into the ground, he submitted to this wooden horse as he would have laid himself on his bed; and offering his hands and feet to be bound.

He was drawing ever nearer to the enemy's country, and consequently nearer to death. His bonds were not lessened in number, his guards watched over him unceasingly, and the wound in his blinded eye, not having been dressed for a week, became loaded with pus, and threatened him with gangrene. The victors -- wishing to reap as soon as possible the fruits of their victory, in burning their Captives at their ease -- parted company to take the shortest routes, the Mohawks proceeding directly to their country, and the Oneidas to their own country, after dividing their two prisoners. The one of whom I am speaking fell to the Mohawks, who, being far greater in number than the others, gave our poor man all the less opportunity to escape; nor did he think of attempting it, seeing that it was utterly impossible. The following Chapter will show us the issue of the affair.

VICTORY OF THE ALGONQUINS OVER THE IROQUOIS, AND THE DELIVERANCE OF A FRENCH CAPTIVE.

The Algonquins living at Sillery resolved toward spring to go and wage petty warfare. They were only forty, but their courage exceeded their number. Arriving at the Richelieu Islands without discovering any foe, they entered the River of the same name and directed their course to Lake Champlain, where they lay in ambush. Scarcely had they arrived there when Providence ordered matters so reasonably that those victors who had just dealt their blow at Montreal and were conducting our Poor Frenchman in triumph, were discovered by our Algonquins, who followed them with their eyes and noted their camping spot. When evening came, two of the boldest drew near the place to ascertain the enemy's number, position, and plans, and, after gaining all the information necessary, returned with the least possible delay to make their report.

Our Christian soldiers, disembarking under cover of the night, stealthily advanced and surrounded the place where the enemy were sleeping, holding themselves in readiness to attack them at the first dawn of day. But as it is difficult to walk in the nighttime without making a noise by hitting some branch, one of the Iroquois chiefs was awakened in some way or other. He was a brave man named Garistatsia ["the Iron"], vigilant and renowned for his exploits performed against us and against our Indians. He gave the alarm to his companions, who are so nimble on such occasions that they were armed and ready to fight as soon as their assailants. Our Algonquins, well cognizant of this, merely discharged their muskets once, then threw them down, and hatchet or javelin in hand, and entirely naked, to avoid the encumbrance of their clothing -- charged furiously upon the enemy, striking to right and left, and making blood flow on every side. The shades of night, not yet entirely dispelled, increased the horror of the conflict, while the fearful yells uttered on each side, together with the groans of the dying, made the whole forest resound with tones that were mournful. The chief of the Algonquins distinguished himself by a feat of valor by no means common. He is called Gahronho, and it is due to his bravery that his name be not forgotten. Perceiving that the leader of the Iroquois was this Garistatsia, -- or, in French, le Fer, -- so famous and renowned by the many disasters that have often made us mingle our tears with our blood, he made straight at him, aspiring to perform no less a feat than the conquest of this Conqueror. Pursuing him with eye and foot in the fray, in which he was showing his customary prowess, he gained his side and, seizing him with one hand by his thick growth of hair, decided to make him surrender.

The Iroquois -- too proud, and until now knowing only how to make captives, and not how to be captured himself -- offered an arrogant resistance, and, as he was stout and brave, threw himself in turn upon his adversary's hair. But just as he was on the point of dealing him the death-blow, he was prevented by a hatchet-stroke on the head, delivered by the Algonquin with such force that Garistatsia fell to the ground, where his courage forbade him to acknowledge himself vanquished, and he yielded the victory only after losing his life.

The Leader fallen, those Iroquois who were left thought only of escape, fleeing with such speed that one of their number ran almost faster than feet could carry him, being pierced through and through with a javelin which an Algonquin had left sticking in his side.

While all this was occurring, our poor Frenchman, a witness to this Tragedy, remained by good luck with his feet and hands fastened to the ground, only waiting for the final death-blow; and he was on the point of receiving it from the hand of one of the victors, who was striking blindly at everyone he met, when the prisoner called out to him, "I am a Frenchman." At these words there was a pause, and he was recognized and speedily set free, so such precious time, in which there were no blows wasted, might not be lost. Indeed, with such haste were his bonds severed that he nearly had a leg cut off; but he escaped with a good fright and, sinking on his knees on the ground, reeking as it was with the enemy's blood, thanked his Deliverer for rescuing him from the flames to which he was about to be delivered. Ever since then, he has been unfailing in gratitude for this favor; for he was a thousand times on the point of being killed in that attack by the hail of bullets which whistled about his ears and prostrated those around him, he alone remaining alive amid so many dead.

Let us acknowledge also the same protection extended to the victors, who received the enemy's fire and were in the midst of their hatchets and swords without a single man of their number suffering the slightest injury.

TORTURE OF TWO IROQUOIS CAPTURED BY THE ALGONQUINS.

THE engagement of which I have just spoken was not of long duration; for so successful was the first onslaught of the Algonquins that ten of the Enemy remained dead on the spot, while three were taken alive, and the rest escaped, completely covered with wounds.

After this defeat, the victors retraced their steps and proceeded in great triumph to Sillery, to return thanks to Heaven that they had been stained only with the enemy's blood in this victory. They made their captives enter the village; but instead of the shower of blows with which prisoners are usually received, instead of the cutting off of fingers, the pulling out of tendons, and other "caresses," -- for so they call the prisoner's first torments, before he is made to suffer by fire, -- instead of all these usual cruelties, they conducted the captives into the Chapel, invited them to prayers, and urged them to receive Baptism. Finally, they put them in the charge of one of our Fathers, who knew their language, to be instructed and prepared for the Sacrament of Baptism before dying. That was perhaps one of the most Heroic acts possible on the part of Indians; for anyone knowing the intensity of the natural hostility (I may even say fury) existing between these two Nations, the Algonquin and the Iroquois, can judge how the Faith has succeeded in gaining such power over these Indians' minds.

The Hurons, although feeling less hatred toward the Iroquois, since they speak almost the same tongue, yet were so bitter against them at the time of first receiving our teachings that whenever they captured any of these foes, and we attempted to prepare the Iroquois to receive baptism in the midst of the flames, they would exclaim: "Would you have those people go with us to Paradise? How could we live there in peace? Do you imagine you can make the soul of a Huron agree with that of an Iroquois?" Poor ignorant creatures that they then were, not yet knowing that God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, Iroquois and Huron, Algonquin and Frenchman. This lesson our victors have learned since then, and they put it in Practice respecting their prisoners.

The Father retired with the prisoners and instructed them; they received his teachings with Open hearts, and became, after three days and three nights, sufficiently versed and imbued with a holy impatience for baptism.

The sentiments of our Algonquins were not unlike those of a Saint Paulinus, as some were bent on sacrificing themselves for the conversion of these poor Captives; while the rest stood godfathers to them at their Baptism -- a beautiful ceremony, to see an Algonquin present an Iroquois at the Sacred Font.

These poor prisoners did not know what to think of such marvels; they were bewildered, and their last songs, which they call death-songs, were only upon the life Everlasting. Reasons of State condemned them to death, but Christian piety exempted them from the stake -- two being dispatched with the musket; while the third proved to be the son of one of our good Hurons here. Captured in his infancy by the Mohawks, he had been reared in bondage until he was between fifteen and twenty years old. His good fortune was the more wonderful that he was, at the same time, freed from captivity among the Iroquois, and also from imprisonment at the hands of the Algonquins -- escaping the sword in the engagement, and the flames after his capture; and happily finding here his father and his life, his life granted him on consideration of this relationship.

Those of our number who are made prisoners by our foes are not treated in this manner, but they are none the less fortunate; for they undergo with stout hearts their Purgatory in the flames of the Iroquois. This we learned recently regarding three Hurons who were burned at the Mohawk nation a short time ago, and who made a Sanctuary of their fires, uttering amid the flames only these beautiful words, I am going to Heaven, -- which they chanted with such enthusiasm as to charm even their executioners.

THE MISSION TO THE OTTAWAS, AND THE SAINTLY DEATH OF FATHER RENE MENARD, AS WELL AS THAT OF HIS COMPANION.

WE are going to witness the lonely death, in the depths of the woods, 1250 miles from Quebec, of a poor Missionary worn out with Apostolic labors, and full of years and infirmities. He was exhausted by an arduous and toilsome journey; all dripping with sweat and blood; exposed to rapacious animals, hunger, and every hardship. I refer to Father Rene Menard, who for more than twenty years labored in those rude Missions where -- losing his way in the woods, while going in search of the lost sheep, -- he finished his Apostleship with the loss of his strength, his health, and his life.

Following is the meager information we have obtained in the matter, gleaned from a Letter, dated July 26, 1663, which reached us from Montreal, "Yesterday God brought us thirty-five Canoes manned by Ottawas, with whom returned seven Frenchmen of the nine who had gone away. The two others -- Father Rene Menard and his faithful Companion, Jean Guerin by name -- have departed elsewhere, to meet each other again sooner than the rest, in the assured harbor of our common Fatherland. The Father died two years ago, and Jean Guerin about ten months ago.

"The poor Father and the eight Frenchmen, his Companions, setting out from Three Rivers on the 28th of August, 1660 with the Ottawas, reached the Ottawa's country on the 15th of October, after enduring unspeakable hardships, ill treatment from their Boatmen, who were utterly inhuman, and an extreme scantiness of provisions. As a result, the Father could scarcely drag himself along, for he was of a delicate constitution and spent with toil; but, as a man can still go a good distance after growing weary, he had spirit enough left to get to his hosts' Quarters. A man known as le Brochet ["the Pike"], the head of this Family, -- proud, extremely vicious, and possessing four or five wives, -- treated the Poor Father badly, and finally forced him to leave and make himself a hut out of fir branches. What an abode during the rigors of Winter, which are almost unbearable in those regions!

"The food was scarcely better, as they commonly had for their only dish one paltry fish, cooked in clear water and to be divided among the four or five of their group; and this, too, was a charitable offering made by the Indians, one of the Frenchmen awaiting, at the water's edge, the return of the fishermen's Canoes, as poor beggars wait for charity at Church doors. A kind of moss growing on the rocks often served them in place of a good meal. They would put a handful of it into their kettle, which would thicken the water ever so little, forming a kind of foam or slime, like that of snails, and feeding their imaginations more than their bodies. Fish bones, which are carefully saved as long as fish are found in plenty, also served to beguile their hunger in time of need. There was nothing, even to pounded bones, which those poor starvelings did not turn to some account. Many kinds of wood furnished them food. The bark of the Oak, Birch, Linden or white-wood, and that of other trees, when well cooked and pounded, and then put into the water in which fish had been boiled, or else mixed with fish oil, made them some excellent stews. They ate acorns with more relish and greater pleasure than attend the eating of chestnuts in Europe; yet even of those they did not have their fill. Thus passed the first Winter.

"In the Spring and Summer, thanks to some little game, they eked out food with less difficulty, killing from time to time Ducks, Canadian geese, or Pigeons, which furnished them delightful banquets; while Raspberries and other similar small fruits served them as choice refreshments. Corn and bread are entirely unknown in those countries.

"When the second Winter came, the Frenchmen, having observed how the Indians carried on their fishing, decided to imitate them, -- deeming hunger still harder to bear than the arduous labor and risks attending such fishing. It was a sight to arouse pity, to see poor Frenchmen in a Canoe, amid rain and snow, borne by whirlwinds on those great Lakes, which often show waves as high as those of the Sea. The men frequently found their hands and feet frozen upon their return, while occasionally they were overtaken by so thick a fall of powdery snow, driven against them by a violent wind, that the one steering the Canoe could not see his companion in the bow. How then gain the port? As often as they reached land, their doing so seemed to be a little miracle. Whenever their fishing was successful, they laid by a little store, which they smoked and used for provision when the fishing was over, or the season no longer permitted fishing.

"There is in that country a certain plant, four feet in height, which grows in marshy places. A little before it ears, the Indians go in their Canoes and bind the stalks of these plants in clusters, which they separate from one another by as much space as is needed for the passage of a Canoe when they return to gather the grain. Harvest time having come, they guide their Canoes through the little alleys which they have opened across this grain field, and bending down the clustered masses over their boats, strip them of their grain. As often as a Canoe is full, they go and empty it on the shore into a ditch dug at the water's edge. Then they tread the grain and stir it about long enough to free it entirely Of hulls; after which they dry it, and finally put it into bark chests for keeping, This grain much resembles Oats, when it is raw; but, on being cooked in water, it swells more than any European grain.

"If these poor Frenchmen were almost destitute of all bodily refreshment, they were, in compensation, comforted by Heaven's favors. As long as the Father was alive, they had mass every day, and Confessed and received Communion about once a week. After the Father's death, what kept them in the integrity of their faith and of their good morals was the harmony and perfect understanding in which they always lived.

"Regarding the Father's death, I have learned the following. While he was wintering with the Ottawa, he began a Church among those Indians. So it seemed to be composed only of the Pre-destined, most of whom were the little dying children whom he had to baptize by stealth, because their relatives hid them whenever he visited the Cabins, being under the old superstition of the Hurons that Baptism made them die.

"Except for a few, the Father found nothing but opposition to the Faith among those Barbarians, owing to their great brutishness and infamous Polygamy. His small hope of converting these people, immersed as they are in all sorts of vice, made him decide to undertake a fresh journey of 250 miles, for the sake of giving instruction to a Nation of poor Hurons whom the Iroquois caused to flee to the end of that part of the world. Among those Hurons there were many old-time Christians, who eagerly asked for the Father, and promised him that, upon his arrival in their country, all the rest of their Countrymen would embrace the Faith. But before setting out for that country, so far away, the Father asked three young Frenchmen of his Company to go first and reconnoiter the situation, for the purpose of giving presents to the elders, and assuring them for him that he would go and instruct them as soon as they sent him an escort.

"These three Frenchmen, after many hardships, finally reached this poor Nation in its death agony, and entering the people's Cabins, found nothing but skeletons, in such a state of weakness as to be unable to move or stand. Therefore they deemed it inexpedient to offer the presents they had brought from the Father, seeing no likelihood of his going to visit them soon without running the risk of dying of hunger in a few days with them, since they could not hold out any longer, and were still separated by a long interval from the harvesting of their Indian corn, of which they had made but a small planting. So they quickly dispatched their business with these poor starvelings, and took leave of them with the promise that it should not be the Father's fault if they were not instructed. They started on their return journey, which was more arduous, for they were compelled to ascend the River in coming back, but in going they had descended it. Had they not been young, and accustomed to fatigue, they never would have reached their destination. A good Huron who accompanied them was fairly forced to turn back, for fear of starving to death on the way. To increase their difficulties, the Canoe in which they had come was stolen from them; and had they not formerly, when they were with us in the country of the Iroquois, learned to make Canoes in the Iroquois fashion -- and they are easily made from large pieces of bark in almost any season, -- they would have been undone. Having completed one in a day, they embarked toward the end of May. Some Turtles which they found on the edges of Lakes and Rivers, together with some Catfish which they caught with a line, served them for food during the two weeks of their return journey to their starting point.

"They at once told the Father how little likely it was that a poor Old man, broken in health, feeble and without provisions, as he was, could undertake such a journey. But it was vain for them to enumerate and put before his eyes the difficulties of the route, whether by land or by water -- the great number of rapids, waterfalls, and long portages; the precipices to be passed, and the rocks over which one must clamber; and the arid tracts where nothing can be found to eat. All that failed to daunt him, and he had but one reply to give those good sons: 'God calls me there, and I must go, although it should cost me my life.'

"Accordingly, the resolution was taken to go in quest of those poor stray sheep. Some Hurons, who had come to trade with the Ottawas, offered the Father their services as escort. Delighted at this opportunity, he loaded them with some wearing apparel and chose one of the Frenchmen, who was an Armorer, to accompany him; and, for provision, all that he took was a bag of dried Sturgeon and a little smoked meat, which he had for a long time been saving for this intended journey.

"So he started on the 13th of June, 1661, nine months after his arrival in the Ottawas' country. But the poor Hurons, lightly laden although they were, soon lost courage, their strength failing them for lack of food. They left the Father, telling him that they were going in all haste to their village to notify the elders that he was on the way, and to take measures for having some strong young men sent out to fetch him. The Father waited near a Lake for about two weeks in expectation of this aid; but as his provisions were falling short, he decided to set out with his Companion, making use of a little Canoe which he had found in the bushes. They embarked with their little bundles.

"Finally, about the 10th of August, the poor Father, while following his Companion, went astray, mistaking some woods or rocks for others. At the end of a somewhat arduous portage past a rapid, his companion looked behind to see if he were following; he searched for him, called to him, and fired as many as five musket-shots to guide him back into the right path; but in vain. Therefore he decided to push forward as rapidly as possible to the Huron village, which he thought to be near, to hire some men, at whatever price, to go in search of the Father. But unfortunately he himself lost his way, passing by the Village without knowing it. He was, however, more fortunate after going astray; he met an Indian who set him right, and led him to the village; but he did not arrive there until two days after the Father had lost his way. And then what was a poor man to do who did not know one word of the Huron tongue? Still, as charity and necessity are not without eloquence, he managed so well with gestures and tears as to make the people understand that the Father was lost. He promised a young man various French wares as an inducement to go and search for him, which this fellow at first feigned to do, and started out; but scarcely had two hours elapsed when the young man was back again, calling out: 'To arms, to arms! I have just met the enemy.' At this cry, the pity before felt for the Father vanished, as well as the inclination to go and search for him.

"And so he was left utterly abandoned in his extremity, to bear with constancy the lack of all human aid -- even though there had been nothing worse to endure than the stings of Mosquitoes. These are formidably numerous in those regions, and so unbearable that the three Frenchmen who made the journey declare there is no other way to ward them off than to run without stopping; and it was even necessary for the two others to busy themselves driving away those little creatures whenever any of them wished to drink, for otherwise he could not have done so. Thus the poor Father, stretched flat on the ground, or perhaps on some rock, remained exposed to all the stings of those little Tyrants, and suffered that cruel torture. While he lingered alive, hunger and the other hardships drained his strength, and made that blessed soul leave its body, and go to enjoy the fruits of so many labors undergone by him for the Conversion of the Indians.

"As for his body, the Frenchman who had accompanied him did what he could to persuade the Indians to go and search for it, but in vain. Nor can we determine precisely the time or the day of his death. His traveling companion thinks it was near the Assumption of the Virgin, as he says the Father had with him a piece of smoked flesh about as long and as wide as one's hand, which could have kept him alive two or three days. Some time afterward, an Indian found the Father's bag, but would not admit having found his body, fearing in case he should be accused of killing him -- an accusation perhaps only too well founded, since those Barbarians do not hesitate to cut a man's throat when they meet him alone in the woods, hoping to capture some booty. And, as a matter of fact, there have been seen in a Cabin the remnants of some furnishings used in his Chapel."

Whatever may have been the nature of his death, we are certain that it was God's will to use it as a means for crowning a life Of fifty-seven years, most of which he spent in the Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois Missions, having fitted himself by a labor of holy perseverance to teach those three different peoples in their three several languages.

His courage went side by side with his fervor. Without trembling, he has seen Iroquois fall upon him, knife in hand, to cut his throat, when he was laboring for their conversion in the Village of Cayuga. Others, at the same place, raised their hatchets against him to split his head; but he was not frightened. He also bore with a cheerful countenance the insults of children who hooted at him in the streets, and ran after him as after a madman. But that brave Father brought forth an Iroquois Church, which he built up in a short time with a membership of more than four hundred Christians; and he was giving hope of soon converting the whole Village, when obedience checked him midway in his course. That was when we were forced to leave the Iroquois Missions because of the fresh murders that those traitors were committing in our settlements.

The Father's trusty companion, Jean Guerin, for upward of 20 years one of our servants, was a man of God, having devoted himself to us for the purpose of aiding in the conversion of the Indians. Indeed, after attending our Fathers in almost all parts of Canada and in all our Missions, -- both among the Iroquois and among the Hurons, Abenakis, and Algonquins, amid great dangers and severe hardships, -- finally, having been assigned as companion to Father Menard in this last journey, he met his death, following his good Father to Heaven after following him so far on earth. For as soon as he learned of his death, he thought of nothing but quitting the Ottawas among whom he had been left, to go in search of the Father's body; but God had other plans for him and constituted him the Missionary-in-chief of that poor Church, which could not enjoy its Pastor's ministrations. For he there Conferred Baptism on more than two hundred children, whom he soon afterward sent to Heaven.

After devoting one Winter to these good works, he set out on a journey with some Frenchmen; and the rain forced them to land, and make a house of their Canoe, by inverting it over them. While they crouched beneath it, one of them moved his musket so that the spring relaxed, causing this good Brother to be shot directly in the left side. Such is the account of those Frenchmen who reported the accident. He fell stark dead at the shot, only uttering the name of Jesus, with which he expired.

So reserved was he with women that he would not look them in the face. When he tried to persuade his Companions to follow his example, they used to answer him laughingly, "If we all did as you do, we would soon be completely plundered of the little we possess," -- wishing to reproach him with having let the Indian women rob him of many things because of his unwillingness to look at them. And it has happened, among the Iroquois, that when he went hunting and we asked women, coming from the place where he had gone, if they had not seen him, they would say, "We saw him, but he did not see us; for he does not look at us when he meets us."

Once, he offered himself as public Executioner in Canada, so he could become an object of abhorrence to everyone by reason of that office. And one thing prevented him from pressing for admission to our Jesuits -- namely, the fear alone, as he said, in case the Cassock he would wear might cause him to be esteemed more highly than he deserved.

In another Letter, the Father speaks in the following manner: "Here we are at Montreal, on the eve of setting out to meet the Iroquois. He does not equal us in number; but those Indians of ours from above are so little used to fighting that fifty Iroquois are sufficient to put three hundred of them to flight. If they defeat us or carry us away, we shall but fulfill the plans of God."

JOURNEY FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE UP TO MONTREAL.

Here is the account of a journey performed by a person of merit to reconnoiter the country of New France, from the entrance of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence up to Montreal. Following is what the traveler writes.

"After passing the Gulf, we come to an Island which is noteworthy both for its size -- being at least 75 miles in circumference -- and for the great number of Bears which it maintains, which would be a source of wealth to this country were it able to turn them to account. For their skins are salable, and their fat and oil are of value, -- not to mention their flesh, which is of excellent flavor. This Island has a River of considerable size, on the banks of which, are found dead codfish, heaped up in hillocks which were formed of the bones of this fish, the waves of the River casting them up there when it is stormy.

"All those waters so abound in Codfish, which are caught there in every season of the year, that Ships are quickly filled with them -- their number being so vast that when a line is cast into the water to the depth of 100, 120, or 160 yards, the fisherman often feels the fish swallowing the hook on the instant, together with its bait, which is commonly nothing but a bit of the entrails of the Cod itself. It is so greedy that it snaps at anything indifferently, be it but a piece of linen, cloth, or leather stuck on the hook for bait. The Settlers of Canada will be able, in its season, to realize great wealth from this fishery, which is adapted to their convenience.

"Above the Gulf, the River narrows; still it remains no less than 50 miles wide, up to a port 200 miles away from this Island. Up to that point, the Stream is too deep for anchorage; but beyond this harbor anchor may be cast in a number of places, which can be converted into so many convenient Seaports. The River, narrowing still more, is not over 30 miles wide as far as Isle aux Alouettes -- therefore named because it abounds in these birds, whose numbers are so astounding that with a single musket-shot sometimes as many as two or three hundred of them, and even more, are killed.

"The river banks in these districts are occasionally seen covered, to the depth of about a foot, with small fish called Smelt -- chiefly when there is a high wind, which therefore drives them ashore with the waves.

"Thus far, the water is salt, and is inhabited by the same fishes and sea-monsters that are found in the Ocean, although the Ocean is 400 miles away. But, 100 miles above this Island, the Stream becomes as drinkable and clear as spring water; nor does it lose this clearness from that place to its source, which is only known by conjecture, although search has been made for it to the distance of 1250 miles from Quebec.

"I would never have done if I attempted to enumerate the Islands to be found here, and to describe the beauty of their location and the fertility of their soil. The Isle aux Coudres, the Isle aux Oyes, and the Isle of Orleans deserve mention. Elk are found on the first named, often in great abundance. The second is frequented in their season by great numbers of geese, ducks, and bustards, so that the Island, which is flat and grass covered like a prairie, appears to be quite overrun with them. The neighboring districts constantly resound with the cries of these birds, except in time of earthquakes, such as were experienced here this year; for then, as I was informed by some Hunters, the birds preserved a wonderful silence.

"The Isle of Orleans is remarkable for its size, being more than 37 miles in circumference. It is rich in grain, all kinds of which are raised there so easily that the farmer scarcely does anything but scratch the ground; and it never fails to yield him all that he wishes, continuing to do so for fourteen or fifteen years uninterruptedly, without lying fallow. This Island is only 5 short miles below Quebec.

"It was an interesting journey for us to ascend the River from Cap de Tourmente to Quebec, noting on either hand, for the distance of 20 miles, the Farms and houses of the country, planted by our French all along these shores -- on the right the estates of Beaupre, Beauport, and Notre-Dame des Anges; and on the left this fair Isle of Orleans, the peopling of which from one end to the other continues successfully.

"We were still more pleased at sight of the lower and upper towns of Quebec, seeing from a distance Churches and Monasteries that had been built, and a Fortress perched upon a rock and commanding the entire River.

"Passing onward, we saw on the left the inhabitants of the caste de Lauson, and on the right those of the caste Saint Genevieve, as well as the Fortresses of Saint Jean and Saint Xavier farther inland; we also saw Sillery and all the settlement of the caste du Cap-Rouge, on the banks of the great River.

"About 75 miles above Quebec, the inhabitants of Cap de la Magdeleine ran out of their houses, which are scattered over more than 2 miles along that entire shore, -- coming to meet us, and inviting us to land, so they could feed us in rustic fashion.

"But we were going down to the Town of Three Rivers, only 2 miles away from this Cape. There we were received with as much plenty, and the tables to which we were invited were nearly as well laid and furnished, as is possible in many parts of France.

"The earthquakes were still continuing there, severe and alarming shocks having been felt ever since the fifth day of February; and yet we were well along in July. The great trees hurled down into the River, together with whole hills and mountains, were still rolling about in a frightful manner in those waters, which Continued to cast them up again on the bank in strange confusion.

"The heat there having been extraordinary, and the ground all parched with subterranean sulphurous fires which had exhausted all the moisture, a fire that had started in those vast Forests and had already burned down more than 45 miles of woods, was threatening the settlements of our French people and all their fields, which they had successfully planted. But the public Processions and prayers brought speedy relief, rains following in such plenty that never has a richer harvest been hoped for.

"After several days' rest, we once more boarded our barque without fear of the Iroquois, who were beating up the country -- or, rather, the neighboring Forests, Rivers, and Lakes -- to fall upon whoever they might find astray.

"Continuing our route, we had not sailed quite an hour when we entered a Lake fed by six large Rivers which empty into it, besides the Saint Lawrence River which flows through its middle, These Rivers form, at their mouths, Islands and peninsulas so pleasing to the view and so adapted to human habitation that nature seems to have gathered together a portion of the beauties of the habitable globe expressly to display them here. The banks, partly prairies and partly groves, appear from a distance like so many pleasure gardens, having nothing of Savagery about them but the tawny animals, such as Elk, Deer, and Wild Cows, which are seen in herds and in large numbers.

"We crossed this Lake in a calm broken only by the leaping and the noise of sturgeon and other fish unknown in Europe, which sprang up by the hundred about our Vessel. In this Lake we encountered a Moose swimming across -- an animal exceeding in height the tallest mules of Auvergne, and possessed of incomparable strength and unequaled agility, both on land and in the water, where it swims like a fish. We immediately dispatched a little bark canoe in pursuit, manned by two Frenchmen and by two Algonquin Indians who were accompanying us. These men, being still more dexterous in the water than the animal, made it turn and double many times in that great Lake, where its actions were like those of a Stag chased by Hunters in the open country, It was a pleasure to see how, by force of bursts of speed and convulsive movements, he tried to gain the land, and how the Hunters at the same time, tossing on the water in their Canoe, blocked its way and guided him despite himself toward the Barque, where men were waiting to dispatch it -- which they finally did.

"No sooner was he killed than opportunity was offered to kill three more in the same manner, and with fresh incidents, such as render this one of the pleasantest modes of hunting in the world.

"Meanwhile, those who busied themselves with fishing did their part, so we soon had the means of feeding our company with fish and flesh.

"We had no sooner reached the end of this Lake than those famous Richelieu Islands were disclosed to us. When the settlers of these regions need venison and game, they have only, during a certain season, to go here, where the only money required to buy them is lead and gunpowder. These Islands are fully a hundred and fifty in number, some being 10 miles in circumference, and others 5 or 7 miles. Some are like prairies, with no trees but plum trees, whose fruit is red and of fairly good flavor. Others are covered with trees and Wild vines; the vines climb the trees, which bear fruit that is always tolerably palatable. Other Wild fruits are found here, such as strawberries, rasp berries, cherries, blueberries of exquisite flavor, black berries, currants, both red and white, and many other small fruits that are unknown in Europe, among them being some species of little apples or haws, and of pears which ripen only with the frost. But nothing seems so curious as certain Aromatic roots and some medicines of great virtue, which are found here.

"These Islands are separated from one another by canals of great diversity. Some extend in a straight line, as in pleasure resorts, and are 5 miles in length and a half mile in width; others are narrower, and only allow being traversed in the shade of trees, which almost meet from either side in the form of an arbor. These narrower canals become insensibly lost, and vanish in a pleasing manner from one's view, until they rejoin the River from where they started. But they are all wonderfully stocked with fish of every species, which find their food there.

"The River, after therefore pursuing its tortuous path through such pleasant regions, resumes its course and keeps from then on to but one channel, which the observer would rather take for a great canal made by the hand of man than for the bed of a River, so straight is it, and with banks so symmetrical, clothed on either side with beautiful trees rare in Europe -- as far as an Island 10 miles long. It is rather a cluster of Islets than a single one, so remarkable for channels and streams that those who have attempted to count them estimate more than three hundred. They merge into one another, and form labyrinths of such surprising beauty and so rich in fish, Otters, Beavers, and Muskrats, as almost to surpass belief. The Iroquois cause this abundance by preventing our Algonquins from hunting in these beautiful regions.

"On the shore of this fair Island we found a herd of Wild Cows, which are a kind of Deer, but much more savory than ours -- and so easy to kill that they have only to be driven by being frightened into the River, into which they immediately plunge and begin to swim; and then the hunters in their Canoes are at liberty to catch them by the ears and kill them with the knife, or to lead them alive upon the bank. Occasionally two or three hundred of them are seen together.

"This prey was offered us too fortunately for us not to profit by it. Meanwhile we were constantly advancing toward Montreal, and despite the rapidity of the current, which flows with great strength in that vicinity, we ascended as far as the River des Prairies, which flows from the North and empties into the Saint Lawrence River.

"This spot even exceeds all the others in beauty; for the Islands at the junction of these two streams are so many large and beautiful prairies, -- some oblong and others round, -- or so many gardens designed for pleasure, both because of the various fruits found there, and because of the shape of the gardens themselves and the craftiness with which nature has prepared them with all the charms possible for Painters to depict in their landscapes. Birds and wild animals are there without number, and the fishing is excellent. This used to be a general resort for every Nation before the Iroquois had tainted all these regions; and so it will some day be a place most suitable for the site of a large and wealthy city.

"From there we ascended to Montreal, the place most exposed to the Iroquois, where consequently the settlers are among the most accustomed to war. The latitude is about that of Bordeaux, but the climate is agreeable. The soil is excellent, and if the Gardener but throw some Melon seeds on a bit of loosened earth among the stones, they are sure to grow without any attention. Squashes are raised there with still greater ease, but differ much from ours -- some of them having, when cooked, almost the taste of apples or of pears.

"The settlers there are so kind-hearted that, when a man has been captured by the Iroquois, they till his fields for the support of his family.

"Near this place we surprised the Captain General of the Iroquois, surnamed Nero by our Frenchmen who have been in their country, because of his notorious cruelty. This in time past has led him to sacrifice to the ghost of a brother of his, slain in war, eighty men, burning them all at a slow fire, and to kill sixty more with his own hand. He keeps the tally of these on his thigh, which consequently appears to be covered with black characters.

"This man commonly has nine slaves with him, namely, five boys and four girls. He is a Captain of dignified appearance and imposing carriage, and of such equanimity and presence of mind that, upon seeing himself surrounded by armed men, he showed no more surprise than if he had been alone; and when asked whether he would not like to accompany us to Quebec, he deigned only to answer coldly that that was not a question to ask him, since he was in our power.

"Accordingly he was made to come aboard our Vessel, where I took pleasure in studying his disposition as well as that of an Algonquin in our company, who bore the scalp of an Iroquois but recently slain by him in war. These two men, although hostile enough to eat each other, chatted and laughed on board that Vessel with great familiarity, it being hard to decide which of the two was the more skillful in masking his feelings.

"I had Nero placed near me at table, where he bore himself with a gravity, a self-control, and a propriety, which showed nothing of his Barbarian origin; but during the rest of the time he was constantly eating, so that he fasted only when he was at table.

"With this prisoner I had as prosperous a voyage down to Quebec as I had enjoyed in going Up to Montreal; and having been enabled by this journey to examine the country and the River, it would be difficult for me to believe in the existence of a better-watered region in the world, since one cannot go a mile without finding some River or Lake -- not to mention innumerable mountain Streams and Brooks, which make the country highly fertile, and so beautiful that there is scarcely any like it in Europe.

"The River possesses great wealth, consisting in fish, some being native to it, and others coming from the Sea, or from Lakes whose borders measure 500 or 750 miles each -- as the great Lake Huron, the great Lake of the Nation of the Ojibwes (Lake Superior?), that of the Nation of the Winnebagos (Green Bay), and the great Lake Ontario.

"The fishes native to it are the Pike, of two species; two kinds of Perch; the armored fish -- so called from its snout, which has the shape of a lance; the golden fish, of exquisite flavor; the fish named the "fish of the water's Edge," which is still more savory; the Loach, of great breadth and length; and Frogs, which are as large as plates, and whose noise resembles the lowing of Cattle.

"The fishes entering it from the Lakes are the Catfish, which is unknown to us in Europe, and equals in flavor the choicest of our fish; the white Porpoise, of the size of a sailboat; and the Eel, which has a far better flavor than ours, and is abundant. One Fisherman was found to have caught in a single day, in his weir, five thousand Eels, which are excellent when salted, and keep extremely well. That makes ten casks in a day, selling on the spot at 50 silver coins a cask; for it is an excellent kind of food, carrying its own seasoning with it, and being eaten roasted over the fire, without need of butter or any other sauce, while it even serves, when boiled, both as butter and as fat for making soups.

"The fish entering it from the Sea are Whales, Blowers, gray Porpoises, Sturgeon, Salmon, Barbel, Shad, Cod, Herring, Mackerel, Smelt, and seals. The banks sometimes appear entirely covered with the last named, and four or five skillful men have occasionally killed, in two hours, four or five hundred of them by hitting them with a stick on the head, which is tender. They are taken by surprise on long rocky reefs, where they lie in the Sun when the Tide has gone out. It is said they are almost blind; but, to compensate for that, their hearing is acute.

"The abundance of all these fish passes belief -- not to mention that with the oil obtainable from the Seal, Porpoise, and Whale, according to the opinion of the Traders, a considerable commerce can be carried on. But our poor French people are only Paralytics in this country, in the presence of a great treasure on which they cannot lay their hands. This is because the Iroquois do not leave them free to do so, and also because the first thought of those who settled these regions was to gain their food by tilling the soil; and in this they have been successful, although the country was originally believed to be too cold, and the winters too long, to warrant the hope of raising good wheat and other grains.

"As for land animals, there are none in France which cannot thrive excellently in Canada -- where, however, there are many besides that are not found in France, such as Moose, Bears, Caribous, Wild Cows, Beavers, and Muskrats.

"Among the birds of every variety to be found here, it is to be noted that Pigeons abound in such numbers that this year one man killed a hundred and thirty-two at a single shot. They passed continually in flocks so dense, and so near the ground, that sometimes they were struck down with oars. This season, they attacked the grain fields, where they made great havoc, after stripping the woods and fields of strawberries and raspberries, which grow here everywhere underfoot. But when these Pigeons were taken in requital, they were made to pay the cost heavily; for the Farmers, besides having plenty of them for home use, and giving them to their servants, and even to their dogs and pigs, salted caskfuls of them for the winter.

"But all these advantages may be accounted as nothing in comparison with the purity of the air, which is here so excellent that the country has few sick persons; and it is almost impossible to die here, unless it be by accident or violence. In the year which I have spent in Canada, I have noted the death of only two persons from natural causes, and they died of old age.

"The Winter -- of which so much is said in Europe, because of its severity and length -- seemed to me more endurable than in Paris. Wood costs nothing but the cutting, for those who own land, which is given freely to such as ask for it, and are willing to cultivate it. Some may receive 300 or 400 acres, and others more.

"The Winter season is the most suitable for Hunters, who then enrich themselves, and likewise the country, with the skins of animals of the deer kind. No less favorable is it for working people, the snow making all roads smooth, and the frost covering Rivers and Lakes with ice, so that one can go anywhere with safety and drag loads, or have dogs drag them, over the snow, which becomes solid toward the close of Winter. So, walking is at that season fine, and usually favored with a beautiful Sun and clear weather."

ACCOUNT OF THE EARTHQUAKE IN NEW FRANCE, 1663. FATHER CHARLES SIMON

Quebec is the Key to North America, and a firm bulwark of New France, because it is first a rock, secondly a Height, Thirdly a promontory; and lastly, because it is fortified by two rivers in the manner of a trench and moat. The rock serves as a solid base for the citadel and town founded upon it, and prevents them from being washed away by the waves or undermined by sappers. The Height offers a steep and arduous ascent, almost unscalable by enemies. The promontory, jutting out into the river saint Lawrence, forms a secure haven for Our own ships, but a dangerous port for those of an enemy; for cannons, on the level space at the base of the cliff, and in the Citadel above, can protect or defend our ships and hinder the others from approaching or passing.

For from the mouth of the river -- that is, for a distance of three hundred and sixty miles -- the shores are not within cannon range of each other; here, for the first time, one bank defends the other. Finally, the Saint Lawrence River on the East and South, and the Saint Charles, the other river, flowing into the Saint Lawrence on the North, form a moat and wall. From these points it is evident how great is the Natural strength of the Citadel, and the stability of the town.

THE EARTHQUAKE IN NEW FRANCE.

Quebec -- the principal Town of the French Colony called in New France -- was, before our arrival on these shores, a wooded and uncultivated piece of land without a name, -- as is, at present, all that surrounding region populated by Indians, which, on account of its numerous hills, is called Montagne, the inhabitants being named Innus. To guard this town from the incursions of enemies, a Citadel has been built on the steep and commanding crest of the Rocky height. It is well fortified by both nature and craftiness, and is the residence of the Governor and the garrison, being the strongest bulwark of that part of West or North America. So much concerning the location and nature of the place; now let us begin the narrative of what has occurred there.

On the third of February of this year, 1663, a Native woman, -- an Indian yet old in integrity among the new Christians, and of most righteous life, -- while quietly resting on her bed, and awake, alone of all those who slept together in the same Cabin, heard early in the night a voice similar to that of a human being, distinctly and articulately speaking to her, which warned her that great and wondrous things would befall the town on the day after the next. On the following day she again heard the same voice in the woods -- warning her that on the next day, between five and six o'clock in the afternoon, a fearful earthquake would take place. Her fellow-lodgers, to whom she again told what she had heard, thought that she was jesting, or at least attempting to palm off as true what she herself had imagined, either sleeping or waking, therefore seeking to acquire the reputation of being a prophetess.

On this day, the aspect of the sky was quite tranquil and serene; and even more so on the succeeding day, until five o'clock in the evening. A noise was suddenly heard under the tranquil and serene sky. At first it sounded as the trumpeter of future disruptions; it seemed to come from afar, and was like the noise of two armies rushing wildly to combat with loud shouts. A frightful crash followed, appearing to proceed from the lowest depths and extreme confines of the earth, and resembling in sound the battle of the waves and the roar of the sea. Then comes a shower of stones, which shatter the roofs of houses and burst into barns, chambers, and the most hidden nooks. Finally the dust rises in whirling columns and forms into a cloud; doors suddenly open and close of themselves; church-bells ring out in token of the general alarm; the steeples of churches, like tall trees, become the sport of the winds, sway in every direction, and nod their whole height; costly articles are destroyed, furniture is overturned, walls are broken apart, stones become detached, and timbers give way; and all this is accompanied by the bellowing and howling of animals.

The terror experienced by men is equally great. Some rush out of their houses, while others seek refuge in houses; but by far the greater number run aimlessly about as if possessed. They do not know what to resolve upon in the emergency, or what were best to be done in such circumstances and at such a time.

So swift and unexpected was the blow; and it was especially so because, on that day, our French were intent on nothing but spending the time of the Carnival in festive pleasures, wild parties, drinking bouts, and dances -- not to speak of some things more serious, which may offend chaste ears and are better passed over in silence. Thunder reverberated and lightning flashed in the heavens.

When the people had had time to recover somewhat from their fear, they all issued forth from their houses into the open air. Meanwhile, observing the rolling motion of the earth, which tossed to and fro under our feet as a boat is restlessly buffeted about by the waves, we perceived that it was an earthquake, caused, as we supposed, by subterranean fires; nor was our supposition a false one.

How great, how sudden and wild was the alarm among the people, who were Ignorant of the causes which produced those motions! Some cried, "Fire, fire!" others, "To arms, to arms!" As when the alarm of fire is raised, some ran for water to put it out; others rushed to arms to drive back the enemy, imagining that a hostile band of fierce barbarians were at their doors. By far the greater number took Refuge in the churches, as if the end of the World had come, to wait for death in those more sacred places. Many lost heart altogether, and were unable to recover their courage. Some clung to trees, but not without dreading that the trees would be dashed against one another and crushed; while others held fast to logs, repeatedly receiving from them violent blows on the chest.

Meanwhile, the Indians were variously affected according to their various temperaments, being then especially influenced by the ideas which had been taught them from their earliest youth. For, supposing -- such is the superstition of their Race -- that the souls of the departed were striving to break through the gates of death and return into new bodies and reenter their former dwellings, they fired shots into the air, as if fighting for their hearths and homes, believing that they were hindering the approach of the souls.

The violence of that first shock subsided after about half an hour. Still, we did not regain breath without fearing the probability of a new Shock; nor was this foreboding a vain misgiving. At about nine o'clock in the evening, the earth again began to shake; and that alternation of shocks and lucid intervals lasted until the 9th of September. During this time, we frequently had these experiences, but with a great variety of shocks. Some were longer, others shorter; some were frequent but moderate; others, after a long intermission, were more violent, as if fresh strength had been gained by stoppage. And so, the disturbance languishing only to revive again with power, the end of one evil was the step for the next one, and often one of greater gravity. We had scarcely forecast the coming shocks in our mind when they were at our door, attacking us unawares, Sometimes by day, more often by night, while men were withering for fear.

It is uncertain whether the greater cause of dread was from the earth or from the Air. On all sides the air resounded with cries and horrid howlings. Crashes, and more vehement dins than of cymbals, brazen cannon or thunders, burst forth from the bowels of the earth and deep caverns. From the same furnaces emanated fiery torches and globes of flame -- now relapsing into the earth, now vanishing in the air, like bubbles. Besides, what each one's own fear and alarm invented to his fancy, and represented as plausible truth, tormented him just as seriously as if it had been real.

Globes of flame burst up, much more vehemently than before, every person wavering between life and death, between hope and fear, accordingly as the force of the shocks was intensified or relaxed. A month passed with shocks gradually relaxing in Violence, except that five or six were more intense, and that they persist to this day, but are less violent and less frequent. This cessation or intermission has left us the opportunity for observing what were the effects of the Past shocks.

There occur wide and deep gaps in the earth and frequent fissures. New torrents have appeared, and new springs of clear water have gushed forth in full streams. On level ground, hills have arisen; Mountains, on the other hand, have been depressed and flattened. Chasms of wondrous depth, exhaling a foul stench, have been hollowed out in many places. Plains lie open, far and wide, where there were formerly dense and lofty forests. Cliffs, although not quite leveled with the soil, have been shattered and overturned. The earth is furrowed, but more deeply than can be done with a plow or hoe.

Trees are partly uprooted, partly buried even to the ends of their branches. Two rivers have returned to the bowels of the earth, from where they had issued. Others resembled in color Streams of Milk or of blood, and therefore gave rise among the ignorant to the belief that they had been suddenly changed into milk and blood.

Nothing filled us with more wonder than what was observed in the river Saint Lawrence. That this matter may be understood more clearly, I mention the dimensions of that noble river. Its Length is at least thirty-six hundred miles, although its source has not been reached. Whenever entering this country of New France, we had occasion to observe on the way its width. Not to mention the gulf, -- which is two hundred and forty miles broad, and has the shape of a square, straight on each side, -- at the mouth, where first the stream is hemmed in by the shores, it is seventy-five miles wide. Then, confined between lofty rocks and high hills, even in triple array, it gradually and imperceptibly narrows as far as Tadoussac, a Northern port, two hundred and forty miles from the mouth. At this place, the width is still twenty-one miles. Besides, so great and profound is its depth that, when the sounding-lead is dropped, you can nowhere find bottom for grounding ships or casting anchor, -- not even within a pace from the shore. It is a harborless coast, roughly lined with sharp crags, -- inviting to certain shipwreck, if a tempest drives there the unwilling vessels, -- up to about two hundred and ten miles from the mouth.

Two other facts demonstrate the magnitude and the Majesty of that river. One is the extraordinary flow of the tide, so swiftly surging up against the forward current that, -- be it in places the most uneven, where the river flows over declivities, -- it not only breaks the river's downward course by means of the upward stream, but even turns it back toward its source, and violently compels it for six whole hours, by sheer weight, to hold a contrary course; and this for four hundred and thirty-five miles. Nor does it allow the current to subside and relapse, until the hour returns when the ebbing sea swallows back the tidal waves. The other peculiarity is the invariable constancy of this river, subject to no accidental changes, as regards its uniform flow. Thus the winter snows, -- exceedingly abundant in that Region, and of long duration on account of the darkness and density of the forests, -- melting at the return of spring, and flowing together from the entire and vast extent of the plains, do not cause it to overflow. It does not even so much as swell perceptibly, or become greater by the flowing in of more than a thousand rivers, although among them are many of considerable magnitude. Such is the Saguenay at Tadoussac harbor, which finds its source twelve hundred miles from its mouth, -- similar to the Rhone in velocity and just as noble in other respects; also that other river ninety miles above Quebec, which, because it empties through three mouths, has obtained the name of "Three Rivers;" another one flowing down from the Iroquois; and many others.

These things being considered, it may be easily inferred how great was the upheaval of the earth, from the fact that such a river changed its color, not for a brief space of time, but for eight entire days, put on a sulphurous one, and kept it constantly; for, from the bowels of the earth, agitated in their nethermost depth and poured into it, and from sulphur mines, its waters were diluted with an abundance of liquid sulphur. This is a notable proof of the precious things which the earth conceals, whether of dangers or of metals, and especially of the undiscovered gold which men have so eagerly desired from the beginning of the world until this day.

Some Indians, whom terror had driven out of the woods, report that when they wished to return to their abandoned hut, they found that it had been swallowed up by a gap in the earth; and that, when they then sought a Hill that was known to them to build on its ridge a new hut, they found a lake where the hill had been. They add that they saw in mid-air a young man, holding a torch, and marvels much more wondrous than these; either they saw these things, or, as happens in troubled circumstances, thought they saw them.

There are many things incidental to the Earthquake and various circumstances by which we are led to believe that all America was shaken by it. In fact, we have already ascertained that it extended from the borders of the Iroquois country to Acadia, which is a part of Southern America, -- that is, a thousand miles; multiplying this extent, for each region, by five hundred and three miles, as the measure of the Saint Lawrence River valley.

The convulsions of shocked Nature were in every way violent, and the effects of the Earthquake great and admirable; but certainly its Graces were Greater and more admirable. We readily perceive that when God shook the earth at its foundation, by the same process he shook the minds of sinners. The days of the Carnival were turned into days of piety, mourning, contrition, and tears.

Confessions were instituted, -- and, among these, many which comprised the sins of a whole life. Enmities extinguished, disputes laid aside, restorations of offended Charity, kneeling supplications, mutual petitions for pardon, and other things of the same kind, sufficiently declare that the Earthquake was rather a Scheme of the Divine Mercy than a scourge of Justice, -- especially since no one lost life or Fortune. Fear came to all, penalty to none.

Also, the Indians come to us and report that eighteen miles from here, the earthquake is raging much more violently than before. Besides, our Traders announce that, while they were sailing on the Saint Lawrence River, their ship suddenly trembled mightily, and was shaken in a peculiar manner, such as was never the case before, even in the greatest storms; and there was great fear in case, its timbers being shattered, it should be broken apart.

Also, opposite them, they saw a great section of the earth borne upward and carried into the river; and at the place from where it was separated by the yawning open of the earth, there burst forth globes of smoke and flame, at certain spaces from one another, and dense clouds of ill-smelling ashes were cast upward; and as these fell down, the deck of their ship was filled with them. The same traders observed, on their way, that from the inmost bowels of the earth, Jets of water surged violently upward, with the magnitude of streams, as if from fountain pipes. Where until now had been thorns and rocks, they saw gardens, planted as if by the hand of a skillful gardener, and arranged with all possible art and care for the delight of the eyes. There were blossoming and high trees, laid out in the lines of a star, by no one's planting, no one's hand, except that of an accidental disaster and of Nature.

But their wonder immensely increased when, at the mouth of a river known to them, they saw a heap of stones and an array of debris. On the other hand, not far from that mouth, there suddenly closed up and filled in with rocks, -- where there had been mountains as barriers for confining the overflow of the river, they found new bays of water, and ports convenient for the safe harboring of ships. One of these, especially, was both bay and harbor at once, where there had been rocks. The same traders affirm that whole forests, and those of 250 or even 350 acres in extent, and their hills, had been scattered into the river, which in turn cast them forth upon the shore a confused mass of trees. But these things are nothing to their report of a City blazing in the air before their eyes, circled about with whirlwinds of smoke and flames.

Those who return from the fort of our French people which is situated at Three Rivers -- ninety miles above Quebec, report things just as marvelous. They relate that the earth was shaken with so great force that it leaped up to the height of a foot, and rolled in the manner of a skiff tossed by the waves; all feared in case the yawning earth should involve all in like ruin, and bury them alive in the same grave.

It appears that the barriers and defenses of that shore, given by Nature to the river Saint Lawrence, although of unusual height, were overturned on both banks from their lowest foundations, and completely uprooted. The forests planted upon them were destroyed and scattered into the river: the shore was leveled with the plain and with the channel of the river, for twelve miles in length, 770 yards in width, -- and this with so great a crash and concussion that not even one of the trees remained intact, but each had all its branches lopped off on all sides, the trunk standing unbroken.

The sault, which on account of its nearness to Three Rivers had received its name from that river, was leveled. This, although said in one word, shows a thing much more wondrous than words can utter; nor can it be understood save by one who has heard what a sault is. A sault is a chain of rocks which lies across the whole Width of the river; these start from the lowest bottom, and, crowding together, raise their heads in every direction. The waves, violently rushing down against them, break and foam; and they not only hinder navigation to the boatmen, but even threaten certain shipwreck, if anyone dare to commit himself to such dangerous shoals. Besides, these rocks are stretched along six, eight, ten, sometimes even twelve miles. Who will not marvel that so great and formidable rocks were so reduced by the earthquake that absolutely no trace of them appears?

Two marvels followed this extinction of rocks. One was a horrid, shapeless, and monstrous specter, seen crossing from East to West along the edges of the moat constructed for the military defense of the town. The other was that Porpoises -- or by whatever other name fish not different from them be called -- were heard, from the region of our fortification, to bellow and utter lamentable wails, often repeated. Still greater was the ruin and desolation about the river which the Indians call Batiscan. Reports were heard as of cannon, and of frequent and horrible thunders, which, mixed with the crashing noise of shattered trees, -- falling together by hundreds, and loudly dashing into one another, caused to stand on end the hair of those who were either present at those spectacles, or heard such an unusual din from a distance. Precipices were undermined, and chasms excavated; the earth yawned beneath one's feet; mountains, buried together with their trees, rushed into the open chasms. One of the Frenchmen, who had made his cabin there with the Indians, was, when the subterranean waters welled up and suddenly burst forth, almost submerged at his own fireplace; and this would have been his fate, had not one of the bystanders held out a helping hand to him, therefore in jeopardy on so treacherous ground.

There are persons who certify that they saw lofty hills striking together with brows opposed, like headstrong rams, then suddenly and instantaneously swallowed up in the yawning of the earth. Others relate that rocks burst upward to the height of tall trees. The same person saw a long and wide tract of the earth, thirty miles in extent, suddenly changed into deep chasms. The Indians, at those marvels, raised horrible shouts, along with our countrymen of like superstition, and discharged their guns to drive away those aerial demons, and rout them from their borders.

Finally, the Indians most distant of all from us, announce as a fact that they were borne along those recent chasms to the extent of a thirty-mile march, nor were they able to find their origin or extent, or, finally, to measure their profound depth.

And if that earthquake was terrible on account of the frequency and violence of its shocks, it was even more to be dreaded on account of its long duration. We have lived from the fifth of February until the ninth of September -- namely, full seven months, and more than that, -- between hope and fear, between life and death; on the border of both, and uncertain as to the hours of either.

Here are certain extracts from the letters of Father Charles Simon, written to his sister at Bourges, and dated at Orleans, the 2nd and 9th of December, 1663:

1st. He affirms that he learned, from the persons to whom they happened, of all the apparitions which he has inserted in his Narrative.

2nd. He mentions that Father Jean de Brebeuf, cruelly slain by the Iroquois, -- and dying with the utmost courage, on the 16th of March, 1649 -- had frequently appeared, and given warnings; and had expressly said that the cause of the Earthquakes was partly the disobedient conduct of certain Frenchmen, who had despised the thunders of the Church.

3rd. He reviews the death of one of those two despisers who had been recognized from their features. This man is stabbed at night by his servant, who cuts his corpse into pieces and reduces it to ashes, burning it in the flames before his own hearth, in case a clue to the deed should remain.

4th. He certifies that he saw both shores of the Saint Lawrence strewn over with uprooted trees, for three hundred miles, which distance he has traversed.

5th. He relates that a man so shuddered at the sudden Earthquake, although at other times he was brave, that his hair, bristling up with horror and standing upright, shook off his Fur-cap.

YEAR 1664
NEW FRANCE, FROM THE SUMMER OF 1663 TO THE SUMMER OF 1664.

THE ALGONQUIN CHURCH TOWARD THE OTTAWA.

We state what concerns the Church of the Ottawa, and the death of its Pastor, Father Rene Menard, who, after traveling more than 1250 miles in these vast Forests, happily finished all his travels by an end worthy of an Apostle.

During the past year, there have fallen into our hands some fragments of letters which the Father wrote after his departure from Three Rivers. From them we learn some circumstances of his adventures and the state of that new Church which he built and cemented with his sweat and blood. In the following manner he begins a letter, put into the form of a journal, which he wrote after having at last arrived in the country of the Ottawas.

"Our journey has been fortunate, as our Frenchmen all arrived in good health, about the middle of October. But, to accomplish that, we had to suffer much and avoid great risks -- from the Lakes, which were stormy; from the torrents and waterfalls, frightening to see, which we were forced to cross in a frail shell; from hunger, which was our almost constant companion; and from the Iroquois, who made war upon us.

"Between Three Rivers and Montreal, we luckily met the Bishop of Petraea. He uttered to me the following words, which entered deep into my heart, and will be to me a great source of consolation amid all the vexatious accidents which shall befall me: 'My Father, every reason seems to retain you here; but God, more powerful than anything else, requires you there.'"

The Indians who had taken me on board with the assurance that they would assist me, in view of my age and infirmities, did not spare me, but compelled me to carry heavy burdens on my shoulders at nearly all the waterfalls which we passed; and although my paddle did not hurry their progress, being plied by arms so feeble as mine, yet they could not endure that I should be idle. Accordingly, not knowing when I should find the time to read my prayer book, I was forced to rely on my memory, all the more since we touched land only at night, and set out before daylight. I found my advantage at the meeting of other canoes; for then our Indians stopped to smoke, or talk about their routes which they were to take. As they saw me with my papers in my hands oftener than they wished, they found means to take them from my bag, and threw them into the water. This was a great affliction to me, to see myself deprived of this precious possession, until I hit upon another parcel in which I had put a second prayer book in small volumes.

"They compelled me, once, to disembark in a bad place, where I had to pass over rocks and frightful precipices to rejoin them. The places through which I had to go were so cut up with abysses and steep mountains that I did not think I could extricate myself from them; and as it was necessary to hurry, if I did not wish to be left behind, I wounded myself in the arm and in one foot. The foot became swollen, and gave me much trouble all the rest of the journey, especially when the water began to be cold, and it was necessary to remain barefoot all the time, ready to jump into the water when the Indians judged it fitting, to lighten the canoe. Add to this that they are people having no regular meals; they eat up everything at once, and keep nothing for the next day. In taking their repose, they pay no regard to their bodily comfort or that of their guest, but only to facility in landing their canoes and the convenience of embarking and disembarking. Also, they lie ordinarily upon rocks and rough pebbles, contenting themselves with throwing some branches upon them, when they find any.

"Our Frenchmen and myself have scarcely caught sight of one another during the whole course of our journeys; and so we have not been able to give one another any assistance.

"We all fasted, contenting ourselves with some small fruits which were found rather seldom, and which are eaten nowhere else. Fortunate were those who could chance upon a certain moss which grows upon the rocks, and of which a black soup is made. As to Moose-skins, those who still had any ate them in secret; everything seemed good in time of hunger.

"But matters became much worse when, arriving at last at Lake Superior, instead of rest and refreshment, our canoe was shattered by the fall of a tree; nor could we hope to repair it, so much was it damaged. Everyone left us, and we remained alone, three Indians and myself, without provisions and without canoe. We remained in this condition six days, living on some offal which we were obliged, so not to die of hunger, to scrape up with our fingernails around a hut which had been abandoned. We pounded up the bones which we found there, to make soup of them; we collected the blood of slain animals, with which the ground was soaked; we made food of everything. One of us was always on the watch at the waterside, to implore pity of the passers-by, from whom we obtained some bits of dried flesh which kept us from dying, until at last some men had mercy on us and came and took us on board, to transport us to the rendezvous where we were to pass the winter. This was a large bay on the south side of Lake Superior, where I arrived on saint Theresa's day. It was here that I began a Christian community which is composed of the Flying Church of the Indian Christians more nearly adjacent to our French settlements, and of those drawn here.

"I hear every day mention of 4 Nations, populous, and distant from here 500 or 750 miles. I expect to die on the way. Since I am so far on my journey and am so full of health, I shall make every possible effort to reach these nations. The road is composed almost entirely of Swamps, through which it is necessary to pass, sounding the fords, and always in danger of sinking so deep as not to be able to get out. Food is to be had only as one carries it with him, and mosquitoes are frightfully numerous. These are the three great difficulties which make it hard for me to find a companion. I hope to join some Indians who intend to undertake this journey."

These are the last words with which the Father ends his letters, which he dates therefore:

"Among the Ottawa on the Bay de Saint Terese, 250 miles above the fall in Lake Superior, the first day of March," and "the second of July, 1661."

He set out as he had planned, and happily ended his travels on the way, as he had predicted.

THE ALGONQUIN CHURCHES TOWARD TADOUSSAC.

WE shall learn the condition of those flying Churches, and of the different Indians who compose them, from the letters written about them by Father Henry Nouvel, who followed the Indians in the woods during the past Winter, which he spent with them. Following is a letter which he wrote from among the Papinachois Innu.

Reverend Father,

Having set out from Quebec on the 19th of November with two Frenchmen, our host, and some other Indians, we arrived at Isle Verte on the 24th of the same month. We found on that Island all our Indians -- Papinachois Innu, as well as those of other Nations -- sixty-eight in all. They had shut themselves up in a fort made of stakes, in consequence of the discovery they had made of a large Encampment of Iroquois on the banks of the great River. This little voyage of six days had many dangers. Compelled by bad weather to retire into a little island, we remained there two days, and our pilots had much trouble in saving our sailboat. Seeing ourselves in danger of remaining a long time in this place because of the ice and the contrary wind, which did not cease, we all appealed to God; and putting ourselves under the protection of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, scarcely had we finished our prayer when immediately the weather changed.

Our Indian, who was afraid, called out to us at once, Pousitan, -- "Let us embark." We had favorable weather as far as the approaches to Isle Verte where, our sailboat having run against a Rock, we saw ourselves near to death. God took pity on us, and we were all consoled at seeing the sailboat, although in bad condition, withstand this blow, which was enough to sink a much stronger boat. Although night overtook us in this place, we did not pause; and we were only a mile from Isle Verte when a storm from the North arose, and our sailboat was buffeted by such rude blasts of wind that it sprang a leak forward. But we arrived safely in port.

We remained ten days at Isle Verte, during which time I administered the baptismal rites to six children of different ages, in a little Chapel which we built there. Before our departure, I baptized there a Papinachois Innu Captain. The name of Francois Xavier was given to him.

Before I left this first post, God called to Heaven a little daughter of my host, whom Father Gabriel had baptized. This death distressed the parents and all the relatives.

On the seventh day of December, we arrived safely on the South side, opposite the Island of saint Barnabe. We remained there some days, waiting for favorable weather to go into the woods. Meanwhile, our hunters, having gone to make explorations far Inland, found there traces of the Iroquois and heard the reports of guns, with which they were hunting Moose. That did not hinder us from penetrating far into the woods on saint Thomas's day. We passed the Christmas holidays near a large Lake, where we built a Chapel.

As the enemy had driven away the Moose, our hunters found none; and some of them began to suffer, for our little stock of provisions was already exhausted. I consoled and encouraged them as well as I could. At this time, I discovered that a certain Indian, whose faith I doubted, had relied on the Demon. I at once hurried to visit Cabin after Cabin, declaring to the residents that I feared neither hunger nor the Iroquois, and threatening them that God would surely punish them if anyone relapsed into that error. The guilty one, to whom I spoke in private, satisfied me, at least as far as words could do so.

On the fifth of January, we broke camp to go in search of means of subsistence in a more favorable place. We traversed a region so rugged that I only reached our camping place with much difficulty. Besides, this was the day on which I served my apprenticeship in walking with snowshoes, and dragging my Chapel over the snow. Since then we have changed our position several times, God has blessed our hunters, and, the fear of hunger having left us; there remains only the fear of the Iroquois, which has been great in the minds of our Indians. We tarried a whole month in one place, not daring to leave the fort which we had built there.

From time to time our hunters discovered trails of the enemy; the Iroquois were said to have been heard shouting; and a certain trickster, with whom I have had several disputes, had spread the report that we should shortly be attacked: such were the reasons why we put ourselves in this state of defense. It was at this place that the wicked man decided to hold a feast called agoumagouchan, and I, to interrupt an impious song that he had begun, gathered together all the women and little children and made them pray in a loud voice near the place where the feast was being held. This surprised the revelers, and compelled them to be silent, each one retiring to his own Cabin. From one of the guests I ascertained what had occurred at the feast; and when he had confessed that this partisan of the Demon had spoken slightingly of prayer, I went to attack the trickster in the presence of all those who were of his Cabin. After saying to him all that Our Lord inspired me to say, for the purpose of imparting to him a horror of his offense, I saw all our Christians indignant against him. I said in all the Cabins that the Demon wished to make use of this wretch as a means to destroy them, and they all conceived a horror of him.

Leaving this position on the first day of Lent, we arrived, on the fourteenth of March, at the banks of the great River. There we have since remained, awaiting favorable weather to go over to some Island, to be protected there from the Iroquois until the arrival of the sailboats from Quebec.

A SECOND LETTER ON THE SAME SUBJECT. 1663

Reverend Father,

You have seen in my preceding letter the most important events that occurred during my wintering with the Indians; you will read in this one what occurred from that day on which I had the pleasure of writing to you, up to the twenty-first of April, when we crossed the great Saint Lawrence River, to enter the lands of the North.

On the eleventh day of March, I lost my way in the woods, which I had entered with the intention of pushing on to a mountain from where the sea may be caught sight of -- having undertaken this excursion as a walk, the day being fine; and I found myself in great perplexity when I had to return to the Cabin. Instead of retracing my steps, I decided to try an entirely new path, thinking to shorten the way; but I was off in my estimating. After walking until nightfall, I recognized perfectly that I had lost my way, and I found myself in a difficult situation; for to stop would have been to expose myself to death in the snow during the rigors of a freezing night, while to go on in the darkness of the night was to put myself in great danger of wandering farther and farther astray. After praying, I changed my course; I traversed a dense wood, where there was at least six feet of snow. After enduring much fatigue, I came luckily to a little stream, entirely frozen over, which I had passed some days before; and recognizing the area, I reached the Camp toward eleven o'clock in the evening; I cannot express the joy of my poor Indians at my arrival.

After our thanksgiving, as I had not seen in the Cabin the Frenchman who accompanied me, I asked where he was, and was informed that, being anxious about me, he had gone into the woods toward evening to look for me; and that, having found the marks of my snowshoes, he was following, under the Moon, the entire route which I had taken. This news disturbed me, and I was as apprehensive on his account as the others had been on mine; but God led him back safely to the Cabin. I thanked him for his kindness, and he told me that I had run a great risk, if I had continued my route toward the South; but that, at the spot where I had made a pause (it was the place where I said my prayer), I had set my course exactly right, and had come by the shortest way to the Cabin.

On the fourteenth, we arrived at the bank of the great Saint Lawrence River. We took pleasure in making our sledges glide over the snow, through a fine beech forest where our hunters had killed some Moose several days before. The beauty of the country alleviated for us all the fatigues of the journey. The Frenchman's sledge, which carried a part of our provisions, escaping from his hands in going down a mountain, ran against trees which shattered it, as well as what it bore, with the exception of a bottle in which I had a little wine left for Mass until the arrival of the sailboats from Quebec. All our Indians regarded this as a little miracle.

On the twenty-first, we tried to make our way over the ice to Ile aux Basques, to put ourselves out of danger from the Iroquois -- who, some said, had been seen by them when out hunting; but some ice having broken under our feet, we had to turn back, after having already made a good 2 miles on the great river.

On the twenty-second of April, the ice having melted in part, we went by land to the place where we had left our sailboat when we entered the woods. We found it all under snow, and it took three days to put it into shape. Then we embarked for Ile aux Basques, where we made our way through the ice in one day.

This Island, which is distant from the river's banks only 5 miles toward the South and seven toward the North, is agreeable; it is only 2 miles in length, and a mile in width. It bears the name of Ile aux Basques because the Spanish Basques formerly carried on Whale-fishing there. I took pleasure in visiting the furnaces which they built for trying out their oil; and nearby, there are still to be seen great ribs of the Whales which they killed.

Scarcely had I marked a spot for the construction of a Chapel, when immediately the men ran to get their hatchets, to cut the wood necessary for building it; while the women and girls gathered fir branches for its floor, walls, and roof. We required only one day to put it in such condition that we could perform our devotions there.

Their obedience to their pastor merits my mentioning an admirable feature of it. The Papinachois Innu had made a drum for use against the Iroquois, for counteracting the shouts and yells which the Iroquois utter when they make an attack; and this drum was of no use to them in Ile aux Basques, where they were in a secure retreat. A thoughtless young man of another Nation suggested to them at a feast that they should make use of it for dancing, and celebrating the victory which the Innu and Algonquins had gained the preceding Spring over their Enemies. These good people prepared to dance, while he who owned the drum explained to me their opinion on this point in the following terms: "We danced before at Tadoussac; you will not be displeased if we dance here now."

"My brother," I said to him, "dancing is in itself a matter of indifference; but to dance while Christians are doing penance, -- that would no longer be a matter of indifference, but a crime. Therefore change your mind; you, who are the owner of the drum, would be the most guilty."

"In how many days may we dance?" asked he.

"On the day following that on which Jesus rose," I replied, "and this dance, which you wish to hold in celebration of the victory of your allies, can be held from a still more noble motive -- that is, to participate in the joy of all good Christians, who rejoice in the glorious Resurrection of Jesus."

They obeyed perfectly, not minding the urgent requests of him who had first suggested to them the thought of dancing, and through whom the Demon attempted to disturb the days of devotion of holy week. Otherwise their dance is harmless enough; the men dance apart from the women, without touching one another, and they exchange presents -- the men with the men, and the women with the women. When I perceived something in the dance that was not pleasing, and called their attention to it, they left it out without making any reply, although there was nothing criminal in it.

I would have been much distressed if I had not had means to give them a feast on Easter Sunday, to show them how satisfied I was with them. We had left some Indian corn at Isle Verte in the beginning of Winter, and I sent a Canoe there to bring it. Upon its return, the feast was soon prepared; my host took charge of everything, forgetting nothing of his skill to render it entirely successful. A good Christian, who had often shown kindness toward me during the Winter, having heard of my project, made me a present of a large package of Moose-tongues. The morning of this great feast having been given to devotion, and the dinner hour approaching, my host invited the residents of all the Cabins.

Each person provided himself with his ouragan, -- that is, his plate of bark, -- and came at once to take his place in the festal hall; and when all were assembled, as I was the one who gave the feast, it was my duty to make a speech. They would have been much pleased if, at the conclusion of my speech, I had sung in their own way; but I excused myself on the plea that I did not yet know how to do so, asking my host to sing for me. This good Christian, after making a speech in praise of the feast and in favor of prayer, and after urging his fellows to be faithful to God and to love prayer to the end, acquitted himself perfectly of the commission I had given him. He sang two songs, the first for me and the second for himself; all the others paid in a like manner, each one with a song. They spent fully an hour in this preamble to the feast. The songs completed, I pronounced the blessing, after which two young men of the Cabin distributed the festal meal, which consisted of a dish of sagamite -- that is, a kind of mush made of cornmeal cooked in water, and seasoned with fat and with smoked Moose-flesh. A little piece of tobacco was their dessert, and pure water served them for drink. Men, women, and children performed their parts perfectly. This mush made of Indian corn was to them a delicious dish, a long time having passed since they had eaten any. After this, each one withdrew to his own abode, well pleased and satisfied.

Before leaving Ile aux Basques to go Northward, I performed the last rites over the body of a little girl who had died about two months before. Her father, an Innu, was glad to have her buried in our little Chapel before a large Cross which, on Good Friday, we erected opposite the door. I will give a proof of the love and respect which these people have for the bodies of their deceased relatives. When I had admonished this distressed father to have his daughter buried, after she had died, he asked me for time to consider what he should do in the matter. Some time afterward, he answered me: "You see that we are in constant fear of the Iroquois. If I bury my daughter in the woods, perhaps those wicked men will find her body, which they will certainly burn. Let us avoid this danger; we will bury her elsewhere in a place where there will be nothing to fear."

DIARY OF A JOURNEY MADE BY A FATHER OF THE JESUITS TO THE COUNTRY OF THE PAPINACHOIS INNU AND THE NASKAPI INNU.

THE resolution to undertake this journey having been adopted during the winter season, we set about its execution on the twenty-first of April. Leaving the Innu who had wintered with us at Ile aux Basques, I proceeded toward the North with the Papinachois Innu, under favor of a fine day which God gave us to enable us to make about 17 miles.

We landed at the Esseigiou, a river famous for the number of Salmon taken there in the fishing season. Two things rejoiced us upon landing: first, the sight of a large Cross, which we saluted by singing the Vexilla Regis prodeunt in the Innu tongue; second, the taking of five Moose, which, coming to feed on the banks of the great river, were killed by our hunters. At this the Papinachois Innu, proud of this success in hunting, said to me: "Some Innu told you that ours is a wretched country, and that you would die of hunger there if you lived with us. You see now that they did not tell the truth. Kataouatichouasti Oupapinachiouek asti, asti. It is a good land," said he, "the land of the Papinachois Innu." I repeated to them often these same words, to show them how glad I was to be with them in their country. We remained at this post for about two weeks.

We felt much joy, on the second day of May, at the arrival of the Frenchman and the Indian who had gone to Quebec while we were still on the Southern side. I had no more wine for saying Mass, having poured out the last on that day. The newcomers crowned our joy when they told us that the sailboat in which they had come was 2 miles above us, and that Father Gabriel Druillettes was in it. On the next day all our Indians wished to accompany me to go and see the French, and especially the Father, whom they love much. Our little sailboat did not lack rowers, and we soon arrived at our place of meeting, where we were received with much love. The Father and I, having conferred on what we had to do concerning our Missions, decided that I should accompany the Papinachois Innu on their journey inland, while he would proceed up the Saguenay river to visit the Indians of those regions. After this, we separated.

On the fifth day of May, we arrived at Sault au Mouton, a great waterfall by which the river called by the Indians Kaouasagiskaket empties into the great Saint Lawrence River.

We remained a week at this place. Two Indians, who had lost their two little girls during the winter, having chosen this place as that best suited for giving them their last burial, we built a little Chapel and interred them there. All the finest articles possessed by these Indians were placed in the children's bier.

On the eleventh of the same month, we arrived at the river which the Indians call Kouakoueou. We saw in passing the ravages wrought by the Earthquake in the rivers of Port neuf; the water coming there is all yellow, and it retains this color far into the great river, as does also that of the Betsiamite Innu. The Indians could no longer navigate these two rivers.

Leaving this last place, we met two Canoes coming down from the interior, well laden with pelts. They turned about, and came with us. Our Indians made their trade with these newcomers, after which they finished the Canoes which we needed for our journey.

Some days later we reached the river Peritibistokou where we halted until the second of June before proceeding inland by this river. The arrangement for our journey was that the women, the children, and some men should remain on the bank of the great river, while the rest would go up to Lake Manicouagan.

We set out the next day, the second of June, to the number of ten Canoes. So there we were on our way, plying our paddles in rivalry of one another; in this handicraft I served my apprenticeship under the direction of the Frenchman and the Indian who were with me. We proceeded -- on that day as far as a great waterfall, where our Argonauts, finding a good number of Seals, killed many of them, using their guns, javelins, and arrows in this hunt.

On the third day of June, after four Canoes had left us to go and join their families, we made a portage which occupied an entire day, spent now in climbing mountains and now in piercing forests. Here we had much difficulty in making our way, for we were all laden as heavily as possible, -- one carrying the Canoe, another the provisions, and a third what we needed in our commercial transactions. I carried my Chapel and my little store of provisions; there was no one who was not laden, and sweating from every pore. We entered, somewhat late, the great river Manicouagan, which the French call riviere Noire ["Black river"], because of its depth. It is quite as broad as the Seine, and as swift as the Rhone. The eleven portages which we had to make there, and the numerous currents which it was necessary to overcome by force of paddling, gave us abundant exercise. I said Mass on holy Trinity, midway on my journey, opposite a high mountain which we call mont de la Trinite. It was the first sacrifice ever offered in this country, where never before had a European made his appearance.

On the ninth day of June, we reached Lake Manicouagan, where I found sixty-four souls. They were Papinachois Innu, who, returning from hunting, had assembled in this place to trade with their Compatriots who dwell along the great Saint Lawrence River, and have commerce with the French. They received us with many marks of affection. Two Canoes, after coming to reconnoiter us, returned promptly to their Camp, to prepare our reception.

We saluted them, upon approaching, with all our little artillery; and they replied with their guns. Then, after we had disembarked, they took charge of all our packages, which they carried to the Captain's Cabin; here they conducted us, and we were at once fed with a great piece of Smoked meat, together with a bit of Moose-fat. Most, having never seen any Frenchmen or Jesuits, could not weary of looking at us, and the whole Cabin was filled with spectators.

The next day, the tenth, was employed partly in visiting individual families, in noting down their names, and in distinguishing those who were baptized from those who were not, and partly in building a Chapel. It was a pleasure to watch the movements of the workmen. Some ran for poles, others for bark, and the women for fir branches; while the builders prepared the ground, and made the plan of the first Church ever built in that country. The body of the Chapel being finished, I erected the Altar, and adorned it in the best way I could. Having seen at the Captain's place a fine Moose-skin, covered with ornamental work, I thought he would willingly lend it to me, and I was not mistaken; that good Christian trainee was well pleased that it should serve to adorn the house of prayer.

There is no false religion to combat among these tribes; they are intelligent and gentle, and it is no wonder that they have so soon understood our Mysteries. The first thing that inclined them to receive the Gospel was the earthquake, which to them proclaimed aloud a divinity; the second was the example of those Compatriots of theirs who accompanied me; the third, the disinterested love of the black gowns, who expose their lives to a thousand dangers, solely to come and teach them; and the fourth, the beauty of our mysteries. One could not believe the horror which they have of falsehood and theft. I found no polygamy among them. To become angry is to commit a great crime. As to drunkenness, they do not know what it is, and as for greed, their goods are held almost in common. You would say that they are a people without passion; I have not yet seen any who are more peaceful and more kind.

We thought that we would remain only three days at Lake saint Barnabe, for we had provisions only for that length of time; but God decreed otherwise. The Naskapi Innu, a more Northern tribe than the Papinachois Innu, did not appear at the rendezvous at the appointed time. "We must wait for them," said my old Christians; "they are the ones who have the most pelts." Their resolution was agreeable to me, God giving me more time for the better instruction of my Neophytes, besides the hope to see the Naskapi Innu. We waited until the sixteenth, when a Papinachois Innu Canoe, returning from its winter expedition, brought us news of having seen some Naskapi Innu at a neighboring Lake, so a Canoe was immediately dispatched to make them hurry. What joy when I saw appear eight Canoes, filled partly with Adults and partly with little Children! After the people had landed, I showed them the joy which I felt in seeing them and then I retired. They spent the rest of the day in housing themselves and in exchanging visits.

On the next day, the 21st of June, the feast of the Blessed Aloysius Gonzaga, I was in the Chapel at the time when I was to begin the instruction of these newcomers. I told them that he who made all things implored me to love them; and that it was to give them sure proofs of this that I had come to that country after passing the winter with the Papinachois Innu, their allies. They interrupted me often with their exclamations, "O, o, o!"

"I care nothing," said I, "for your Beaver and Caribou skins; I have not come to trade; that is the business of the Papinachois Innu and the French merchant who has come up here with us. Meanwhile, are you not glad to have me baptize your little children?"

"Karapouan," replied they, -- "Yes." They went to fetch them after the lesson, and came back all together with the little children and with their wives.

Being informed that among these Christian trainees there were three who had formerly been tricksters, I summoned them into the Chapel in private, and examined them on what they had done in trickeries, and what were their intentions regarding it. They told me that their notion had been that there was a good and a bad manitou; that they hated the bad one, and loved the good one; and that all they had done had been solely for the purpose of honoring the good manitou. When I had thoroughly instilled in them what Faith teaches us in this matter, they were satisfied, and decided to obey him who made all things.

Among the Naskapi Innu, there happened to be a Naskapi Innu Captain devoted to prayer. He honored our mysteries on all occasions that offered, particularly in a fine speech which he delivered in his Cabin, in the presence of Sir Amiot, the Papinachois Innu, and the Naskapi Innu. I was at the time busy in the Chapel. Sir Amiot gave him a present of a roll of tobacco, a sword, and some other things which they value, and I gave him two fine Pictures. At this, he said wonderful things to us; he was going to exhibit these Pictures to all the nations allied to his own, and he would make a tour of all the Villages which lie along Hudson Bay, to invite all the Inhabitants to prayer. He said that he would tell them in advance what I had taught him; that all the Captains of that country would taste the tobacco which Sir Amiot had given him; and that the sword of which he had made him a present would speak in a loud voice in honor of the French. As I found him to be a man of intelligence, and thoroughly acquainted with all that country, I did not lose this excellent opportunity to ask him a number of questions, which I shall set down here, with the replies.

"Is it far from here to the two Villages where your relatives and yourself dwell?" "One can arrive there in twenty nights."

"Can one ascend there in a Canoe?" "Yes; but beyond those Villages Canoes are not used, for lack of bark to make them, the trees of that country being small."

"Are those two Villages well populated?" "There are a great many people there." A Papinachois Innu who wintered with us confirmed this statement for me, having been there formerly.

"Are there any other villages near these?" "Yes, there are two; and farther away, two others."

"On what do all the inhabitants of those districts live?" "In summer, on fish, which they catch in large lakes, where they are found in abundance; and in Winter, on Caribou flesh, which they prefer to Moose."

"Is it far from those Villages to Hudson Bay?" "It takes a Winter to go there and return."

"Have you been to Hudson Bay?" "Yes."

"Is the coast of that Sea inhabited?" "I have seen a great many Indians there."

"Oblige me by giving me the Massinahigan, the description with the names of the tribes inhabiting that coast." He gave me the Topography of those regions with the names of the inhabitants composing the different nations.

"Have Europeans -- French, or Spanish, or English -- made their appearance on that coast?" "No."

As a result of this conversation, it was decided that he should return next year to the same Lake, -- saint Barnabe, -- and that one of our Fathers should go and join him at this same post, to go up from that place to the two villages.

We parted on the twenty-third of June, and in four days -- so swift is the river -- we arrived safely at the bank of the great Saint Lawrence River, where our coming had been eagerly awaited by the French and the Papinachois Innu. Finally, two days and two nights of good northeast wind brought us to Quebec.

THE HURON CHURCH AT QUEBEC.

A good Huron woman takes orphans under her shelter, as she did with three poor little children whom, despite her poverty, she willingly feeds and cares for, -- in case, being bereft of father and mother, they should fall into the hands of one of their relatives, whose faith is not sufficiently rooted in his soul.

One day, when they indulged in some frolic natural at their age, she told them that it was all over with them, and that they would be hanged just as they had seen a Frenchman hanging on the gallows. She said this so earnestly that those poor children thought every passerby was the executioner come to take them; one of them hid in a corner of the Cabin, and the others took refuge, half-naked, in the snow among the bushes. At last she persuaded them that, to avoid this punishment, they must make confession as soon as possible; and then she came to Quebec to speak to the Father. She caused him serious alarm by leading him to suspect that what she had to relate was some strange case, and it all ended in these childish trifles, which she regarded as so grave that she found no rest, and gave none to the children, until they had confessed.

She knew how to respond to certain libertines who reproached her that all her behavior was only hypocrisy, and that she wished to win the esteem of men by these fair appearances. "That might well have been the case," said she, "when first I began to be instructed; but now that I know what my practice of devotion will be worth to me in Heaven, I do not care to take for reward a vain applause which is only smoke, or words which are lost in the air." Finally, she intends to make, at her death, the blessed Virgin heiress to all her possessions.

The good Heleine, whose children were carried off at Montreal, last year, by the Iroquois, -- from whom she received so many blows with the hatchet that she was left for dead, one of her eyes blinded and her face grievously and lastingly disfigured -- yet never fails to be present at all devotional meetings; and every morning she offers to our Lord each new humiliation that she must endure from the looks cast at her during the day. She does not complain that she is so disfigured, but that her poor children are in such danger of damnation among the Iroquois; and it is solely to weep over this misfortune that she would desire the use of both her eyes.

A Christian man, having some sore on his hand, decided to apply to it one of their usual remedies, cutting himself with a knife and making several incisions, but with so little skill that he severed some of the tendons and veins. This brought on gangrene of almost the entire hand, so that, to rid himself of the stench of this gangrene, and the pain that he felt, he made up his mind to cut off, by himself, several fingers of this hand -- and this he executed with a firmness which was admirable and Christian.

THE CAPTIVE CHURCHES AMONG THE IROQUOIS.

THESE are the most distressed of all our Churches, but not the least acceptable to God, who sees himself honored in the heart of Barbarism at once by French, Hurons, and Iroquois. There are maimed Frenchmen, who lift to Heaven hands without fingers; Huron slaves, who in their captivity take the liberty to preach Jesus Christ to their executioners; and as there are Iroquois persecutors, there are also Iroquois Preachers. One of these is a man named Garacontie, who was formerly our host when we were in their country -- one of the most notable men of Onondaga, and a good friend of the French.

Besides rescuing so many poor Frenchmen from the hands and the flames of the Mohawk Iroquois, -- some of whom he brought back to us, while the rest he has harbored at his cabin as he would his own children, -- he has by his authority maintained the Chapel that we built in their village. There he assembles all the French Captives for prayer; while, to unite material with spiritual charity, he gives them a feast at the close of prayers, to encourage their devotion and at the same time alleviate their misery. This charitable Indian has done still more, building in the middle of his Village a French house for lodging the Missionaries whom he expects; and in the desire to hurry their arrival, he nearly lost his life and became a captive of the Algonquins while working for the deliverance of our Frenchmen from their captivity among the Iroquois.

He is not the only Iroquois in this Village of Onondaga who favors the faith. There are several of them who invite these French Captives to their feasts, to persuade them, at the close of the feast, to pray in their behalf; they ask nothing else from these poor wretches than the aid of their prayers, of which they make great account, Iroquois although they are.

The women of this Village do still more. No sooner have they given birth to their children than they carry them to the oldest of the Frenchmen for Baptism. For this reason, we were then obliged to re-baptize the children without the mothers' knowledge, if we wished to prevent so many children from being lost; at least two-thirds of them die before they have the use of reason.

It is to the oldest of the Frenchmen that they apply, and they consider him as pastor both of the Iroquois and of the French; for he assumes over the French the authority to rebuke them sharply, if they are wanting ever so little in their Christian duty. It needs only a gesture or a word of too great freedom to merit a harsh reprimand. He therefore has the consolation of seeing, in this captivity, Josephs who not only flee from their shameless mistresses, but also deal them blows with no sparing hand, although this may result in the cutting off of some of their fingers or the splitting of their heads with a hatchet. This weapon easily strikes stubborn Captives, as we have seen many times; for among the Iroquois, the life of a Captive is valued no more than that of a dog, and it needs only a slight disobedience to merit a hatchet-stroke.

THE CAPTURE OF TWO FRENCHMEN BY THE IROQUOIS, AND THEIR ADVENTURES.

THE cruelty with which the lower Iroquois treat those of us whom they make prisoners is so horrible that all New France will never give enough blessings to our incomparable Monarch who is undertaking to deliver his Subjects -- French, Algonquin, and Huron -- from these Barbarian Enemies. They have killed this year in our Fields several Frenchmen, who are less to be pitied than those whom they have carried into captivity; among the captives there are two poor girls, one of whom was carried away from the Island of Orleans, while the other, twelve years old, was taken at Three Rivers. We do not yet know what cruelties they have inflicted on these last captives, but we judge of them only too well from those with which they tormented two Frenchmen.

In the Autumn of 1663, two Soldiers of the garrison at Three Rivers, while hunting on the Richelieu Islands, fell into an ambush that the Mohawk Iroquois had laid for them, and were soon taken and bound, as Captives usually are. In the attack, one of them was wounded by a ball, which, after passing through his body, stopped at the surface of the side opposite to that by which it had entered.

The Iroquois -- who take Pride in leading home Prisoners alive and full of strength, to endure the strain of torture to which they destine them -- turned Physicians in the case of this wounded man, and, with cruel compassion, dressed his wound and bled him with a diligence only too charitable to him. They probed the wound full through his body, and finding the place where the ball had stopped, made an incision there and removed it, with admirable skill.

After this successful operation, it is incredible what pains and care they took of this poor patient. Some would cleanse the wound and infuse into it the juice of roots, either boiled or chewed, which is a powerful remedy with them; others would bandage it, and acquit themselves with such delicacy in handling it that they seemed to fear giving him the least pain in the world. Others would prepare his meals for him, with all the kindness one could wish for in any Hospital; some would support him under the armpits when he walked; while others would encourage him with kind words, full of tenderness. "Courage, my brother!" they would say to him; "we shall soon be there. Your wound is getting better and better. We are sparing no pains to restore your health; so take courage, and do not put an affront upon us at the entrance to our Village." Their real meaning was that the ill of which they were curing him was only to prepare him for greater ills, which awaited him upon their arrival in their own country.

In fact, as soon as they were perceived, everyone came out to meet them with rods and staves in hand; and when they had all arrayed themselves in rows on both sides of the road, they made our two Frenchmen pass through their midst entirely naked, discharging on them as they advanced such a shower of blows, each one striving to hit them, that they fell fainting at the entrance to the Village. Such was the purpose of all the care that they had taken of this poor sick man on the way; they had feared that he would die and therefore deprive all this Barbarian tribe of the pleasure which they take in these cruel executions.

While our two Frenchmen were in this pitiful condition, a Huron approached them to console them. He was one of our good Christians of Quebec, who was captured by the same Iroquois a few years ago; and having been treated with the same severity, he knew well what consolation they needed. "Courage, my brothers!" he said to them; "pray earnestly, in this little time which you have still to live. Tomorrow you will go to Heaven, for they have decided to burn you at daybreak."

Day breaking, the captives made themselves ready for that cruel torture, and were surprised at the delay in beginning the execution. God was procuring their deliverance. It was through an Ambassador, recently arrived from Onondaga, who asked of the Elders that the two Captives be delivered up to him, to help to bring about a planned compromise with the French. See our two victims summoned. They tremble at every word that is said to them; they are unbound, and they think that it is to make them mount the scaffold. Sentence is pronounced on them, not of death, but of life; and they are put in the charge of an Onondaga, who undertakes to conduct them in safety to Onondaga, there to join the other French Captives and be ready to embark when it is desired to take them back to Montreal. All these things appeared to them so surprising that they could scarcely believe them.

They were not yet, however, in safety; for a certain Iroquois, who had already devoured this prey with his eyes, decided to satisfy his desire with the death of one of the two Captives. He pursued him with hatchet in hand, no one, either Elder or Captain, opposing the insolent man. There was only a good Huron Christian woman, who -- captive although she was, and consequently liable to have her head broken, in the event of discovery -- did not hesitate to take this poor Frenchman into her Cabin, where she concealed him under some bark for three days, until means was afforded the Frenchmen to escape with their guide without being noticed by this furious man.

See them, therefore, on the road, full of joy, although severely bruised with blows, and all covered with sores. They walk on peacefully in those great forests and begin to breathe again. But another accident, which throws them into new dangers. Their guide, seeing himself alone in the middle of the woods with two Frenchmen, is seized with a panic of terror -- persuading himself that he is not safe with them, and that they could make an attempt against his life. This fear taking hold of him, one night when the Frenchmen were sleeping, he rose, and, as if he had been himself the captive of his Captives, fled from them, leaving them surprised when, awaking, they found themselves alone. In what direction were they to turn, not knowing even where they were? What path were they to take, in a forest where there was none? If they followed the tracks of their fugitive, they would arrive at Oneida, the most cruel of the Iroquois nations, and the most furious against the French. How were they to pass the nights without fire, not having with which to start it? And yet it was in November, a cold season for men almost naked, as they were. But on what were they to live, having no weapons to kill the animals they would find on their way? They perceived that their guide had forgotten in his flight a little bag of Indian cornmeal. They mixed some with water, morning and evening, and that was all they had to sustain them.

After walking three days, with incredible sufferings, they saw themselves at the gates of the village of Oneida. But what now? Had they the courage to give themselves up into the hands of the most cruel executioners of the French? They threw themselves, by stealth, into an abandoned Cabin, which was situated all by itself outside the village, to hold themselves in hiding there, and decide, more at leisure, what they were to do. They entered it accordingly, and were surprised to find a woman inside, who -- instead of crying out at the sight of these fugitives, and going to announce their arrival -- invited them to enter, gave them kind looks, and even addressed them in good French. Our two pilgrims did not doubt that she was a guardian Angel, hearing as they did their own language spoken by an Indian woman, and receiving from her acts of charity which would deserve admiration among the most fervent Christians. For she set about entertaining them kindly, preparing a fire for them, giving them something to eat, and wiping the matter from their sores, without showing any disgust at the stench which arose from those ill-dressed ulcers. She even went to fetch some medicinal roots, and made of them a dressing, which she applied to all the places on their bodies where the gangrene seemed most dangerous, and cleansed the others, -- all this with extreme charity, omitting nothing of all that a wise and kind Surgeon could do.

She played the part of an angel; and they would have believed her such, if she had not made herself known to them. "I am," said she, "poor Marguerite Haouenhontona, well known to the black gowns, from whom I received Baptism, and to the holy maidens, the Ursuline mothers of Quebec. I was brought up at their house; and I received from them such good teachings that, despite my unfortunate captivity, I think I never shall abandon the faith which they instilled into my heart with the education of several years. That is the real reason why I pay back to you a part of the many charities with which they overwhelmed me when I was with them. They taught me to speak French, and is it not just that I should comfort you now, speaking to you in that same language; and that I should feel kindness for you, just as they showed kindness to me? This little that I do for you is nothing in comparison with what they did for me."

In this way, that good Christian woman pleasantly entertained her guests with an account of all the services that those good Nuns had rendered her, enumerating the smallest details. She told them, seeing them so covered with ulcers, that it was with all her heart that she applied herself to dressing them, after the example of those other holy maidens whom she had seen serving the sick with such charity; she was alluding to the Hospital Nuns.

During all this pleasant talk, by which she tried to cheer them up, the news was carried into Oneida that two Frenchmen had gone into the Cabin outside the village; that they had been seen going in that direction toward evening. The Elders assembled to deliberate upon this matter; and it was proposed to go immediately and knock these men on the head, and make them enter the Village as prisoners -- that is, under a hail-storm of blows; to tear out their nails, cut off their fingers, and burn them, like the other Captives. Meanwhile, the men themselves were peacefully enjoying the pleasant conversation of their hostess, and were offering up devout prayers with her, before taking a little rest during the night, after so many fatigues and sufferings.

But hark! a loud noise was heard at the door of the Cabin, made by those who were sent by the Elders to seize the Frenchmen. Scarcely had their wounds been bandaged when they had to prepare to receive new ones. But contrary to all the laws and customs of those Barbarians, the Council of the Elders had decreed that no injury should be done them, and that they should be conducted in perfect safety to the place where they desired to go. It was done as they had determined. They were given a peaceful entry into the Village, where French Captives had never been seen to enter except amid horrible yells and countless blows with cudgels. And as they were so exhausted that they had not strength enough to pursue their journey, God inspired an Iroquois Matron to ask that they might be lodged in her hut; and she then took care to clothe them, dress their wounds, and feed them well for five days. At the end of this time, after many kindnesses, she furnished them with the provisions necessary for the rest of the journey and courteously conducted them a long distance outside the Village.

They went on their way and at last reached Onondaga, where they found several Frenchmen, rescued like themselves from the hands of the other Iroquois by that Garacontie, who is styled the father and protector of Captive Frenchmen.

NOTABLE EMBASSY OF THE IROQUOIS.

SINCE war broke out between the Iroquois and ourselves, we have not yet seen on their part a more solemn Embassy -- whether in point of the number and rank of the ambassadors, or the beauty and number of the presents -- than what they dispatched last Spring.

Upon investigating the causes of such an extraordinary event, it is not easy to hit on the true one. They proclaim that they wish to unite all the nations of the earth and to hurl the hatchet so far into the depths of the earth that it shall never again be seen in the future; that they wish to place an entirely new Sun in the Heavens, which shall never again be obscured by a single cloud; that they wish to level all the mountains, and remove all the falls from the rivers -- that they wish peace. Besides, as an evidence of the sincerity of their intentions, they declare that they are coming -- women, and children, and old men -- to deliver themselves into the hands of the French, -- not so much in the way of hostages for their good faith as to begin to make only one Earth and one Nation of themselves and us.

All these words are misleading, but for more than five years we have known from our own experience that the Iroquois is of a crafty disposition, adroit, posturing, and arrogant; and that he will never descend so as to be the first to ask peace from us, unless he has a great scheme in his head, or is driven to it for some pressing reason.

Some think that the Mohawks -- the nation nearest to us and the most arrogant and cruel -- ask us for peace because they are no longer in a condition to make war, being reduced to a small number by famine, disease, and the losses that they have suffered in the last two or three years, on all sides where they have directed their arms. Quite recently they suffered a bleeding which weakened them. We learn that an army of six hundred Iroquois, most of whom were Mohawks, went out to sack a Village composed of certain Indians called Mahicans or the Wolves. The Mahicans saw that the army which was about to pounce upon them would put the whole place to fire and sword, if it were allowed to approach the Village; and so they decided to advance against it and take it unawares.

They accordingly went out, to the number of a hundred only, and after going 5 miles, encountered the Enemy and gave battle. The fight lasted a long time with great loss on both sides. Still, superior numbers prevailing, the Mahicans were forced to retire into their Village, leaving the Field of battle to the Iroquois, who found themselves so poorly used in this first engagement that they thought only of retreat. But when they saw such a large number of their men fallen on the spot, they decided to avenge themselves for this loss, although they should all perish in the attempt. So not to give the Mahicans time to recover and rally, they set out that evening, and at daybreak made the attack on the Village with great fury and frightful yells, as if they had already made themselves masters of the place.

The heat of the combat was great on both sides, and the Iroquois lost many men, because they made the assault without taking the precaution to cover themselves, which compelled them at last to retreat, leaving many dead around the Enemy's Village. This check, with some others that occurred at the same time, humbled them, and brought them low; and that is thought to have been the reason which forced them to come to us and ask for peace. Others think that the Senecas -- the nation farthest from us, simplest in nature, and most numerous -- asked us for peace to be able to make headway against the Susquehannocks; these are Indians of new Sweden, warlike, and better able than any others to exterminate the Iroquois. To secure themselves against so formidable an Enemy, the Senecas ask the French to come in large numbers and settle among them. They ask this, hoping that the French will surround their Villages with flanked palisades, and furnish them with the munitions of war, -- which they hardly dare any longer to go and obtain from the Dutch, as the Mahicans render the roads dangerous. Finally, they ask that some black gowns be sent them, to take control of an entire Village of old Huron Christians, and to convert the others. Father Simon le Moyne had already gone to Montreal with this plan; he was delighted at being destined to expose his life for the sixth time to the Iroquois; and would be there now, if the Embassy had succeeded.

As for the Onondagas, some think that they desire peace, others believe that they are far from it; and both may be said to be right. For Garacontie, that famous liberator of the French Captives, has done too much not to wish for peace; on the other hand, there are other families who are too envious and too much opposed to him to allow him to have the glory of concluding a general peace with the French. Nothing of that sort, however, is apparent; but as the Iroquois are more crafty than is imagined, both the one side and the other may conceal some mischievous trick under that fair appearance; and the richer the presents are that they wish to make, the more are they to be mistrusted.

The Onondagas, the Embassy's prime movers, did not wish to expose rashly the most prominent men of their entire country; and so, to assure themselves fully in the matter, they sent to Montreal, as early as August, advance couriers to find out whether the envoys would be well received there. They appeared above our settlement with a white flag in their Canoe, so not to be taken for Enemies. Under such protection, they landed at Montreal and made some presents as a declaration that all the Iroquois nations, except that of Oneida, asked for peace, and that even the Mohawks were therefore inclined, -- confirming the whole with a letter written to Sir de Mezy, our Governor, by one of the prominent men of New Netherland, who gave his guarantee of their good faith. This proposition was listened to with joy, but still with distrust, since at the moment when they were talking to us of peace, they were making war on us in our Fields, where murders were being committed upon our farmers. Yet, so not to rebuff them entirely, they were sent back from Montreal with friendly words; and they departed with a resolution to go and hurry the departure of the Ambassadors.

In fact, a short time afterward, Captain Garacontie -- who was the soul of this enterprise -- joined the Senecas, together with those of his nation; and made a tremendous collection of wampum, which is the gold of the country, to give us the most beautiful presents that had ever been given us. There were, among other gifts, a hundred collars, some of which were more than a foot in width. They embarked to the number of thirty, laden with these riches; and to be still more welcome, they took with them the two Frenchmen of whom I spoke, to begin their presents by giving these men their liberty.

But their ill luck seems to have accompanied them wherever they went. After they had made some days' journey, our Algonquins, who were waging war in that part of the country, perceiving traces of these Ambassadors, laid an ambush for them below the Lachine Rapids, and, attacking them unexpectedly, put them all to rout. Some were killed on the spot, others were made prisoners, and the rest took flight. As for the two Frenchmen, they sustained the first onset, and had great difficulty in making themselves recognized as Frenchmen by the Algonquins, -- who, in the heat of the conflict, throwing aside their guns to take their hatchets, were striking right and left without considering on whom the blows fell. They were finally recognized, but had the grief of seeing that their liberty would cost their liberators their lives or their freedom.

Thus the grand project of this Embassy has vanished in smoke, and instead of the peace which it was bringing us, we have on our hands a more cruel war than before; for the Iroquois would cease to be Iroquois if they did not make every effort to avenge the deaths of those Ambassadors. Perhaps they will deceive for some time, if they find themselves too much weakened by their late losses; and then -- if they are not either entirely exterminated or put into such a condition that they cannot stir again -- sooner or later they will take vengeance on the French, as they did on the Hurons, ten years after having become reconciled with them.

Beyond this, it is difficult to judge whether this defeat is advantageous or disadvantageous to us. There is much to be said on both sides. The great body of the Iroquois do not love us, and they have a deadly hatred for the Algonquins. Consequently, when we see them so remarkably urgent for making peace with us, we think that they are afraid of the victorious arms of our triumphant King, and that, for once, they fear the plan which he has adopted to exterminate them, learning of it partly from New Netherland, and partly from some French Captives. And so, seeing themselves within two finger-breadths of total destruction, -- famine and disease having begun it; the Susquehannocks, Mahicans, Algonquins, and other Indians having advanced it; and the French being interested in completing it, -- feeling in this way the approach of their ruin, they pretend to wish for peace, or rather necessity forces them to wish for it.

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER WRITTEN AT QUEBEC ON THE 22ND OF SEPTEMBER.

SINCE dispatching the Report by the Ship which sailed from here on the 31st of August, the Cayugas have come on an Embassy, reaching Quebec on the 18th of September. Its Chief is one of our old friends; he was Father Rene Menard's host when Menard was Missionary among the Iroquois. They spoke through twenty presents, of which six of the finest were for the priests, -- the Bishop of Petraea, and the Fathers of our Jesuits, for whom they ask with urgency to instruct them in the Faith, -- and for the Hospital Nuns and the Ursulines, whose kind offices they hope to receive when they shall be sick here, and when they bring their daughters here to receive instruction.

Ten of these twenty presents were for the Algonquins, their old Enemies, with whom they testify their desire to form a friendship which shall never be broken.

They spoke for all the Iroquois Nations except that of Oneida.

Had we not been often deceived by such Embassies, which have concealed deadly treasons under these appearances of Peace, we might have been deceived in this; but our experiences make us mistrust these faithless Barbarians, even when they trust us implicitly.

To render more lucid the information desired regarding the Iroquois Nations, let it be stated that there are five of them, -- forming five different areas, leagued against their common Enemies.

The Mohawks are the nearest to us, and neighbors to New Netherland, where they obtain fire-arms, gunpowder, and lead; with the Dutch they carry on all their trading.

The Oneidas are two days' journey farther distant.

The Onondagas are still farther away.

The Cayugas are about three days' journey beyond the last-named tribe.

The Senecas, who are the most populous and have several Villages, are the farthest, by about three days' journey.

They are all situated along the great Lake of the Iroquois called Lake Ontario, from 50 to 75 miles inland. They are settled in Villages, and till the soil, raising Indian corn, otherwise called Turkish corn. Wheat grows there very well, but they do not use it.

Behind them, farther southward, they have Indian Enemies who have been making vigorous war on them, -- the Mahicans, the Abenakis, allied with New England, and the Susquehannocks, allied with New Sweden.

Thus seeing themselves attacked on both sides, they fear the arms of France, and that with reason.

YEAR 1665
NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1664 AND 1665

PREFACE.

Until now, Canada has been regarded simply as Canada -- I mean, we have considered only its rigors and ice, and the severity of its winters. It has been believed that to come here was to enter the region of frosts, and the most ill-favored country in the world; and this view seems to have been held with some reason, as war with the Iroquois has until now kept us so closely confined that we have been unable to clear our fields, to breathe the same atmosphere as of France, or to enjoy the fair realms either occupied, or closed to us, by our foes.

If the Gospel is not yet established among those Tribes to whom one of our Fathers went this last Summer, and who comprise more than a hundred thousand fighting men, he was only prevented by a mere handful of one or two thousand Iroquois. There are few foes to contend against, but those few are Iroquois -- that is to say, nearly such as were of old the tribes of Germany and ancient Gaul, when those countries were still nothing but dense forests, inhabited by wild beasts and by men in a state of savagery. But it was those men who so long braved the entire forces of the Roman Empire, and who so often surprised those troops that had been victorious over all the world, -- making sudden and unexpected sorties from their dense forests, without fearing in case those triumphant arms should come and attack them. Our Iroquois are formidable only in that kind of warfare; I assert that as much courage is needed for undertaking their reduction as displayed by the ancient Romans.

We bless God that his Majesty has chosen for this war veteran troops already accustomed to fighting, and commanded by men of courage and Noble birth, who have already succeeded in crossing the Alpine snows and opposing the progress of the enemy of the Christians in Germany, -- with such success that this foe now knows by experience the just cause he has to fear the French arms, as he has done for so many years.

THE ARRIVAL OF SIR DE TRACY IN NEW FRANCE.

THE King, intending to reestablish the glory of the French in the Island of Cayenne, which we had evacuated some years ago, and to secure a visitation of all the Colonies owned by us in both Americas, South and North, chose Sir de Tracy, with whose capacity he had become acquainted in the different offices which he had given him in his Armies. He caused a Commission to be sent to him, of the most ample and honorable nature yet known; gave him four Companies of Infantry; decreed that his guards should bear the same colors as his Majesty's; and ordered to be equipped for his use the ships named the Brese and the Teron, -- the Brese of eight hundred tons, and the Teron of somewhat less, -- together with several other vessels laden with provisions and munitions of war. His Majesty also provided people to till the soil, a number of artisans, and everything necessary for an expedition of such importance.

Sir de Tracy sailed from la Rochelle on the 26th of February, 1664, accompanied by many of the Nobility, besides the troops, and by well-equipped vessels. He was complimented by the Portuguese of Madeira and the Cape verd islands with all the honor due to his rank and merit. Sir de la Barre, upon landing, was given a splendid reception.

Then the vessels sailed directly to Cayenne, where they arrived in a short time. Upon Sir de Tracy's summoning the Dutch Governor to surrender the Island to the French, to whom it belonged, he readily complied; and Sir de la Barre stopped there, in accordance with the King's orders.

Cayenne having been therefore placed once more under obedience to the King, Sir de Tracy proceeded without delay to the French Islands, where he was received in a manner befitting his rank of Governor-general, and his Majesty's Lieutenant in all America, South and North. He imposed such order everywhere, especially in Martinique and Guadaloupe, which most needed it, that his Majesty was fully satisfied, when he learned how Religion and Justice had been firmly established, the people given relief, and all matters adjusted under the authority of the new Lords, the Honorable Company of the West Indies.

Sir de Tracy, after effecting in the Islands all that could have been expected from his wise management, received the King's orders to go with the utmost expedience to Canada, as soon as he should have provided for the Government of Tortuga Island.

On the 25th of April, 1665, he left Guadaloupe, and took the route toward San Domingo, otherwise called Spanish Island. He also coasted by the English of St. Kitts, where he was saluted by innumerable discharges of cannon, -- this Nation being determined to outdo the French in its testimonials of high appreciation of that Sir's conduct, and of the admirable justice he had done them in all the differences which he had adjudicated between them and the French.

He easily rounded the Island of Puerto Rico, which belongs to the Spanish, and seeing that, due to contrary winds, he could not go on to Tortuga Island, he contented himself with approaching near enough to it to give notice of his coming to its inhabitants, particularly to Sir Dangeron, its Governor, who promptly came to meet him at the French Port of the Island of San Domingo, where the Brese had anchored.

It required several days to conclude the business, and give the necessary orders to Sir Dangeron for his Government; and to administer to him, as well as to all the people who were in that Island of Tortuga and on the coast of San Domingo, the oath of fidelity to the King.

After that, the Brese resumed her course toward the Caicos Islands, to proceed straight to Canada with no farther detour. The Caicos are a number of small Islands, no great distance apart, encompassed by rocks which jut into the sea, and render the passage so dangerous that, after the occurrence there of many shipwrecks, no large vessel has been known to dare attempt it.

Therefore, there was hesitation in deciding to venture this passage with the Brese. But Sir de Tracy, -- after taking a new Pilot, and adopting the precautions demanded by prudence, -- laid his course in that direction, -- mindful that, if he were forced to follow the Bahama straits, he would lengthen his voyage by more than 1250 miles, and could not reach New France within the time set for him by the King.

God blessed his courage. His vessel, thanks to the wind that he desired, cleared the Caicos without danger; and encountering soon afterward the currents of that strait of Bahama which render the sea rapid along the coasts of Florida, he rounded the Bermudas without mishap, coasted along Virginia, and, in one month after leaving San Domingo, entered the great river Saint Lawrence.

To enter the gulf, he passed between the Island of Saint Paul and Cape Ray, and, the wind still continuing favorably, went on and cast anchor at Isle Perce, to take water and wood there. At this place were a number of vessels engaged in Cod-fishing, and they all saluted the King's standard.

Sir de Tracy had no further trouble, except in regard to the troops which he was expecting from France, and which were to have sailed from la Rochelle at the same time when he himself left the Islands. Happily, on the next day, they saw two vessels appear, bearing the first Companies of the Regiment sent by the King for use against the Iroquois.

Upon leaving Isle Perce, the Pilots hoped, to hurry their course, to take the Brese as far as Bit; but the winds changed, and forced them to abandon their purpose. In order not to risk a ship of the importance of the Brese in the Saint Lawrence river, it was deemed more beneficial to hire two vessels of lighter draft, and better suited for ascending the river; and still the winds were so steadily contrary that the Pilots could not reach Quebec until a month later.

This delay was untimely for Sir de Tracy, who had fallen ill. Still, he finally arrived in our roadstead of Quebec on the last day of June, 1665, -- so weak and reduced by fever that nothing but his courage sufficed to sustain him. The people of Quebec had prepared to give him the most magnificent reception in their power; but Sir de Tracy declined all such honors, and contented himself with the shouts of joy which began at the moment of his leaving the vessel, and accompanied him as far as the Church, where the ringing of the bells invited him.

Our Bishop of Petraea awaited him at the Church door, clad in pontifical robes, and attended by his Clergy. Offering him some holy water and the Cross, he led him into the choir, to the place prepared for him upon a kneeling-desk; but Sir de Tracy, although feeling weak and still suffering from his fever, would not use it, but knelt on the pavement, refusing even to use the cushion offered him.

THE RECEPTION WHICH THE INDIANS OF CANADA GAVE TO SIR DE TRACY

OUR Algonquin and Huron Indians received Sir de Tracy according to the customs of their country -- that is, with compliments accompanied by presents. These presents serve them as symbols to represent, after they have spoken, the speeches that have been made; and this usage they observe with much intelligence, for Barbarians. To each of these presents, they give a name, appropriate in their own language, to indicate briefly their entire meaning, -- in order that the gifts, which are preserved, may also preserve by their names the remembrance of what they signify.

The Hurons took the initiative because they were all assembled at Quebec, although only ten or twelve of their chief men acted as their representatives. One of the oldest acted as spokesman, but made as much use of gestures as of his tongue. After displaying the presents which he was about to offer, he spoke with vehemence, and in a tone of voice expressive of both the grief and the joy that overcame him.

"Great Onontio," said he, "you see at your feet the wreck of a great country, and the pitiful remnant of a whole world, that was formerly populated by countless inhabitants. But now you are addressed by mere carcasses, only the bones of which have been left by the Iroquois, who have devoured the flesh after broiling it on their scaffolds. There was left in us nothing but the merest thread of life; and our limbs, most of which have passed through the boiling cauldrons of our foes, had no more strength, -- when, raising our eyes with extreme difficulty, we saw on the river the ships that were bringing you, and, with you, so many soldiers sent us by your great Onontio and ours.

"Then the Sun seemed to shine upon us with brighter beams, and to illumine our fatherland of old, which had been so many years overcast with clouds and darkness. Then our lakes and rivers appeared calm, and without storms or breakers; and I seemed to hear a voice issuing from your vessel, and saying to us, from as far as we could discern you: 'Courage, O desolate people! Your bones are about to be knit together with muscles and tendons; your flesh is to be born again; your strength will be restored to you, and you will live as you did live of old.' At first I distrusted this voice, and took it for a sweet dream which was beguiling our wretchedness, when I was undeceived by the sound of so many drums, and the arrival of so many soldiers. After all, although I see you with my eyes, the joy you bring is so unexpected that I would fear that I was deceived by a beautiful dream, did I not already feel myself thoroughly fortified by your mere presence. I see you, O brave Onontio; I hear you; I address you. Be welcome, and receive this little present from the emptiness of our land, as a sign of the joy we feel at your fortunate coming, and of the homage we render to the greatest of all Onontios on earth, who has taken pity on our wretchedness and sends you to deliver us." Thus speaking, this Huron Captain threw down at Sir de Tracy's feet a moose skin, dressed and painted in native style.

This was but the beginning of his speech, and the first of six presents made by him, one after another. With the second present he said that, as Sir de Tracy had come to destroy the cruel devourers of human beings, he bore too much gentleness in his face; and so many charms did not inspire fear in those man-eaters. Therefore they wished, at least for this war, to render his face forbidding, by clothing it in a blackness that makes terrible those who are painted with it. He alluded to the custom of Indian warriors, who, when about to attack the enemy, paint themselves all colors, but especially black; so that they make their attack like an army of Demons, with Hellish yells and frightful cries.

With the third present he urged the French soldiers to load their muskets so well that, when they were in the enemy's country, the noise made by their discharge should not only spread panic among those Barbarians, but should also resound as far as this place, and cause here the joy which cannon-shots give when they announce some victory. His meaning was that the Iroquois, Indians although they were, were not so contemptible as to render it unnecessary to provide good arms and equipment for their conquest.

"It is true," he added, producing a fourth present, "that the enemy places half his prowess in his fast running, fighting usually entirely naked, and with only his musket in his hand and his hatchet in his belt, -- either to make it easier for him to win the victory, or to render his flight more unimpeded. When you have defeated him, you will not have captured him, -- especially since you are embarrassed with clothing ill adapted for running through thickets and underbrush, unless it is well cinched up and secured. Here is a belt suitable for fastening your garments so properly that you will have the advantage of being clothed in your pursuit of the enemy, and yet will be just as agile as he for running in the woods."

The fifth present accompanied a clause of importance; for he said that the element of greatest strength among the Iroquois was not the Iroquois themselves, but that their might resided in the large number of captives, -- French, Huron, Algonquin, and those from other Nations, -- who formed more than two-thirds of the Iroquois Nation, and were compelled by the Iroquois to bear arms against us.

He added that, if we could draw all these Captives to our side, we could defeat that arrogant Iroquois without striking a blow; and he would fall to the ground either like a tree whose roots have been cut, or like a mountain whose base has been undermined.

Also, he said, it was not so difficult to entice all these Captives away from the service of those cruel masters, for whom they had only fear and hatred in their hearts, and not love. It would only be necessary to announce to the Iroquois, when the French army approached their villages, that they must hand over to us all these Captives, and leave them entirely free; that otherwise we would resort to violence. If they delivered them up, they themselves would be defenseless; if they refused, we could compel them by force, while the Captives would voluntarily take our side, seeing that their own safety lay with us.

Finally, the last present was meant to encourage the French army to face the length and obstacles of the route leading to the Iroquois, and to serve as a fresh affirmation of the donors' obedience to the King's service.

Sir de Tracy declared his great pleasure at these native compliments, having had an interpreter explain to him all that was said. He assured that poor Huron Nation that no pains should be spared to restore it to its pristine splendor.

The Algonquins could not so soon acquit themselves of this duty, because, when Sir de Tracy arrived, they were scattered in the woods for the purpose of hunting. But, reassembling some time afterward, they came to seek him at Quebec; and Noel Tekouerimat, the Christian of longest standing, delivered, in the name of all, his speech, which was accompanied by nine presents.

With the first, he declared that he recognized the King of France as Master of all the earth, and that he rendered him the homage that all faithful subjects owe their Master.

With the second, that he regarded Sir de Tracy as the King's right arm, come to establish the country on a firm basis, and to revive the French and the Algonquins.

With the four following he gave him arms suitable for fighting the Iroquois.

With the seventh present, he rekindled the war-fire, which had been nearly extinguished by so much bloodshed.

The eighth was to promote the continued firm union of the French and Algonquin Nations, because, without such mutual understanding, the conquest of the Iroquois would be too difficult and uncertain. Besides, as they were both Christian peoples, they were fighting for the same cause and ought to act in concert, having both but one and the same end in view -- the destruction of the Iroquois and the announcement of the Gospel.

With the last present, this Captain caused the Algonquin Chiefs who stood around him to step forward, and offered them to Sir de Tracy, to march with him and attend him on the expedition that he was about to undertake.

The delay of the other vessels, which were bringing the larger part of our troops, and could not all arrive before the middle of September, compelled a postponement of this war until next Spring and Summer; but Sir de Tracy, unwilling to lose a single moment, immediately ordered four Companies of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment, which were the first to arrive, to go with all expedition and seize the most advantageous positions, to have an open passage into the Iroquois country.

They started from Quebec on the 23rd of July, and, after reinforcing their troops with a Company of Volunteers from this country, commanded by Sir de Repentigny, arrived at Three Rivers at a time most opportune to relieve the people from their fear of the Iroquois. These enemies had recently approached that place on one of their customary marauding excursions, and had slain some of the settlers, and taken some captives.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE UPPER ALGONQUINS AT QUEBEC, AND FATHER CLAUDE ALLOUEZ'S MISSION TO THOSE PEOPLES.

WHILE these advance troops were waiting at Three Rivers for a favorable wind to continue their voyage, and cross lake Saint Pierre, they had the pleasure of witnessing the arrival of a hundred canoes, filled with Ottawas and some other Indians allied to us. These came from the neighborhood of Lake superior, 1000 or 1250 miles from here, to do their usual trading and supply their wants -- giving us in exchange their Beaver-skins, which they have in their country in great abundance.

A Frenchman who had followed them the year before, and who accompanied them on their excursions, reports to us that there are more than a hundred thousand fighting men among those Nations; that warfare causes constant devastation there; that the Ottawas are attacked on one side by the Iroquois, and on the other by the Sioux -- a warlike people living more than 1500 miles from here, and waging also other cruel wars with other still more distant Nations; and that there are more than a hundred villages, with different laws and customs.

There is observed in those regions a kind of idolatry which is rather unusual. They have a grotesque image of black bronze, one foot in height, which was found in the country, and to which they give a beard like a European's, although the Indians themselves are beardless. There are certain fixed days for honoring this statue with feasts, games, dances, and even with prayers, which are addressed to it with diverse ceremonies. Among them there is one which, although ridiculous in itself, is yet remarkable in that it embraces a kind of sacrifice. All the men, one after another, approach the statue and, to pay it homage with their tobacco, offer it their pipes, so it may smoke: but, as the idol cannot use the offering, they smoke in its stead, blowing into its face the tobacco-smoke which they have in their mouths, -- which may be regarded as a mode of offering incense and performing sacrifice.

That superstition will not be the chief foe to be combated by Father Claude Allouez, to whom this Mission has happily fallen by lot. For a long time, he was waiting at Montreal for some Indians of those upper Nations that are more remote from us, to return with them to their country. A band of sixty Nipissings being the first to appear, he wrote concerning them, as follows:

"At last God has sent us the upper Algonquins to conduct us to their country, where we are to aid them in establishing Our Lord's Kingdom. Toward noon of last Thursday, the twentieth of July, they arrived after a twenty days' journey by water from Sault Ste. Marie of Lake superior. I spoke to them at the outset on the subject of Paradise and Hell and our other mysteries -- to which they paid excellent attention, listening to me in greater silence than when their Captain addressed them."

These Indians, coming from such a distance, were twice attacked by the Iroquois during their journey. The first time was soon after they set out, when the Iroquois laid ambushes for them in the most dangerous places which they must pass in coming here to carry on their trade and commerce with our French. The Algonquins of that Nation are traders rather than soldiers, and they are always encumbered with their burdens, and scantily provided with gunpowder and firearms, -- which they come here to obtain. Therefore, however numerous they may be, they always avoid any collision with their foes, however few they may encounter, ever fearing there may be others in the field, about to fall upon them.

Indeed, when they met with the Iroquois on their way, the Iroquois having ensconced themselves, to the number of twenty or thirty only, in a wretched fort of stakes, the Algonquins, although more than three hundred strong, made a feint of besieging them, and lingered for some days about this fort, preventing the Iroquois from coming out, but themselves not daring to attack them.

The Iroquois soon found themselves reduced to great straits for lack of water; therefore, to be allowed access to the river, some of their number came out of the fort with presents in their hands, and asked for a parley. "Brothers," said they, "why do you delay so long in attacking us? We are fully resolved to receive you like brave men, and to sell you our lives at a dear price -- since, owing to your great superiority of numbers over us, we cannot escape you. But the engagement will not be without great bloodshed on both sides. Also, we are lacking water in our fort, and I offer you this present to allow us free access to the river." The present was a Collar of wampum -- the pearls and diamonds of this country -- and it captivated the gaze of the Ottawa. They gladly accepted it, and left their enemy free passage to go and draw water in a stream not far from there.

As this first delegation proved so successful for the Iroquois, and as they still saw themselves besieged, and their provisions were fast diminishing, they made a second. Some of them emerged from the fort with other presents, more beautiful than the first, and cried out from afar: "Why do you linger here so long, Brothers? Come and attack us, or continue your journey. We make your departure easy, and remove the rocks that might check or shatter your canoes." With these words, they threw down additional presents at the feet of the Ottawa, as if to make smooth their path; and the travelers deemed themselves fortunate to be able to pass on and continue their journey with some appearance of honor, after the occurrence of several skirmishes on each side, in which a few men had been slain.

The second encounter that they had with the Iroquois during their journey was a little above the Richelieu river, at the so-called Cap de massacre, where some Iroquois, lying in ambush, fired a volley on the last of the Ottawa canoes, as they were marching past near the water's edge. They killed several men, and then fled at once into the woods, fearing an attack from so large a body of foes, whom they had allowed to pass.

After these two encounters, they arrived at Three Rivers, where they did their little trading, and immediately hurried home again, so not to give the Iroquois time to gather their forces, and come to intercept them in some defile, where they could have fallen on them unawares. Father Allouez hastily joined them, and accompanied them to their country, there to proclaim the Faith, and to bear them the good news of the aid come from France, which at last would free them from the Iroquois.

Sir de Tracy gave the Father three presents, which he was to give to these People when he arrived among them, declaring to them:

First, that the King was finally about to bring the Iroquois to their senses, and so would grant his support to all their own land that was on the verge of ruin.

Secondly, if the Sioux, other enemies with whom they also had to deal, would not listen to terms of peace, he would compel them to do so by force of arms.

The third present was to urge all the Algonquin Nations of those regions to embrace the Faith, of which certain individuals have already received some tint from the tireless labors of Father Rene Menard, who lost his way in their woods and died there of hunger.

Some years previously, another of our Fathers, Father Leonard Garreau, who had taken the same route with the same Ottawa Nation, -- also met with a blessed death among them, on the second day of his journey, being slain in an ambush by Iroquois who were waiting for them to pass. It may be that the Father who is now starting out with them will before long meet with a like accident.

THE FIRST FORTS CONSTRUCTED ON THE RICHELIEU RIVER.

AT the same time the Ottawas were embarking to return to their country, the wind having become more favorable, the soldiers who had been forced to halt at Three Rivers embarked also; and crossing lake Saint Pierre, proceeded to the mouth of the Richelieu river, which leads to the Iroquois of Mohawk.

The purpose of this first campaign was to build, along the route, some forts, both for maintaining open communication and the freedom of trade, and also for serving as places to store ammunition for the troops, and places of refuge for sick and wounded soldiers. For this purpose, three advantageous positions were chosen -- the first at the mouth of the river of the Iroquois (Richelieu River); the second 42 miles higher up, at the foot of some rapids called the Richelieu Falls; and the third about 7 miles above these rapids.

The first fort, named Richelieu, was built by Sir de Chambly, who commanded five Companies sent there by Sir de Tracy.

The second, named fort Saint Louis, -- because it was begun the week in which the festival of that great Saint was celebrated, -- was built by Sir Sorel, who commanded five other Companies of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment.

Sir de Salieres, Colonel of the Regiment, decided to take in person the post nearest to the enemy, and the most dangerous. We hardly hoped that this work would be done before snow came, as it had been impossible to begin it until late; but the Leader, -- who has grown gray in military service, although he has not yet lost any of his vigor or courage, -- being the first to put his hand to the work, so encouraged the soldiers by his example that the fort was completed in October, on Saint Theresa's day, from where it took its name. From this third fort of Saint Terese there is ready access to lake Champlain, without encountering any rapids to stop a boat's progress.

Lake Champlain, which is 150 miles long, finally ends at the territory of the Mohawk Iroquois, where it is intended to build, as soon as Spring comes, a fourth fort which shall command those regions, and from where repeated sorties can be made against the enemy, if they refuse to come to terms.

THE IROQUOIS COUNTRY, AND THE ROUTES LEADING THERE.

The Iroquois are composed of five Nations, of which the nearest to the Dutch is that of Mohawk, embracing two or three villages, which contain perhaps three to four hundred men able to bear arms. These people have always made war upon us, although they have at times pretended to ask for peace.

112 miles Westward is situated the second Nation, called Oneida, which has at most only a hundred and forty warriors, and has never consented to any peace parleys, but has always embroiled our relations whenever an understanding seemed to be at hand.

37 miles farther Westward lies Onondaga, which has fully three hundred men. We were, in times past, received there as friends, and then treated like enemies; and this treatment forced us to abandon that post -- which, as being the center of all the Iroquois Nations, we had occupied for two years; we were aided by a garrison of Frenchmen sent by Sir de Lauson, then Governor of New France, to take possession of those regions in his Majesty's name.

50 or 75 miles from there, still in a Westerly direction, is the village of Cayuga, containing three hundred warriors. Here, in 1657, we had a Mission.

Toward the end of the great lake called Ontario is situated the most populous of the five Iroquois Nations, called Seneca, and embracing fully twelve hundred men in the two or three villages which compose it.

These last two Nations have never made open war upon us, and have always maintained a neutral attitude.

This entire stretch of country, to the distance of 250 or 375 miles, lies partly Southward and partly Westward of the French settlements. mostly, this region is fertile and covered with fine woods, -- whole forests of chestnut and walnut trees, among others, -- interspersed with many lakes and rivers, rich in fish.

The climate there is temperate, the seasons succeeding regularly as in France, while the soil, in various parts, is adapted to the growth of all the products of Touraine and Provence. Snow is not deep or lasting, the three Winters which we passed among the Onondagas having been mild in comparison with those of Quebec, -- where, for five months, snow covers the earth to the depth of three, four, or five feet.

As we occupy the Northern part of New France, and the Iroquois the Southern, their lands are pleasanter, better adapted to cultivation, and productive of fruits of superior quality.

There are two principal rivers leading to the Iroquois, -- one to those living near New Netherland, namely, the Richelieu river; the other leading to the remaining Nations, which are farther from us, by ascending our great river Saint Lawrence, which, above Montreal, is in a certain sense divided into two branches, one of them going to the former country of the Hurons, the other to that of the Iroquois.

It is one of the most notable rivers to be seen, considering rather its beauty than its utility; for there are found, throughout almost its entire course, many beautiful Islands, some large and others small, but all covered with fine forests. These Islands are full of deer, bears, and wild cows, which furnish in abundance the provisions necessary for travelers, who find everywhere such game, and, occasionally, whole herds of animals of the deer species. The banks of the river are usually shaded with great oaks and other full-grown forest trees, which cover excellent soil.

Before reaching the great lake Ontario, we cross two others, one of which adjoins the Island of Montreal, while the other lies midway on the journey. The midway lake is 25 miles long by 12 miles broad, ending in many small Islands pleasing to the view, and we have named it Lake Saint Francis.

But what detracts from this river's utility is the waterfalls and rapids extending nearly 100 miles, -- that is, from Montreal to the mouth of lake Ontario, -- there being only the two lakes I mentioned where navigation is easy.

In ascending these rapids, it is often necessary to alight from the canoe and walk in the river, whose waters are rather low in such places, especially near the banks. The canoe is grasped with the hand and dragged behind, two men usually sufficing for this -- one at the prow, and the other at the stern; and as the canoe is light, being only of bark and unladen, it glides with the greatest ease over the water, and meets with little resistance.

Occasionally one must run it ashore, and carry it, one man in front and another behind -- the first bearing one end of the canoe on his right shoulder, and the second the other end on his left. One is forced to do this either on account of waterfalls and whole rivers, which sometimes fall straight downward from a tremendous height; or owing to the excessive swiftness of the current; or because, the water being too deep, it is impossible to walk and drag the canoe: or for the reason that one wishes to go across the country from one river to another.

But on gaining the mouth of the great lake, the navigation is easy, the water being calm there, and broadening out, -- at first imperceptibly, then becoming about a third wider, afterward more than a half, and finally stretching away farther than the eye can reach.

This is especially so after one has passed countless small Islands lying at the entrance to the lake, in such great numbers and variety that the most experienced Iroquois Pilots sometimes lose their way among them, and have much difficulty in recognizing the right course in the confusion formed by these Islands -- which have nothing pleasing about them but their multitude. For they are nothing but great rocks projecting above the water, and covered only with moss or some firs and other fruitless trees, whose roots spring from clefts in these rocks -- which can furnish those barren trees with no other nourishment or moisture than such as the rains are able to supply.

Extricating oneself from this gloomy retreat, one discovers the lake, which appears like a sea, without Islands and without shores, on which barques and ships can sail from one end to the other in perfect safety. So communication would be easy between all the French Colonies that could be planted on the shores of this great lake, which is more than 250 miles long by 75 or 100 miles wide.

From there one can go by different rivers to all the Iroquois Nations except that of the Mohawks, who are reached by way of the Richelieu river; to this stream we can well devote a few words, since on its banks our troops have already built the three forts mentioned by us. It is called the Richelieu river, from the fort of the same name that was built at its mouth at the beginning of the wars; it has been quite recently rebuilt, to guard the entrance to that river. It is also styled "the river of the Iroquois," as it forms the highway leading to them; and by that route those Barbarians have most often come to attack us.

The bed of this river is a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet wide throughout almost its entire course, although it is a little narrower at its mouth. Its banks are clothed with beautiful pines, through which it is easy to walk; and fifty of our men made their way on foot there for nearly 50 miles, from the mouth of the river up to the Falls, so called -- although there is no waterfall there, but merely a swift current, filled with rocks which impede its course and render navigation almost impossible for 2 miles. Yet in time the passage can be freed from obstructions.

As for the rest of the river, it has from its source a fine bed, in which occur as many as eight Islands before the basin below the Falls is reached. This basin is a sort of little lake, 4 miles in circumference, and from six to eight feet deep, in which fish are plentiful at almost any season. At the right of this basin, going up, one sees fort Saint Louis, recently built on that spot; it is an extremely advantageous place for the purpose concerning the Iroquois, since its location renders it almost impregnable, and gives it the command of the entire river.

After passing the rapids of the Falls, which extend for nearly 7 miles, one sees the third fort, which marks the end of all these rapids; for afterwards the river is found to be beautiful and easy to navigate up to the lake called Champlain, toward the end of which one enters the territory of the Mohawk Iroquois.

DIARY OF THE SECOND JOURNEY OF A FATHER OF THE JESUITS TO LAKE SAINT BARNABE. 1664

FATHER Henry Nouvel, first Pastor of that infant Church which he planted a year ago, having made ready to go and cultivate it this last Summer, embarked with some Frenchmen, and reached without mishap the mouth of the Manicouagan river in June.

The Papinachois Innu, who were to have awaited them at Tadoussac, being obliged to depart from there sooner than they expected, had already withdrawn to the interior. So our Frenchmen were forced to attempt the almost impossible -- undertaking, with no guide and without aid from the Indians, to ascend a dangerous river, passing fearful rapids, chasms, and precipices.

After almost losing their way in those frightful forests, they still persevered, the Father having said Mass on a tree overturned by age -- in bravely pursuing their undertaking, even carrying for a mile, by difficult paths, the canoe which had carried them.

Finally they saw certain marks painted on the tree-trunks by some of the Indians whom they were seeking, who had recently passed that way. At this discovery, they hoped soon to gain news of them, and fired several musketshots at different places on the river, so the others might answer them and know that they were not far away. They were heard, and soon afterward saw a little canoe filled with Indians coming to meet them. The salute given them upon their approach was a thanksgiving to God, on both sides, for guiding them so opportunely. Then they paddled vigorously toward the place of encampment, where the Father and the Frenchmen were received with unusual marks of affection.

The Father desiring to push on, to find a larger company on lake Saint Barnabe the men joined him in making this journey. They set out the next day, leaving the women and children in a place which had tolerable advantages for fishing, where they awaited the others' return.

On the 23rd of June, the Father and two Frenchmen who were in his canoe were wrecked, and were rescued in a wonderful manner. While crossing the river, they saw themselves being borne by the current into an abyss: and as they were thinking only how to avoid this danger, they fell into another, the canoe being turned completely over. Already the current was carrying them far away, when one of the two Frenchmen gained the overturned canoe, and the other joined him at the same time. They both climbed upon the canoe, one at each end to steady it by the counterpoint; otherwise, if one of them let go, the other would have been thrown into the water. And, as the stream bore him away, the Father also was fortunate enough to catch with one hand the thwart in the middle of the canoe, which he seized in passing. Thus all three men continued to balance themselves, for more than a quarter of an hour, in constant danger of death, until another canoe of Frenchmen, following the first, had had time to approach the first -- not to venture joining it in those rapids, a course which would have exposed them to the same danger, but to render aid from a reasonable distance by throwing out a line, which one of the Father's Companions seized with his teeth, not daring to disengage his hands from the canoe. They were therefore delivered from this danger.

While our Frenchmen were therefore contending with the floods, the Indians who had gone ahead, after waiting a long time for them without seeing them appear, feared some disaster. Retracing their course, they found the Father and his Companions drying themselves in the bright sunshine on a little Island. The Indians, learning of the Frenchmen's wreck, and seeing the spot where their canoe had capsized, assured them that their preservation was due to God's protection -- canoes of Indians having often perished there, although the natives are excellent canoemen, and swim like fishes.

Continuing their journey, they arrived, after some days of weariness, at a bend in the river where the Indians spread their nets and caught many large pike.

A few days later, they came upon a spot where a Moose had lain the night before. They encamped there, and the Indians followed its trail and killed it about a mile from that place in the woods.

The remaining portion of the journey was the most difficult. After pausing some time at this place, they held a council and decided that a part of the French and Indians should be left there, while the Father, with the remainder, went up as far as lake Saint Barnabe. He was to visit the Neophytes there, instruct them, and confer with them on the subject of passing the winter, as he intended to do, in two villages of which they had spoken to him a year before.

Accordingly, canoes were launched; and finally, after three wearisome days, the Father and his attendants arrived safely at the lake. Scarcely had they entered it when they caught sight of some canoes coming to meet them. It proved to be a Captain living on the lake, who, upon being notified by a canoe which had gone ahead, came with his entire family to receive the Father.

"Ten days ago," said he to the Father, "part of the Papinachois Innu and all the Naskapi Innu left this lake, where you did Baptize them last year. They waited for you until those who came from the great Saint Lawrence River assured them that neither you nor any of the French would come this year. The Naskapi Innu Captain, to whom the Frenchman attending you gave presents to carry to the Indians of Hudson Bay, has not made his appearance here, and will not until Winter or next Spring."

The Father, when more at leisure, questioned this Captain, asking whether they could not push on and find the Naskapi Innu, to go in their company to the two villages where he would like to pass the winter. "You cannot find them," was the Captain's reply; "they are far away from here, scattered in different places, hunting Canadian geese; and I have no one suited to bear you company."

This impossibility of going on compelled the Father to halt; and after instructing these good Neophytes, to the number of twenty, he returned to the place where the French and Indians were waiting for news from him.

The descent of that great river is easier and quicker than the ascent. The Father and his attendants arrived in one day at the place where they had left the Frenchmen and Indians, and in two more days they all together reached the camp where they had left the women and children.

There they halted for a day only. Departing from there, they reached the banks of the great Saint Lawrence River in a day and a half, but with running great risks -- the Father's canoe and that of some of the Indians nearly perishing in a second wreck, amid some dangerous rapids; but they were delivered by Heaven's special protection. Every day is one of grace and favor for such as give their lives to God.

Arriving at the river's mouth, they built a little Chapel on a small Island, in order there to enjoy better protection from the mosquitoes, or little flies, which are troublesome, stinging so as to draw blood, and which fill all the woods.

WAR OF THE IROQUOIS. THEIR VICTORY AND THEIR DEFEAT AT LAC SAINT-JEAN.

WHATEVER disgrace the Iroquois may suffer, he will ever be the same -- that is, arrogant and cruel -- until he is utterly crushed.

The late humiliations that have befallen him in the last few years, have not rid him of his desire to proceed Northward in quest of people to slaughter. Following is what we know with certainty on this subject.

A hundred Iroquois, partly Mohawks and partly Onondagas, having decided to go upon a hostile expedition, set out from their country about the middle of Winter. To succeed in their purposes, they divided into three bands, each taking a separate direction, Thirty proceeded toward the country of the Mistassini Innu, another thirty came to Lac Saint-Jean, while the destination of the remainder we have not ascertained. Whatever it may have been, we relate below the fortunes of those who made war around Lac Saint-Jean.

These thirty, commanded by two Chiefs, after killing in two places five men, and taking one woman prisoner, forced this captive woman, as they were not well acquainted with the country, to give them a description of it. She, after doing so with exceeding simplicity, received for her only recompense nothing but a hatchet-stroke on the head, from which she died on the spot.

these Indians, after sacrificing this poor victim to their fury, discovered the trail of the people of the lake, who, entertaining some fear of the Iroquois, had, to the number of forty-five, ensconced themselves with their women and children within a palisaded enclosure. A few, however, persisted in leaving the rest, for the purpose of living by their hunting; and of two young men remaining in the woods, one fell into the enemy's hands. The enemy suspected, after capturing this prisoner, that he was not alone. Indeed, the Iroquois' trail having been discovered by a young Innu who had come out of the fort, he retraced his steps, and gave the alarm to his countrymen.

Then, fourteen of the bravest went out to reconnoiter the enemy, but were soon surrounded and attacked on all sides. The Iroquois, superior in numbers, killed four of them at the outset and took three prisoners, although our men made a gallant defense, killing two of their foes on the spot and wounding others.

The seven Innu who were left withdrew into their palisade, and thought only how to strengthen their position; while the Iroquois, astonished at our men's courage, concluded to return hurriedly with their four captives.

They plied their paddles vigorously for two whole days; but the nights, which usually bring rest to all man-kind, were employed in burning our Captives unmercifully. They began by cutting off a thumb of each, to make them unable to unbind themselves, and continued their other cruelties upon them. But God broke the bonds of one, who, after his happy escape from captivity, became the liberator of the others and the cause of the victory achieved by the conquered over the conquerors.

This Captive, animated with courage, returned to that palisade which his companions dared not leave, for fear of the enemy, and inspired them with hopes of a glorious victory, encouraging them to follow him where he should lead them.

Leaping into their canoes with a determination to fight bravely, they arrived in four days at the spot where the Iroquois had landed before them, and from where they had entered the woods. Our men followed their trail, and finally discovered the enemy in a sort of redoubt where they had entrenched themselves with considerable strength. They decided to attack them at daybreak.

These good Christians charged the Iroquois and forced their palisade, with such success that eighteen men were left dead on the ground, two women were taken prisoners, and their own three companions who had fallen into the enemy's hands were happily set free. Our Innu Christians lost in this engagement only two men, although the Iroquois fired two volleys of musketry at them.

All the Iroquois were either killed or wounded, except a single one, who, fleeing at the beginning of the attack, seems to have survived for the sole purpose of bearing the news of their defeat to the country of the Iroquois. God's protection of those three prisoners is worthy of attention. They were three young Christians, fifteen or sixteen years old, and the enemy kept them bound and manacled in a peculiar manner.

When the assault began, the three Iroquois who had special charge of these three prisoners, ran directly to them to brain them; for such is the usual custom. The first one, when about to let his hatchet fall upon his captive's head, was killed that instant by a musket-shot, which saved the Christian's life and brought death to the Infidel.

The second captive saw the hatchet stroke already descending on his head, when an arrow pierced through the one who was about to dispatch him.

Another accident, of similar nature, delivered the third; these three young Christians saw, on all sides, the Iroquois falling dead at their feet, without a single shot hitting themselves.

CRUELTIES PRACTICED UPON SOME FRENCHMEN CAPTURED BY THE IROQUOIS IN 1662.

I GIVE below a letter that has fallen into our hands concerning the cruel treatment which some Frenchmen received from the Iroquois two years ago, and of which we had not before learned. I make no change either in the wording or in the style of the letter, since its simplicity will prove its chief claim to trustworthiness.

On the 25th of August, 1662, fourteen Frenchmen were unexpectedly attacked by the Iroquois on a small Island near Montreal, and fled in disorder without offering much resistance. Only Sir Brignac and two other Frenchmen, disregarding their comrades' flight, assumed an attitude of defense, and Sir Brignac killed the Captain of the Iroquois at the outset.

The Iroquois were immediately seized with fear and, seeing their Captain fallen, were already taking flight when one of them began to address the others, saying to them: "Where is our Nation's courage and renown? What shame for thirty-five warriors to flee before four Frenchmen!" Meanwhile the other Frenchmen, who were in a boat, let themselves drift with the current and were exposed to all the enemy's shots, so that some were instantly killed, and others wounded.

Finally, the Iroquois, having recovered their courage, came and fell upon the Frenchmen, mortally wounding a priest named Sir Vignal. The two Frenchmen, their firearms being wet, were soon captured, together with Sir Brignac. Brignac, however, made a stout resistance before letting himself be taken. Having his arm broken by a musket-shot, he still pointed his pistol at the enemy; but, lacking strength to fire it, he plunged into the water, followed by the Iroquois, who caught him and dragged him over the rocks, head and face downward, around nearly the whole Island.

The Iroquois embarked with their prisoners, and all proceeded together to encamp at La Prairie, Quebec, where they built a fort; and taking the body of Sir Vignal, who was dead, the Iroquois stripped it and removed the flesh for eating.

As for the two other Frenchmen, who were uninjured, they were bound each to a tree; and as one of them, named Rene, was murmuring a prayer to God, an Indian who observed him asked him what he was doing; the Frenchman answered that he was praying to God, and the Indian unbound him and said to him, "Kneel down, and pray at your ease." Thus they passed the night in the fort which they had built; and on the next day, after eating the body of that good Priest and removing his scalp, pushed on to the Falls.

After this meal, the Indians divided their forces, those of the Nation of Mohawk carrying off one Frenchman, whose name was du Fresne, and those of the Nation of Oneida, who were superior in numbers, leading away the two others.

They proceeded eight days by land, Rene always laden like a packhorse, and most of the time entirely naked. Sir Brignac went along quietly, scarcely able to walk because of the wounds on his head, feet, and whole body.

After journeying for a week, the two bands reunited, and once more encamped together, loudly rejoicing and indulging in good cheer after their hunt. Two among them went ahead, and carried the news to the villages.

The Iroquois, perceiving that Rene had a book of psalms, and was reading them, decided to cut off one of his thumbs, and forbade him to keep further company with Sir Brignac, because they prayed together.

Arriving finally at the village of the Nation of Oneida, they stripped the two Frenchmen -- Sir Brignac and Rene -- and painted their faces in native fashion. Then, after the enemy had arranged themselves for giving them the salute, -- which consists in making the prisoners pass between two hedge-rows, so to speak, each person giving them a blow with a stick, -- one of the elders cried out, "Enough, stop! Make way for them;" and, being brought to the central space of this village, where a scaffold was prepared, they mounted it. Then an Iroquois took a stick, and struck Rene seven or eight blows with it, and plucked out his nails. After this, the two captives were made to come down, and were led into a cabin where the Council of the elders was in session.

The whole night was spent in making the two French prisoners sing, while to them was added an Algonquin captured from among the Ottawas by another band. One of the cruelties exercised was forcing these three prisoners to exchange insults, and torture one another with coals of fire, -- the Frenchmen being pitted against the Algonquin, and the Algonquin against the Frenchmen. But the Frenchmen would not obey such cruel orders, so that a Captain who saw that the Frenchmen were unwilling to harm the Algonquin, although they were maltreated by him, made them sit down near himself, as if to assure them of protection.

Finally, upon the Council's decreeing that the two Frenchmen should be burned, the sister of the Captain slain by Sir Brignac said that she wished to have Rene to take the place of her dead brother. One of the old men declared this to be only fair, and it was granted, but with opposition.

Sir Brignac, however, was burned throughout the whole night, from his feet up to his waist, and on the next day these Indians still continued to burn him; but, after they had broken his fingers and had grown weary of burning him, one of their number stabbed him with a knife, tore out his heart, and ate it. They cut off his nose first, then his eyebrows, lips, and cheeks. Finally these Indians cut open his body and drank his blood -- afterward cutting the body in pieces, putting these into a kettle, and eating them.

Rene received his freedom, but with fears; for, a disagreement having arisen some time afterward, an Iroquois, holding a cocked pistol in his hand, entered the cabin where our Frenchman was, and asked him a question which frightened him. He addressed him, "Long live who -- Father le Moyne or Father Chaumonot?" Then his adopted sister told the Frenchman to say, "Long live Father Chaumonot;" and so his life was saved on that occasion.

Finally, after nineteen months of hardship and fatigue, encountered now in hunting, now in fishing, and again in an attack, which he had, of smallpox, -- which swept away more than a thousand people in the country of the Iroquois, -- when he was out hunting young pigeons, together with the Nations of Mohawk and Oneida, it occurred to him to make his escape. Upon asking his comrade, du Fresne, who was with the people of Mohawk, whether he would run away, du Fresne told him no. Then, after devising a scheme with two other Frenchmen of the same village, when preparations for breaking up and returning home were in progress, he asked one of the Iroquois in which direction the village lay, and in which one should go to reach the Dutch, and how many miles away they were. Being informed, he went and marked a tree, to remember the way he must take to reach them.

When morning came, he noted the spot which he must pass to make his escape; and while all were preparing to set out, each one loading himself with packages, the three Frenchmen took another route. Fortunately, owing to a fire that some women had started among the leaves on the ground, causing them to be reduced to ashes, their footprints were not discovered.

They journeyed nine days before coming to New Netherland, eating for their entire sustenance nothing but herbs which they found; for they had abandoned their packs to be more nimble for running. Still they were in great danger of recapture, and, as its necessary sequel, of being committed to the flames without hope of mercy.

They traveled only at night, and yet were constantly rushing into the enemy's hands, passing now inadvertently near the fishers' cabins, now near the hunters; again by day finding themselves in the immediate neighborhood of a village, and still again by night in the midst of the cabins.

Four or five times they were pursued by the Iroquois, while once, nearly all the youth of the second village of Mohawk started in pursuit of them. At other times, they were followed by the warriors; and, still another time, by some men who were returning from trading with the Dutch.

After many dangers, they at last reached the country of the Dutch, but did not make themselves known until they ascertained whether any Iroquois were there. As there were none there at that time, they declared themselves to be Frenchmen, and were received with open arms. They were brought to the Governor of fort Orange at Albany, who received them cordially, clothed them, and even freighted a sailboat to convey them to Manhattan, in case they might be discovered by the Iroquois and carried off.

From Manhattan they proceeded to Boston, and following all the coast as far as Quebec, they everywhere met with a kind reception. Thus ended happily their captivity, in which they were every day in danger of a cruel death.

Such are the contents of the Letter, which does not tell the half of the sufferings endured by those poor Frenchmen. Can the King's arms be better employed than in delivering us from the cruelty of those Barbarians?

EXTRAORDINARY SIGNS THAT HAVE APPEARED AT QUEBEC OR IN ITS NEIGHBORHOOD.

On Monday, the nineteenth of January, 1665, about a quarter to six in the evening, there was heard to come from beneath the ground a report so loud as to be taken for a cannon-shot. This sound was heard by persons distant 7 and 10 miles from one another; while our Indians, knowing that the cannon is not fired toward evening, except to give warning of the appearance of Iroquois, left the woods where they were, and came all through the night to ask us why we had fired such a terrible cannon-shot.

About seven minutes after this report, there appeared over Quebec a ball of fire which merely passed by, coming from the mountains toward the North and emitting so bright a light that houses 5 miles from Quebec were seen as in broad day. During the year there were seen several other similar fire-balls, not only at Quebec, but below Tadoussac, and on the way to Three Rivers.

Besides the moderate earthquakes and frequent rumblings in the neighboring coast districts, there have been shocks of unusual severity 17 or 20 miles from here, occurring two or three times in one night with great violence. Some Frenchmen and Indians, who were in the woods, also felt the severe shocks.

On Saint Mathias's day the shocks were so violent around Tadoussac and at La Malbaie, that the Indians, and one of our Fathers, who was wintering in that neighborhood with them, declares that they were just as severe as those that were felt here at Quebec in that famous earthquake which occurred in 1663. Two highly trustworthy Frenchmen, who have traversed that whole coast of La Malbaie, made the assertion that the Report of 1663 had only half described the ravages wrought by the earthquake shocks in those regions. Perhaps those of this year have increased that fearful devastation.

On the fifteenth of October, 1665, at nine o'clock in the evening, there was an earthquake which caused a great cracking of the slates on our house. This shock was preceded by a report louder than that of two hundred cannon, which continued for about the space of a minute.

SOME CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING'S VESSELS BEARING THE REGIMENT OF CARIGNAN-SALIERES.

ON the 17th and 19th of June, 1665, there arrived at Quebec two vessels from la Rochelle with four Companies of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment. All the soldiers debarking, in good health, it was necessary to pass from a large vessel into small boats made of planks, purposely made to be dragged through the rapids and swift currents, and carried by land up past the Richelieu Falls, at the foot of which these four Companies have constructed a fort.

On the 30th of the same month, there appeared in the distance two sails, which filled us with joy when we learned that they were bringing Sir de Tracy.

On the sixteenth of July, the ship from Havre arrived, bringing some horses, with which the King intends to supply this country. Our Indians, who had never seen any, viewed them with admiration, and were astonished that the Moose of France (for so they styled them) were so pliable and so obedient to man's every wish.

On the 18th and 19th of August there arrived at our roadstead two more vessels, laden each with four Companies, -- Sir de Salieres, Colonel of the Regiment, at their head.

The soldiers, being in good health, after a short period of recuperation on land, started out under the lead of this Sir de Salieres, to go with the utmost expedition and build two additional forts, -- one at the mouth of the Richelieu river, the other above the Falls, below which the first fort had already been built.

On the twelfth of September, there appeared two other vessels, one named the Saint Sebastien, and the other the Jardin de Hollande; and two days later a third, called the Justice, bearing eight Companies. Our period of waiting was therefore happily brought to an end, since these vessels brought Sir de Courcelles, Lieutenant-general for the King in this country, and Sir Talon, Intendant for his Majesty. Sir de Courcelles, breathing nothing but war, immediately set about serving his Majesty there under Sir de Tracy's orders, -- proceeding by water, in rather inclement weather, to visit the works in progress at a distance of 100, 125, and 150 miles from Quebec, to prepare for the Campaign of next Spring and Summer.

The soldiers enjoyed constant good health as far as Tadoussac; but, by some unknown mishap, sickness broke out in one of the vessels and more than a hundred patients debarked, who were received by the Hospital Nuns with all conceivable kindness. Also, as the ward for the sick, large as it is, could not hold them all, the nuns found themselves obliged to turn their Church into a second Hospital. These good Nuns nearly all fell ill themselves, some of them even to the point of death; but God mightily upheld them.

A heretic, having fallen grievously ill and having been carried to the Hospital with the others, those good Nuns did everything in their power to win him. One of them, who had often tried the effectiveness of the Relics of the late Father de Brebeuf, -- who was burned with great cruelty some years ago by the Iroquois, -- decided to mix a bit of these Relics, reduced to powder, with a drink which she made him take. Wonderful to relate, the man asked to be instructed, received into his heart the influences of our Faith, and made public abjuration of heresy with such fervor that he himself was astonished.

After the disease which had broken out among these last troops had ceased, they were sent into their winter quarters until Spring, when they are to march against the Iroquois.

This is a country which shall be no bit inferior, in fertility of soil and mildness of climate, to the mildest and pleasantest portions of Europe; a country in which there are more than twenty different languages.

YEAR 1666
NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1665 AND 1666. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER JACQUES BORDIER, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

His Majesty's arms, in demonstrating that nothing is impossible to those who fight for so great a Prince, have removed the chief obstacle to the Gospel in these vast Regions, by humbling the pride of the Nations that opposed it. There is no one acquainted with the nature of this country who does not, in reviewing the expeditions of our troops, and especially the Latest one of Sir de Tracy, recognize the important protection which Heaven extends over New France. The pride and insolence of the enemies arose merely from the obstacles that prevented our attacking them, -- obstacles which had always been considered insurmountable. These Barbarians, after finding themselves driven out of the heart of their country, at last became conscious that they were not invincible. The desire for revenge, which they cherish to an extreme degree after such losses, would have made them opposed to peace in a much greater degree than their own interest would have urged them to seek it. They would have been less injured by the death of a large number of their bravest warriors than they will be by the loss of all their provisions, -- a loss which will compel them to retire 100 miles farther into the country, spreading fear and famine everywhere as they go.

Francois Le Mercier,

of the Jesuits. Quebec, November 12, 1666.

NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1665 AND 1666. OF QUEBEC.

THE HURON, ALGONQUIN, AND PAPINACHOIS INNU MISSIONS.

However great the apparent aversion of the Iroquois to the Gospel, it is preached and its maxims are preserved among them. The Huron captives, whom they hold in large numbers, know how to find the liberty of the children of God in the midst of those barbarians, not only making open profession of our holy Religion, but even forming little flocks of Jesus Christ in outlying cabins, where they assemble to offer their prayers.

A French Gentleman, who was captured this last Summer by the Iroquois and taken to Mohawk, and who has since then been set free, renders testimony to the virtue of these blessed captives. They rendered him all imaginable good deeds, fearlessly exposing themselves to the most cruel death for the sake of aiding him.

But the effects of these poor Hurons' fervor are felt even beyond the territories of the Iroquois. We have learned that in the country of the Eries, more than 1250 miles away from Quebec, a Huron Preacher has spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and begun the founding of a Church which already appears to be flourishing. This fervent Christian, who is 60 years old, assembles the faithful of his nation every Sunday, and urges them to virtue, instructs them in our mysteries, and makes them recite all their prayers, in the same manner he formerly saw observed by the Jesuits at the time of his conversion.

From Father Claude Allouez, who has been for almost two years among the upper Algonquins, -- ranging with them vast forests, nearly 1250 miles away from Quebec, -- no news has been received for more than a year -- either because that Father, succumbing to the extreme fatigues of that occupation, has followed his predecessor, Father Rene Menard, to Heaven; or because the roaming bands of Iroquois have prevented those remote people from coming to Quebec to do their customary trading.

God has abundantly blessed Father Henri Nouvel's labors among the Papinachois Innu and other tribes below Tadoussac.

THE WAR AND THE TREATIES OF PEACE BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND THE IROQUOIS.

THE great variety of Nations in these countries, the fickle and deceitful disposition of the Iroquois, and the barbarism of all these tribes making it impossible for us to hope for any lasting peace with them, except so far as it shall be maintained by the fear of the King's arms.

Within one year there have been seen at Quebec the Ambassadors of five different Nations, who came to ask for peace, but whose coming did not prevent the chastisement, by a vigorous war, of those who in their actions failed to fulfill the promises of their deputies.

The first of these Embassies, from the upper Iroquois, was presented to Sir de Tracy in December, 1665, the most important man in it being a famous Captain called Garacontie, who has ever showed his fervor for the French, and used the influence he enjoys among all these Nations to rescue our prisoners from their custody. For example, it was only recently that he set free Sir le Moine, a settler of Montreal, who had been captured three months previously by those Barbarians.

Sir de Tracy having told him by the usual presents that he would give him a favorable hearing, Garacontie made him a speech, full of good sense and of an eloquence that had no hint of barbarism. It contained only civilities and offers of friendship and service from his whole nation, prayers for a new Jesuit Mission, and polite expressions of condolence upon the death of the late Father le Moyne, the news of which he had just learned. "Ondessonk," said he in a loud voice, addressing that Father, whom the Indians called by this name, "hear you me from the country of the dead, where you have so quickly passed? You it was who did so many times expose your life on the scaffolds of the Mohawks; who did go bravely into their fires, to snatch so many Frenchmen from the flames; who did carry peace and tranquility wherever you did go, and who made converts wherever you did dwell. We have seen you on our council-mats deciding questions of peace and war; our cabins were found to be too small when you did enter them, and our villages themselves were too cramped when you were present, -- so great was the crowd of people attracted there by your words."

He finally concluded this speech by rehearsing, with modesty, all that he had done for the French, and asking of them, for sole reward, their good graces and the freedom of three prisoners of his nation. His speech was interrupted by the usual ceremony of offering presents, of which, at each of the parts of his speech, he laid one at the feet of Sir de Tracy, who replied to his petitions with all the kindness the other could desire. Not only did he grant him the three prisoners and promise him peace and the King's protection for his nation, but he even led him to hope for the same grace toward the other Iroquois nations, if they voluntarily assumed a respectful attitude, rather than be compelled to it by force of arms.

Still, as we must not expect to enjoy any advantage over those nations, except so far as we seem able to harm them, preparations were made for a military expedition against those who had not concluded peace with us. Sir de Courcelles, who was the Leader of the group, used all possible diligence, so that he found himself ready to start on the 9th of January, 1666. He was accompanied by Sir du Gas, whom he took for his Lieutenant; Sir de Salampar, a Gentleman volunteer; Father Pierre Raffeix, a Jesuit; 300 men from the Regiment of Carignan-Salieres; and 200 inhabitants of the French Colonies as volunteers. This march could only be slow, as every man wore snowshoes, the use of which they were unfamiliar; while all, without excepting the Officers, or Sir de Courcelles himself, were burdened each with 13 or 15 gold coins of biscuit, blankets, and other necessary supplies.

In all history there can scarcely be found a march of more difficulty or greater length than that of this little army; and it needed French courage and Sir de Courcelles's firmness to undertake it. Besides the encumbrance of snowshoes, which are an inconvenient kind of restraints, and that of the packs which all were forced to carry, it was necessary to march 750 miles on snow; to cross repeatedly lakes and rivers on the ice, with the danger of falling at every step; to make one's bed on nothing but snow, in the heart of the woods; and to endure cold far exceeding the severity of the harshest winters in Europe.

Still, our Troops proceeded on the first day to Sillery. On the third day, many had noses, ears, knees, and fingers, or other parts of the body, entirely frozen, and the rest of their persons covered with scars; while some others, being utterly overcome and benumbed with the cold, would have died in the snow had they not been carried, with great difficulty, to the spot where the troops were to pass the night.

Sir de la Fouille, Sir Maximin, and Sir Lobiac, Captains in the Regiment of Carignan, having joined this little army at Three Rivers on the 24th of January, -- each with 20 soldiers from his Company, and some of the inhabitants of the place, -- the cold treated them more harshly the next day than it had on the preceding days. It was necessary to carry back many soldiers, some of whom had their legs cut by the ice, and the others their hands, arms, or other parts of the body completely frozen. These losses were made good by Sir de Chambly, Sir Petit, and Sir Rogemont, Captains in the same Regiment, and by Sir Mignarde, Lieutenant of the Colonel's company, who were drawn from forts St. Louis and Saint Therese, where the Troops held their rendezvous on the 30th of the same month. The army, still having an effective strength of 500 men, arrived finally, on the 14th of February, in the enemy's country, 50 miles from the enemy's villages. This remaining march occupied a long time, because of the tremendous depth of the snow and the delay of the Algonquin guides, -- without whom it became necessary to try unknown routes, and run the risk of constantly going astray.

Finally, it was ascertained -- from the prisoners captured in some frontier cabins which were seized, and from the Commander of a hamlet inhabited by the Dutch of New Netherland -- that most of the Mohawks and Oneidas had pushed on still farther, to make war on some other peoples, called "wampum-makers," and had left only the children and infirm old men in their villages. And so it was seen to be useless to proceed farther, on an expedition which had produced all the effect that had been expected, owing to the alarm it had spread throughout all those Nations, who were arrogant and deceitful only because they believed themselves inaccessible to our troops. Our troops did not return, however, until they had killed a number of Indians who appeared from time to time on the edge of the woods to skirmish with our forces. Sir d'Aiguemorte and some of our soldiers were also killed in pursuing them.

In the following May, we saw at Quebec what effect the fear of his Majesty's arms had produced in the breasts of those Barbarians, from the arrival of Seneca Ambassadors with a request, on behalf of their Nation, for the King's protection, and a continuance of the peace, which they alleged they had never violated by a single hostile act. Sir de Tracy had at first refused 34 presents which they offered him; but seeing that they felt this refusal keenly, and that they considered it the greatest affront that could be offered them, he finally accepted their wampum. He again assured them that it was not their presents or their goods that the King desired, but their happiness and their salvation, and that it rested only with the other Nations to experience also all the most favorable results, by sending their Ambassadors at the earliest possible moment.

These envoys were closely followed by those from the remaining tribes, and among others, by those from Oneida and even from the Mohawk nation; so that the Deputies from five Iroquois Nations were present at Quebec almost at the same time, as if to ratify by common consent a lasting peace with France.

In order to attain this end, it was deemed advisable to send back some Frenchmen, as deputies, with the Ambassadors from Oneida, who answered also for the Mohawks' conduct, and even gave hostages for them. The Dutch of New Netherland had also written on their behalf, and guaranteed the good faith of all those Indians in observing exactly the terms of peace that should be made with them. These French Deputies had orders to inquire into everything carefully on the spot, and to see if it was safe to trust the Indians, so his Majesty's arms might not be checked by a false hope of peace.

But hardly were the Ambassadors two or three days' journey from Quebec, when word was received that some Frenchmen from Fort Saint Anne, who had gone out hunting, had been surprised by the Mohawks; and that Sir de Traversy, a Captain in the Regiment of Carignan, and Sir de Chusy had been killed by them, and some volunteers taken prisoner. This intelligence caused the immediate recall of the French Deputies, and the detention of the Indians from Oneida who had remained as hostages, -- whose heads, according to the laws of war in this country, ought to have been split with a hatchet. But, without following these barbarous laws, we considered how we might best obtain satisfaction for this deceit; and Sir Sorel, a Captain in the Regiment of Carignan, immediately organized an expedition of three hundred men, whom he led by forced marches into the enemy's country, resolved to use vigorous measures there. But when he was still 50 miles from their villages, he met a fresh Embassy bringing back the Frenchmen captured near Fort Saint Anne, and coming to offer all possible satisfaction for the murder of those who had been slain, and fresh guaranties of peace. Consequently, this Captain returned with his troops; and there was no further talk of anything but peace, which it was proposed to conclude by a common council of all the Nations having Deputies at that time in Quebec.

These Negotiations did not yet meet with all the success hoped for, and Sir de Tracy concluded that, to assure their satisfactory resolution, it was necessary by force of arms to render the Mohawks still more pliable, as they were always the source of new obstacles to the public tranquility. Despite his advanced age, he decided to conduct, in person, against those Barbarians, an army composed of six hundred soldiers drawn from all the Companies, six hundred settlers of the country, and a hundred Huron and Algonquin Indians. All the preparations for this war were completed through the diligent efforts of Sir Talon on the 14th of September, which was the date assigned for the departure.

The rendezvous was set for the 28th of September at Fort Saint Anne, which had been recently built on an Island in lake Champlain by Sir de la Mothe, a Captain in the Regiment of Carignan. Some troops having been unable to reach this place soon enough, Sir de Tracy could not leave it with the main body until the 3rd of October. But Sir de Courcelles, yielding to his customary impatience to gain the scene of action, set out some days in advance with four hundred men; while Sir de Chambly and Sir Berthier, commanders of Forts saint Louis and l'Assomption, were left behind, to start with the rear-guard four days after Sir de Tracy.

As it was necessary to push forward 300 miles into the country to find the enemy's villages, and as there were many large lakes and rivers to cross to reach them, it was also necessary to provide conveniences for water and land travel. The necessary boats had been provided for this expedition, there being three hundred in readiness, a part of which were light boats, and the rest canoes of bark, each of which carried, at the most, five or six persons. After crossing a lake or river, all were forced to bear a hand at carrying the boats; but this caused less difficulty than two small cannon which were taken to the last villages of the Iroquois, in order to more easily reduce all their fortifications.

However great the care taken to conduct this march with little noise, our men could not prevent some Iroquois, who had been sent as far as 75 or 100 miles to reconnoiter our forces, from gaining a view from the mountain-tops of this little naval army, and hurrying to the first village to give warning of its approach. Consequently, the alarm having then spread from hamlet to hamlet, our troops found them abandoned; while in the distance could be seen the Indians, loudly hooting on the mountains and discharging many wasted shots at our soldiers.

Our Troops, halting at each of these villages, which they found empty of men but full of corn and provisions, only long enough to take necessary refreshment, were hopeful of meeting with a stout resistance in the last one, which they prepared to attack in regular form, since the Indians showed clearly enough by the great fire they were making there and by the fortifications they had constructed, their determination to offer a vigorous defense. But our men were again disappointed; for scarcely had the enemy seen the advance-guard approaching, when they promptly took flight into the woods, where the night prevented our forces from pursuing them.

It was evident enough -- from the triple palisade, twenty feet high, with which their place was surrounded; from the four bastions flanking it; from their tremendous hoard of provisions; and from the abundant supply of water they had provided, in bark receptacles, for extinguishing the fire when it should be necessary -- that their first resolve had been quite different from what the fear of our arms had made them suddenly adopt. There were found only some persons who had been prevented by their great age from leaving the village, two days before, with all the women and children; and also the mutilated bodies of two or three Indians of another nation, whom these people had, with their accustomed rage, half burned over a slow fire. So our people were forced to content themselves, after erecting the Cross, and saying Mass, with setting fire to the palisades and cabins, and consuming the entire supply of Indian corn, beans, and other produce of the country, which was found there. Then they turned back to the other villages and wrought the same havoc there, as well as in all the outlying fields. As a result, those familiar with these Indians' mode of life are sure that almost as many will die of hunger as would have perished by the weapons of our soldiers, had they dared await the our soldiers' approach; and that all who remain will be forced by fear to accept such conditions of peace as would have been secured from them with greater difficulty by more bloody victories.

The return march of our Troops was more fatiguing than the outward journey had been, because the rivers, having been swollen seven or eight feet by the rains, were found much harder to cross; and a storm which arose on lake Champlain caused the loss of two canoes and eight persons, -- among whom we especially regretted the death of Sir du Luques, who was Lieutenant in a Company, and had often showed his valor in France as well as in Canada.

LETTER FROM THE REVEREND MOTHER SUPERIOR OF THE HOSPITAL NUNS OF QUEBEC, IN NEW FRANCE. OCTOBER 3, 1666. TO SIR ****, CITIZEN OF PARIS.

Sir,

We have received all your supplies, without which our poor patients would have lacked everything most needful in their infirmities, since nothing has come to us for their assistance except what you have sent us.

This adds more and more to our obligations toward you and toward the pious persons who join you in the contributing of their donations -- for which I return you humble thanks, in the name of our little Community and of our poor patients. But our thanks are closely followed by a fresh petition. I send you a little memorandum of what we most need, doubting not that you will do your utmost to procure us the things there asked for.

I cannot cease to admire the perseverance of your charity through so long a course of years, during which you have practiced it in favor of our Hospital. We have continued the practice of our calling throughout the entire year with scarcely any respite, our halls having been always full of patients -- to such an extent that we have had more than twelve thousand. To these we have rendered every service in our power. But, although we all have exerted our utmost energies in the work, we have still been unable to do everything, and have been obliged to hire women by the day to help us, although they are hard to find. We certainly need some girls who shall become Nuns, and there are here two of good families who offer themselves, and are suited to our needs; but they are poor, and our Superiors do not think best, in our present condition, to permit us to receive them for nothing.

I ask you to exert your efforts, when any offer of charity occurs, to make us the beneficiaries. Dowries here are not so large as in France, and there are charitable persons who are sometimes glad to provide a girl with the requisite means either for marriage or for taking the veil. If you should meet with such, you would confer a great favor on those girls who are already thoroughly accustomed to this country, -- and on one who, for the past twelve years, has had a desire to become a nun. She is twenty years old, and only told us her purpose last year, thinking to be received because of our need of girls; and we would willingly take her if our superiors would permit us. See if anything can be done; for I have promised this good girl to write you about her -- which I do with all my heart, knowing your great charity and love for the poor, of whom Canada is full, there never having been so many here before.

Since the vessels sailed, we have had four French Protestants who were sick, and obstinate in their false belief. We took all conceivable pains to set them in the right way to Paradise; but with no apparent result until our Lord, by increasing the ailment of these poor blinded ones, wrought the salvation of their souls.

You will learn from the Report how the great courage of our Governor prompted him to conduct a campaign against the Iroquois during last winter's severe cold.

Sir de Tracy and our Governor have set out with fifteen hundred men for the purpose of reducing the Iroquois to subjection to our mighty Monarch's rule; and we shall tomorrow begin the forty-hours' Devotion for their success.

Sister Marie de Saint Bonaventure

de Jesus, unworthy Superior.

The Hospital of God of Quebec, October 3, 1666.

YEAR 1667
THREE LETTERS OF FATHER THIERRY BESCHEFER, 1666-1667.

LETTER OF FATHER THIERRY BESCHEFER TO HIS FAMILY AND TO FATHER ANTOINE CHESNE, JESUIT. QUEBEC, 1ST OF OCTOBER, 1666.

FOR about 3 months I have been on the point of starting on an embassy to the Iroquois and to New Netherland, which has been occupied by the English for 2 years. This journey was somewhat perilous, according to report; and there was ample proof of it:

1st, because it was found, a few Days after our departure from Quebec, that the Iroquois of a nation other than that to which we were going, who had remained as hostages for our safety, were secretly making a canoe ready, to escape.

2nd, as we were about to leave Three Rivers, 75 miles from here, we received news that bands belonging to the nation who had asked us for peace through the Ambassadors of the Oneida nation, had quite recently killed or taken prisoner seven persons, both officers and volunteers, who were out hunting, among whom was a relative of Sir de Tracy. He wrote me that I was not to go farther, and directed me to conduct in safety to Quebec the Iroquois whom we had arrested. I was sincerely affected when I saw the journey interrupted. Although I considered it somewhat perilous, still the hope of there baptizing some children, or aiding the Huron captives, made me feel a special attraction for it. Since then, we have waged war against the Iroquois. Those Indians are good soldiers; and the French, who despised them when they first came here, have changed their minds since they saw them last winter in a hot skirmish.

The winter was more severe and protracted than it had been for 30 years. The snow lay 4 feet deep. The earth begins to be covered with it in November, and is uncovered only in April; but what is surprising is that the melting of the snows causes neither inundation nor overflow of the rivers beyond their banks. And we enjoy better health here in winter than in summer. Inflammations, colds, and runny noses are unknown then, so pure is the air.

I do not think that the severe cold keeps the people within doors; more work is done in that season than in summer. That is the time when the trees are felled for the purpose of clearing the fields, when wood is cut for fuel and for building purposes; and the whole is hauled over the snow by oxen, with greater facility than on wheels in summer.

The heat is greater than in France. We experienced some in June this year that made people swoon. But it is fortunate that this extraordinary heat does not last long. Wheat is sown here only at the end of April or beginning of may, and is cut about the 2nd of September. It grows as well here as in France. If the many poor people who drag on a wretched existence in France only knew the advantages that are here for those who wish to work, and who have strong arms, I think that many of them would come over here. A man can in 2 years harvest upon his land more wheat than he will need to feed himself and a small family; and we know nothing of taxes.

I live here the most contented man in the world; and I would be sorry to be in France. I hope that next summer we shall go to the Iroquois, if Sir de Tracy's expedition be successful. We shall have news in a few Days, and I will let you know by the last ships.

Father Thierry Beschefer ONDESONK -- his Indian name

QUEBEC, 4TH OF OCTOBER, 1666.

I HAVE changed my language and my name, and at present I am called Ondessonk -- which means "a bird of prey." Such is the name that the Hurons have given me, and which was borne by Father Isaac Jogues, who was killed by the Iroquois, after having been cruelly tortured by them. My baptism took place on the feast of St. Francis Xavier, after I had myself baptized 2 Indians. And as all names among the Indians are drawn from the bottom of the kettle, it was necessary, before getting mine, to have a great feast -- that is to give a dinner to nearly 80 persons. This dinner consists in providing a dish of excellent sagamite for all who are present. They sang, they danced; they observed all the ceremonies of the Indians. From that time I studied the language of the Hurons, to go next year on a mission to the upper Iroquois, if those below, against whom we have gone to war, are defeated. Besides, you must know that Canada is not as savage as has been imagined; and that, in the French settlements, we find almost the same comforts as in Europe, while the tables of persons who have money to spend on them are as good as in France. Time only is needed to make New France similar to old France.

The rosaries that you sent me are small. The Indians like them as large and as black as possible. They prefer above all others those made of black horn.

Father Marquette and Master Elie have arrived safely, after a somewhat protracted voyage -- which, however, has been prosperous for them and for all the 8 ships that have come to us from France. Not a single one of these fell into the hands of the English or of the Turks, although several were pursued.

Father Marquette will leave in 8 days for Three Rivers where he will study Algonquin. Master Elie will teach 3 or 4 classes. We have philosophy, and 7 Students who have sustained theses. Quebec is a place of some importance. I would not have much trouble in giving you a description of Quebec, for there is little to say. 1st, Quebec is situated on a point of land watered on one side by the great Saint Lawrence River, -- which at that spot is 2 miles in width, -- and on the other by the river St. Charles.

Ships of 600 tons can anchor within gunshot of the port, where they are sheltered from every adverse wind. The fort is a small affair. There are an upper and a lower town; the lower town is built on the water's edge, above high water mark. The great barques are grounded quite close to the warehouses, to discharge their cargoes. Some houses are of considerable dimensions. Two were built last year, one of which was sold for 11 thousand gold coins, and the other is well worth 8 thousand.

The upper town is of importance only on account of the Churches and religious houses. The parish church, which is the cathedral, is very well provided with ornaments -- eight silver candlesticks, crosses, ewers, lamps, etc. The Bishop has 6 or 7 priests in his seminary, who are on good terms with us. This year, we have begun a church, which will be finished next year; it is 100 feet long, and 30 wide.

The small chapel that we use at present is well supplied with fine ornaments -- large silver candlesticks, lamps, and so on. We have silverware to the value of over 1,000 gold coins. Our house consists of two main buildings, all built of stone and roofed with slate, with a fine cupola for the clock.

The ursuline and hospital nuns have fine buildings. The churches here are like those in good-sized towns in France. On Sundays there are as many people at high mass, and they are as well accommodated as on holy Days in the church of St. Sauveur at Pont-a-mousson. We preach only for 3 short quarters of an hour, and we do not exceed this.

The report will inform you of the success of our war. We will know it only in 3 weeks. I was on my way to the Iroquois, but the murder of some Frenchmen compelled us to return.

Father Thierry Beschefer

QUEBEC, THE 25TH OF AUGUST, 1667. EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF FATHER THIERRY BESCHEFER, WHO FOR A YEAR HAS BEEN TROUBLED WITH A FLOW OF BILE, WHICH HAS PREVENTED HIM FROM GOING TO THE IROQUOIS COUNTRY

AT the present moment, we are at peace with the Iroquois. Father Pierron is already among them, with Fathers Fremin and Bruyas. Three others are to follow them, as soon as the upper nations will come to get them; these are expected every day. The number would be greater, if we had more workmen fit for service. One of our Fathers, who had been with the Ottawas for 2 years (you will find his journey in the report), arrived a short time ago to ask for assistance.

He was given a Father and a brother, with 4 men, to establish a home, so that they can subsist among those tribes, who lead a miserable existence, for they have no game in their country. They live entirely on fish, and sometimes pass 4 or 5 months without other food than a species of moss that grows on the rocks, and the bark of trees that has been pounded. He will derive no benefit from the assistance that has been given him. The Ottawas, to whom every kindness had been shown, would not take any of his packages or any of his people in their canoes. The brother, who had embarked in a canoe belonging to some Indians of another tribe, was compelled to return after 2 Days' absence. We are anxious about the Fathers, for one of them was compelled to embark without any provisions, even without altar-bread and without wine with which to say mass; while the other had only enough provisions for 8 days, although the journey is one of 1250 miles.

Next spring, another attempt will be made to reach Hudson Bay, despite the great difficulties that have already been experienced.

Sir de Tracy sails in 3 days to return to France. The troops remain, and the King again sends us, this year, 350 laboring men, and 60 girls, to populate the country. This is an expense of 25,000 gold coins, besides 500 which he gives to send out horses and sheep, as he has already done, 2 years before. If he should continue to grant such assistance to Canada during several years, as he has promised, the aspect of the country will soon change.

The people multiply here at least twice as fast as in France. The best of all is that there are numbers of Indians to teach. If peace with the Iroquois should last, at least 20 missionaries will be needed among them. They ask for 6 for next year, and two of our Brothers.

Three of our Jesuits have started for the country of the Mohawks; 3 are going to the upper Algonquins; 3 others are assigned to the upper Iroquois. But four of us remain who can be sent there.

Father Thierry Beschefer

NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1666 AND 1667. THE CONDITION OF CANADA FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS.

SINCE the King has extended his protection over this country, by sending here the Regiment of Carignan-Salieres, we have witnessed a notable change in the appearance of Canada. We can assert that it is no longer that forbidding and frost-bound land which was formerly painted in so unfavorable colors, but a veritable New France -- not only in the healthiness of its climate and fertility of its soil, but in the other conveniences of life, which are being revealed more and more every day.

The Iroquois used to keep us so closely confined that we did not even dare till the lands that were under the cannon of the forts, much less go to a distance to ascertain the points of excellence of a Soil which hardly differs at all from that of France. But now, since the fear of his Majesty's arms has filled these Indians with alarm, and compelled them to seek our friendship instead of constantly molesting us with bloody wars, we are, during the calm, bringing to light the possibilities of this country's wealth, and the extent of its probable resources in the future.

Sir de Tracy has gone to carry the King this good news, after having made at the same time both peace and war, and opened to the Iroquois Nations the door of the Gospel. He went away from us bearing the universal regret of all these peoples, leaving the country in charge of Sir de Courcelles, who, as he contributed by his courage to the happiness we now enjoy, continues to secure us in its possession. Having made himself feared by the Iroquois, through the expeditions which he led into their country, he will hold those Indians -- whether with their consent, or by force -- to the terms of the treaty which they came here to obtain.

Indeed, peace being concluded with all the Iroquois Nations, -- having been granted on the part of the King at the pressing instance of their Ambassadors, with whom three Jesuits went back to preach the holy Gospel, and maintain this peace among the lower Nations, -- then the Settlers of the Colonies saw that they could spread abroad, and could till their lands in perfect quiet and great safety. They can do so, not only on account of this peace, but because of the continued care that is taken to guard and increase the frontier forts, and to provide them with everything needful for their maintenance, and for that of the Soldiers who defend them.

The first thoughts of Sir Talon, Intendant for the King in this country, were to find the means for rendering this country prosperous. He does this both by making trial of all that it can produce, and by establishing commerce and forming business relations not only with France, but also with the Caribbean, Madeira, and other countries, in Europe as well as in America. He was so successful in this that fisheries of all kinds are in operation, the rivers being rich in fish, such as salmon, brill, perch, sturgeon, and -- without leaving the stream, even -- herring and cod, which are prepared both fresh and dried, and the sale of which in France is profitable. This year, trial has been made of these fisheries by sailboats that have been sent out, and have yielded large returns.

Of similar nature is the Seal-fishery, which furnishes the whole country with oil, and yields a great surplus that is sent to France and to the Caribbean. This fishery was tried during the past year, and in three weeks' time it netted Sir l'Espine, over and above all expenses, nearly four hundred gold coins for his share alone.

The white-Whale fishery, which they hope to make successful with little expense, will yield oils of higher grade for manufacturing purposes, and in even greater quantity.

The commerce which Sir Talon proposes to carry on with the Islands of the Caribbean will be one of this country's chief resources; and already, to ascertain its profitableness, he is this year shipping to those Islands fresh and dried codfish, salted salmon, eels, peas, both green and white, fish-oil, staves, and boards, -- all produced in the country.

But as permanent fisheries are the soul, and form the entire maintenance of commerce, he intends to establish them as soon as possible; and to attain this end, he intends forming some sort of company to plant the first of these and bear their initial expense. In a year or two they will yield marvelous profits.

These cares which cause him to investigate, with such diligent devotion, all possible sources of profit in the Saint Lawrence and other rivers of this country, do not prevent him from giving a share of his attention to the gain that may be derived from land so rich in every kind of product as is that of Canada. Therefore, he is directing a careful search for Mines, which appear to be numerous and rich; he is causing the felling of all kinds of timber, which is found everywhere in Canada, and makes it easy for the French, and others who come here to live, to provide themselves with shelter upon their first arrival; he has started the manufacture of Staves, for export to France and to the Caribbean, and of Masts, samples of which he is sending this year to la Rochelle for use in the Navy: and he is also giving his attention to wood suitable for shipbuilding, trial of which has been made in this country by the building of a barque which is found serviceable, and of a large vessel which is ready to be launched.

Besides the usual grains that have been until now harvested, he has started the culture of hemp; this will go on increasing so that all the country will abound with it, and will be able not only to Supply its own needs, but also to furnish large quantities to France.

As for flax, we can see from our experience with it during the past year that its Yield is excellent and it thrives finely. Even the French Ewes commonly bear two Lambs, after their first year's growth in this country.

I do not speak here of what may be hoped for from the more southern districts of Canada, where we have noted that the soil produces naturally the same kinds of trees and crops as does Provence. It also has a climate of nearly the same atmospheric temperature, while the altitude of the Pole is not different.

We mention at present only the changes that have been wrought in this country since the arrival of the Troops, which have of themselves contributed to its development, and helped to open it up in many places - especially on the Richelieu River, where the forts that have recently been built are surrounded by fields cleared of woods, and covered with fine grain.

But two things materially aid the plans that have been formed for the good of New France:

First, the Villages built in the neighborhood of Quebec, as much to fortify it by peopling its vicinity, as to receive families which have come from France. To these are assigned lands already being cultivated, some of which were this year covered with grain, to serve as a first store for the settlers' sustenance. This practice will be followed in the future.

Secondly, the settling in the country both of Officers -- Captains, Lieutenants, and Ensigns, who unite themselves with the country by Marriage, and secure fine land grants, which they cultivate -- and of Soldiers, who find good matches, and become scattered in all directions. Both the officers and the soldiers recognize the advantages mentioned above.

We cannot omit the acknowledgment due not only to his Majesty's Minister, but to the Gentlemen of the General Company of the West Indies. By their care and liberality, they have contributed to this country's present flourishing condition, and to the planting of the Missions, which will be seen extending to the distance of more than 1250 miles from here, and for whose maintenance these Gentlemen spare no expense.

We have this year seen eleven vessels, laden with all sorts of wares, anchored in the roadstead of Quebec. We have seen land taken up by many workmen, and also girls, who people our colony and add to the number of our fields. Flocks of sheep meet our eyes, and many horses, which thrive finely in this country and render it great service. And the accomplishment of all this, at his Majesty's expense, compels us to acknowledge all the results of his Royal kindness. To him alone is due the whole glory of having put this country in such a condition that, if the course of events in the future correspond to that of the past two years, we shall fail to recognize Canada, and shall see our forests, which have already receded, changing into Towns and Provinces which may some day be like those of France.

THE MISSION OF SAINT ESPRIT, AMONG THE OTTAWAS, ON LAKE SUPERIOR. JOURNAL OF FATHER CLAUDE ALLOUEZ'S VOYAGE INTO THE OTTAWA COUNTRY.

TWO years ago, and more, Father Claude Allouez set out for that arduous Mission, in behalf of which he has journeyed, in all his travels, nearly 5000 miles through these vast forests -- enduring hunger, nakedness, shipwreck, weariness by day and night, and the persecutions of the Idolaters; but he has also had the consolation of bearing the torch of the Faith to more than twenty different infidel Nations.

We cannot gain a better knowledge of the fruits of his labors than from the Journal which he was called upon to prepare. The narrative will be diversified by the description of the places and Lakes that he passed, the customs and superstitions of the peoples visited, and by various incidents of an unusual nature. He begins as follows:

"On the eighth of August, 1665, I embarked at Three Rivers with six Frenchmen, together with more than four hundred Indians of various nations, who, after transacting the little trading for which they had come, were returning to their own country.

"The Devil offered all conceivable opposition to our journey, making use of the false prejudice held by these Indians, that Baptism causes their children to die. One of their chief men declared to me, in arrogant and menacing terms, his intention, and that of his people, to abandon me on some desert Island if I ventured to follow them farther. We had then proceeded as far as the rapids of the Riviere des Prairies, where the breaking of the Canoe that bore me made me apprehensive of the threatened disaster. We promptly set about repairing our little Vessel; and although the Indians did not trouble themselves either to aid us or to wait for us, we were so expeditious as to join them near the long Sault, two or three days after we started.

"But our Canoe, having been once broken, could not long be of service, and our Frenchmen, already fatigued, despaired of being able to follow the Indians, who were thoroughly accustomed to such severe exertions. Therefore, I decided to call them all together, to persuade them to receive us separately into their Canoes, -- showing them that our own was in so bad a condition as to be from then on useless to us. They agreed to this; and the Hurons promised, although with much reluctance, to provide for me.

"The next day, when I came down to the water's edge, they at first received me well, and asked me to wait a little while, until they were ready to embark. After I had waited, and when I was stepping down into the water to enter their Canoe, they repulsed me with the assertion that there was no room for me, and immediately began to paddle vigorously, leaving me all alone with no prospect of human aid. I prayed God to forgive them, but my prayer was unanswered; for they were subsequently wrecked.

"Finding myself entirely alone, abandoned in a strange land, -- for the whole fleet was already a good distance away, -- I relied on the blessed Virgin, in whose honor we had performed a novena which gained for us from that Mother of Mercy a manifest daily protection. While I was praying to her I saw, quite contrary to my hopes, some Canoes in which were three of our Frenchmen. I hailed them, and resuming our old Canoe, we proceeded to paddle with all our strength, to overtake the fleet. But we had long since lost sight of it, and did not know where to go, it being difficult to find a narrow detour which must be taken to gain the portage of Cat Rapids (as that part is called). We would have been lost had we missed this narrow channel. Here, as I saw two more Canoes, belonging to the Indians, I leaped into the water, and hurried to intercept them by land on the other side of the portage, where I found six Canoes. 'How is this?' said I to them; 'do you therefore abandon the French? Know you not that I hold Onontio's voice in my hands, and that I am to speak for him, through the presents he entrusted to me, to all your nations?' These words forced them to give us aid, so that we joined the bulk of the fleet toward Noon.

"Upon landing, I spoke to them all, and threatened them with the displeasure of Sir de Tracy, whose spokesman I was. Fear of disobliging that great Onontio compelled one of the chief men among them to take the word, and speak long and forcibly to persuade us to turn back. None of the others were better disposed; so that, although our Frenchmen found places for themselves without much difficulty, no one would be burdened with me -- all declaring that I had neither skill at the paddle, nor strength to carry loads on my shoulders.

"In this abandoned state I withdrew into the woods, and, after thanking God for making me so acutely sensible of my slight worth, confessed that I was only a useless burden on the earth. My prayer ended, I returned to the water's edge, where I found the disposition of that Indian who had repulsed me with such contempt entirely changed; for he invited me to enter his Canoe, which I did with much alacrity, fearing he would change his mind.

"No sooner had I embarked than he put a paddle in my hand, urging me to use it, and assuring me it was an honorable employment, and one worthy of a great Captain. I willingly took the paddle and I imagined myself a malefactor sentenced to the Galleys; and although I became entirely exhausted, yet God gave me sufficient strength to paddle all day long, and often a good part of the night. But this application did not prevent my being commonly the object of their contempt and the butt of their jokes; for, however much I exerted myself, I accomplished nothing in comparison with them, their bodies being large and strong, and perfectly adapted to such labors. The slight esteem in which they held me caused them to steal from me every article of my wardrobe that they could; and I had much difficulty in retaining my hat, the wide rim of which seemed to them peculiarly fitted for defense against the excessive heat of the Sun. And when evening came, as my Pilot took away a bit of blanket that I had, to serve him as a pillow, he forced me to pass the night without any covering but the foliage of some tree.

"When hunger is added to these discomforts, it is a severe hardship, but one that soon teaches a man to find a relish in the bitterest roots and the most putrid meat. We were forced to accustom ourselves to eat a certain moss growing upon the rocks. It is a sort of shell-shaped leaf which is always covered with caterpillars and spiders; and which, on being boiled, furnishes a flavorless soup, black and viscous, that rather serves to ward off death than to impart life.

"One morning, we found a stag that had been dead four or five days. It was a lucky accident for poor starvelings. I was given a piece of it, and although its offensive odor deterred some from eating any, hunger made me take my share; but my mouth had a putrid taste until the next day.

"Amid all these hardships, whenever we came to any Rapids I carried as heavy burdens as I could; but I often succumbed under them, and that made our Indians laugh and mock me, saying they must call a child to carry me and my burden. Some of the men, touched with compassion, would, without saying anything, relieve me of my Chapel or of some other burden, and would help me to journey a little more at my ease.

"It sometimes happened that, after we had carried our loads and plied our paddles all day long, and even two or three hours into the night, we went supperless to bed on the ground, or on some rock, to begin over again the next day with the same labors.

"We endured these hardships for nearly two weeks; and after passing the Nipissing Lake, as we were descending a little River, we heard cries of lamentation and death-songs. Approaching the spot from where came these outcries, we saw eight young Indians of the Ottawas, frightfully burned by a direful accident, a spark having by inadvertence fallen into a keg of gunpowder. Four among them were completely scorched, and in danger of dying. I comforted them and prepared them for Baptism, which I would have conferred had I had time to see them sufficiently fitted for it; for, despite this disaster, we had to keep on our way, to reach the entrance to Lake Huron, which was the rendezvous of all these travelers.

"They arrived there on the twenty-fourth of this month, to the number of a hundred Canoes; and then they applied themselves to the healing of these poor burned men, using on them all their superstitious remedies.

"I was made well aware of this on the following night by the singing of certain tricksters, which filled the air, and by a thousand other ridiculous ceremonies employed by them. Others offered a sort of sacrifice to the Sun, to effect the cure of these patients; for, sitting in a circle, ten or twelve in number, as if to hold a council, on the point of a rocky Islet, they lighted a little fire, with the smoke of which they sent up into the air confused cries, which ended with a speech addressed to the Sun by the oldest and most influential man among them.

"I could not endure the invocation of any of their imaginary divinities in my presence; and yet I saw myself quite alone, and at the mercy of all these people. I wavered, in doubt whether it would be more fitting for me to withdraw quietly, or to offer opposition to their superstitious practices. The completion of my journey depended upon them; if I incensed them, the Devil would make use of their anger in closing against me the door to their country. Besides, I had already perceived how little weight my words had with them, and knew that I would turn them still more against me by opposing them. Despite all these reasons, I believed that God demanded this little service from me; and accordingly I went forward; I confronted the chief tricksters, and, after a long talk, God touched the sick man's heart so that he promised me to permit no superstitious ceremonies for his cure.

"The trickster later came and howled about our cabin like a desperate man, and seemed bent on venting his rage upon our Frenchmen. We lost only our Canoe, which that wretch broke in pieces.

"Toward the beginning of September, after coasting along the shores of Lake Huron, we reached Sault Ste. Marie; for such is the name given to a mile of rapids that are encountered in a beautiful river which unites two great Lakes -- that of the Hurons, and Lake Superior.

"This River is pleasing, not only on account of the Islands intercepting its course and the great bays bordering it, but because of the fishing and hunting, which are excellent there. We sought a resting place for the night on one of these Islands, where our Indians thought they would find provision for supper upon their arrival; for, as soon as they landed, they put the kettle on the fire, expecting to see the Canoe laden with fish the moment the net was cast into the water. But God chose to punish their presumption, and deferred giving any food to the starving men until the following day.

"On the second of September, after clearing this Sault, -- which is not a waterfall, but merely a swift current impeded by numerous rocks, -- we entered Lake Superior, which will from now on bear Sir de Tracy's name, in recognition of indebtedness to him on the part of the people of those regions.

"The form of this Lake is nearly that of a bow, the Southern shore being much curved, and the Northern nearly straight. Fish are abundant there, and of excellent quality; while the water is so clear and pure that objects at the bottom can be seen to the depth of twelve yards.

"The Indians revere this Lake as a Divinity, and offer it sacrifices, whether on account of its size, -- for its length is 500 miles, and its greatest width 200 miles, -- or because of its goodness in furnishing fish for the sustenance of all these tribes, in default of game, which is scarce in the neighborhood.

"One often finds at the bottom of the water pieces of pure copper, of five and ten gold coins' weight. I have several times seen such pieces in the Indians' hands; and since they are superstitious, they keep them as so many divinities, or as presents which the gods dwelling beneath the water have given them, and on which their welfare is to depend. For this reason they preserve these pieces of copper, wrapped up, among their most precious possessions. Some have kept them for more than fifty years; others have had them in their families from time immemorial, and cherish them as household gods.

"For some time, there had been seen a sort of great rock, all of copper, the point of which projected from the water; this gave passers-by the opportunity to go and cut off pieces from it. When, however, I passed that spot, nothing more was seen of it; and I think that the storms -- which here are frequent, and like those at Sea -- have covered the rock with sand. Our Indians tried to persuade me that it was a divinity, who had disappeared for some reason which they do not state.

"This Lake is the resort of twelve or fifteen distinct nations -- coming, some from the North, others from the South, and still others from the West; and they all go themselves either to the best parts of the shore for fishing, or to the Islands, which are scattered in great numbers all over the Lake.

These peoples' motive in coming here is partly to obtain food by fishing, and partly to transact their petty trading with one another, when they meet.

"Having entered Lake Superior, we spent the whole month of September in coasting along its Southern shore.

"All my past fatigues were as nothing to me from then on; and I was thoroughly accustomed to hunger, which ever followed us in close pursuit, our provision consisting only of what our fishermen's skill, which not always met with success, could furnish us from day to day.

"We then crossed the Bay named for saint Theresa by the late Father Menard. There this brave Missionary spent a winter, laboring with the same fervor which afterward made him sacrifice his life in the quest of souls. I found some remnants of his labors, in the persons of two Christian women who had always kept the faith. I made them pray, after I had refreshed their memory concerning our mysteries.

"The Devil did what he could to prevent my coming up here; and having failed in his object, he vented his spite on some Writings I had brought with me, designed for the instruction of these infidels. I had enclosed them, with some medicines for the sick, in a little chest, which the evil spirit tried to make me lose. Once it was wrecked in the eddies of some rapids; again it was left behind at the foot of a portage; it changed hands seven or eight times; and finally, it fell into those of that sorcerer whom I had censured at the entrance to Lake Huron, and who, after removing the lock, took what he chose, and then left it all open to the rain and exposed to passers-by. God made use of the greatest trickster of these regions -- a man with six wives, and of a immoral life -- for its preservation. This man gave it to me when I had given it up as lost, assuring me that the theriac and some other medicines, together with the Images that were in the chest, were so many Manitous or demons, who would make him die if he dared touch them. I learned, by subsequent experience, how serviceable these Writings in the languages of the country were to me in converting the people."

THE MISSIONARY'S ARRIVAL AND STAY AT THE BAY OF SAINT ESPRIT, CALLED CHEQUAMEGON.

AFTER coasting 450 miles along the Southern shore of Lake Superior, -- where it was our Lord's will often to test our patience by storms, famine, and weariness by day and night, -- finally, on the first day of October, we arrived at Chequamegon.

"It is a beautiful Bay, at the head of which is situated the great Village of the Indians, who there cultivate fields of Indian corn and lead a settled life. They number eight hundred men bearing arms, but are gathered together from seven different nations, living in peace, mingled one with another.

"This large population made us prefer this place for our usual abode, so we could apply ourselves most advantageously to the instruction of these infidels, build a chapel, and enter upon the functions of the Christian religion.

"At first, we could find shelter only under a bark roof, where we were so frequently visited by these people, most of whom had never seen any Europeans, that we were overwhelmed; and my efforts to instruct them were constantly interrupted by persons going and coming. Therefore I decided to go in person to visit them, each in his cabin, where I told them about God more at my ease."

GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE NATIONS OF THE OTTAWA COUNTRY.

UPON the Father's arrival in the country of the Ottawas, he found their minds filled with alarm at a fresh war in which they were about to engage with the Sioux -- a warlike nation, using no other arms in its wars than the bow and the club. A detachment of young warriors was already forming under the lead of a chief who, having suffered an injury, did not consider whether the vengeance which he was bent on exacting would cause the ruin of all the villages of his country.

To prevent such a disaster, the elders called a general council of ten or twelve surrounding nations, all interested in this war, -- to stay the hatchets of these rash ones by the presents which they should give them in so important an assembly. To promote this end, the Father was invited to attend, and did so, so he could at the same time address all these people in the name of Sir de Tracy, -- from whom he bore a speech in three clauses, with three presents to serve as their interpreters.

All this great Assembly having given him audience, "My brothers," said he to them, "the motive that brings me to your country is important, and makes it fitting that you should listen to my words with more than usual attention. Nothing less is concerned than the preservation of your entire land, and the destruction of all your enemies." As the Father found them all willing to listen to him attentively, he told them about the war that Sir de Tracy was undertaking against the Iroquois, -- how, by means of the King's arms, he was about to compel them to assume a respectful demeanor, and was going to make commerce safe between us and the Algonquin peoples.

THE FALSE GODS AND SOME SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS OF THAT COUNTRY.

FOLLOWING is what Father Allouez relates concerning the customs of the Ottawas and other peoples, which he has studied carefully, -- not trusting the accounts given him by others, but having been himself an eye-witness and observer of everything described in this manuscript.

"There is here," he says, "a false and abominable religion, resembling in many respects the beliefs of some of the ancient Pagans. The Indians of these regions recognize no powerful master of Heaven and Earth, but believe there are many spirits -- some of whom are beneficent, as the Sun, the Moon, the Lake, Rivers, and Woods; others malevolent, as the adder, the dragon, cold, and storms. Whatever seems to them either helpful or hurtful, they call a Manitou, and pay it the worship and veneration which we render only to God.

"These divinities they invoke whenever they go out hunting, fishing, to war, or on a journey -- offering them sacrifices, with ceremonies appropriate only for Sacrificial priests.

"One of the leading old men of the Village discharges the function of Priest, beginning with a carefully-prepared speech addressed to the Sun -- if the eat-all feast, which bears a certain resemblance to a holocaust, is held in its honor. He declares in a loud voice that he pays his thanks to that Luminary for having lighted him so that he could successfully kill some animal or other, -- praying and urging it by this feast to continue its kind care of his family. During this invocation, all the Guests eat, even to the last morsel; after which a man appointed for the purpose takes a cake of tobacco, breaks it in two, and throws it into the fire. Everyone cries aloud while the tobacco burns and the smoke rises aloft; and with these outcries the whole sacrifice ends.

"I have seen," continues the Father, "an Idol set up in the middle of a Village; and to it, among other presents, ten dogs were offered in sacrifice, to prevail on this false god to send elsewhere the disease that was depopulating the Village. Everyone went daily to make his offerings to this Idol, according to his needs.

"Besides these public sacrifices, they have some that are private and domestic; for often in their cabins they throw tobacco into the fire, with a kind of outward offering which they make to their false gods.

"During storms and tempests, they sacrifice a dog, throwing it into the Lake. 'That is to appease you,' they say to the lake; 'keep quiet.' At perilous places in the Rivers, they console the eddies and rapids by offering them presents; and so persuaded are they that they honor their pretended divinities by this external worship that those among them who are converted observe the same ceremonies toward the true God, until they are persuaded otherwise.

"As these people are of gross nature, they recognize no purely spiritual divinity, believing that the Sun is a man, and the Moon his wife; that snow and ice are also a man, who goes away in the spring and comes back in the winter; that the evil spirit is in adders, dragons, and other monsters; that the crow, the kite, and some other birds are genii, and speak just as we do; and that there are even people among them who understand the language of birds, as some understand a little of the French.

"They believe that the souls of the Departed govern the fishes in the Lake; and therefore, from the earliest times, they have held the immortality, and even the transmigration of the souls of dead fishes, believing that they pass into other fishes' bodies. Therefore, they never throw their bones into the fire, for fear that they may offend these souls, so that they will cease to come into their nets.

"They hold in special veneration a certain fabulous animal which they have never seen except in dreams, and which they call Missibizi, acknowledging it to be a great genii, and offering it sacrifices to obtain good sturgeon fishing.

"They say also that the little nuggets of copper which they find at the bottom of the water in the Lake, or in the Rivers emptying into it, are the riches of the gods who dwell in the depths of the earth.

"I have learned," says the Father who has brought to light all these follies, "that the Illinois, the Meskwaki, and other Indians toward the South, hold that there is a great and excellent genii, master of all the rest, who made Heaven and Earth; and who dwells, they say, in the East, toward the country of the French.

"The fountain-head of their Religion is libertinism; and all these various sacrifices end ordinarily in vices, indecent dances, and shameful acts of concubinage. All the devotion of the men is directed toward securing many wives, and changing them whenever they choose; that of the women, toward leaving their husbands; and that of the girls, toward a life of profligacy.

"They endure a great deal on account of these ridiculous deities; for they fast in their honor, for the purpose of learning the issue of some affair. I have," says the Father, "seen men, who had some scheme of war or hunting, pass a whole week, eating scarcely anything. They show such fixity of purpose that they will not desist until they have seen in a dream what they desire, -- either a herd of moose, or a band of Iroquois put to flight, or something similar, -- no difficult thing for an empty brain, utterly exhausted with hunger, and thinking all day of nothing else.

"Let us say something about the art of Medicine popular in this country. Their science consists in ascertaining the cause of the ailments, and applying the remedies.

"They deem the most common cause of illness to come from failure to give a feast after some successful fishing or hunting excursion; for then the Sun, who takes pleasure in feasts, is angry with the one who has been delinquent in his duty, and makes him ill.

"Besides this general cause of sickness, there are special ones, in the shape of certain little spirits, malevolent in their nature, who thrust themselves, or are sent by some enemy, into the parts of the body that are most diseased. And so, when anyone has an aching head, or arm, or stomach, they say that a Manitou has entered this part of the body, and will not cease its torments until it has been drawn or driven out.

"The most common remedy is to summon the trickster, who comes attended by some old men, with whom he holds a sort of consultation on the patient's ailment. After this, he falls upon the diseased part, applies his mouth to it, and, by sucking, pretends to extract something from it, as a little stone, or a bit of string, or something else, which he has concealed in his mouth beforehand, and which he displays, saying: 'There is the Manitou; now you are cured, and it only remains to give a feast.'

"The Devil has suggested to them another remedy, in which they place great confidence. It consists in grasping the patient under the arms, and making him walk barefoot over the live embers in the cabin; or, if he is so ill that he cannot walk, he is carried by four or five persons, and made to pass slowly over all the fires, a treatment which often results in the greater suffering producing cures, or inducing unconsciousness of the lesser pain which they strive to cure.

"The commonest remedy, as it is the most profitable for the Physician, is the holding of a feast to the Sun, which is done in the belief that this luminary, being appeased by a magnificent meal, will regard the patient with favor, and restore him to health."

THE MISSION OF SAINT ESPRIT ON LAKE TRACY.

AFTER a hard and fatiguing journey of 1250 miles, during which all kinds of hardships were encountered, the Father, after pushing on to the head of the great Lake, there found opportunity, in founding the Missions of which we are about to speak, to exercise the fervor which had made him eagerly undergo so many fatigues. Let us begin with the Mission of Saint Esprit, which is the place of his abode. He speaks as follows:

"This part of the Lake where we have halted is between two large Villages, and forms a sort of center for all the nations of these regions, because of its abundance of fish, which constitutes the chief part of these peoples' sustenance.

"Here we have built a little Chapel of bark, where my entire occupation is to receive the Algonquin and Huron Christians, and instruct them; baptize and instruct the children; admit the Infidels, who hurry here from all directions, attracted by curiosity; speak to them in public and in private; persuade them of their superstitions, combat their idolatry, make them see the truths of our Faith; and suffer no one to leave my presence without implanting in his soul some seeds of the Gospel.

"God has graciously permitted me to be heard by more than ten different Nations; but it is necessary, even before daybreak, to ask him to grant patience for the cheerful endurance of contempt, mockery, pleading, and insolence from these Indians.

"Another occupation that I have in my little Chapel is the baptism of the sick children, whom the Infidels themselves bring here, to obtain from me some medicine; and as I see that God restores these little innocents to health after their baptism, I am led to hope that it is his will to make them the foundation of his Church in these regions.

"I have hung up in the Chapel various Pictures, as of Hell and of the universal Judgment, which furnish me themes for instruction well adapted to my Hearers; nor do I find it difficult then to engage their attention, to make them chant the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary in their own tongue, and to persuade them to join in the prayers which I dictate to them after each lesson. All this attracts so many Indians that, from morning until evening, I find myself happily compelled to give them my whole attention.

"God blesses these beginnings; for the young people's vices are no longer so frequent; and the girls, who formerly did not blush at the most shameless acts, hold themselves in restraint, and maintain the modesty so becoming to their sex.

"I know many who boldly meet the overtures made to them, with the reply that they have learned to pray, and that the black Gown forbids them such acts of lust.

"A little girl, ten or twelve years old, coming one day to request my prayers, I said to her: 'My little sister, you do not deserve them; you well know what was said about you some months ago.'

"'It is true,' she replied, 'that I was not a good girl then, and that I did not know such actions were naughty; but since I have begun to pray, and you have told us that such things were wicked, I have stopped doing them.'

"The first days of 1666 were spent in presenting an acceptable new-year's gift to the little Jesus -- consisting of a number of children brought to me by their mothers, through a Divine inspiration altogether extraordinary, to be baptized. And so, little by little, this Church was growing; and as I saw it already imbued with our mysteries, I deemed the time had come to transfer our little Chapel to the midst of the great Village, which lay 2 miles from our abode, and which embraces forty-five or fifty large cabins of all nations, containing fully two thousand people.

"It was just at the time of their great revels; and I saw in that Babylon a perfect picture of libertinism. I carried on there the same pursuits as in our first abode, and with the same success; but the Evil spirit, envying the good there wrought, caused some diabolical trickery to be carried on daily, near our Chapel, for the cure of a sick woman. It was nothing but superstitious dances, hideous masquerades, horrible yells, and apish tricks of a thousand kinds. Yet I visited her daily; and to win her with kindness, I made her a present of some raisins. Finally, -- the sorcerers having declared that her soul had departed, and that they gave up hope, -- I went to see her the next day, and assured her that this was false; and that I even hoped for her recovery, if she would believe in Jesus Christ. But I could produce no effect on her mind, and that made me determine to appeal to the sorcerer who was attending her.

He was so surprised to see me at his house that he seemed quite overcome. I showed him the folly of his art, and that he was hurrying the death of his patients rather than their recovery. In reply, he threatened to make me feel its effects by a death that should be beyond dispute; and beginning his operations soon after, he continued them for three hours, calling out from time to time, in the midst of his ceremonies, that the black gown would die through them. But it was all in vain.

"On the following day, I visited another famous sorcerer -- a man with six wives and living the disorderly life that can be imagined from such a company. Finding in his cabin a little army of children, I wished to fulfill my ministry, but in vain; and that was the first time in those regions that I saw Christianity scoffed at, especially in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead and the fires of hell.

"The insults offered me in this cabin soon became known outside, and caused the others to treat me with the same insolence. Already a part of the bark -- that is, of the walls -- of our Church had been broken; already a beginning had been made in stealing from me all my possessions; the young people were becoming more and more numerous and insolent; and the word of God was listened to only with scorn and mockery. I was therefore compelled to abandon this post, and withdraw again to our customary abode.

"I have myself overheard them in the evening, after all had retired, repeating audibly and in the tone of a Captain, all the instruction which I had given them during the day. They freely acknowledge that what I teach them is reasonable; but license prevails over reason, and, unless grace is strong, all our teachings are of slight effect.

"Upon the occasion of a visit from one of them for the purpose of being instructed, at the first words I spoke to him, about his having two wives, 'My brother,' he replied, 'you speak to me on a delicate subject; it is enough for my children to pray; teach them.'

"After I had left that village of abomination, God led me 5 miles from our dwelling, where I found three adult sick persons; these I baptized, after adequate instruction, and two of them died after their Baptism. God's mysterious ways excite our admiration, and I could cite many similar illustrations of them which show the loving care of providence for its Elect."

THE MISSION TO THE PETUNS.

THE Petuns of the present day are the same people who were formerly called the Hurons of the tobacco nation. They, like the rest, mere forced to leave their country to escape from the Iroquois, and to retire to the head of this great Lake, where distance and scarcity of game furnish them a sanctuary against their foes. They formerly constituted a part of the flourishing Church of the Hurons, and had as Pastor the late Father Garnier, who gave his life so courageously for his dear flock; therefore they cherish his memory with marked veneration.

Since their country's downfall, they have received no Christian nurture; from where it results that they are Christians more by calling than by profession. They boast of that fair name, but the communication which they have so long had with infidels has nearly removed from their minds all vestiges of Religion, and has made them resume many of their former customs. Their village is at no great distance from our abode, which has enabled me to apply myself to this Mission with greater diligence than to the other more distant ones.

THE MISSION TO THE OTTAWAS, KISKAKON OTTAWAS, AND SINAGO OTTAWAS

I GROUP these three nations together because they have the same tongue, the Algonquin, and form collectively one village, which corresponds to that of the Petuns, among whom we are dwelling.

The Ottawas claim that the great river belongs to them, and that no nation can launch a boat on it without their consent. Therefore all who go to trade with the French, although of widely different nations, bear the general name of Ottawas, under whose auspices they make the journey.

The old home of the Ottawas was a district on Lake Huron, from where the fear of the Iroquois had driven them, and where all their longings are directed as to their native land.

These peoples have little inclination to receive the faith, since they are extremely addicted to Idolatry, superstitions, legends, polygamy, unstable marriages, and every sort of lust, which makes them renounce all natural shame. All these obstacles did not deter me from preaching to them, and proclaiming the Gospel in all their cabins and in our Chapel. The chapel was filled from morning until night, and there I gave constant instruction in our Mysteries.

In the first winter that I spent with them, I baptized about eighty Children, including some boys and girls between eight and ten years old. God took to himself only six.

THE MISSION TO THE POTAWATOMI

"THE Potawatomi are a people speaking the Algonquin tongue, but in a dialect much harder to understand than that of the Ottawas. Their country lies along Lake Michigan -- a large Lake which had not before come to our knowledge, adjoining Lake Huron, and that of the Winnebagos, in a Southeasterly direction. These people are warlike, and they engage in Hunting and Fishing. Their country is excellently adapted to raising Indian corn, and they have Fields covered with it, to which they rely on to avoid the famine that is only too common in these regions. They are extremely idolatrous, clinging to their ridiculous legends, and are addicted to Polygamy. We have seen them all here, to the number of three hundred men bearing arms.

Of all the people with whom I have mingled in these regions, they are the most docile, and the best disposed toward the French. Their wives and daughters are more modest than those of the other Nations. They observe among themselves a certain sort of civility, and also show it toward strangers -- which is rare among our Indians. Once when I went to see one of their elders, his eyes fell upon my shoes, which were made after the French fashion; and curiosity moved him to ask leave to take them, to examine them easily.

Upon returning them to me, he would not permit me to put them on myself, but compelled me to allow him to perform that service, -- even insisting on fastening the thongs, and showing the same marks of respect that servants do to their Masters upon rendering them this service. Kneeling at my feet, he said to me, 'It is in this way that we treat those whom we honor.' On another occasion when I went to see him, he arose from his seat to yield it to me, with the same formalities that politeness demands of gentlefolk.

During the same Winter I received into the Church five Adults, of whom the first was an aged man, about a hundred years old, who was regarded by the Indians as a sort of divinity. On the day after his death, his relatives, contrary to all usage of this country, burned his body and reduced it entirely to ashes. The cause of this is found in a legend which passes here for truth.

It is held beyond dispute that this old man's father was a Hare, -- an animal which runs over the snow in winter, -- and that therefore the snow, the Hare, and the old man are of the same village, -- that is, are relatives. It is further said that the Hare told his wife that he disapproved of their children's remaining in the depths of the earth, as that did not befit their condition -- they being relatives of the snow, whose country is above, toward the Sky; and if it ever occurred that they were put into the ground after their death, he would pray the snow, his relative, to punish the people for this offense, to fall in such quantities and so long that there should be no Spring.

And, to confirm this story, it is added that three years ago the brother of our good old man died, in the beginning of the winter; and after he had been buried in the usual manner, snow fell to such an extent, and the winter was so long, that people despaired of seeing the spring in its season. Meanwhile, all were dying of hunger, and no remedy could be found for this general suffering. The elders assembled, and held many councils, but all in vain; the snow still continued. Then one of the company said he remembered the threats which we have related. Immediately they went and disinterred the dead man, and burned him; when immediately the snow ceased, and spring followed.

"A young man, in whose canoe I had a place on my journey to this country, was seized, toward the close of the winter, with the contagious disease that was prevalent. I tried to show him as much kindness as he had shown me ill usage on the journey. As he was a man of considerable importance, no kind of trickery was spared for his cure; and it was carried so far that finally they came to tell me that they had extracted from his body two Dog's teeth. 'That is not what causes his illness,' said I to them, 'but rather the tainted blood which he has in his body,' -- for I judged that he had pneumonia. Indeed, I bled him; and showing the blood to the trickster, who was present, 'There,' said I to him, 'is what is killing this sick man. You should, with all your affected arts, have drawn from him every drop of this corrupt blood, and not some alleged dog's teeth.' But he, perceiving the relief which this bleeding had afforded the sick man, decided to have the glory of his cure; and made him take a kind of Medicine, which produced such an ill effect that the Patient remained for three whole hours as one dead.

The gain is more assured in regard to Children, of whom I baptized seventeen toward the close of this Mission, which I was forced to bring to an end by the departure of these people, as they returned to their own country after harvesting their Indian corn. On taking leave, they gave me a pressing invitation to visit them in the following Spring."

THE MISSION TO THE SAUK AND MESKWAKI

"I NEXT add these two nations because they are mingled with and allied to the preceding, and have the same language, the Algonquin, -- although differing in various Idioms, a fact which makes it difficult to understand them. Still, after some labor on my part, they understand me now, and I understand them, sufficiently for their instruction.

"The country of the Meskwaki lies Southward toward Lake Michigan. They are a populous tribe, of about a thousand men bearing arms, and given to hunting and warfare. They have fields of Indian corn, and live in a country offering excellent facilities for the hunting of the Wildcat, Stag, bison, and Beaver. Canoes they do not use, but commonly make their journeys by land, bearing their packages and their game on their shoulders.

"These people are as much addicted to idolatry as the other nations. One day, on entering the Cabin of a Meskwaki, I found his parents dangerously ill; and when I told him that bleeding would cure them, the poor man took some powdered tobacco and sprinkled it completely over my gown, saying to me: 'you are a spirit; come now, restore these sick people to health; I offer you this tobacco in sacrifice.'

"'What are you doing, my brother?' said I; 'I am nothing, but he who made all things is the master of our lives, while I am but his servant.'

"'Well, then,' he replied, scattering some tobacco on the ground, and raising his eyes on high, 'to you who made Heaven and earth I offer this tobacco. Give these sick persons health.'

"These people are not far removed from the recognition of the Creator of the world; for it is they who told me what I have already related, -- namely, that they acknowledge in their country a great spirit, the maker of Heaven and earth, who dwells toward the country of the French. It is said of them and of the Sauk that, when they find a man alone and at a disadvantage, they kill him, especially if he is a Frenchman; for they cannot endure the beards of the French people. Cruelty of that kind makes them less docile, and less inclined to receive the Gospel, than are the Potawatomi. Still, I proclaimed it to nearly 120 persons, who passed a summer here.

"As for the Sauk, they above all others can be called savages. They are numerous, but wandering and scattered in the forests, without any fixed abode. I have seen nearly two hundred of them, to all of whom I have proclaimed the faith, and have baptized eighteen of their children, to whom the sacred waters were beneficial for both soul and body."

THE MISSION TO THE ILLINOIS

"THE Illinois speak Algonquin, but a different dialect from those of all the other tribes. I understand them only slightly, because I have talked with them only a little. They do not live in these regions, their country being more than 150 miles toward the South, beyond a great river -- which, as well as I can conjecture, empties into the Sea somewhere near Virginia.

These people are hunters and warriors, using bows and arrows, rarely muskets, and never canoes. They used to be a populous nation, divided into ten large Villages; but now they are reduced to two, continual wars with the Sioux on one side and the Iroquois on the other having almost exterminated them.

They acknowledge many spirits to whom they offer sacrifice. They practice a kind of dance, quite peculiar to themselves, which they call 'the dance of the tobacco-pipe.' It is executed therefore: they prepare a great pipe, which they deck with plumes, and put in the middle of the room, with a sort of veneration. One of the company rises, begins to dance, and then yields his place to another, and this one to a third; and therefore they dance in succession, one after another, and not together. One would take this dance for a pantomime ballet; and it is executed to the beating of a drum. The performer marks war in rhythmic time, preparing his arms, attiring himself, running, discovering the foe, raising the cry, slaying the enemy, removing his scalp, and returning home with a song of victory, -- and all with an astonishing exactness, promptness and agility. After they have all danced, one after the other, around the pipe, it is taken and offered to the chief man in the whole assembly, for him to smoke; then to another, and so in succession to all. This ceremony resembles in its significance the French custom of drinking, several out of the same glass; but, in addition, the pipe is left in the keeping of the most honored man, as a sacred trust, and a sure pledge of the peace and union that will ever subsist among them as long as it shall remain in that person's hands.

Of all the spirits to whom they offer sacrifice, they honor with a special worship one who is preeminent above the others, as they maintain, because he is the maker of all things. Such a passionate desire have they to see him that they keep long fasts to that end, hoping that by this means God will be persuaded to appear to them in their sleep; and if they chance to see him, they deem themselves happy, and assured of a long life. All the nations of the South have this same wish to see God, which facilitates their conversion.

I have proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ here to eighty people of this nation, and they have carried it and publicized it with approval to the whole country of the South; consequently this Mission is the one where I have labored the least and accomplished the most. They honor our Lord among themselves in their own way, putting his Image, which I have given them, in the most honored place on the occasion of any important feast, while the Master of the banquet addresses it as follows: 'In your honor, O Man-God, do we hold this feast; to you do we offer these foods.'

Had I had leisure and opportunity, I would have pushed on to their country, to see with my own eyes all the good things there of which they tell me. I find all those with whom I have mingled affable and humane; and it is said that whenever they meet a stranger, they give a cry of joy, caress him, and show him every possible evidence of affection.

Their country is warm, and they raise two crops of Indian corn a year. There are rattlesnakes there, which cause many deaths among them, as they do not know the antidote. They hold medicines in high esteem, offering sacrifice to them as to great spirits. They have no forests in their country, but vast prairies instead, where bison, cows, deer, bears, and other animals feed in great numbers."

THE MISSION TO THE SIOUX

"THESE are people dwelling to the West of this place, toward the great river named Mississippi. They are 100 or 125 miles from this place, in a country of prairies, rich in all kinds of game. They cultivate fields, sowing there not Indian corn, but only tobacco; while Providence has furnished them a kind of marsh rye which they go and harvest toward the close of Summer in certain small Lakes that are covered with it. So well do they know how to prepare it that it is highly appetizing and nutritious. They gave me some when I was at the head of Lake Superior, where I saw them. They do not use muskets, but only bows and arrows, with which they shoot skillfully. Their Cabins are not covered with bark, but with Deerskins, carefully dressed, and sewn together with such skill that the cold does not enter. These people are, above all the rest, savage and wild, -- appearing abashed and as motionless as statues in our presence.

Yet they are warlike, and have conducted hostilities against all their neighbors, by whom they are held in extreme fear. They speak a language that is utterly foreign, the Indians here not understanding it at all. Therefore I have been obliged to address them through an interpreter, who, being an infidel, did not accomplish what I might well have wished.

These people are almost at the end of the earth, so they say. Farther toward the setting Sun there are nations named Karezi, beyond whom, they maintain, the earth is cut off, and nothing is to be seen but a great Lake whose waters are ill-smelling, for so they designate the Sea.

Toward the Northwest, there is a nation which eats meat uncooked, being content to hold it in the hand and expose it to the fire, while beyond these people lies the North sea. On this side are the Crees, whose rivers empty into Hudson Bay. We have some knowledge of the Indians inhabiting the regions of the South, as far as the Sea, so that only a little territory and few people are left to whom the Gospel has not been proclaimed -- if we credit the reports often given us by the Indians."

THE MISSION TO THE CREE

"THE Cree have their usual abode on the shores of the North Sea, and their canoes ply along a River emptying into a great Bay, which we think is the one designated on the Map by the name of Hudson. Those whom I have seen from that country have told me that they had known of a Ship; and one of their old men declared to me that he had himself seen, at the mouth of the River of the Assiniboine Sioux, some peoples allied to the Cree, whose country is still farther Northward.

He told me further that he had also seen a House which the Europeans had built on the mainland, out of boards and pieces of wood; and that they held Books in their hands, like the one he saw me holding when he told me this. He made mention of another nation, adjoining the Assiniboine Sioux, who eat human beings, and live wholly on raw flesh; but these people, in turn, are eaten by Bears of frightful size, all red, and with prodigiously long claws. It is deemed highly probable that they are Lions.

Concerning the Cree, they appear to me extremely docile, and show a kindness uncommon among these Indians. They are much more nomadic than any of the other nations, having no fixed abode, no fields, no villages; and living wholly on game and a small quantity of oats which they gather in marshy places. They pay idolatrous worship to the Sun, to which they are accustomed to offer sacrifice by fastening a dog to the top of a pole and leaving it therefore suspended until it rots.

They speak nearly the same tongue as do the people formerly called Atikamekw, and as the Tadoussac Innu. I understand them, and they me, sufficiently for their instruction. They had never heard of the Faith, and this novelty, together with their docility of temperament, made them attentive to me. They have promised me to render homage from now on only to the Creator of the Sun and of the world. The wandering and vagrant life which they lead made me postpone Baptizing those whom I saw to be best prepared, and I only baptized a new-born girl-baby.

I hope this Mission will some day bear fruit commensurate with the labors which will be given to it when our Fathers go and winter with the people, as they do with the Indians from Tadoussac, at Quebec. They have invited me there, but I cannot give myself wholly to some while depriving so many others of the aid I owe them, as being the nearest to this place and the best fitted to receive the Gospel."

THE MISSION TO THE NIPISSINGS, AND FATHER ALLOUEZ'S JOURNEY TO LAKE NIPIGON

THE Nipissings formerly received instruction from our Fathers who stayed in the country of the Hurons. These poor people, many of whom were Christians, were compelled by the Incursions of the Iroquois to flee for refuge even to Lake Nipigon, only 125 or 150 miles from the North Sea.

For nearly twenty years they have not seen a Pastor. I thought that a journey undertaken to their new country would be attended with Heaven's blessings.

On the sixth day of May of this year, 1667, I embarked in a Canoe with two Indians to serve me as guides, throughout this Journey. Meeting on the way 40 Indians from the Hudson Bay, I conveyed to them the first news of the Faith.

Continuing our Journey, on the seventeenth we crossed a portion of our great Lake, paddling for twelve hours without dropping the paddle from the hand. As there were but three of us in our Canoe, I had to paddle with all my strength, together with the Indians, to make the most of the calm, without which we would have been in great danger, -- utterly spent, as we were, with toil and lack of food. Still, we lay down supperless at nightfall, and the next day contented ourselves with a frugal meal of Indian corn and water; for the wind and rain prevented our Indians from casting their net.

On the nineteenth, invited by the beautiful weather, we covered 45 miles, paddling from daybreak until after Sunset, without respite and without landing.

On the twentieth, finding nothing in our nets, we continued our journey, munching some grains of dry corn. On the following day, God refreshed us with two small fishes, which gave us new life. Heaven's blessings increased on the next day, our Indians catching so many sturgeon that they had to leave some of them at the water's edge.

Coasting along the Northern shore of this great Lake on the twenty-third, we passed from Island to Island, these being frequent. There is one, at least 50 miles long, where are found pieces of copper, which is held by the Frenchmen who have examined it here to be true red copper.

After accomplishing a good part of our journey on the Lake, we left it on the twenty-fifth of this month of May, and delivered ourselves to a River, so full of rapids and falls that even our Indians could go no farther; and learning that Lake Nipigon was still frozen over, they gladly took the two days' rest imposed upon them by necessity.

As we drew near our journey's end, we occasionally met Nipissing Indians, wandering from their homes to seek food in the woods. Gathering together a considerable number of them, for the celebration of Pentecost, I prepared them by a long instruction for hearing the holy sacrifice of the Mass, which I celebrated in a Chapel of foliage. They listened with as much piety and decorum as do our Indians of Quebec in our Chapel at Sillery.

Here I must relate a remarkable circumstance which occurred not long ago. Two women, mother and daughter, had been captured by the Iroquois, and had happily escaped from the fires and cruelties of those Barbarians; but had soon afterward fallen a second time into their clutches, and were left with no hope of escape. Yet one day, when they found themselves alone with a single Iroquois, who had remained behind to guard them while the rest went out to hunt, the girl told her mother that the time had come to rid themselves of this guard, and flee. So she asked the Iroquois for a knife to use on a Beaver-skin that she was ordered to dress; and at the same time, she plunged it into his bosom. The mother arose and struck him on the head with a billet of wood, and they left him for dead. Taking some food, they started forth with all haste, and finally reached their own country in safety.

We spent six days in paddling from Island to Island, seeking some outlet; and finally, after many detours, we reached the village of the Nipissings on the third day of June. It is composed of Indians, mostly idolaters, with some Christians of long standing. I did not lack occupation with both classes during our two weeks' stay in their country, and I worked as diligently as my health, broken by the fatigues of the journey, allowed. This latest journey was nearly 1250 miles in length, going and coming, including the detours we had to make."

FATHER CLAUDE ALLOUEZ COMES BACK TO QUEBEC, AND SETS OUT ON HIS RETURN TO THE OTTAWAS

DURING Father Allouez's two year stay among the Ottawas, he took note of the customs of all the nations that he saw, and carefully studied the means for facilitating their conversion. There is work there for many Missionaries, but nothing for them to subsist on. For a part of the year the people live on the bark of trees; during another portion, on ground fish-bones; and the rest of the time, on fish or Indian corn -- sometimes in small quantities, and sometimes in considerable abundance. The Father has learned by experience that, the fatigues being great, the labors incessant, and the food scanty, even a body of bronze cannot withstand all this; and that it is therefore necessary to have on the spot some men of courage and piety to work for the Missionaries' maintenance, either by tilling the soil or by skill in fishing or hunting. They should also erect buildings for lodging, and Chapels -- to inspire veneration in those peoples, who have never seen anything finer than their own bark cabins.

To this end, the Father decided to come to Quebec in person, and exert himself for the realization of these plans. He arrived here on the third day of August of this year, 1667; and after a stay of two days only, he was ready, so diligent had he been, to start from Montreal with 20 canoes of the Indians, -- with whom he had made the descent, and who were awaiting him on that Island with great impatience.

His group consisted of seven persons -- Father Louis Nicolas and himself, to labor in unison for the conversion of those people; and one of our Brothers, with four men, to be employed at the scene of action for their maintenance. However, when it came to embarking, the Indians were found to be in such ill humor that only the Fathers, with one of their men, were given places in the Canoes. They were so poorly provided with food, clothes, and all the other necessaries of life which they had prepared, and which could not find conveyance, that there is reasonable doubt whether they can reach the country; or if they do so, of their ability to maintain themselves there for long.

THE MISSION TO THE PAPINACHOIS INNU, AND THAT AT LAC SAINT-JEAN

THE Missions to the Papinachois Innu and to the Indians of Lac Saint-Jean, near Tadoussac, have met with success. Father Henry Nouvel, their Pastor, has spent a part of the Winter with the Indians of Lac Saint-Jean, and of the Summer with the others.

A noteworthy circumstance has to do with a Papinachois Innu family, converted to Christianity, and composed of five persons only. While they were foraging in the woods, they were fallen upon unawares by ten Iroquois. The husband had only time to take his eldest son, aged eight, on his shoulders and flee, accompanied by a daughter of his who was large enough to follow him. The mother, with a babe at her breast, fell a victim to those vultures. This capture, insignificant although it was, still caused the Iroquois to celebrate their victory for two days, while the poor captive was forced, according to their barbarous custom, to sing with them for their entertainment. After these first rejoicings, hunger scattered them, compelling them to separate in all directions, in order to more easily survive by hunting.

Our captive, who found herself tightly bound, was inconsolable over her misfortune and that of her child, whom she saw crying in the arms of another Indian, -- when all at once she found herself borne aloft by an unknown power, by which her bonds were loosed, to the great astonishment of her guards; and she was carried a great distance, and set down in a place of safety. From there it was easy for her to go by land to the spot where they had left their Canoe, in which she immediately embarked, joining her husband and relatives soon after.

The Father to whom she gave this whole account had difficulty in consoling her over the loss of that innocent babe, left alone in the Iroquois' hands, although he told her that, if they killed it, they would procure it a life of eternal happiness, as it had been baptized; and if they spared its life, there was hope of recovering it from the hands of those Barbarians, since the King's arms had forced them to come and ask us for peace, which had been concluded since the time of her capture.

THE REESTABLISHMENT OF THE MISSIONS TO THE IROQUOIS

THE military expeditions made during the past year, into the country of the Mohawk Iroquois, left such terror behind them that those Indians came this Summer to present us a most earnest petition for peace; and even brought some of their families to serve as hostages. They declared that all their desires were to have some of our Fathers with them, to cement the peace.

Sir de Tracy, declared to them that although it was in his power to bring them to utter ruin, -- as they could well believe from the late destruction of their Villages, -- yet he would spare their land, and even grant them the Fathers whom they demanded, so nothing might be lacking to confirm the peace.

Fathers Jacques Fremin and Jean Pierron were selected for the Mohawk Missions, and Father Jacques Bruyas for that at Oneida; while three other Fathers held themselves in entire readiness for those at Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, as soon as deputies from those nations should come with a similar request, as they had promised to do.

The three above-named Fathers, after receiving the blessing of the Bishop of Petraea, who ever burns with extraordinary fervor for the Iroquois' salvation, set out from Quebec last July with the Mohawk and Oneida Ambassadors. Upon reaching fort Saint Anne, at the mouth of Lake Champlain, they learned that a band of fifty or sixty Mahicans -- Indians whom we call the Mahicans -- were in ambush on the Lake for the purpose of attacking these Ambassadors of the Iroquois, with whom they were at war.

A delay ensued, vexatious to those who were longing only for those dear Villages, to plant the Faith in that soil already sprinkled with the blood of our Fathers who first went there, and who were either cruelly tortured or murdered there.

They lingered therefore for more than a month at this last fort, to allow the enemy time to disperse; but this delay was of no help, and they were forced to expose themselves to danger, entering upon that Mission, perilous and arduous. We have yet learned nothing of what has occurred there.

There are new Missions opening in all directions, -- to the East, West, North, and South. We have this year received a considerable reinforcement of select persons, whose occupations would have been of no mean order in France; but who find in Canada -- in a life hidden amid woods, rocks, and snow; in hunger, fatigue, and complete physical exhaustion -- more consolation in one day than they have tasted in all their lives before.

LETTER FROM THE REVEREND MOTHER SUPERIOR OF THE HOSPITAL NUNS OF QUEBEC IN NEW FRANCE. OCTOBER 20, 1667

Sir,

Our Hospital has been, during this entire year, full of regular patients, to say nothing of those who came unexpectedly and out of the usual course. If it were larger, we would have still more. We have a fund only for defraying the expenses of a few Poor people, and we commonly have five or six times as many. Canada is no longer as it used to be: its population is increasing, and meanwhile the number of patients grows. We need a larger house; for, besides our lack of room to lodge so many people, we cannot serve them as we desire. The latest ship alone brought us twenty-four men and sixteen girls as patients, -- in addition to those from the other vessels that had already arrived, and those from this Country itself, who come daily. We receive them all as best we can, but we shall be unable to enlarge our building until we have a more ample fund for maintaining the Poor; for, except the Charitable offerings you obtain for us, we receive none.

I have often talked on this subject with the Intendant, who admires the perseverance with which you continue your donations toward this house. We are altogether fortunate in having him here; the King could not have sent us a more capable person or one more warmly interested in our Hospital. He is strongly persuaded, as are all persons of quality in this Country, that the most useful thing one could have done in Canada was to establish a place for the relief of Poor sick people. They are constantly learning this by experience, -- in the case both of the soldiers and of people of every other condition; and sometimes even in the case of the Officers who, not finding elsewhere facilities for attendance during their illness, count themselves fortunate to find in our house all the aid they could desire, -- for we try not to refuse our services to anyone. We witness results from this course so little expected, -- at least, in regard to the saving of souls, -- that we feel an ambition to begrudge neither our goods, if we had any, nor our cares and labors, for the relief of everyone. No one dies in our Hospital, or leaves it, without giving proofs of a genuine conversion.

There arrived in the latest vessel a sick French Protestant, whom all regarded as the most obstinate man on earth in his error. Still, his disease compelling him to have himself brought to our house, he had not passed three days there before he renounced his Heresy. His ailment increasing, he requested his last Sacraments. Two days later, he died with the feelings of a true penitent.

We enjoy at present perfect peace with the Iroquois, God having reserved the consummation of that great work for the courage of Sir de Tracy and the Governor, who spared no pains to procure this blessing for the whole Country. It furnishes the means of opening the door of the Gospel to all the Upper Nations.

Sister Marie de St. Bonaventure de Jesus, unworthy Superior.

Hospital of God of Quebec, October 20, 1667.

YEAR 1668
LETTER FROM REVEREND FATHER JACQUES BRUYAS FROM THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER AMONG THE IROQUOIS, THIS 21ST OF JANUARY, 1668.

Reverend Father,

I send you a brief abstract of what I have been able to observe, in the short time that I have spent here, touching the customs, the character, and the way of living of the Iroquois, and the progress of our religion in these Infidel lands. The Iroquois are divided into five nations, namely, the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks. These last two are called Lower, to distinguish them from the other three, who are called upper Iroquois -- both because they are less northerly, and because they inhabit hilly districts; but they are all United and have the same Enemies.

We have a mission among the Lower Iroquois. I will say nothing of the success of that at Mohawk; I only know that there has Been a rich harvest there. I will only speak of Oneida, distant about 75 miles from Mohawk:

1st, it is situated on the 44th parallel of latitude, upon an Eminence, from where one could see a great deal of the country if the woods which surround it were cleared away. There is no river or lake, except at 12 miles' distance from the town, where there is a lake 30 miles long and 5 miles wide, which furnishes fish to nearly all the Iroquois. This place is fairly pleasant, although it has none of the features which give beauty to our country homes. If one were to take the trouble to plant some vines and trees, they would yield as well as they do in France; but the Indian is too fond of wandering to be made to cultivate them.

Still, apple, plum, and chestnut trees are seen here; but all these fruits are of little importance, and do not have the same taste as those of France, -- except the walnuts and chestnuts, which I find in no way different in taste from our own. There are also vines, which bear tolerably good grapes, from which our fathers formerly made wine for the mass. I believe that, if they were pruned two years in succession, the grapes would be as good as those of France. The mulberries and strawberries are so abundant that the ground is all covered with Them; both are dried, to season the sagamite when there is no fish.

I have named all that is rare in this country. Those who inhabit It are no more attractive. The Oneidas have had the reputation of being the most cruel of all the Iroquois, and They have Never spoken of peace until within the last two years; it is they who have always made war against the Algonquins and the Hurons. Two-thirds of this village is composed of these two nations, who have become Iroquois in temper and Inclination. The nature of the Oneidas is altogether barbarous, -- that is, cruel, secret, cunning, and inclined to blood and Carnage. The Youth are reared and nourished in war, and would Never choose peace if the old men, who have some influence over them, did not compel them to it. If they have no Enemies, they make these again; and the passion for killing men is so great that they willingly go 750 miles and more to Remove one scalp. But there are indeed other Hindrances and greater obstacles to the faith. Among many, I have noticed three which prevail over all the others, and which are common to all the Iroquois.

Drunkenness, dreams, And Impurity. They are Drunkards only since they have associated with the French and dutch. The French cannot furnish them Brandy, -- on Account both of the prohibitions of our governors, and of the war which they have until now waged against us, -- but the Dutch give them as much of It as they can carry. They have such a mania to get possession of this baneful drink that they do not complain of going 500 miles to Bring three or four quarts of it into their own country; and the worst is that, when they have drunk it, they are demons. Last Summer, four Oneidas were killed by their comrades, while Drunken; yet this accident did not make the others any wiser.

Some time ago, while I was in the chapel, a Drunken man presented himself at the door, and asked where the black gown was. "I will kill him," said he; "he is a demon, who forbids us to have several wives;" but, when he saw the door closed, he went home, shouting like a madman. This is not the only time that they have sought to kill me; but God always preserved me, -- to give me a more glorious death after I shall have done penance for my sins during some years. Although they often become Intoxicated with the intention of killing those to whom they bear ill will, yet all is then forgiven, and you have no other satisfaction than this: "What would you have me do? I had no sense; I was Drunk." Thus they atone for a man's death. There is among Them neither prison nor gibbet; each one lives according to his fancy; and I am surprised that, in so great Impunity, they are not Daily cutting each other's throats.

The dream is an evil still more dangerous. As it is the oldest, it is hard to cure. It is the divinity of the Indians, for which they have no less respect than we have for the most holy things. All that they dream must be carried out; otherwise, one draws upon himself the hatred of all the dreamer's relatives, and exposes himself to feel the effects of their anger. This is what often causes hardship to a poor missionary, who cannot be sure of a moment of his life; but they derive this advantage from it, that they have to be upon their guard, and to live as if they were to die at any moment. If I Understood more of their language, I could Inform you more of the nature of their dreams. This will be reserved for next year; I shall content myself, this year, with Writing to you what I have seen, and not what I have Heard.

Finally, Impurity triumphs so Insolently among all our Indians that they even glory in a crime which makes the more modest blush. Polygamy, Introduced among Them so many centuries ago, is one of the greatest obstacles in their way to Christian purity. When they are told that there are men, and even women, In France who Never marry, it appears so Extraordinary to them that they can hardly Believe it. Still, in so great and universal corruption, I have found one good neophyte, who has, during the three years since he was married, kept his conjugal faith to his wife, although he has not had any Children. I believe that he is The only one. There is as great ease in breaking marriages as in making them, -- the husband leaving his wife, and the wife her husband, at pleasure. This is the greatest sin, not only of the Iroquois, but of all the Indians, and the one on account of which I am expecting to sustain some severe Battles. I have not observed any other vices in our Iroquois.

They do not know what Cursing is. I have Never seen them become angry, even On occasions when our Frenchmen would have uttered a hundred oaths. Their lives might Be Innocent enough if they Were Christians. As they only live from Day to Day, they do not desire much; and all their wishes end in having something to eat. It is an Indian's supreme good to have fresh meat; he then considers himself the happiest person in the world; and the women do hardly anything else, all The winter, but go and get the flesh of the deer or of the moose that the men have killed, sometimes 125 miles away from the village. I am often asked if they eat the meat of moose, bear, etc. in paradise; And I Answer them that, if they Desire to eat it, their desires will be satisfied. This answer serves me in many other instances, when they ask Impertinent questions, as did one who wished to know if they went to war in Heaven, if they killed men there, if they Took off their scalps. "Without these things," said he, "I will not believe." He was Satisfied when he was told, "If you wish to go To war, you will go; and God will grant you all that you will wish." Judge from this of the Minds of the Indians. I compare them to our peasants in France, and I do not think that they are more intelligent, -- except some, who surprise me by their answers.

It is time to tell the progress of our religion in this country. What can a man do who does not understand their language, and who is not Understood when He speaks? I do nothing but stammer; still, in four months I have baptized 60 persons, among whom there are only four adults, baptized in periculo mortis; all the rest are little Children, -- partly Huron, whose parents have been Christians for a long time, and partly Iroquois. The chapel that was built for me Is frequented as much as I could desire. It Is true that, of all those whom I have baptized, none are married; as they break their marriage bonds so easily, I ask a longer Probation from These than from the others. I hope to have with me, in three months, another father who Understands the language perfectly, and will do more in a week than I have done in six months; and besides, God will perhaps humiliate our Oneidas, who have always lived in prosperity and abundance. The Campaign of Sir de tracy among their neighbors has aided in their conversion.

Friends write to me that this fervor has reached the great college, and that many ask Urgently to be assigned to Canada. Never was there a finer opportunity to satisfy their desires, for the gate is now open to all the Iroquois. The Onondagas, with whom our Fathers have already lived, are going down to our people at Quebec, to take them back into their country; the two other nations will not delay to follow their Example. Besides, I am assured that there are not enough workers at Quebec to supply all these peoples, unless some have come this year from France, which I cannot yet know; and therefore It will depend only upon these brave missionaries to come to our help as soon as possible. But they will receive it kindly if I Inform them beforehand of what God requires from those whom he calls to the Iroquois mission; and if I tell them that they must be ready to die at any time. No fires are to be feared so long as the peace continues; all that is to be feared is to be beaten to death by some hothead.

But I venture to say that the life which one leads together with these barbarians Is a continual martyrdom, and that the fires of the Iroquois would be easier to bear than the trials one Endures among Them. One must expect to have all his senses martyred daily: the sight, by the smoke of the cabins -- I have almost lost my eyes from it; the hearing, by their Annoying yells and wearisome visits; the smell, by the stench that is incessantly Exhaled by the oiled and greased hair of both women and men; feeling, by a cold as severe as at Quebec; and, Finally, taste, by the unsavory and flavorless food of the Indians, of which it is enough to say that the daintiest and most delicate of it would be refused by the dogs in France. If the sagamite Be without seasoning, it is without taste; if it be seasoned, this is done, a great part of the year, with rotten fish, the mere odor of which at first turns one's stomach. You can see how the senses are pampered here.

I say nothing of the contempt that must be Endured; of the frequent teasing to which a person Exposes himself when he speaks incorrectly; of the trouble caused by the Study of a difficult language, -- above all, to persons advanced in age. There is a great difference between meditating upon the Canada mission in one's chapel, and finding oneself Exercising the duties of a Canadian missionary.

I do not say this to disgust those whom God has inspired to undertake this painful and Laborious life. I persuade myself, on the contrary, that they will be more stimulated to strive for its execution. And why should they lose courage, when they consider that the meanest and most Unfit man in the province, not only in Mind, but Also as to body, manages to exist amid all these difficulties? My health has Never been more perfect than it has been since my arrival at Oneida; and I am so accustomed to the Iroquois life that it has become almost nature to me. I find the sagamite not only good, but It often tastes delicious to me.

But the principal thing I have to say to them is that they should not expect to see thousands of Unbelievers converted, as in the missions of china, Tonquin, etc. All the Iroquois Together are not more than 2,000 men bearing arms. The Ottawas, among whom we established ourselves 2 years ago, are more numerous; I know nothing certain about them. Often a year is Occupied in the conversion of five or six families, and this is not considered a loss of time. I apply myself especially to the Instruction of the Children, waiting to become better acquainted with the language before working for the Instruction of the adults.

I advise all the Canada converts to read the letter in the book of the Epistles of St. Francis Xavier, which may serve in the Instruction of all those who aspire to the apostolic life. You will be surprised that a novice and Young missionary like me takes it upon himself to give advice, and will think that it would be more seemly to let those write who have grown gray in this calling. But I have written all these things only to satisfy several of our fathers, who have requested me to write them the plain truth, and not to disguise my story. Besides, I trust that you will not read my letter except in private to my friends; and that you will spare me the embarrassment that I would experience if I were still made to preach in the Refectory, as I had to do two years ago. One is Exempt from sermons after one's studies; and I have Annoyed our Fathers enough with my voice, without continuing to Weary them with my letters.

The niece of that good Iroquois woman of whom I have spoken has proved herself in no way inferior to her Aunt. I have learned something about her which is all the more admirable as it is so rare amid the universal corruption of the Indians. She has Never violated her conjugal faith to her husband, although she has been often solicited to do so, and has even been deprived of some charm, so she might be rendered barren; but neither her barrenness, nor all the threats that have been made against her, have been able to turn her from her duty. She asked me, a long time ago, to baptize her; hers is a conscience so tender that she ventures to do nothing without first asking me if there is any wrong in it. The one of whom I have spoken above, who was so faithful to his wife, is not an Oneida, but he lives at the Mohawk nation.

Jacques Bruyas.

NEW FRANCE, IN THE YEARS 1667 AND 1668. SENT TO REV. FATHER ESTIENNE DECHAMPS, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

THE ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM THE PEACE MADE WITH THE IROQUOIS

WE began more than a year ago to enjoy the fruits of peace, procured for us by the arms of his Majesty through the subjection of the Iroquois.

It is pleasant to see now the shores of our River Saint Lawrence settled by new colonies, which continue to spread over more than 200 miles of territory along the shores of this great River, where new Hamlets are seen springing up, which facilitate navigation -- rendering it more agreeable by the sight of numerous houses, and more convenient by frequent resting-places. This causes a notable change in the country, both through its increased extent -- which has been greater since the King has sent here troops, of which it had received none in the past -- and through the settlement of more than three hundred families in a comparatively short time; and Marriages are so frequent that, in the last three years, ninety-three have occurred in the Parish of Quebec alone.

Fear of the enemy no longer prevents our Laborers from causing the forests to recede, and from sowing their fields with all sorts of grain, to which the soil is as well suited as is that of France, if it only receives similar cultivation. Our Hunters go to a great distance in perfect safety to hunt the Moose, a pursuit which brings them extraordinary profit. The Indians, our allies, no longer fearing that they will be surprised on the road, come in quest of us from all directions, from a distance of 1250 and 1500 miles, -- either to reestablish their trade, interrupted by the wars; or to open new commercial dealings, as some remote tribes claim to do, who had never before made their appearance here, and who came last Summer for that purpose.

Even the Iroquois, as if they had ceased to be savages and Iroquois, fill some of our settlements during a good part of the year, and carry on their trade with our Frenchmen. They would do much more, and would even come and make themselves at home among us, if the war which they are carrying on with a tribe called the Mahicans did not prevent them from coming to us with safety.

These blessings will continue so long as peace continues, and peace so long as the Iroquois are kept in a state of fear, -- in which it is important to keep them, if we wish to continue the planting of Colonies. It is to effect this that Sir de Courcelle, Governor of all this region, is making strenuous exertions; for, having spread the first alarms in the enemy's territory by his bold marches, he maintains them there by the fear of some similar disaster. Meanwhile, he keeps the Iroquois at peace by the fear of war, and by the maintenance of the Forts of Saint Anne and saint Jean, -- the proximity of which retains them in a state of alarm, and in respectful attitude.

Sir Talon, Intendant for the King, has not ceased to exert every effort for the general good of this country, for farming, the discovery of mines, the promotion of commerce, and for every advantage that can conduce to the establishment and enlargement of this Colony. Consequently, we would regret much more his return to France, if we did not have as his successor Sir Boutroue, who is all that we could wish for to make good the loss.

These are favors of quite recent occurrence for which our Canada is under infinite obligations to his Majesty -- who has changed the face of this country by means of that powerful aid which he has sent it at so great expense. Among other forces may be mentioned the Regiment of Carignan-Salieres, of which a good number of the Officers, and more than 400 Soldiers, have increased the Colony by becoming settlers, under advantageous conditions. Each one of the Soldiers has been given 200 silver coins, or 25 gold coins with rations for a year, at his choice; and each Sergeant fifty gold coins, or 200 silver coins with rations for a year, likewise at his choice. For that reason, few are going back to France with Sir de Salieres, Colonel of this Regiment, -- who, after growing gray in the armies of France, where he made himself well known, came over here to take part in the glory of subjecting the Iroquois. Of these Indians he has taken with him five, of different tribes, and even from that of Susquehannock, to present them to the King.

We have begun also to pay some attention to our Indians here; for since some Conferences that Sir Talon had concerning the King's intentions, which were explained by the dispatches received from Sir Colbert, regarding the education of the Indians and their conformity to our customs, the Bishop of Petraea and the Jesuit Fathers have already placed a number of little Indian boys in their Seminaries, to be brought up there with the French children. This the Gentlemen of the Clergy who are at Montreal have decided to do, as has also Sir Talon, who intends to have five little girls brought up in the Seminary of the Ursuline Mothers.

Besides, since a country cannot be built up entirely without the help of Manufacturers, we already see that of shoes and hats begun, and those of linen and leather planned; and it is expected that the steady increase in sheep will produce sufficient wool to introduce that of woolen goods. That is what we are hoping for in a little while, since animals are becoming abundant here, especially horses, which are beginning to spread throughout the entire country.

The Brewery which Sir Talon is having built will also contribute to the public welfare, by causing a decrease in the use of intoxicating drinks, which occasion great lawlessness here; that can be removed by using this other drink, which is wholesome and not injurious. Besides, it will keep in the country the money which is now sent out of it in the purchase of so much liquor in France. It will also promote the consumption of the superabundance of grain, which has sometimes been so great that the Laborers could not find a market for it.

But, although all this that we have said may be well worth consideration in giving a view of the fruits of the peace, it is yet little in comparison with the advantages afforded by it for the conversion of all the Indians in these regions. This may be seen in this Report, in the reestablishment of the Missions whose progress had been interrupted by the war. Six Jesuit Fathers are dispersed through all the Iroquois Nations, and have already rebuilt there four considerable Churches; they have also baptized more than a hundred and fifty persons, -- besides fifty other Iroquois, almost all Adults, who have been baptized at Quebec.

Four other Jesuits are engaged in the Missions of the Ottawas, more than 1000 miles from here; they have there preached the Gospel to more than twenty-five different Nations, and received into the Church by baptism more than eighty persons during the past year.

Two other Fathers go down to Tadoussac, -- one to pass the winter there, and build up that Church, which has gained an increase of forty Neophytes; and the other to begin that of the Micmacs, who are being reunited through the opportunity given them by the peace.

But because the harvest is becoming more ample than ever in so vast an extent of territory, and among the many different Nations to whom we are now permitted to go, divine Providence has made special provision to meet it. On the one hand, it has enlarged the Seminary of the Bishop of Petraea, established at Quebec, by the addition of several priests -- partly from the country and partly from France.

On the other hand, this same Providence has furnished us a strong reinforcement by the coming of the Abbot de Queylus, with several of the Clergy drawn from the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice. They are going to Montreal to join those now residing there, two from whose number were sent this last Summer by the Bishop of Petraea to a colony of the Iroquois of Cayuga, who have settled recently on the North shore of the great Lake Ontario.

We can expect only happy results from the labors of so many brave Missionaries, for whom this country will be under still further obligations to the King, who is promoting the aggrandizement of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ with much greater enthusiasm than he does the enlargement of his own Estates. We do not doubt that it was God's will to add to the glory of our great Monarch this good fortune, of using him and his Arms to make all the peoples of this country participants in our Lord's precious blood, -- the effects of which are already being experienced by four hundred Indians, who have been baptized this year, as will be shown more in detail.

THE MISSION OF SAINT MARIE AMONG THE IROQUOIS OF MOHAWK

THE Fathers Fremin, Pierron, and Bruyas, having set out in July, 1667, to go to the lower Iroquois, to restore the Missions there which the wars had discontinued; and having been detained a long time in Fort Saint Anne, at the entrance to Lake Champlain, by the fear of a band of Mahican Indians, -- called by us the Wolves, who are enemies of the Iroquois, -- left this Fort at last, resolved to run the same risks and pass through the same dangers as were to be encountered by the Iroquois Ambassadors, in whose company they were going to their country. We cannot give a clearer knowledge of their journey, their arrival, their reception, and the success they have begun to realize in planting the Faith in these desert and barbarous regions, than by listening to their own account in the Journal which they kept from their departure up to their fixed and permanent abode in the Iroquois Villages.

It begins therefore:

JOURNEY OF THREE JESUIT FATHERS TO THE LOWER IROQUOIS

THE delay which our fear of the nation of the Mahicans caused us to make in the Forts gave us an opportunity of rendering some service there to the Soldiers, by a kind of Mission that we gave them. But at last, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's day, about four o'clock in the afternoon, we embarked to go and take shelter at 2 miles's distance from the last Fort of the French, which is that of Saint Anne; and we went on our way, both day and night, without any mishap, and without discovering any trace of the enemy. They had taken a Southerly direction, to return to their own country, while we kept to the Northern part of Lake Champlain.

We all set about paddling, like poor galley-slaves, from morning until evening. Not one of us three had learned this exercise, but, because we had so few men for performing the necessary work, we had to take part there. We gaily crossed this entire great Lake, which is already too renowned due to the shipwreck of several of our Frenchmen, and, quite recently, by that of Sir Corlart, commandant of a Hamlet of the Dutch near Mohawk, -- who, on his way to Quebec for the purpose of negotiating some important affairs, was drowned while crossing a large bay, where he was surprised by a storm.

Arriving within 2 miles of the Falls by which Lake George empties, we all halted at this spot, without knowing why, until we saw our Indians at the water-side gathering up flints, which were almost all cut into shape. We did not at that time reflect upon this, but have since then learned the meaning of the mystery; for our Iroquois told us that they never fail to halt at this place, to pay homage to a race of invisible men who dwell there at the bottom of the lake. These beings occupy themselves in preparing flints, nearly all cut, for the passers-by, provided the passers-by pay their respects by giving them tobacco. If they give these beings much of it, these beings give them a liberal supply of these stones. These water-men travel in canoes, as do the Iroquois; and, when their great Captain proceeds to throw himself into the water to enter his Palace, he makes so loud a noise that he fills with fear the minds of those who have no knowledge of this great Spirit and of these little men.

At the recital of this fable, which our Iroquois told us in all seriousness, we asked them if they did not also give some tobacco to the great spirit of Heaven, and to those who dwell with him. The answer was that they do not need any, as the people on the earth do. The occasion of this ridiculous story is the fact that the Lake is, in reality, often agitated by frightful tempests, which cause fearful waves, especially in the basin where Sir Corlart met his death; and when the wind comes from the direction of the Lake, it drives on this beach a quantity of stones which are hard, and capable of striking fire.

"I passed a fine Slate-quarry," says one of the three Fathers, "that we found 12 miles from Lake George, a cannon-shot from a little Islet of about 20 feet in diameter. This quarry is not of the nature of all those that I have seen on the seashore, or in the neighborhood of Quebec, which have only the appearance of quarries; but this one is quite like those I have seen in the Ardennes of our France, its color being a beautiful blue and its laminae easily detached, -- large or small, as one wishes, -- fragile and soft.

"While I paused at this Slate-quarry, our sailors landed at the end of Lake George, and made preparations for the portage, which is barely a mile long through the woods, each one taking his burden of baggage or of canoes. When we had embarked again, we at last, after some strokes of our paddles, left these canoes, glad to have arrived safely at the end of the Lake, from which point there remained only 75 miles of journey by land, to reach our goal."

The whole country of the Iroquois was at that time so overcome with fear of a new French army that, for several days, fourteen warriors had been constantly on the watch at the entrance to this Lake, to discover the army's line of march, and bear news of it with all haste to the whole Nation. Their purpose was to lay ambushes for it in the woods, by means of which they intended to attack it at an advantage, and harass it in the defiles; accordingly, there was also a third band posted there, for the purpose of making this reconnaissance.

But instead of being enemies to them, we were Angels of peace; while on their part, from being Lions as they had been, they became our menials, and served us as porters, -- being furnished us by Providence to take charge of our baggage, which we would have had much difficulty in transporting to their country by land.

We proceeded accordingly together, by short marches, and came to within 2 miles of their chief Village, called Gandaouague, the one which the late Father Jogues watered with his blood, and where he was so maltreated during eighteen months of captivity. We were received there with the customary ceremonies, and with all imaginable honor. We were brought to the cabin of the foremost Captain, where all the people crowded in, to contemplate us at their ease, -- quite delighted to see among them Frenchmen, so peaceably inclined, who not long before had made their appearance there as if infuriated, setting fire to everything.

The first care of Father Fremin was to go through the cabins, and find the Huron and Algonquin captives, who compose two-thirds of the Village.

FIRST BAPTISM CONFERRED ON AN IROQUOIS WOMAN

Here we relate a miracle of grace in the person of a poor Iroquois woman, whom the warriors of the Mahican nation had, a short time before, scalped in plain sight of the Town. Father Fremin, entering the Cabin where this poor unfortunate was, -- all bathed in her blood, and more dead than alive from the wounds she had just received, -- approached her.

Seeing that she was drawing near her end, he spoke to her about the other life -- the tortures of hell, into which she was going to fall if she did not embrace the Faith; and the joys of Paradise, which were assured to her if she became a Christian. To these teachings she turned a deaf ear, and the Father had to go out without having made any impression upon her mind.

While we were at prayers for the salvation of this poor Soul, the Father returned to the charge; but he had no sooner entered the cabin than he found a new obstacle there, in the person of an old woman who not only drove him off, but confirmed the sick woman in her obstinacy. The hour marked by Providence was not yet come. He returned for the third time, but without success; and we almost despaired of the salvation of this dying woman, because we were about to depart from that Village, much grieved at leaving this prey to the demon.

Still, the Father was urgently inspired to make one last attempt. He went in, and drew near; he spoke, was heard, and found this poor woman quite changed. She listened to him with pleasure, repeated the prayers with fervor, and, was found so well prepared that before she died we gave her baptism, so she would be the first Soul of this Indian community who should pray in Heaven for us, and for the conversion of her countrymen. It had not been our intention to remain that day at Gandaouague; but the salvation of this poor woman sprang from her own misfortune, and from the delay caused by the warriors who had gone in pursuit of the Mahicans who had inflicted this blow.

SEVERE TRIAL OF ANOTHER IROQUOIS WOMAN AFTER HER BAPTISM

Father Fremin relates:

"Arriving in the country of the Iroquois, we had to remain three days in the first Village which we found on our way, called Gandaouague; fear of the warriors of the Mahican nation kept us shut up there, and prevented us from going on without a considerable escort.

"During this time, I tried to reassemble our old Christians of the Huron Nation, who had been for several years deprived of the sight of their Pastor. I made them all assemble in a Cabin apart, to prescribe all the exercises of Christianity which they were to practice.

"In this little band there was an Iroquois woman, twenty-five years of age, who wished to remain and hear what I was going to say. At the close of my speech she addressed me, and told me that she wished, in all sincerity and without pretense, to be a Christian. I answered her that I could judge of her sincerity from her perseverance; and that, meanwhile, I would instruct her, and would little by little make her understand the great blessing to which she aspired. She on her part performed all that I could expect from a fervent Christian trainee. She was present at all our meetings, with a fervor worthy of the first Christians; and when I had to go away, and had designated the Cabin where all were to assemble, morning and evening, to say their prayers in public, and had named a good Christian woman to take the charge of informing all the others of the hour of these meetings, our Iroquois woman offered herself for this office of Charity and humility. Then, with a courage altogether heroic, she surmounted the natural and usual shame that young Iroquois women feel in going from Cabin to Cabin to give that kind of invitation, which is not done without receiving taunts and insults from those who are not Christians.

"When I was ready to depart, as she saw that she could not yet obtain the grace of Baptism, she said to me with a charming simplicity: 'At least, Baptize my only son; he has not sinned yet, to render himself unworthy of that blessing.' I granted her this request, and comforted her, promising her to come back in two weeks, to instruct her. The two weeks having expired, as I was unable to get away from more important duties which were overwhelming me, I could not keep my promise to visit her; but she came herself to find me in the Village of Tionnontoguen. I was delighted to see her, and when I told her that I was going to begin to teach her the prayers of our Faith, she answered me: 'I know them; I learned them perfectly during your absence, from a good Huron woman.' Then, proceeding to recite without error all the prayers and principal articles of the Faith, 'What is the reason,' she added, 'that you do not Baptize me? You ought now to keep your word.'

"As I did not yet know her sufficiently, I put her off until another time, and won her consent to go back to her home with the hope that I would, as soon as possible, comply with her desires. In fact, some time afterward, I visited her Village, Gandaouague; and as I entered she came to meet me, to ask me for Baptism. I tried then to ascertain from our good Huron Christian women how she had conducted herself during my absence. They assured me that she had been an example for all the other women, both in fervor and in constancy at prayers, every morning and every evening, without ever failing to be there; and that she even added her words to her example, urging them with an admirable enthusiasm. Accordingly, I spoke to her in private, to sound the depths of her heart; and I found a woman of rare innocence, of good intelligence, and of an excellent memory. She was accustomed to tell her beads five or six times every day; and from morning until night, she was continually praying. All these excellent dispositions compelled me at last to confer on her Baptism.

"After the lapse of only two days, her son fell ill; and I trembled with fear for this poor woman, not thinking her yet sufficiently established; but she did not weaken in her holy resolves, and merited by her constancy, the cure of her son.

"But it was only to encounter a more severe test. Scarcely had her son recovered when her husband was killed, near the village, by the Mahicans. She loved this man more than herself, and, while she was physically well formed, she had also a good mind, and was related to the best families of the country. All these good qualities had brought about their marriage, which had been confirmed during the last eight or ten years by a reciprocal love, tender and constant; and it was regarded as the most complete union that existed among the Indians.

"From this it can be judged what must have been this woman's affliction; and whether her faith, which was yet only in its infancy, was not in great danger of destruction. But so far from relaxing in her devotions, she on the contrary increased them, to fortify herself against the assaults of the devil. He incited the relatives of the deceased to come all pouring into her Cabin, and cast at her a thousand reproaches, -- accusing her of both the illness of her son and the death of her husband, whom she had killed by becoming a Christian. Her own relatives also took part in this effort; and they, all together, spent a week with her, loading her with all the most atrocious insults that passion could suggest to them, and inflicting upon her all the ill treatment one can imagine in such circumstances.

"The strongest courage would falter under such conditions; and a week of suffering was enough to throw her into a state of dejection, both of mind and of body; but she had no sooner perceived this than she sent for me to come and comfort her. At our interview, she redoubled her tears, and I could not restrain my own; but I found her Soul as pure and guiltless amid all this wrangling as on the day of her Baptism.

"After that, I thought that God was satisfied; but scarcely had twenty days' time begun to dry her tears, when she was seized with an inflammation of the eyes which disfigured her face and made her lose the use of her eyes. At this mishap, all her relatives, as well as those of her dead husband, redoubled their persecutions. 'Are you not yet content with having killed your husband?' they asked her. 'Will you kill yourself too? see you not that it is the Faith that causes all these ills? Take pity on your child and your other relatives, even if you are determined to abandon yourself.' For a whole week, they kept up reproaches like these.

"Several times the tricksters of the country were brought to her, to try to effect her cure by feasts and superstitious ceremonies; but she would never consent to this. Those who know how great is the agreeableness of the Indians toward their relatives, will easily judge that the virtue of this woman was heroic.

"Having refused the tricksters of the country, she relied on one of our Huron Christians who knew a good remedy for her disease; and she has recovered, after using it three months, both the sight of her eyes and the health of her body. In gratitude, she continues in her fervor and inspires the same in her son, -- who is only four years old, and whom she has already taught some of the prayers."

THE RECEPTION OF THE FATHERS IN THE OTHER IROQUOIS VILLAGES, AND OF A NOTABLE COUNCIL WHICH WAS HELD THERE AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL

FROM Gandaouague we went on to another Village, 5 miles away, where we were received even more kindly than at the first one; this place we consecrated by the Baptism of three children, one of whom, Orphaned of both parents, was at the point of death.

However, we had to leave this second Village, to journey on to the Capital of this whole country, called Tionnontoguen, -- which the Iroquois have rebuilt, at a half mile from what the French burned down last year. We were escorted there by two hundred men, who marched in good order; we went last, immediately in front of the gray Heads and the most considerable men of the country. This march was executed with an admirable gravity until, when we had arrived quite near the Village, everyone halted, and we were complimented by the most eloquent man of the Nation, who was awaiting us with the other Deputies. After this, he conducted us into the Village, where we were received with the discharge of all the artillery, -- each one firing from his Cabin, and two swivel-guns being discharged at the two ends of the Village.

The entire speech which this man made us consisted of these few words: that they were glad that the Frenchman was coming to clear the air from the mists with which the Mahican nation was clouding it, and to restore calm to their minds by the assurance of peace that our arrival gave them. After this followed the feast, which consisted of a dish of porridge made with Indian corn, cooked in water, with a little smoked fish, and, for dessert, a basket of squashes.

Perhaps some will be astonished that Missionaries accept honors which are paid them with so much ceremony, and are present at feasts with which these peoples are accustomed to feed their Ambassadors. But both these honors and these feasts are after the manner of the Indians, -- that is, of such a nature that they conflict neither with humility nor with Christian temperance; on the contrary, they furnish opportunities to practice advantageously both these virtues.

The day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross having been fixed upon for making our presents, -- that is, for speaking in public on the subject of our coming, -- all the six Villages of Mohawk assembled here, men, women, children, and old men. After having begun the ceremony by the Veni Creator, the chanting of which was accompanied by the notes of a small musical instrument, which these peoples listen to with pleasure and wonder, Father Fremin made a speech before all this great assembly, adapting himself in speech and gestures to the usage of their most celebrated Orators, who speak as much by gesture as by language. He made them see the great blessings produced by peace, and the evils that accompany war -- of which they had felt the effects, a year before, in the destruction of their Village by fire.

He reproached them for the acts of deceit and cruelty that they had committed upon our Frenchmen, without having received any ill treatment from these. Then he declared to them that he came for the purpose of changing this barbarous disposition, by teaching them to live like men, and then to be Christians; and that our great Onontio would then receive them as his subjects, and would take them under his Royal protection, as he had all the other tribes of those regions; and that they must pay attention in the future not to commit any act of hostility, either upon us or upon our allies.

But, to inspire them with greater terror, and make more impression on their minds, the Father had erected, in the middle of the place where the Council was being held, a pole forty or fifty feet in length, from the top of which hung a wampum necklace. He declared that, in like manner should be hanged the first of the Iroquois who should kill a Frenchman or any of our Allies; and that they had already had an example shown them in the public execution, which took place at Quebec in the preceding year, of a man of their country who had violated some of the terms of peace. It is incredible how much this present, so unusual, astounded them all.

They remained for a long time with their heads down, without daring either to look at this spectacle or to talk about it, until the most prominent and most eloquent of their Orators -- having recovered his spirits -- arose and performed all the apish tricks imaginable about this pole, to show his astonishment. It is impossible to describe all the gestures made by this man, who was more than sixty years old. What looks of surprise at the sight of this spectacle, as if he had not known its meaning! What exclamations, upon finding out its secret and interpretation! How often he seized himself by the throat with both his hands, in a horrible manner, -- squeezing it tightly to represent, and at the same time to inspire a horror of this kind of death in the multitude of people who surrounded us!

He employed all the tricks of the most excellent Orators, with surprising eloquence; and after speaking on this theme a long time, he ended by delivering to us the captives for whom we asked, and giving us the choice of a site for the construction of our Chapel, in the construction of which they offered to work with all diligence. They delivered to us also a Frenchman whom they had held a prisoner, and promised us the liberty of twelve Algonquins, -- some from the Nation of the Amikwa, some from that of the Ottawas, -- whom they will put into our hands, to send back each to his own country.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE COUNTRY OF THE IROQUOIS OF MOHAWK

OUR Chapel having been built by the efforts of the Iroquois themselves, we opened it, and began to have our old Christians, who had formerly been instructed in their own Huron country by our Fathers, hear Mass.

At the first visit made by Father Fremin to one of these Villages, he found there forty-five old-time Christians. As the Iroquois have made conquests in all parts of Canada, they give us means of opening the Treasures of grace to every kind of Nation, by instructing their Captives. A Captive woman, of the Nation of the Mahicans, was prepared for Baptism, before being burned according to the Sentence that was pronounced upon her.

We take as much care for the preservation of peace as for the establishment of Christianity, because one depends upon the other. For that reason, we put forth all our efforts to save the life of an Ottawa whom the Iroquois of Oneida had sent here as a victim destined for the fire.

Father Fremin said:

"They brought him to this Village to keep all knowledge of the matter from us; and the fires were prepared for this cruel execution. Unfortunately, there was not here any of the Elders, to whom it belonged to stop these acts of violence. The young people, who breathe only war, had already seized this prey, and had shut the man up in a Cabin which had all its fires lit, to execute their usual cruelties in concealment, when an Iroquois woman came to notify me secretly of the affair. I ran to the spot hurriedly; I spoke, I urged, but in vain. I threatened; I made the women and children retire. All obeyed me, with the exception of two men who, despite all my efforts, continued to burn this wretch. Through all the streets of the Village, I raised the cry: 'Old men, you are dead! Children, no life remains to you! The peace is broken. See the Mahicans coming on one side, and, on the other, I see Onontio with his army. Your land is going to be devastated, your Fields, your Cabins, your Villages are going to be ruined.'

"After running through all the streets with these cries, I halted before the Cabin where the prisoner was being burned -- contrary to one of the principal articles of the Peace; but the door was barricaded. I called more loudly, saying that the whole country was lost; but I received no answer. By good luck, I found an old man, a relative of those who were the authors of this tragedy. I spoke to him so vigorously, and my menaces had such an effect upon him that, with the authority which his age and his kinship gave him, he proceeded to rescue this poor man from the midst of the flames, and handed him over into my keeping. He was cured of his wounds, but the acuteness of the pain, together with the fear, caused him a fever, which afforded me abundant leisure to instruct him at my convenience, and to prepare him for his end. 24 days after this accident, he died a good Christian."

THE DRUNKENNESS OF THE IROQUOIS OF MOHAWK, AND ITS UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS

THERE are many hindrances to the establishment of the Faith among these peoples, but one of the greatest is drunkenness, caused by the brandy that the Europeans of these coasts began to sell to the natives some years ago.

It is so common here, and causes such disorders, that it seems sometimes as if all the people of the Village had become insane, so great is the license they allow themselves when they are under the influence of liquor. Firebrands have been thrown at our heads, and our papers set on fire; our Chapel has been broken into; we have been often threatened with death; and during the three or four days while these disorders last, -- and they take place often, -- we have to suffer a thousand acts of insolence without complaint, without eating, and without repose.

Meanwhile, these furious creatures overthrow everything they come to, and even massacre one another, without sparing either relatives or friends, compatriots or strangers. These acts sometimes go to such an excess that the place seems to us no longer tenable; but we shall leave it only with our lives. When the storm has passed, we can perform our functions peaceably enough.

That is all that we can say about this Mission of Saint Marie, for which we conceive great hopes if the peace lasts, and if our Iroquois are humbled. To promote this end, we thought it advisable that Father Pierron, after having visited the Dutch, -- or, rather, the English, who have made themselves Masters of New Netherland, -- should undertake the journey to Quebec on the ice, to inform the Governor and the Intendant of the state of this country -- that they may be able to continue this great work of the peace.

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER AMONG THE IROQUOIS OF ONEIDA

FATHER Jacques Bruyas, having arrived at the Mohawk nation together with Fathers Fremin and Pierron, separated from them, to proceed toward the Village of Oneida. This is the second Nation of the Lower Iroquois, -- although the least populous, the proudest, and most insolent of all. He arrived there in September, 1667. He speaks:

"The daughter of a good woman here has one of the noblest natures that I know of. I have learned something about her which is rare among the Indians: it is that she has never violated her conjugal fidelity to her husband. She has often been solicited, and spells have even been cast upon her to deprive her of the fruits of Marriage; but neither sterility nor all the threats that could be made to her, have been able to shake her in her purpose to guard her conjugal chastity.

"The heaviest cross I have had in my life was to see four women, who had been captured from the Nation of Susquehannock, burned here without my being able to administer to them Baptism. I did what I could for them, but it was impossible for me to draw from them any sign of intelligence; for there was not an Oneida in that Village who understood their language or could make himself understood in it. What a heavy Cross it was for me to see those poor victims cast pathetic and imploring looks at me from the midst of their flames, as if to ask me for some relief; and to be unable to give them any, for either the pains which they suffered then, or those into which they were going to fall!

"I was a little consoled by the excellent sentiments of the daughter of our Agathe, for she came to find me when those Slaves were being led in, and received after the manner of the country, -- that is, with a tremendous discharge of blows from sticks. She declared that she was resolved not to go out of her house, for fear of displeasing God by witnessing this spectacle of horror. Meanwhile, shouts and yells were heard all over the Village, calculated to arouse the curiosity of the most retiring person; and it needs as much virtue to keep from joining in these ceremonies as would have been required, in former times, not to look at the triumphal Entries of the Romans into their city after some celebrated victory. It is relatively the same thing in the case of our Indians, who rest all their glory on leading home their Captives and having them make a triumphal entry into their Village.

"On the day following the burning of these Captives, this good woman asked me whether there were any harm in being present at such executions; I told her that she would not offend God if she were present without any motive of hate or of vengeance, and without taking pleasure in the disgrace of those unfortunates.

"These Indians regard a dream as a Divinity, which they worship; and they have, in the instability of their marriages, an open door to the riot of their lusts. These are two great obstacles to the Faith, which make it more difficult for me to admit them into the Church."

THE MISSION OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AMONG THE IROQUOIS OF ONONDAGA

After the Nation of Mohawk and that of Oneida, proceeding in a Southwesterly direction, we reach Onondaga, -- a large Village, and the center of all the Iroquois Nations, -- where every year the State conference, so to speak, is held, to settle the differences that may have arisen among them during the year.

Their Policy in this is wise, and has nothing Barbarous in it. For, since their preservation depends upon their union, and since it is hardly possible that among peoples where license reigns with all impunity -- and among young people -- there should not happen some event capable of causing a rupture, and disuniting their minds, -- for these reasons, they hold every year a general assembly in Onondaga. There all the Deputies from the different Nations are present, to make their complaints and receive the necessary satisfaction in mutual gifts, -- by means of which they maintain a good understanding with one another.

Providence has offered an opportunity favorable for restoring the Christian Church which was flourishing there. It would still be prosperous, had not the deceit of some of those Barbarians driven away the Pastors, more than ten years ago, by the war which they then renewed against the French.

Father Julien Garnier -- who had gone up to Oneida last Summer, to work jointly with Father Bruyas for the salvation of those tribes -- saw himself compelled to devote himself to Onondaga, which is only a short day's journey distant.

He was received there with all the marks of good will that can be desired from a people who, although barbarous, are affectionately inclined toward our Fathers. And, as he had told them that he could not remain all alone and without a Chapel, Garacontie, that Famous Captain, satisfied both of these wants. In fact, in a few days, he built a Chapel. Immediately after, he undertook the journey to Quebec, to visit the Governor, -- who had desired to see this man who was so obliging to the French, -- and to bring back with him some of our Fathers whom he went to ask for, and whose Escort to his own country he wished to be.

To make his Embassy more successful, he associated himself with the four chief men of the Village, who represented the principal families of which it is composed. In their Company, he arrived at Quebec on the 20th day of last August, where, appearing before the Governor and the Intendant, he made five presents. These were the Interpreters of five words, which he brought in behalf of the whole Nation.

PRESENTS GIVEN BY GARACONTIE, AMBASSADOR FROM THE IROQUOIS OF ONONDAGA. HE SPOKE IN THESE TERMS TO THE GOVERNOR

"I FORMERLY boasted of having done for the French Nation what never among ourselves had one Friend done for another, -- having ransomed more than twenty-six of its Captives from the hands of those who would have burned them, if I had not rescued them. But now I no longer dare to glory in what I have done, as you, Onontio, have done much more for us. For you have given life not only to the people of Oneida who were among you, while those in whose name they came to ask for peace were killing you, but also in granting it to all those who compose our five Nations. At the time when you brought a powerful army and might have put all to fire and sword, -- as everyone fled before that army, -- you were satisfied to humble Mohawk alone. Thus you exceeded the hope I had placed in the clemency of the French; and for that reason I have come today to thank you. I wish also that I could thank our great King Louis for having desired neither our blood, nor our total ruin, but merely our humiliation.

2. I come also to wipe from your faces the tears that Father Garnier told us had been shed by you, because of the death of our people who were killed by the Susquehannock.

3. Father Garnier, on setting foot in Onondaga, said that it was Onontio who had ordered him, on departing from Montreal, to come and visit us, to see in what condition our poor Nation was. This courtesy so won our hearts that we lavished on him all sorts of caresses, and asked him not to leave us; and when he agreed to this, on condition that we should build him a Chapel, and should come and get a companion for him, we did both. The Chapel was built two days after his arrival; and you see us here, first to thank you for having remembered us, and then to ask you for a black Gown to serve him as companion. Give us also a hunter.

4. You cannot doubt my dependability. I ask you to believe that all our Nations will from now on observe the respect that they promised to your great Onontio. Do not listen any longer to the Huron fugitives, who wish to make you distrustful of us.

5. We have never regarded the Mahicans as our enemies, and yet they kill us. Make your voice, O Onontio, reecho in their country; and cause them no longer to infest the roads which you and we travel for exchanging visits; for otherwise they will soon kill you as well as us."

After he had spoken, he was answered by the same number of words, accompanied by five presents.

ANSWERS GIVEN ON THE 27TH OF AUGUST, 1668, TO THE WORDS OF THE IROQUOIS OF THE ONONDAGA NATION, BROUGHT BY CAPTAIN GARACONTIE

"THE Frenchman agrees with you. You have shown on every occasion that you love him, so clearly that he has received assured evidences of it. He declares also that noble actions are esteemed meritorious when they are sustained by a conduct always constant. It is hoped that your own conduct will never contradict itself; and that you will inspire your brothers and nephews to observe it inviolably, as far as the French are concerned, -- since you recognize in them so excellent sentiments of compassion; and since you are persuaded that, although they could have destroyed your brothers and your nephews, they had the kindness not to do so.

1. "Dispel the thought, which some giddy young people among your brothers and nephews seem to have, that if the French have not destroyed the Village of Oneida, it is because they could not do so. Make them also understand that, even if there were not any troops here who are capable of such an enterprise, the great Onontio named Louis is so powerful that he would send here twenty times as many as there are here now, on the least notice that some Iroquois of the five settlements had done the slightest injury, -- not merely to his own Subjects, but even to those of the Indian Nations who have put themselves under his protection, and have acknowledged him as their Sovereign, as you have done for your five settlements." For that word, a present.

2. "The interest that the Frenchman has shown in the death of your brothers, slain by the people of Susquehannock, is a result of the tenderness he feels, in his quality of Father, for you as for his child; and the gratitude you show for the favor he has done you, will make him do you others on every occasion. Therefore always pursue the course of showing gratitude for benefits received, because it is the most fitting means of retaining his good will." For that, a present.

3. "What you ask is granted you even more willingly because you have well received Father Garnier. You have shown this by treating him kindly, and still more by having your whole Cabin entertain him; and by having a Chapel built for him, where he can make you and your brothers pray." For that, a present.

4. "The Frenchman has already told you that he has never doubted your dependability, and the truth of your words. You must also be persuaded that, as he is in a condition to anticipate, not merely your personal acts of infidelity, but also those of which your brothers and your nephews may be capable, he will not give you time to do them, but will carry war into your country and destroy you suddenly, without leaving any vestiges of your Nation. But, as a mark of his confidence in your words, and of his conviction that he will always be able to punish you if you permit any of your words to be violated, he sends you a black Gown, and will send young men into your settlements, to engage with you in the common defense." For that, a present.

5. "The Frenchman does not fear the Mahican, and he cannot persuade himself that the Mahican wishes to kill him; but, if he should attempt it, he would not be more exempt from total destruction than are the other enemies. You must know that the Mahican has declared that the Iroquois was making war upon him; and although, as you claim, only your nephews of Oneida and of Mohawk did so, he has declared that there were often young men of your Cabin, and of the upper Nations, who made war upon him together with your nephews. It would then be well for you to take such action that your nephews should cease to make war on the Mahicans, so the Frenchman may forbid the Mahicans from making war on the Iroquois of whatever Nation. Still, the Mahicans will be told to make a distinction in your case, since you will not make war upon them; for we are willing to defend your interests on all occasions. This Nation of the Mahicans has also added that, when they have inquired as to the author of the murder, and have appealed to the people of Mohawk and of Oneida, they have received answer that the Mohawk and Oneida were not the murderers; but that the head breakers came from your three upper Nations, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca." For that, a present.

The Ambassadors, well pleased with these presents, went back again, taking with them Father de Carheil and Father Millet.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AMONG THE IROQUOIS OF CAYUGA, AND OF THAT TO A COLONY OF CAYUGAS RECENTLY ESTABLISHED ON THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE ONTARIO

FATHER Estienne de Carheil and Father Pierre Millet, having gone up to the Iroquois, are going to share their cares and their labors, -- one being assigned to Onondaga, and the other to Cayuga.

Cayuga is the fourth Iroquois Nation, distant 75 miles from that of Onondaga, as one continues in a Southwesterly direction. This tribe is quite peaceable, for Iroquois; they have never, properly speaking, borne arms against the French; even if some have done so, it has been only owing to some alliance, and not by preconceived plan, and still less through agreement of the whole Nation. They are sufficiently susceptible to good impressions made upon them, as we found by experience when we instructed them ten years ago; and the late Father Menard, who was their Pastor, always highly praised their docility. He had built a Chapel in the middle of their Village, which they were fond of frequenting. This last Summer, the Host with whom we used to live undertook the journey, with some of his fellow-countrymen, to come and ask for some of our Fathers, to reestablish the Faith that we had planted there. We satisfy their desires by granting them Father de Carheil, who is going to place this Church once more upon its feet; it is composed of some Iroquois and a good number of Hurons.

But, because the fear of the enemy has obliged some of that Nation to separate from the rest, and go and settle on the North Shore of the great Lake Ontario, this detachment of the Cayugas -- or, rather, this new colony -- needed Pastors to confirm the spirit of the Faith in the new Church that we had cultivated for two years. This need was remedied by Sir de Fenelon and Sir Trouve, two fervent Missionaries who were sent there by the Bishop; but as they only set out toward the end of the Summer, as did also the two Fathers, neither group has yet been able to send any news of what has happened in those new Churches.

THE MISSION OF ST. ESPRIT AMONG THE OTTAWAS

We have to deal with twenty or thirty Nations, all different in language, customs, and Policy. We have to bear everything from their bad humor and their brutishness, to win them by gentleness and affection. One must make himself, in some sort, an Indian with these Indians, and lead an Indian's life with them; and live sometimes on a moss that grows on the Rocks, sometimes on pounded fishbones, -- a substitute for flour, -- and sometimes on nothing, -- passing three or four days without eating, as they do, whose stomachs are accustomed to these hardships. But they also eat without inconvenience, in a single day, enough for a week, when they have an abundance of game or of fish. Fathers Claude Aloez and Louis Nicolas have passed through these trials.

Father Jacques Marquette went to their aid, with our Brother Louis le Boesme. He never had any fixed residence, but, leading a wandering life in these great woods, he roamed now in one direction, now in another, over 1250 or 1500 miles of territory. When he was ready to die, he gave his farewell feast to a great Assembly, which was convened for this purpose from different Nations. He did so, to observe their custom, which he employed to the advantage of the Faith; for he spoke to all that great company, -- in the voice of a dying man but with the accents of a Captain, and in energetic terms, -- declaring to them that he had lived as a Christian for a long time, and that, dying a Christian, he felt assured of the happiness promised to all Believers.

Some of those Nations appeared this Summer in our Settlements, to the number of more than six hundred Indians; but that was for only a brief time, and to carry on their little trade with our Frenchmen; that is not a suitable time for teaching them. We must then follow them to their homes and adapt ourselves to their ways, however ridiculous they may appear, to draw them to ours.

THE MISSION OF TADOUSSAC

WE traverse more than 1500 miles of territory in passing from the Mission of the Ottawas to that of Tadoussac. The Mission of the Ottawas is the farthest removed from us toward the West, while that of Tadoussac is one of the first that is encountered, on the East, in ascending the Saint Lawrence River. Father Henry Nouvel as charge of that Church.

The excellent Regulation that has been imposed upon Tadoussac this past Winter, where no outbreak of drunkenness has been seen, has been followed by an advantageous trade; and it has been proved by experience that the great means of rendering the French and the Indians rich in their mutual commerce is to exclude from it all trading in drink, which can only bring down his curse.

The occupation of the Missionary during this winter campaign has been to take trips to the regions along the Saguenay river, to seek his sheep, each in its Winter quarters; for the Indians have to scatter in order not to injure one another by their proximity in hunting. They are composed of the Tadoussac Innu, the Micmacs, and the Papinachois Innu, with some of those of Sillery.

During these excursions he has encountered a surprising number of lakes, large and small; among others, he saw one, 17 or 20 miles away from the Sea, with which it has no apparent communication, while it still has its ebb and flow with great regularity and is subject to storms like those of the Ocean.

He also talked with a band of Hunters whom he met, who, having come upon the trail and the bed of the great Moose, pursued it for a whole day, without being able to overtake it. Notice what they relate of this extraordinary animal. All the largest Moose are only little dwarfs compared with this one; he has legs so long that, however deep the snow may be, he is never inconvenienced by it, while the others are almost buried in it, and on that account they are easily caught. He has a skin that is arrow-proof and bullet-proof, and he seems invulnerable. They add that he carries a fifth leg, which grows out from his shoulders and which he uses like a hand in preparing his bed. He never goes alone, and does not appear without being escorted by a great number of other Moose; and our Hunters said that they killed fifteen other moose while chasing it. That is what they tell of this fabulous Moose.

Toward the close of the Winter, all these wandering Churches gathered together at Tadoussac, and, some time afterward, enjoyed the presence of the Bishop of Petraea. The Bishop of Petraea, after having made his visits everywhere by Canoe, and after going the round of all our settlements from Quebec to those above Montreal, even traveling as far as Fort Saint Anne, -- which is the farthest of all the Forts, being at the entrance to Lake Champlain, -- chose that our Church of the Tadoussac Innu should share in his benedictions. He accordingly proceeded there toward the end of June, after many sufferings from calms and storms on the Sea.

ARRIVAL OF THE BISHOP OF PETRAEA AT TADOUSSAC

THE fortunate success that God has given to the arms of the King in New France has made our Tadoussac Innu, as well as all the others who are allied to us, enjoy peace. That Church, which the fear of the Iroquois had scattered, has become happily reunited at its former location, which is at the mouth of the River Saguenay, and is called Tadoussac. The Bishop notified them that he would visit them.

This news cheered them; but his arrival at Tadoussac, on the 24th of June, crowned their joy. Gathering to the number of four hundred people, at his landing, they testified, by the discharge of their guns and by their exclamations, the pleasure that they felt at seeing a person who was so dear to them. They accompanied him then to their Chapel of Bark, the one that had been built for them having been burned to ashes.

THE CHURCH OF THE HURONS AT QUEBEC.

AFTER having gone the round of the Missions scattered all about us, at last we find ourselves back again at Quebec, where we find the flower of the Christian Indians; it is also a remnant -- small but precious -- of a Church that formerly flourished in the country of the Hurons. Those who were the authors of its ruin are now striving for their own salvation; for, during the last three years, we have here instructed thoroughly more than 200 persons from the country of the Iroquois.

LETTER FROM THE BISHOP OF PETRAEA TO SIR POITEVIN, PASTOR OF ST. JOSSE, AT PARIS. 1668.

Sir:

The aid of the priests whom you sent us by the first Vessels came to us seasonably for enabling us to assist various places in this Colony that especially needed it. The coming of Abbot de Queylus, with several good workers taken from the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, brought us no less consolation.

The humiliated condition in which our enemies are at present has opened the door to the conversion of the Infidels in the most distant Nations. The Jesuit Fathers are constantly occupied with their conversion. I received striking proofs of it, after the return from our visits that we made this Spring at Tadoussac, 75 miles below Quebec. The Indians of that Mission are removed from all opportunities to get intoxicating liquor, -- which, due to the weakness they have for it, causes excesses of lawlessness among them. That Church of Tadoussac, exempt from this evil, is in a state of piety.

A month ago, I Commissioned two virtuous Workers to go to an Iroquois Nation that has been settled for several years quite near us, on the North side of the great Lake called Ontario, -- a Nation with whom communication is not difficult for us. One of the men is Sir de Fennelon, whose name is known in Paris, and the other Sir Trouve. We have not yet been able to learn the success of their undertaking, but we have every reason to hope for great results from it.

As the King has notified me that he desired us to attempt to bring up the little Indian children after the French manner of life, to civilize them, little by little, I have formed a Seminary, into which I have taken a number of children for this express purpose. To succeed better, I have joined with them some little French children, from whom, by living with them, the Indians will learn more easily the customs and the language.

This enterprise has difficulty, on the part of both the children and the parents; the parents have an extraordinary love for their children, and can scarcely make up their minds to be separated from them. Or, if they do Permit this, it is difficult to effect a separation for any length of time, for the reason that ordinarily the families Of the Indians do not have many children, as do those of our French people -- in which there are generally, in this Country, 8, 10, 12, and sometimes as many as 15 and 16 children. The Indians, on the contrary, have usually only two or three; and rarely do they exceed the number of four. As a result, they depend on their children, when they are somewhat advanced in years, for the support of their family. This can only be gained by hunting, and by other labors for which the parents are no longer fit when their children have the years and ability to help them; to do so at that time, the Law of nature seems to compel the children by necessity.

Francois

Bishop of Petraea, first At Quebec, this 8th of November, 1668.

THE MISSION OF SAINT MICHEL IN THE FIFTH NATION OF THE IROQUOIS AT SENECA. 1668.

SINCE this Report was finished, we have received here at Quebec an item of good news, on the eve of the departure of the last Ship, -- today, the 10th of November. It is that Ambassadors from Seneca have quite recently arrived at Montreal, having come to ask for two of our Fathers to instruct them; and that they have, for that purpose, sent to our Governor a handsome wampum Collar.

At the same time, we learn that Father Fremin, who had been for a year at the Mission of Mohawk, -- having been urgently requested by deputies from Seneca to go among them, and begin the Mission there, -- had set out from Mohawk, on the 10th of October, to go to Seneca, -- leaving in his place Father Pierron, who had recently returned from the journey he had made to Quebec.

Thus in the five Iroquois Nations we have, fortunately, five Missions. This last one -- that of saint Michel -- being alone more populous than all the others, offers a field calling for vigorous assistance. This is all the more necessary, since the prospect for a harvest is bright there, -- not only because of the gentler and more pliable nature of the people of that Nation, who are more farmers and Traders than Warriors; but because there are a great many Hurons who have taken refuge there, especially an entire Village where there were a good number of Christians, constituting a considerable Mission. This Mission, in the old Huron Country, at the time when the Iroquois war laid it waste, in 1649, we called saint Michel.

YEAR 1669
NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1668 AND 1669. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER ESTIENNE DECHAMPS, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE. OF THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE MOHAWK, OR LOWER IROQUOIS.

THE People of Mohawk were formerly one of the most flourishing Iroquois Nations, and have always passed for one of the most valiant, and one of the proudest. That martial spirit, which occupied them in war, separated them so effectually from the Faith that it was thought that the Mohawks would be the last to submit to the Gospel. But God employed the arms of France to give their conversion a beginning; their courage weakened after their defeat; and they are now, of all the Iroquois tribes, the one that gives the greatest hopes of its conversion to the Christian Faith.

Father Jean Pierron, after making a journey to Quebec, arrived safely at Tionnontoguen, the principal Village of that nation, on the 7th day of October, in 1668, and took the entire charge of that new Church, -- which Father Fremin left him, after himself fostering it with incredible exertions. The living is so meager there that hardly any meat or fish is eaten. "No one could be poorer than are our Mohawks," said the Father in one of his Letters; "but, in spite of that, I love them more than myself, seeing how well disposed they are toward Christianity.

"I know enough of the Iroquois language," continues this Father, "to explain all that I wish in matters of religion, and to hear the Confessions of the new Christians; and without the occupation given me by the Pictures that I Paint with my own hand, I would be better versed in the language than I am. But I find the effect of these paintings so great that I deem a part of my time well-spent in this exercise; for by these Pictures, our Indians see a graphic representation of what I teach them, by which they are more powerfully moved. Besides, they act as Preachers to themselves; and those who would not come to pray from devotion, come at least from curiosity. Finally, I have discovered the secret of teaching myself; for, in hearing them describe our Mysteries, I learn much of the language through the medium of these Pictures.

"Among the pictures that I have made, there is one which represents the deaths of the pious and the wicked. What compelled me to make it was that I saw that the old men and women used to stop their ears with their fingers, the moment I tried to speak to them of God, and would say to me, 'I do not hear.' Accordingly, I put in one part of my Picture a Christian who is dying a holy death, with hands so joined that he holds the cross and his Rosary; then his soul is borne upward to Heaven by an Angel, and the Spirits of the Blessed appear, awaiting him. In the other part, and in a lower position, I placed a woman, bent with age and dying, who, being unwilling to listen to a Missionary Father who is showing her Paradise, is stopping both her ears with her fingers. But there issues from Hell a Demon, who seizes her arms and hands, and puts his own fingers in the ears of this dying woman, whose soul is carried away by three Demons; while an Angel coming out of a cloud, sword in hand, hurls them down into the depths.

"This sketch gave me an excellent theme for speaking on the immortality of our souls, and on the pleasures and pains of the other life; and no sooner was the meaning of my Picture perceived than not another person was found who dared to say, 'I do not hear.' If that Picture had such an effect, I hope that the representation of Hell, on which I am working, will have a still greater one in the future."

The invention of these Pictures is not altogether new: it had already been put to use by a celebrated Missionary of our France; and there is no one who has read the life of Sir le Noblez who does not admit that this was one of the most admirable devices which he employed to instruct the various peoples in our sacred Mysteries. Father Pierron has been able to imitate that great man, and to introduce in the depths of our forests a practice that had been of so great use in a nation already civilized. It was known that this method had been infinitely useful; but it would serve for little if the Father did not add to these industries the great labors that he has necessarily to undergo, to visit constantly each week seven large Villages, covering 18 miles of distance, so he could prevent any Child or any sick adult from dying without receiving Baptism. And, if occasionally someone escapes his diligence, he suffers keenly, and makes him ask that assistance be sent to him immediately. What he desired has been granted: Father Boniface was chosen, immediately after his arrival from France at Quebec, to go this year and aid him.

It is difficult to say whether the war that the Iroquois are waging with the nine nations of the Mahicans, who are scattered all the way from Manhattan to the vicinity of Quebec, is more advantageous than peace, for the Christian faith. War humbles them by diminishing their numbers; but it also, by preventing them from remaining in one place, creates obstacles to the conversion of the warriors, who separate into a number of bands, for the purpose of proceeding in detachments against the enemy. The Mohawks and the Mahicans make war on each other as far as the vicinity of Albany; and having taken captives on both sides, they burn and eat them. But the Mahicans have the advantage: having a great number of men, and being wandering tribes, they cannot be easily destroyed by the Iroquois, while the Iroquois can be more easily destroyed by the Mahicans.

What acts as the greatest obstacle to the conversion of these Indians is what is called among them "trickery," or the art of healing the sick by superstitions. Still, the Father, by his speeches, has rendered this art so ridiculous that no one dares to operate on a sick person in his presence, -- the tricksters pretending that they have already finished their manipulations when he enters the Cabin. What gains him credit in this matter is that he procures for the sick, health of body, as well as that of the soul.

Another care of the Missionaries has to do with the Captives, whom they teach how to die like true Christians in the midst of the flames, after Baptizing them; and sometimes it has happened that the Iroquois themselves have acted as interpreters to teach these victims our mysteries.

These Mohawks have now so high an idea of the valor of the French that they think there is only the King's protection that can defend them from their enemies. That is why they came to ask help of our Governor against the nation of the Mahicans, for the defense of a country which already belongs to the King by force of arms, and which they hold only because he lets them have it. This is how the Ambassadors from the Mohawk nation explained themselves in their speech.

THE REPLY MADE BY THE GOVERNOR OF MANHATTAN, BOTH TO THE PETITION OF THE MOHAWKS, AND TO THE LETTER OF THE FATHER WHICH HE HAD ADDED TO IT. THESE ARE THE TERMS, TAKEN WORD BY WORD FROM THE ORIGINAL:

Father:

By your last letter, I learn your complaint, which is seconded by that of the Iroquois Captains, the Sachems, and the Indians, as appears more clearly in their petition, enclosed in yours, touching the great quantity of liquors that some men in Albany take the liberty to sell to the Indians, causing them to commit great disorders, more of which are still to be feared unless measures be taken to prevent them. In reply, you will learn that I have taken all possible care, and will continue to do so, to restrain and prevent, under severe penalties, the furnishing of any excess to the Indians.

Francis Lovelace

From Fort Amsterdam (Manhattan), NY. November 18, 1668.

We will finish this Chapter with the number of those who have been baptized at the Mohawk nation, either by Father Fremin or by Father Pierron, during these two years, 1668 and 1669. The list of baptized amounts to a hundred and fifty-one, more than half of whom were children or old people who died soon after their Baptism.

THE MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS XAVIER IN THE COUNTRY OF THE ONEIDAS, OR "NATION OF THE STONE."

THE Oneidas -- distant from the nation of the Mohawks about 75 miles toward the South, and from Quebec about 350 miles -- are the least pliable of all the Iroquois; and as the arms of the French have not yet penetrated to them, they do not fear us, except from the experience of their neighbors the Mohawks. This tribe of Oneida, despising the others since their defeat, is of a temper opposed to the Christian Faith; and by its pride, gives much exercise to a Missionary's patience.

Father Jacques Bruyas was the one assigned them; but his pains are rewarded ordinarily only by rebuffs and scorn. In the midst of the continual alarms that the Mahicans and the peoples of Susquehannock cause the Oneidas, the Father enables some old persons -- who die soon after Baptism -- to find peace for their souls.

The Father has to suffer the threats of the insolent, and of the drunken, -- who have several times almost demolished his new Church with their hatchets, and have then made an attempt on his life.

Add to this the poverty of his food. During most of the year, he has only dried frogs, and yet, in that country, to have these is considered good living.

Such is the condition of that Mission, to which the Father has given the name of St. Francis Xavier.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JEAN BAPTISTE IN THE COUNTRY OF ONONDAGA OR "NATION OF THE MOUNTAIN."

AFTER the nation of the Mohawks and that of the Oneidas, going in a Southwesterly direction, one comes to Onondaga, -- a large Village, the center of all the Iroquois tribes, and the place of the general assemblies that they hold each year.

This Mission was formerly the most flourishing of all those that our Fathers had begun to establish among those peoples; and as it is still one of the principal ones, there have been assigned to it two Workers who are cultivating it, -- namely, Father Jullien Garnier and Father Pierre Millet.

One day, there was held a notable council on the dream of a sick old Man. He had said that he had Seen in his Sleep a man of only 18 inches in height, and that this being had shown him some drops of blood that were falling from the Sky. He added that there was even some that had fallen from men, -- but that the men were in a pitiful condition, for their fingers and noses had been cut off; they had been treated as Captives. Finally, this old man asserted that one of those little men had told him that people were treated in that way in Heaven; and that all those who should go there would fall into the hands of the Susquehannock, their enemies.

But immediately an Elder told his dream, to counterbalance this sick man's dream. "I, too," he said; "dreamed that I was in Heaven, and that as soon as I wished for anything, I had it at my side." So by one dream he disproved another, -- and that for the sake of pleasing the Missionaries, but with sufficient aptness to refute the impertinence and deceit of that dreamer. The more enlightened among them see clearly that most of these dreams are invented; yet they continue to act, upon occasion, as if they believed them true.

A captive woman, who was burned at Onondaga, received the Gospel. She was sent, before her torture, into the Cabin where Father Garnier was, -- who immediately drew her aside from the crowd, and, leading her into the Chapel, had sufficient leisure to baptize her. Her death-sentence was pronounced, after which she listened to the Father with an admirable gentleness. This woman came out of the Chapel, and made the people admire her firmness in the midst of the fires they had lighted, where her son had just died a blessed death, having been cast into the flames on coming out from Baptism.

An Iroquois began to sing, according to the custom of those peoples, that he was coming to kill Father Garnier, because the Father had, in a public ceremony, refused a thing that he could not grant; but as the Father was in the safe-keeping of the man with whom he was lodging, his host made a present to this potential murderer, to divert him from his project.

The aid that Father Millet went to render to Father Garnier at Onondaga, was absolutely necessary. He arrived there toward the end of October, 1668. Since then, he has instituted both public and private prayers, and he soon acquired sufficient acquaintance with the Iroquois Language to teach the Catechism every Sunday. Upon arriving at the seat of his Mission with Father de Carheil, who has since been sent to the Cayugas, his joy was moderated by the sad spectacle of the captives from Susquehannock, who arrived at the same time, -- a part of whom were destined for the flames.

I will finish with the Baptism of a Captive brought from Susquehannock. He was about fifty years old, and appeared to be a considerable person among his own people. He was kept for several days in uncertainty whether he would be put to death; and during that time, he thought more about procuring his ransom than about assuring his salvation. Finally, upon learning from Father Garnier that his captors were not inclined to receive any gift for his deliverance, he thanked the Father with as much affection as if he had been given assurance of his life; and began to listen to the instructions given to him in the Chapel.

Father Millet, after having him elicit the necessary acts of faith, hope, etc., baptized him. The captive was then led back into the same cabin, where, during the rest of the day, he served as a diversion for those who came to see him, and who made him sing, according to their custom. It was good fortune for him that the Father met this man, on his way, in the evening, while they were leading him into another cabin to burn him.

"I approached him," says the Father in one of his letters, "and after encouraging him to suffer with firmness, I was in doubt whether I might proceed farther; but an Indian telling me to go with him boldly, to instruct him, that determined me to do so. I entered the cabin as soon as the Captive did, and seated myself at his side.

"Already the fires and the irons that were to serve for his torture were being made ready; then, seeing this melancholy preparation, he turned to me and asked if he were going to Heaven. That question touched me deeply, and I told him that he would go to Heaven if he just took courage; that he would suffer only a short time; that he would be eternally happy; and that he must say with me: 'Lord, have mercy upon me.' I repeated these words to him from time to time, until I was told that the time for his instruction was past, and that I must retire. I went away accordingly, and decided to return the next day.

"I went back to the cabin as soon as day dawned, and, approaching the Captive, told him that I felt pity for him at seeing him in that condition. He showed me that I gave him pleasure by speaking to him in that way; and when an Iroquois was on the point of applying a red-hot iron to his foot, I saw him raise it himself, and hold it up in that position until the glowing iron had lost the intensity of its heat and its power to burn.

"They had burned him only as far up as the knees; but scarcely had the Sun risen when the cry was raised, throughout the whole Village, to assemble the people; and then he was led out of doors, where two fires had been lighted, and a stake driven down, to which his hands and feet were to be bound. When this wretched Captive was bound between those two fires, he began to tremble all over; and I have never seen anything that better represented to me our Lord at the Pillar, and the dread that made him sweat blood in the garden of Olives. The more distressed I saw him, the more I tried to comfort him, and give him courage to die. During the whole time of his torture, I remained near him, -- now kneeling and praying for the salvation of his soul, now giving him some helpful Word, when he was allowed a little respite, and urging him to turn his eyes toward Heaven and pray.

"He suffered with such courage that he was admired by everyone; and there are those who believed that the rains, which continued a long time after his death, came as a result of his execution. Our Indians were uplifted at seeing how I helped him in his torture; and they asked me afterward a great many questions that gave me an opportunity to instruct them in our religious belief."

This occupation of helping the Captives that are burned alive and eaten, in the Missionaries' presence, is an exercise demanding great courage; and as one naturally has a horror of seeing people burned and eaten, it is, for a new Missionary, a strange spectacle, and one in which he has great need of being fortified by grace. Among these races, the victorious find their diversion in the custom.

Besides this Captive, there have been more than thirty persons baptized, in the past year, at the Mission of Onondaga. Most are dead.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH IN THE COUNTRY OF CAYUGA

THIS people, which constitutes the fourth Iroquois nation, is situated about 412 miles from Quebec, and about 50 miles from Onondaga, continuing always in a Southwesterly direction.

Father Estienne de Carheil arrived there on the sixth day of November in 1668; and offered to Heaven a slave woman from Susquehannock. He had come in her company from Onondaga; and this journey that they made together was put to use by him in making her enter on the road to Paradise. For, having been baptized during this journey of two days, she was, as soon as she arrived at Cayuga, burned and eaten by those barbarians, on the sixth of November.

Father Garnier, who had escorted Father de Carheil, made his presents upon his arrival in the Village. One of these was to ask for a Chapel, and another to invite the people to the Christian Faith. Answer was made to him, through the same number of presents, that they promised to embrace the Faith, and to build him a Chapel. The chapel was completed on the ninth day of November, three days after his arrival, and was dedicated to saint Joseph by father de Carheil.

When he first arrived, there were few people who could come and receive instruction, most of them being engaged in either fishing or hunting; but the report of the army from Susquehannock brought them together soon, and gave the Father an opportunity to preach the Gospel to a great multitude.

The rumor that was spread, that the enemy, to the number of three hundred men, were coming to lay siege to Cayuga, turned out to be false; but it was of much service to the Mission father in enabling him to show the Iroquois that he loved them, and to gain credit for himself by the contempt for death that he exhibited in remaining every night with those who were doing sentry duty. Even the warriors, the Captains, and the Elders told him in a public feast the esteem that they bore him.

The Father knew how to profit by this opportunity, going from Cabin to Cabin and saying: "know that people like us do not fear death. Why should they fear it? They believe in God; and they are assured of eternal happiness in Heaven after their death." Then, being invited by a Child to enter a Cabin where there were about twenty warriors, he addressed them as follows: "I am delighted to see myself in the same danger with you. Be assured that I do not fear death, and that I would prefer to lose my life rather than see you die without having been baptized." And he added that, on the next day, -- the day of the expected fight, -- he would be going fearlessly among the wounded, to baptize those who had prepared themselves for it.

This Church is already beginning to increase: it counts among its Believers, not only children and women, but also warriors, two of whom are among the most influential -- one due to the name of the Village of Cayuga, which he bears as an honor; and the second on account of his riches and his bravery. Prayer is not held in contempt in Cayuga, as it is in some other places. If some have declared themselves against it, they are in small numbers; still, no haste is shown in giving Baptism to these tribes, as it is desired to prove their constancy, for fear of making Apostates instead of true Believers.

The Father used at first in his instructions only the Huron language, which the Iroquois all understand, when it is well spoken. He has since composed a speech on Baptism in the Cayuga language, using in its composition only simple root-words and the study of the Iroquois tongue that he had made during his journey; for he felt assured by experience that if, by means of root-words and the various speeches he heard, he could collect a number of words sufficient to express the different actions, he would know the language.

Besides the Village of Cayuga, which is the Seat of his Mission, he has two others -- one 10 miles from there, and the other almost 15 miles away. These last two are situated on a river which, coming from the direction of Susquehannock, flows down, at the distance of 10 miles from Onondaga, and empties into Lake Ontario. The great quantity of rushes in this river has given the name of Tiohero to the Village that is next to Cayuga. The peoples that compose the bulk of these three great Villages are partly Cayugas, partly Hurons, and partly Susquehannock prisoners of war.

Although he has reason to be satisfied with the docility of the Cayugas, still he has his troubles. His host, who is Captain of his nation, and who took him under his care, treated him badly for a long time; for, desiring some Mission Father for his own family, he reluctantly permits Father Carheil to be given to Cayuga by Garacontie, the famous Onondaga Captain. Garacontie declares openly that Father Carheil does not belong to them, but to Onondaga, or else to Oneida, -- where, he pretends, the Father ought to have gone. Besides, Garacontie also would like to have Father de Carheil, as having been committed to his charge at Quebec for Onondaga; but the urgent needs of present affairs made it necessary to make this assignment. This rivalry as to who shall have the Missionaries is a good sign.

That famous Garacontie, the most renowned of all the Indian Captains, and the best disposed of all toward the French, longs for Baptism. He no longer sees in dreams the master of man's life; and he promises that he will not tell what he dreams without making, to those who ask him, a declaration that it is not in virtue of the thing having been dreamed that he relates it to them. Finally, he has consented to have only one wife. But as all this needs to be well looked into, in the case of a Captain of his reputation, his Baptism is still deferred.

He has given Father de Carheil's host a present of a wampum collar, to confirm the peace and establish our Fathers securely in their country. Also, everyone in the Iroquois Nations continues to value more than ever the fruits of peace, after having seen our conquering arms enter their neighbor's territory. Still, nothing is so secure among these Indians that one does not need always to be on his guard.

Father de Carheil, -- perceiving that the Indians regard some created thing as the master of their lives, -- made them say a ridiculous prayer to it. He had some of them pray in that way, on certain occasions. "We must," he says, "pray to the master of our lives; and since this beaver is the master of your life, let us say a prayer to it. 'You beaver, who speak not, you are the master of me, who speak; you who have no sense, you are the master of me, who have a mind.'" Such a prayer makes them recover their senses, and acknowledge that they have been without sense until now, in recognizing these animals as the masters of their lives. So, little by little, he introduces the knowledge of the true God, and teaches them his Commandments.

But these fine beginnings have since been unhappily thwarted. Superstitions have taken a new life there. The Father, having gone to Tiohero, was invited to an eat-all feast for the recovery of a sick woman -- whom he was going to visit, with the intention of baptizing her, after having given her instruction. He was told, when it was seen that he did not eat all that had been served to him, that it was necessary to eat everything to cure the patient. The Father answered: "I do not see that I can cure her by doing myself an injury in eating too much; and by a remedy which the master of our lives forbids, and is liable to make two sick persons instead of one -- the first continuing to be sick, and the one who eats too much becoming so."

All were surprised at this answer; the sick woman, above all, approved of what had just been said, and declared that since that course was not proper, she was resolved to use that kind of superstitious remedy no more, -- or their dances, that served only to split a sick person's head. After that, she did not allow anything in which the Father thought there was any harm; and being conducted, after her Baptism, from Tiohero to Cayuga, she made confession. Finally she died, and her death added to the report that had been spread abroad, that Baptism made people die.

Since that time, the Father has written us that he has been often repulsed, and even driven from the Cabins, where he was going to visit the sick. But, to understand fully the condition in which he is placed at present, and the danger of losing their lives, to which Missionaries are at all times exposed in these infidel countries, we must hear him relate the ill treatment that he has received, chiefly on one or two occasions.

"When," says he, "I had gone into a cabin to instruct and baptize a Young woman there, the daughter of a Huron captive, and the time for baptizing her was pressing, she did not listen to me, as she was accustomed to do in the beginning of her illness. Her Father said to me: 'You speak as formerly Father de Brebeuf used to speak in our country; you teach what he used to teach; and as he used to make people die by pouring water on their heads, you wish also to make us die in the same manner.' I then recognized fully that there was nothing to hope for, and a moment later I saw a trickster from our own Cabin come in. In other respects, he likes me; he comes to pray, and he even knows the prayers by heart. He remained a long time without making known his purpose; but seeing that I did not withdraw, he began, in my presence, first to apply some remedies in which I saw nothing wrong; then, not wishing me to be present at the application of his other remedies that he was going to make, he forced me to go out of the Cabin.

"During the whole evening, I felt my heart filled with a bitterness that took away from me all inclination to sleep. While I was in these thoughts, I was surprised at my host coming to find me, with a frightened countenance: he came up to me and said in my ear that I must not go out the next day, -- or the next three days, -- in the direction of the Cabin of that woman, who had just died on that day. I perceived at once that a plot had been formed to kill me; then all the bitterness of my heart was dissipated, and changed into an intense joy at seeing myself in danger of death for the salvation of souls. I asked him what reason there was to compel me not to go in that direction; and although he did not wish me to think that anyone entertained the thought of killing me, he told me enough to make me think so. I did what prudence demanded of me, and answered that I would content myself, during those three days, with going to give my instructions in the other part of the Village.

"Meanwhile the Elders were almost constantly in Council, to stop, by means of presents, the course of the furious man who had resolved on my death. The report of this affair was soon carried as far as Onondaga, and gave anxiety to our Fathers and all the neighboring nations, -- even to the extent of making them send Messengers, to learn the truth of the matter."

That affair had no further consequences: all is quiet now, and Father de Carheil continues in his usual occupations without any fear.

This first affront was only a trial of his courage, as if to prepare him to suffer another one, -- offered him by a Young warrior, who drove him from his Cabin because the Father would not allow him to say that, in roasting Indian corn in the ashes, he would roast the master of his life. These two are the only ill-treatments that were offered him in the Village of Cayuga, which is composed of more than two thousand people, and in which are counted more than three hundred warriors.

Prayer does not inspire the same fear of death as Baptism. Several warriors and a great many women come to pray; and even the children already know their prayers by heart. The knowledge of God's Commandments has become common in the families, and there is such an inclination to learn them that people ask to pray on the open street.

Drunkenness, which has penetrated as far as the Cayugas, has wrought great havoc among them, and has hindered the progress of the Gospel. The Father says that some drink only to intoxicate themselves; that they say so openly, and sing their intention to do so before executing it, and that they are heard to shout: "I am going to lose my head; I am going to drink of the water that takes away one's wits."

THE MISSION OF SAINT MICHEL IN THE COUNTRY OF THE SENECAS, OR "NATION OF THE GREAT MOUNTAIN."

Seneca is, of all the Iroquois nations where we have been, the farthest from us; and its inhabitants being most remote from us, we call them "the upper Iroquois." From us to them is about 450 miles. That country is the one that gives the fairest hopes, -- which has made Father Jacques Fremin, Superior of all the Iroquois Missions, go there and start a new Church.

We have learned, through letters from the other Missionaries, that setting out from the Mohawk nation on the 10th of October, 1668, he visited the other Missions on his way, and arrived on the first day of November at Seneca; and that he was received there with all the honors that those people render to important Envoys. We have also learned that the Captains have built him a Chapel, and that there is no one who does not show some inclination for Christianity; but it is added that, of them all, the old Huron captives have a special affection for the Faith.

There were baptized, in the space of four months, sixty dying persons, but the course of these happy successes was soon arrested. The tricksters have taken such action that few people go to pray without speaking of the war, for which preparation is being made, against the Algonquin Ottawas, -- which will seriously disarrange matters, and will stop the progress of the Faith among those peoples. Still, at the Father's request, the most influential men of the country have stopped three detachments of their warriors who were making ready to go to war. Three former prisoners whom Father Aloez has brought here with him, this year, and given over to the Iroquois from Sir de Courcelle, our Governor, will undoubtedly strengthen the peace that has been made between the Iroquois and the Ottawas, -- and more so at a time when the Iroquois have the nation of the Mahicans and that of the Susquehannocks on their hands, and fear more than ever the arms of France.

These are the things that we have learned, without having received any letter from Father Fremin this year about that Mission. A Frenchman, returning a little while ago from that country, informed us that the Father had started to come to Quebec, with the Ambassadors from Seneca; but he was unable to state the reason of their Embassy. It is believed that these Ambassadors are coming to ratify the peace, and ask the protection of our Governor, who has now become the general arbiter and umpire in all the differences and all the wars of these Indians.

THE MISSION OF POINTE DU SAINT ESPRIT IN THE COUNTRY OF THE OTTAWA ALGONQUINS.

THE Mission of the Ottawas is now one of the finest in New France. The scarcity of all things, the brutish disposition of those Indians, the remote location, -- 750 or 1000 miles away, -- the number of the tribes, and the promise that an entire nation has just made to Father Aloez, after a general council, to embrace the Christian Faith, -- all these are things that make all our Missionaries wish for that Mission.

When Father Aloez went down this year to Quebec, to deliver to Sir de Courcelle the Iroquois Captives that he had ransomed in his name from the Ottawas, and to ask for some aid from our Fathers, the lot happily fell on Father Claude Dablon. He has been sent to be the Superior of those upper Missions, despite the abundant fruits he was reaping here, and the pressing necessity felt for his presence here.

The first place where one meets those Upper nations, who are almost all Algonquin, is Sault Ste. Marie, more than 500 miles away from Quebec. It is there that the Missionaries have stationed themselves, as the place best suited for their Apostolic labors, -- the other tribes having been accustomed for some years to go there, to go down to Montreal or Quebec to trade. A location has been chosen at the foot of the rapids in the River, on the South side, nearly under the 46th degree of Latitude; and the cold is less severe there than it is here, although we are in nearly the same latitude.

Another Place, distant 375 miles from Sault Ste. Marie, which has been chosen with the plan of preaching the Gospel there, is called Pointe du saint Esprit. The occasion of this settlement was the Iroquois war, which had driven out from their country most of the Upper Indians and had gathered them together in that place. Father Aloez, having found that great number of nations all in one Village, made a happy use of their flight, to proclaim our Mysteries to that assemblage of tribes.

Finally the danger has passed away, and each tribe has retired to its own country, -- some returning to Green Bay; others going to Sault Ste. Marie, where the Missionaries have decided to make their principal abiding place; and the rest remaining at Pointe du St. Esprit. It is planned to build three Churches in these three principal places. There are two already established, -- one at Pointe du St. Esprit, and another at Sault Ste. Marie. Father Aloez is Preparing to go to Green Bay, on his return from Quebec, to found the third Church there.

The Iroquois, to whom three of their captives have been restored, and to whom the others are still to be given back, will be delighted to continue the peace with the Ottawas, having on their hands the war with the nation of the Mahicans and that with the Susquehannocks. We have even received word from Montreal that the Onondagas are going on an Embassy next spring to Sault Ste. Marie, to confirm the peace by presents. Thus the roads will be free for the commerce of the French, and open to the Gospel Laborers. Still, the temper of these tribes being fickle, it always leaves us fearing that the peace may not be of long duration.

As Pointe du saint Esprit has been the seat of all those Upper Missions, I am going to begin in that place.

Says Father Aloez in one of his letters, written at Sault Ste. Marie on the 6th of June, 1669:

"One nation in particular desires to embrace the Christian Faith. It is one of the most populous; it is peaceful, and an enemy to warfare, and it is called the Kiskakon Ottawas; but it is so addicted to teasing that it had, up to that time, made child's play of our Faith."

This people gained their first acquaintance with the Gospel in their own country, by the great Lake Huron, at the time when our Fathers were there; and they afterward received instruction from the late Father Menard, in the place where they are now. Finally, last Summer, the Elders made speeches in the Faith's favor in their Cabins, in their Councils, and at their feasts.

"That was what compelled me," says Father Aloez, "to pass the Winter with them at Pointe du saint Esprit, for the purpose of instructing them. Having been called to one of their Councils, I told them that I felt myself forced to leave them, to go to Sault Ste. Marie, because after my three years among them, they were unwilling to embrace our holy Faith. I added that I should leave that place immediately, and that I was going to shake the dust from my shoes; indeed, I took my shoes off, in proof that I was leaving them altogether, and did not wish to take anything from them away with me, not even the dust that clung to my shoes.

"During all this address, I read on their faces the fear that I had inspired in their hearts; leaving them then to deliberate, I immediately withdrew, with the intention of going away to Sault Ste. Marie. But I was soon a witness to a change on their part. By common consent, they abolished Polygamy entirely; they did away with the sacrifices that they had been accustomed to offer to their genii; and they refused to be present at any of the superstitious ceremonies observed by the other nations in the vicinity. They all took up their abode near the Chapel, to facilitate for their wives and children, during the Winter, the instruction that is given them."

Am old man relates that, when they left their own country, they had to take flight on the ice of the great Lake Huron, to escape the Iroquois and the famine that pursued them everywhere. They had no provisions, and maintained their families only on the fish that they harpooned each day under the ice. It happened that sixty of their men, who had gone out to seek the means of subsistence, were carried away by a great field of ice that was detached by the violence of the wind. More than half died, either from cold or from hunger. This old man was preserved on that floating ice for the space of thirty days, and finally leaped upon another piece of ice, and from there to the land. When he heard about God for the first time, he recognized at once that he was that mighty Spirit who had saved him, and he resolved from that moment to obey him in all things.

A hundred persons of that nation, partly adults, partly Children, have already received Baptism. As to the Hurons who took refuge in that country, thirty-eight have been baptized. In the other nations are counted over a hundred persons more, to whom Baptism has been given.

Father Marquette writes us from Sault Ste. Marie that the harvest there is abundant, and that it only rests with the Missionaries to baptize the entire population, to the number of two thousand.

THE MISSION OF SAINT CROIX IN THE INNU COUNTRY, AT TADOUSSAC.

FATHER Henry Nouvel had cultivated that Mission for some years before; but, Father de Beaulieu having in a short time acquired sufficient acquaintance with the Innu language, the entire charge of it was given over to him. This facility in understanding and speaking the language of the Indians down there seemed so extraordinary to the Captains of that nation that they gave him, at a public feast, the name of "he who understands and speaks our language." As they are wandering tribes, accustomed to live by hunting, the Father has been obliged to follow them through all the forests, to maintain that New Church in the fervor in which Father Nouvel had left it. It is inevitable that one should suffer much more in that kind of wandering Mission than in the stationary. After five or six weeks, during which he had to sleep on the snow, he was attacked with a hemorrhage, from which he has been ill eight months already, and which has exhausted the better part of his strength.

While Father de Beaulieu was at the Mission of Ance de l'Assomption, far away in the Saguenay, Father Nouvel was appointed to go and give some help to the Micmacs, who are situated 300 miles from Quebec, and of whom most understand the Innu language. He prepared to go and seek them toward the South; but having gone straight to Tadoussac, which is toward the North, he luckily met the Micmacs, who are now without a pastor, but still retain the good impressions formerly made upon them by the Missionaries. All, to the number of sixty, confessed and received Communion. A woman of that nation, well instructed in our Mysteries, made them pray every morning and every evening; and as she was a good singer, she sang them some spiritual Songs.

But, as their hunting-ground called them in the direction where Father de Beaulieu was, Father Nouvel deemed it more fitting to leave them in his charge, and to return to Tadoussac, after he had already advanced about 30 miles into the Saguenay to give aid to the French who pass the Winter there for the purpose of trading.

To the Mission at Tadoussac must be added that of the Papinachois Innu, as one of its dependencies. These tribes are always wandering in the forests, and go every year to a place on the great Saint Lawrence River, -- 125 miles, more or less, below Tadoussac, toward the North, -- for their trading.

A great many people of that nation, who all speak the Innu language, were formerly instructed and baptized by our Fathers, and still retain the principles of the Gospel; but as it is impossible to gather them together for a continuance of this instruction, there are few of them who have not some superstitions. Still, an attempt is made in their general assemblies to do what one can to enlighten them. The Christian Indians bring their children, to have them baptized by the Missionaries, or, in their absence, by some well-instructed Frenchmen who come there to trade.

Two hundred and fifty-six persons, besides the Indians from Sillery and Tadoussac that had gone down to the Papinachois Innu to trade, have received there all the aid possible.

The Bishop of Petraea, our Prelate, was on the point of going to see this new Church, after he had visited Montreal and all the rest of the country, for the purpose of conferring on these new Christians the Sacrament of Confirmation, and of having the pleasure of visiting this new-born Church. But he had to postpone that journey until next year, not being assured that there would be a general assembly of the Papinachois Innu in the usual places this year.

You will ask how it is possible for Christianity to subsist in the woods, among wandering tribes who find themselves compelled, so not to die of hunger, to separate into small bands and make themselves Cabins far apart, during the little time that they stay in any place. The Indians who dwell far inland toward the North, who have gained a knowledge of God, take it upon themselves to communicate this knowledge to the other Indians of their nation, and therefore become themselves Apostles. They love prayer, and even those who are still infidels come and present their children for Baptism; and when some adult Papinachois Innu has been baptized, it is comparatively rare for him to fall into Apostasy.

This nation, which takes its name from its almost continual smiling, is one of the most flexible; and it gives fair hopes for the North; while the other Missionaries work tirelessly in the country of the Upper and lower Iroquois, and among the most distant tribes toward the South and the West.

After Father Nouvel had returned from his Mission among the Papinachois Innu, it was finally decided to fill the place of the famous Captain Noel Tekouerimat, -- which, out of honor rendered to his virtue and courage, had been left without a successor for several years, according to the custom of the Indians.

The relatives of the deceased, whose duty it is to name the one who is to succeed him who has died, cast their eyes on Negaskaouat, a Tadoussac war Captain. They presented him to all the Nations, assembled to receive him at Sillery, where the leading Captain is appointed, and where he is accustomed to dwell. Meanwhile a great feast had been prepared, to feed all these Nations, at the expense of the relatives who were to adopt Negaskaouat and give him the name of Tekouerimat -- a process which, among them, is called "resuscitating a Captain."

To begin the ceremony, the new Captain's shoes were taken off and the clothes he had been wearing were removed; then the relatives of the deceased gave him new garments. But here there was introduced something different from the ordinary solemnities; for the new Tekouerimat was clothed entirely in French dress, and, instead of the tall head-dress that the wife of the deceased had been accustomed to place on the head of him who resuscitated her late Husband, the wife of the old Tekouerimat put on Negaskaouat's head a cap adorned with a handsome tuft of feathers. The affection that the old and the new Tekouerimat always showed for the French was one of the reasons for the variation in that ceremony.

The feast being ready, the customary speeches were delivered, with the presents accompanying them. Father Nouvel spoke first, and brought three things to the new Captain's attention. First, he urged him to maintain the same piety that his Predecessor had always shown. Secondly, he urged him to continue to have for the French the same affection as his Father, whom he was restoring to life as much by his example as by his name of Tekouerimat. In the third place, he again pointed out to him the obligation that he was under to keep his people true to the Faith, and the obedience they owed to our invincible Monarch.

After the speech, the relatives of the former Captain made the customary presents to all the Nations present. There were assembled the French, the Algonquins, the Innu, the Micmacs, the Abenakis, the Maliseets, the Atikamekw, the Nipissings, and the Hurons. The first present was for Sir de Courcelle, our Governor; and it was put into Father de Beaulieu's hands, to be presented at the first opportunity. The second was given to Father Charles Albanel, an old Missionary in charge of the Mission at Sillery, which is the first and the principal one of them all. They then proceeded to give a present to each Nation, to make them remember that he who had formerly been called Negaskaouat was now called Tekouerimat.

The presents of wampum Collars being made, Father Albanel made a speech, in his turn, and congratulated the new Captain upon their having in his person another Tekouerimat, with his virtues and his affection for the French.

Then, turning toward all the Nations that were present, he urged them to love the Faith which all had embraced, and to shun vice, which would infallibly cause them to perish if they did not renounce it, The ceremony of the day ended with the feast.

On the next day, all the Indian Captains, with Tekouerimat at their headdressed like a Frenchman, cane in hand, -- went to salute Sir de Courcelle, our Governor, and to acknowledge him. They asked from him the protection of the King, whose subjects they are; and his special assistance to check the disorders of vice among them. Then they all withdrew.

THE HURON MISSION OF L'ANNONCIATION DE NOTRE DAME, NEAR THE TOWN OF QUEBEC.

THE Mission of the Hurons is now reduced to a small number of persons, but they are chosen people, who love the Christian Religion, and can serve as examples for all the rest. Since they have seen peace established with the Iroquois, their enemies, they have abandoned the fort which they occupied in a large square in Quebec, and have withdrawn into the woods, 4 miles from that City, in order there to cultivate fields which may furnish them the means of subsistence; and they have made a new Village there, and, as it were, a new Colony.

YEAR 1670
NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1669 AND 1670.

PREFACE.

IT is impossible to be more convinced than we are, here, of the advantages of peace, since the victorious arms of the King have happily procured it for us.

Formerly, one hardly dared go out of his house, from the well-founded fear he had of seeing himself immediately surrounded by a band of Iroquois, who overran the whole country. At present, a Missionary will go alone and without escort from the first Village of the Iroquois to the last; and will make, without running any danger, about 250 miles' journey in the lands of those Barbarians. There is no longer anyone among them who dares disturb us in our Apostolic functions; and if any of them -- casually, or under the influence of wine -- happen to maltreat us in words, or menace us, the more discreet ones of the country check them immediately and prevent them from harming us. But what Will appear almost incredible, to those who know the arrogant spirit of the Iroquois, is that, while this seemed to be the year for the breaking of the peace between them and us, because some of the French had unfortunately killed several Iroquois, yet the strict justice which was exercised in that instance caused the Iroquois to not show resentment of the injury.

Yet we dare not flatter ourselves with the hope of an unalterable peace. The natural antipathy which seems to exist between the Iroquois nation and some others of those that are allied to us, makes us fear some rupture. It is hard for the old quarrels to be so extinguished that there remain not always some secret sparks, in hearts which breathe only war and pillage. Finally, peace, good understanding, and union cannot be so strong among peoples that find all their pleasure in burning one another, and in strengthening themselves by the ruin of their neighbors.

The five Companies which the King has had the goodness to send us this year Will serve us as a powerful recruit for holding our Indians to their allegiance; and the fear that they have conceived of the victorious arms of so great a Monarch Will serve marvelously to reassure our minds. His Majesty is so persuaded that it is necessary to maintain troops constantly in this country, for the purpose of subduing the Iroquois pride, and preventing them from breaking the peace, -- as they have done, as soon as they thought themselves the stronger, -- that he has taken care to send over, a few months ago, a hundred and fifty girls, so the Soldiers settling in New France may have families here, cultivate lands, and defend the colony.

Perhaps there will be some curiosity to know how the winter was passed here. It has been extraordinary in its length, and in the severity of the cold, which has dried up most of the roots, grasses, and plants.

THE COUNCIL HELD AT QUEBEC FOR ADJUSTING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE IROQUOIS AND THE ALGONQUINS.

THE proud and imperious spirit of the Iroquois is well known; and we have only too often learned by experience that a small matter is enough to make them offer an insult which shall lead to a rupture with those who are living on good terms with them. For a long time, they had been seeking some pretext, with which to disguise their passion for making war on their neighbors and pillaging them. The Upper Algonquins were the first whom they attacked; now see what caused the beginning of that war. A band of twenty Iroquois, being engaged in hunting toward the region of the Algonquins, encountered two men of their own nation, who had been taken prisoners of war by the Algonquins, and had fortunately escaped from their hands. These men informed them that the Village from where they had come was not defended by anyone, that the warriors who dwelt there were all gone hunting, and that, as only women, children, and some old men were left, it was easy for them to sack the place.

Immediately, the resolution Was adopted to make an attempt, and they succeeded so well that they entered the village without any resistance and, after killing some of the inhabitants, took the women and children prisoner, to the number of a hundred. The absent warriors, being promptly notified of what was occurring, chased with all speed; but it was to no avail, for they could not overtake the Iroquois.

The neighboring nations -- feeling themselves obliged, according to the customs of the country, to avenge the injury that had just been offered their allies -- formed a considerable group by joining their forces, and came to attack some cabins of Iroquois who were out hunting; these Iroquois were all defeated.

The news of that attack, being carried to Seneca, alarmed all the nations; from that time, they breathed only war and vengeance. Garacontie, -- Captain of Onondaga, which is chief of all the Iroquois nations, -- who had voluntarily offered himself as guarantor for the peace made with the French, saw that it was in danger of being disturbed by these acts of hostility that were being committed on both sides. And, because all the French, ascending and descending the River with the Indians, might become involved in the strife, he sent collars of wampum to all the Iroquois nations, to stop the bands and war parties that they were beginning to form.

He showed them that it was more beneficial to launch their canoes and go to Montreal to meet the Upper Algonquins, who were to come down there for the purpose of trading; that that was the place where they ought to make their complaints, and end their differences in the presence of Onontio (for so they call the Governor), since they had chosen him formerly as umpire in their quarrels. Having therefore given his orders everywhere, and persuaded the Iroquois to adopt this resolution, he himself was the first to set out to execute it.

Fortunately, he arrived at Montreal at the same time when the last band of Upper Algonquins appeared there -- to the number of 80 Canoes, in which were more than 400 persons. They were expecting to find there the Governor, who was immediately informed of the matter; but he did not think it best to leave Quebec, and summoned the Chiefs of the Nations to come to him here, -- which they did, twenty from each Nation being chosen to proceed here. They arrived at Quebec toward the end of July. At first Garacontie was at a loss, when he found himself unaccompanied by any other Iroquois Captain, -- not even by any of the Senecas, who were the most interested in that affair. Still, he continued on his way. The Council was convened, and in it were held three general assemblies. The first was merely for the exchange of salutations, and was passed in compliments.

The second assembly was held on the next day, for business; and there the Algonquins spoke first, by means of presents, according to their custom, -- saying, in the first place, that they had respected Onontio's orders concerning the peace; but that the Seneca Iroquois did not imitate them, having defeated nearly a hundred of their allies, of which number most had been taken prisoner. In the second place, they asked the Governor to remember that he had declared, in full assembly of all the Nations, that he would punish those who violated the articles of peace; and so they urged him to keep his word to them.

On the third day, the Governor, giving presents in return, answered that he was true to his Word; and that, as he had caused some Frenchmen, his own nephews, to be put to death in punishment for the murders committed by them on the Iroquois, -- since that deed was enough to rekindle the war, -- so it should be believed that he would exact justice from the Iroquois, or from any other tribes that should dare to disturb the peace. As for the Senecas, he began to punish them that instant, by retaining the captives who had been brought to him from the Ottawas to restore to them.

The Governor said, in the second place, that the submission which they had shown to his orders in regard to peace was to their advantage, since they reaped a considerable profit, -- being able to come in safety as far as Quebec to get the things needed by them, and even Missionaries to instruct them.

Then a Huron Captain nearly 80 years old, taking the Word, said: "Onontio, what a large family you have! How many children you have acquired for yourself! The most fruitful women have only two at a time; but you have produced, in the space of these few years since you came here, an innumerable multitude of them. You have them on all sides -- Eastward, Westward, to the South, and to the North. The Algonquins are your children, the Innu, the Ottawas, the Hurons, and the Iroquois. What father is there who has ever equaled you in multitude of children? Yes, you are our father, since you discharge so worthily the function of one, -- now checking some, and again punishing others; threatening this one, and urging that one to live in peace with his brothers. But we must acknowledge that you show yourself our father in that you procure for us a happy and eternal life; that, by the peace which you establish everywhere, you open the way to the Apostolic men who go forth to instruct all the nations, and teach them to thank you for it. And surely the Oneida have never better recognized that you treat them as your children than when, contenting yourself, for their punishment, with keeping their prisoners some time, you did send the prisoners back again into their country. Annonkouaiouton," (that is the Captain of those Oneida), "never would you have returned to your country with more glory, after a victory gained over the proudest of your enemies, than you did return from the prisons of Onontio, together with Father Bruyas; if you have obeyed his voice with docility, never has Conqueror been more honored than you will be. It is in that thing that Onontio conducts himself as a charitable father, procuring for his children the greatest of all good things. Courage, Nations of the Iroquois, Ottawas, Hurons, Innus, Algonquins; acknowledge Onontio as father, follow exactly his orders, obey his commandments, and listen to the advice that he gives you for the strengthening of the peace between you, if you wish to be fortunate in this world and in the other."

Garacontie, Captain of Onondaga, spoke, in his turn, in the name of all the Iroquois; and first, he protested that the Senecas had not offered any insult or done any injury to the Ottawas, but only to the Shawnees, whom Onontio had never taken under his protection: and that therefore the Senecas should not be accused of having broken the peace. "As for the Faith," added he, "which Onontio wishes to see spread abroad everywhere, I profess it publicly among those of my Nation, and no longer adhere to any superstition, -- renouncing Polygamy, the vanity of dreams, and all kinds of sins. It is I who obey Onontio, and not these Ottawas, who, after so many years of instruction, are not yet Christians."

From all that was said and that occurred in this council, it was decided that the Algonquins were wrong in having begun the war again by acts of hostility; that the Iroquois were to blame for not having waited until the Governor exacted justice, upon hearing their complaints, and for having chosen to take vengeance themselves; and that, in other respects, the Algonquins seemed to desire peace with more sincerity than the Iroquois, -- as they had set two prisoners at liberty last year, and had sent them back into their own country; while this year they sent back four others, and declared themselves ready to restore all those that they had in their country, if Onontio so ordered them. On the contrary, the Iroquois had not sent back a single captive, or taken any action to show that he wished to live on good terms; while the people of Seneca, who had the most concern in this quarrel, had not even been present at the place where its amicable termination was under discussion.

The conclusion was that the Governor should order the Senecas to restore the Algonquin prisoners; that otherwise he should consider them as disturbers of the peace, and should treat them as enemies to the King.

SOLEMN BAPTISM OF GARACONTIE, CHIEF OF THE FIVE IROQUOIS NATIONS, PERFORMED AT QUEBEC.

THAT worthy Iroquois Captain -- who, for sixteen years, has always shown himself the friend and protector of the French in his country -- spoke with so much fire and fervor in the Council, of the love he had for the Christian Faith, that the Bishop, after he had learned from the Fathers who are among the Iroquois how pure and Christian his morals were, decided that the Baptism which he was passionately desiring should not be deferred any longer; and that, since he had for so many years given aid to our Frenchmen, whenever they were slaves in the country of these Indians, it was just that he should find an aid in the Church to free himself from the slavery of the Demons. Finally, since he had always supported the interests of the French, they ought to contribute to the pomp and solemnity of his Baptism.

The Governor offered to be the Godfather; Mademoiselle Boutroue, daughter of the Intendant, was the Godmother; and the Bishop himself consented to confer upon him, with his own hands, this Sacrament, and afterward that of Confirmation. It was in the principal Church of Canada, the Cathedral of Quebec, that this ceremony took place. The crowd of people who attended could not have been greater; and he had the satisfaction of having as spectators a throng of people gathered from almost all the Nations inhabiting New France, -- Hurons, Algonquins, Ottawas, Mahicans, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas, and Petuns.

While the ceremonies of Baptism were being conferred on him, he was attentive to the explanation of them. TO all the questions that are customarily asked of Christian trainees upon baptism, he responded with as much firmness and good sense as could be expected from a man of learning; and upon being asked whether he wished to be baptized, he said that for three whole months he had been longing for that grace.

The newly-baptized man humbly thanked the Bishop for having opened to him, by the two Sacraments that he had just conferred upon him, the door of the Church and of Paradise. Then, after making new protestations to Jesus Christ that he would from then on live like a good Christian, he was brought to the Castle, so he could there go and thank our Governor for the honor that he had just done him in giving him his own name at the Baptismal Font. At his entrance he saw himself saluted by the discharge of all the Cannon of the Fort and all the Musketry of the Soldiers, who were drawn up in line to receive him. TO conclude this festal occasion, he was presented with the means to feed amply all the Nations assembled at Quebec, and give them a sumptuous feast, which the Governor had had prepared. It was at this feast that a Huron Captain proclaimed his Baptismal name in this way: "Here we all are assembled at the feast. It is Daniel who entertains us, he whom we have until now known under the name of Garacontie. He invites us to his feast, to assure us and call us to witness that he has embraced the Christian Faith; and that he is not a Child, to revoke his Word. He Will, upon his return home, make solemn profession of his faith before all the people of his Nation, and you will never hear it said that Daniel has forfeited his word in what he has just promised God at his Baptism." These words were followed by acclamations of joy, thanks, and applause from all the guests.

THE MISSION OF SAINT CROIX IN THE COUNTRY OF THE LOWER ALGONQUINS, OR INNU, TOWARD TADOUSSAC.

WE cannot better acquaint you with what has occurred in this Mission, than by the two Letters written to the Reverend Father Superior by Father Charles Albanel, who has had charge of it.

FIRST LETTER.

I AM infinitely obliged to you for the employment you have given me during these last eight months, which I have passed in precious experiences of suffering. Yet it is not the excessive rigor of the seasons, or the extreme fatigue of traveling, or the lack of provisions, that has given me the most distress; all these hardships are suffered by our Fathers who pass the winter in the forests. But nothing has given me keener sorrow than the sight of the incredible miseries and the destitution to which our poor Indians were reduced; and I have been obliged to dwell with them without being able to aid them. My heart was so keenly touched by this that I put that pain in the number of the severest I have ever experienced.

The smallpox, -- which makes as great ravages among these peoples as the plague, -- and the extremes of hunger and cold have been the principal evils that have afflicted this miserable colony; they have swept away from it about two hundred and fifty persons, -- both Innu and Algonquins, Papinachois Innu and Micmacs, -- from the Mission of Sillery and from Tadoussac.

We set out from the town of Quebec on the 14th of November; and we arrived on the 20th of the same month at the place which our Indians had chosen for the winter rendezvous, which is situated near Tadoussac, toward the South. It was on the first day after our arrival that God took from us Theodore Tekouerimat, our host.

The Indian of whom I speak was a man who had great qualities, and who could render great services to a Missionary. His rare intelligence and his extraordinary prudence had acquired for him such influence with all the people of his country, and even with strangers, that they deferred to his judgments in all things. And as he was courageous, and an experienced warrior, he was followed generally by all the Nations, although he was an Innu.

Three days after we had embarked, he fell ill; and as his malady constantly increased, he received all the Sacraments of the Church. Having become aware of some change in the expression of my face, which marked the anxiety I felt, he asked me why I was distressed. Then I answered that it was because I found myself obliged to go in a sailboat to visit the Indians who were toward the South, and that I was extremely sorry to leave him. "No, my Father," returned the sick man; "you Will not leave me. I am a dead man, and will never allow you to abandon me in this extremity. Your Superior said to me, upon your departure from Quebec, that he put you in my hands; and asking me to take care of you, he assured me that you would take care of me in return. If now you were in my place, and I in yours, what would you think of me, if I consented to abandon you? I expect of you at least this last office, after so many obligations as I have been under to you for twenty years; and as you have taught me to live well, I hope you will now aid me to die well." I took care not to leave him, or even to lose him from sight, until his death.

On the 28th day of November, the French sailboat which had brought me here arrived, loaded with fifteen or twenty sick persons. They all resembled Monsters rather than human beings, their bodies were so hideous, emaciated, and full of corruption.

On the first day of December, four Canoes came to join us, and swelled the number of the Faithful composing this forest-roaming Church.

On the fifth day of the same month, some Frenchmen went down to Isle Verte, which is not far distant from Tadoussac, and is formed in our great River Saint Lawrence. They found a cabin full of dying persons, and came to ask that I would go and render them all the assistance I could. I had much difficulty in quitting my post, because the place where I was might have passed for a Hospital for the sick, and my presence there was every moment necessary.

Still, on the tenth day of December, I decided to go and visit those poor people who were dying on that Island, and administer to them the Sacraments of the Church. I carried them some provisions; and when, during the journey, one of our Sailors, loaded with Indian corn, broke through the ice, he was saved by a kind of miracle.

On the eleventh day, I arrived at that Island, and saw there only living skeletons and bodies all disfigured, for they had already passed four whole days without having anything to eat. I began my duties with prayer, and, toward evening, prepared some Theriac, of which I gave them some doses. It is a powerful remedy against that kind of disease. On the following day, all made confession; and I gave holy Communion to those who were in a fit condition to receive it. A woman, an excellent Christian, put in my hands a Child of six or seven years of age, with these words: "My husband, before dying, said to me: 'We have two children; I give you the younger; but, as for the elder, I leave him to our Father'" (he meant me). "'He Will have him taught in their Seminary at Quebec.'"

On the 20th day, some Micmacs, about 35 or 37 miles away from us, sought us out; and all performed their devotions before separating from us. This was a dispensation from Heaven for them, and a special grace; for scarcely had they returned to their cabins, when the disease attacked them, and carried away almost all of them.

For January, 1670, the burden of my duties was to relieve the sick, urge the dying, and bury the dead. If I had known well how to profit by this employment, I could have practiced there great acts of virtue, and, above all, of no small self-flagellation, -- obliged, as I was, to live in a place infected with a horrible stench.

On the third day of February, I went into the forests, leaving the banks of our great River to go and visit our Indians. The little snow, which scarcely covered the ground and did not yet bear us up, gave us much trouble in walking with snowshoes. As we had almost no provisions, we soon found ourselves exhausted.

On the tenth day of the same month, we came upon a Cabin of Indians, where we halted for the space of two whole weeks, to instruct them, comfort them in their wretchedness, and administer the Sacraments to them.

On the twenty-fifth, our Hunters, having met other Hunters from two large Cabins about 15 miles from us, came to get me, and compelled me to remain twelve days with them for the purpose of instructing them. On the fifteenth day of March, seeing that I wished to depart to return to our Frenchmen, they sent me back to the banks of our great River.

Upon my safe arrival there, I prepared all the people to celebrate their Easter, which they all did with great piety. And, as it is unjust to deprive our Frenchmen of the glory which they deserve in this connection, I Will say to you that they rendered me efficient assistance by the diligent attentions which they gave to our sick Indians, -- and upon their own comrades, when there was need, -- in attending them, dressing their sores during their illness, and burying them after their death, without allowing the intolerable stench which came from those corpses to hinder them. So far was this carried that I have even seen some of them, with an admirable courage and fervor, load the dead bodies upon boats in the icy waters; and then, unloading them, carry them on their shoulders, although the putrid matter ran from all parts upon their garments and cloaks.

These noble acts of courage ought to raise a blush at their own effeminacy in an infinite number of Christians who have a horror of even hearing about what these men did not have a horror of doing. God, choosing to reward our Frenchmen for the charitable assistance that they had given those poor Indians, preserved them as by a miracle. So true is this that, excepting one of their number who was ill, but quite lightly, none of them have experienced any injury.

I was the last to suffer any ill effects, having my whole head extremely swollen, and my face covered with pustules like those of smallpox. A severe earache came upon me, together with a furious toothache. My lips became as if dead, and my eyes were extremely afflicted with an inflammation, while, to crown all these ills, I had a great difficulty in breathing. I vowed a novena to Saint Francis Xavier, and at the same time I was cured.

Charles Albanel.

SECOND LETTER OF FATHER ALBANEL TO THE SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS.

WHILE I was making preparations, on the first day of May, to go up again to Quebec, after passing the winter in our forests with our Indians, I received orders from you to visit the Missions that lie toward the North, on the other side of the Saint Lawrence River, where I went on the 12th day of the same month.

Among all the objects that I have seen, what most touched me was the great solitude and the few people that I found in that beautiful and flourishing Mission of Tadoussac, called the Mission of Saint Croix. I compared it with what it formerly was, when I had the good fortune to guide that Church; and I saw there only some wretched remains of its old-time splendor. Ordinarily, every year as many as 1,000 or 1,200 persons were accustomed to come here; while this year, scarcely a hundred Indians have been seen. It has lost more than 120 persons this past winter.

During the height of the contagious and general malady that afflicted this country, there were two Captains, who, with the purpose of corrupting the faith of the Young people, offered a sacrifice of three dogs to the Demon, hanging them at the door of their cabin, to ask him for his assistance, and ask him to stay the course of the contagious disease; but their prayers were not heard, and the undertaking resulted in their own confusion. Two other persons, a man and a woman, -- the one named Pierre, and the other Anne, -- warmly opposed this detestable impiety.

The man, after he had asked them gently to desist, and had recognized that he could not make any impression on their minds, addressed the Youth Forcibly. The woman added that those who ceased to pray would not only all die, but they would even be the first to die. And so it was; for in three days those two impious ones, who had been well before, were stricken with the disease, -- which reduced them to such extremity of illness that, after losing their right minds, they strangled themselves with their own hands. Then all the Indians who were in that region divided themselves into two bands. This man and woman also separated, and, although they were feeble, they occupied themselves constantly in visiting the sick and urging them to pray, and in preparing them to die well.

That good Christian woman who had opposed their Idolatry told me that one day, when all the group were dying of hunger, she felt a strong inspiration to separate from the body of the people, and that she proposed her plan to her son, who was between eleven and twelve years old; at first he would not consent to it, but finally he followed her. When she had separated from the others, and, with her son, was in a place two days' journey from them, where there was only a foot of snow, being quite at the point of death and utterly exhausted by hunger, she said to him: "My son, go and kill some beast, to give us something to eat." He, being as much reduced as his mother, often said to her: "Mother, I cannot go a step farther; let us die here."

But finally, he had courage to take his javelin in hand, and put his snowshoes on his feet. Almost in sight of their cabin, he came upon two Moose impeded in a little corner of the plain, where there was six or seven feet of snow, so deep that they could not stir. That Child was afraid at first, having never killed anything before; but he took his stand, and killed those two animals, on which they subsisted during the winter. The mother of this Child had no sooner arrived at Tadoussac than she presented the skins of these Moose to the Church. But I made her, in view of her poverty, buy with them the things that she needed; and told her that God would be satisfied with her good intentions.

On the last day of May, we set out from Tadoussac to go to the Papinachois Innu, who are about 75 miles away from there, toward the North, along our great Saint Lawrence River.

On the third day of June, we arrived at the place where they were assembled, to the number of a hundred and fifty persons. I found there an Indian of the great and celebrated Hudson Bay, who told me a French vessel had been seen in his country, and that it had pillaged and grievously maltreated the people; that the Chief who commanded the Ship had assured them that in the following year he would come and take up his position in that Bay, and that word must be sent to all their people to go there, and bring him their pelts; that he was the master of peace and war, and that he would bring with him a large force of Iroquois to destroy them, if they did not obey him.

That Mission of the Papinachois Innu is in a good condition, and piety reigns there as much as ever. Father Henry Nouvel worked hard there, a few years ago, and the good impressions that he left upon them still survive, -- so that the small number of those who have kept two wives, contrary to the promises that they made to God at their Baptism, have not dared to make their appearance here. I remained twelve days at that place.

For five years, our Missionary Fathers, being engaged elsewhere, had been unable to visit the Nation of the Naskapi Innu, who are below the Papinachois Innu along our Saint Lawrence River. This made me adopt the plan of asking Sir de saint Denis for two Frenchmen to accompany me. He willingly granted me all that I desired.

I also took with me two Indians from Tadoussac, and a sailboat, with which I undertook my journey. On the fifteenth of June, which was Sunday, I set out in the morning, and I arrived in the morning at the Black River, where there were Indians who had been waiting for me for a month, to perform their devotions and have themselves still further instructed than they were.

On the sixteenth day of the same month, toward daybreak, I witnessed the arrival of twelve Naskapi Innus, who were coming to get me.

On the eighteenth, I departed with twelve Oumamiwek Innus and went to the River Godebout, where they had gathered to the number of a hundred and thirty persons, -- not only Oumamiwek Innus, but Naskapi Innus.

These good Indians, who had journeyed 500 miles to come and be instructed, received me as an Angel from Heaven. They are a comely people, docile, peaceful, and of a good disposition. They have a good and facile intelligence; and are discreet, and live innocently. Polygamy passes among them for an infamous thing; and they have an aversion for those whom they call Sorcerers, who rely on the Devil for the cure of the sick. Some years ago, they killed one of those who practiced that profession.

They are poor -- much more so than one can imagine. They go all covered with Caribou skins, which are artistically ornamented and enriched with porcupine bristles, or with certain feathers, stained in all sorts of colors. Hunger is their great evil, and destroys them. Moose come near their country, and they have some Caribous and a few Beavers, with some fish, for their food.

They do not yet use firearms, but are skillful in shooting with the bow. When they have a string to fish with, they think themselves rich.

Upon my arrival, the Captains fed me as well as they could, -- excusing themselves for not doing better, on the plea that they had been waiting for me twenty days already, a delay which had exhausted all their provisions. After this, I sent them the means to prepare a feast, and presented them with a fishing-net, which enabled them to enjoy good cheer.

On the following morning we built a Chapel, covering it with the sail from our sailboat; and all the Indians came and made their cabins near us.

Charles Albanel.

THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS IN THE COUNTRY OF MOHAWK, OR OF THE LOWER IROQUOIS.

OF THE WAR OF THE MOHAWK WITH THE NATION OF THE MAHICANS.

FATHER Jean Pierron, who has charge of this Mission, has himself written what follows:

"One of the most important things I have to Write is the attack on Gandaouague, which is one of our best Villages, and situated nearest to the enemy's country. On the eighteenth of August, 1669, three hundred of the Nation of the Mahicans -- who live along the Sea, toward Boston, in new England, -- presented themselves at daybreak before the Palisade, and began to make so furious a discharge of musketry that the balls, piercing both the stockade and the cabins, soon awakened men, women, and children, almost all of whom were sound asleep. The men at once took gun and hatchet in hand; and while they defended the palisade, the women began, some to make bullets, and others to arm themselves with knives and defensive weapons, in view of an attack.

"Four Iroquois were killed at the outset, in the heat of the combat; and two were wounded, one of whom died a short time afterward. The neighboring Village, alarmed, took flight in all directions, and carried to Tionnontoguen, distant 10 miles from those first two Forts, the news that the whole country was lost, that Gandaouague was besieged by an army of Mahicans, that all the Young men had already fallen, and that perhaps Gandagaro, which is the neighboring Fort, was at present in desperate straits.

"When this news had spread through all the district, at eight o'clock in the morning, our Warriors dressed themselves promptly in all the most precious things they had, according to the custom observed by them on these occasions; and all, without any other chief to command them than their own courage, advanced on the enemy.

"I was among the first to march, to see whether, amid all the carnage that was going on at the palisade of the Village, where so many infidel souls were being lost, I could not save one of them.

"At our arrival, we heard only mournful outcries over the death of the bravest of this Village. The enemy had already retreated, after about two hours of obstinate fighting on both sides. There was only a single warrior of the Nation of the Mahicans left on the place, and I saw that an Indian, having cut off his hands and feet, skinned him and separated the flesh from the bones, to make from it a detestable meal.

"All our warriors, arriving and finding the enemy no longer there, promptly had cornmeal prepared, so they could pursue him in his retreat. The provisions being ready, they immediately embarked in Canoes on our river, which is swift; and as they followed the current of the stream, they made good progress. But, night overtaking them on their march, they had some of their people go without any noise to the place where he lay encamped.

"When these scouts had reached this spot, they wished, in order better to observe its location, to approach close to it; but they could not do this so quietly that one of the Mahicans, who were posted tolerably near them, did not hear a noise, and cry out, according to their custom, Koue, Koue -- (the Indian equivalent of 'Who goes there?'). However, as there was no answer, and as he could discover nothing, he did not think best to give the alarm.

"When the spies had returned, and had made their report on the location of the enemy, it was resolved not to attack him in his redoubt, where he seemed too strongly entrenched; but to lay an ambush for him, on the route that it was thought he must take.

"To execute this plan, the Iroquois made a wide detour, and went to lay their ambush in a place that was precipitous -- an advantageous spot, from which all the road leading toward the Dutch was commanded. In the morning, the Mahicans broke camp; and as they were marching in single file, according to the custom of the Indians, twelve of their number became involved unawares in the ambush. A shower of balls, with which they saw themselves all at once received, immediately put to flight those whom chance had spared. Frightful yells at once arose on all sides in the forest, and the Mahicans, having rallied on the same spot where they had encamped, were hotly pursued there by the Iroquois, -- who, upon overtaking them there, made a furious assault upon them. At first the Mahicans made a vigorous resistance; but, the cowardice of some of their number forcing them to yield to the fury of the Iroquois, ten from the entire band entrenched themselves in the earth, to defend themselves to the last. This new entrenchment caused our Mohawks terrible vexation; but, as they are a tireless and valiant people, they lost neither courage nor the hope of dislodging them. And, to do it with less danger, they made use of an old tree that they found there, which they carried before them, to shield themselves, -- which they could do, going up only one by one to the place where the enemy had fortified himself.

"Still, that maneuver was of no use to them, -- for, in spite of this device, the Mahicans kept up an active fire on them from all sides, and killed and wounded a great many of our people; and the combat would have been much more disastrous to them, had not night overtaken them, and put an end to it. Our Indians had, in the beginning, taken four women of the enemy, out of twenty-four who had come on this expedition; and afterward six men, in the heat of the combat.

"On the following morning, when they returned to the charge, they found that the enemy had taken flight in the night and had left them masters of the battlefield. The victors, following the custom of the Indians, cut off the heads of those of the Mahicans who had been left on the place, to remove the scalps from them; and then they took care to bury those of their own people that had died in the battle.

"It was said that there were nearly a hundred enemy Warriors that perished -- by being either slain in the engagement, or drowned in the flight. Yet I found it difficult to believe that their number was so great, because the Iroquois brought back only nineteen scalps from that defeat.

"A short time ago, I learned from some Mahicans who had been in this combat, that they had lost less than fifty men; and the Iroquois nearly forty, counting those that the Mahicans killed on their march before the siege of the Iroquois Village, in the siege, and in the fight that occurred some days later. Still, the Iroquois say that they lost only thirteen on the battlefield.

"While these things were taking place, I was at Gandaouague, from where I was preparing to make my customary visit to the neighboring Village -- not having thought it best to follow our Indians, in the uncertainty of a dangerous issue. But as soon as I learned of the victory, -- it was about three o'clock in the afternoon, -- I set out alone to go to find our Warriors, to see if I could persuade some of them to acknowledge him from whom they obtained the fortunate success of their arms. I made such haste that I arrived, even before night, at the place where the fight had occurred, which was nearly 20 miles away from our Village.

"I told them the interest I took in their victory, for which they showed themselves obliged to me; and each one of them was eager to tell me all the details of a day that had been so glorious for them. But as my principal purpose was to visit the wounded, I saw every one of them. After this, I had permission to speak to the captives, and I tried to instruct them on that spot, for fear I would not be able to do it so conveniently in our Villages, because of the ill treatment being prepared for them.

"I found two of them that heard me willingly enough; but God so favored me on the following day that, having spoken to them fully about our mysteries, I observed that they took pleasure there, and that they were not far removed from the Kingdom of God.

"We set out two days after the battle, together with a great number, both of those that had been in the fight and of persons who had come to see them. The victors carried the scalps, finely painted, on the ends of poles made to bear these trophies. The Slaves, divided into several bands, sang as they marched. I saw that one of the captive women had a sick Child, which she carried at her breast. I thought to baptize it, seeing it in danger of dying. Approaching it, at a time when we were crossing a brook, I baptized it. This poor Child seemed only to have been waiting for that grace to depart this life, for it died soon afterward.

"You can judge whether I did not think myself well-rewarded for the fatigues of my journey, in having been able to snatch from the Demon a prey that he was hoping to carry off. But the Baptism which all the captives asked me for, a few days later, was to me a crowning joy.

"Accordingly, after I had allowed a little abatement to the fire and wrath of the hatred of the Iroquois toward these wretched persons, seeing that they had been left alone on the scaffold where they had just been tormented, -- and where they were still surrounded with all their countrymen's scalps, which were serving as trophies to the glory of the victors, -- I approached them; and making them descend from the scaffold, led them into a neighboring Cabin to prepare them for a Christian death.

"While I was talking to them about their salvation, I heard some of the Iroquois saying to one another, 'see how he loves our enemies?', and others adding that I ought to let people who had done them so many injuries burn in hell also. But there were some among them who acknowledged that I was doing well to instruct them; and that man in his vengeance should not carry his resentment beyond the limits of his enemy's life.

"Then I embraced the opportunity to say to our Mohawks that I loved their enemies because, as they had souls that were immortal, it was part of a Christian's duty to procure the same happiness for them all. But as for them, besides that common obligation that bound me to love all men, I had also a special love for them, the Mohawks, because Jesus Christ had sent me into their country to show them the way to Heaven, and not into the country of the Mahicans, their enemies. I said, in conclusion, that it was fair that I should love them more than the Mahicans, since I was being maintained by them; since they were acquainted with me, and allowed me to live in peace in their midst; and since I did not know whether the Mahicans felt the same kindness toward me.

"I prolonged this little speech with all the emphasis I was able, and dwelt particularly on the description of Hell, the frightful torments of which I depicted to them in lively colors, to inspire in them some compassion for those wretched victims whom they were about to put to death with torture. My words made such an impression on these Indians that they all told me that I was doing good to instruct the prisoners.

"I learned that another band of warriors had just arrived at a Village near the place where I was, and that they had a captive, a woman. I went there immediately, to see whether I could not win over this soul to God. By the greatest good fortune, in the midst of the cruelties that were being inflicted on her, I had abundant leisure to instruct her fully. She listened to me with so much pleasure; and as she longed only for Paradise, her Baptism undoubtedly opened to her the way there, her death occurring immediately after she had received it.

"During all these engrossing occupations, there came to me, from Onondaga, a Letter in which our Fathers implored me to go there as soon as possible. This news compelled me to retrace my steps promptly to Mohawk, and to visit all the wounded in the six Villages belonging to my Mission.

"These wars weaken the Mohawk terribly; and even his victories, which always cost him bloodshed, contribute to exhaust him. On the contrary, our French Colonies are becoming stronger every day, by reason of the great number of families that are settling there, and the aid sent every year from France. So, that old and formidable enemy is no longer to be as feared by our French people as he was; on the contrary, he now fears our Arms, and has only respect for those whom he despised before."

ENTERPRISE OF FOUR IROQUOIS NATIONS AGAINST A FORT OF THE MAHICANS, THEIR ENEMIES.

"THE victory of our Mohawks over the Mahicans was more glorious than profitable because they are few in numbers compared with their enemies, who can bring against them fifty men to their one. Yet it inspired them with courage; and they came to the resolution to avenge themselves for the affront which they thought they had received from the Mahicans.

"The four Lower Nations having joined forces, a troop of four hundred warriors was made up; and the plan was formed to attack one of the Forts of the enemy situated near Manhattan, and to seize it by some stratagem rather than by open force. Their plan was that a band of eight or nine Young warriors was to go and make some murderous assault near the Palisade or Fort, so, at the noise of this massacre, the enemy might make a sortie from the place and be drawn into the ambush, and the other side be enabled to make themselves masters of the Fort without difficulty, when it should be stripped of its garrison.

"Accordingly, arriving in sight of the Fort, they laid the ambush, and sent men to make the first approaches to the Palisade; but as they saw no one come out, and as everyone kept himself entrenched in the Fort, they decided to proceed to open war and to attack the place in the same manner that the Mahicans had attacked Gandaouague. But it was with much less success; for meeting with a Palisade impervious to all their blows, they despaired of being able to force it, and were finally obliged to retire in much confusion, without having killed or wounded a single one of the enemy, while two of their own number had been wounded.

"At the time when these four hundred men were coming back without having succeeded in their undertaking, a little band composed of only five warriors arrived from another direction, all boastful at having brought back a scalp and led home a prisoner. I was not, at that time, at Gandaouague, to prepare him for Baptism; but one of our Christian women, named Marie Tsinouentes, going to the place where this prisoner was, was surprised to see that he was offering his prayer to God, according to what he had learned among Christian Indians, who were instructed by those of our Fathers who have charge of the Algonquin Missions.

"She instructed him in our mysteries; and that poor man thanked this generous Christian for showing him such charity in a hostile country, where he had thought to find only a cruel death. In fact, he was put to death some days afterward. These are the first-fruits of that numerous Nation of the Mahicans, where I hope God Will some day give entrance to the faith.

THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE MOHAWKS.

"As I was one day visiting the Villages that are within the province of my Mission, -- a thing which I do every week, unless the bad weather makes it impossible for me, -- I was strangely surprised at seeing, in the middle of the open space in one of these villages, a large Cross that had just been erected there. I immediately knelt before this Cross, to inspire in the Inhabitants veneration for the Cross; after which I asked who was the man whose piety had led him to erect it. They answered me that the thing had been done through the agreement of all the Inhabitants, and that it had been deemed of great importance for the public good.

"I was told that he whom they all recognized as the prophet of the country had learned, in a dream, that a Cross must be planted in the middle of the Village, because it would protect them and defend them against their enemies, who would never be able to conquer them as long as it stood there; and that this Cross was the master of life. You can imagine how much this speech surprised me, seeing that the enemy of the Faith was the first to establish it.

"I did not know what to think of so extraordinary a dream, -- to which our Indians, regarding it, according to their custom, as a Divinity, had rendered such prompt and faithful obedience, -- unless it was the Demon himself who had given this sage counsel to the false prophet of that Village. I had some reason to hope for a good result because I saw that the Kingdom of Satan was about to be destroyed by his own doing. If the Cross is worshiped, Christianity Will soon reign there; but if the prophecy prove false, I shall have ground for destroying the false God of the country by discrediting dreams.

THE ADMIRABLE FERVOR WHICH OUR CHRISTIAN WOMEN SHOWED IN THE DEFENSE OF THEIR FAITH, BY DISPUTES WITH THE DUTCH, AND OF THEIR FERVOR ON OTHER OCCASIONS.

"IT is beyond belief how much the proximity of the Dutch injures the Faith, -- both on account of the brandy that they sell to our Indians, which is to our Indians an unending source of debauchery, and because they try to give them bad impressions of our Religion. For some time, the Dutch have been more guarded in this matter because they have often found that the firmness of our Christians took from their opponents all hope of being able to shake them.

"One day, some of our Christians were invited to a feast, where they had every reason to believe that all would be orderly, for the feast was held at the house of a Christian woman already advanced in years. But they were surprised to hear the Sorcerer who presided at this feast declare, at the opening, that it was ordered for restoring health to a sick person. Marie Tsinouentes arose, and said aloud: 'Whoever is a true Christian, follow me, and go out with me. As for those who are such only in name, they can remain at this superstitions feast.' She was followed by four or five of the female guests.

"A resoluteness so firm, and so unusual in this country, caused astonishment in all the company, -- who could not sufficiently wonder how women had dared to do a thing which passes for a fault that is sufficient to make infamous the one who commits it. It is on this score that they are treated as persons having neither judgment, nor honesty in their conduct, and not knowing how to order their lives. It is said that they must not be surprised if they become either poor, or captives, or are abandoned by everyone.

THE NUMBER OF THE MOHAWKS BAPTIZED, OF THE MEANS THAT ARE USED FOR THEIR CONVERSION, AND THE GREAT HOPES OF THAT WHICH THEY GIVE, THROUGH THE QUITE EXTRAORDINARY CHANGE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN THEIR DISPOSITIONS.

"I have attacked drunkenness and debauchery, -- which are the Divinities of this country, because these peoples are madly attached to them. These vices I have combated by the fear of God's Judgment. I have used mildness and force, threats and prayers, labors and tears, to build up this new Church and convert these poor Indians.

"I note here a means that I have found to be useful and effective in the conversion of these Indians.

"At first I had thought that, to establish Christianity on a solid basis among these peoples, it was necessary to make use of reading and writing, which are two things in which the Indians are utterly ignorant. I had accordingly applied myself, for the space of a month, to the teaching of both of these to the little children of our Iroquois; and some had already profited to such an extent that they wrote and read fairly well. But the small means that I have for furnishing rewards for the little ones, -- which must be given to these children, to hold them to this pursuit, -- and the little time that remained to me for the essential duties of my Mission, at last compelled me to think of some other solution, which should leave me more time for occupying myself in the duties of my ministry.

"God inspired me with one, some days later, which is easier, and produces great results among these peoples.

"It is a game, to catch our Indians by means of what they most love, -- for gaming constitutes their whole occupation, when they are not at war.

"My plan is to do away with the strange ignorance in which they live, and to make good their defects of memory. This game speaks to good effect through its paintings, and gives sound instruction through the emblems with which it is filled. Those who wish to divert themselves with it have only to see it, to learn all that they have to do to live Christian lives; and to remember all that they have learned, without ever being able to forget it.

"There is nothing easier than learning this game. It is composed of emblems which represent all that a Christian has to know. The seven Sacraments are all depicted there, the three Theological Virtues, all the Commandments of God and of the Church, together with the principal mortal sins; even the venial sins that are commonly committed are expressed in their order, with marks of the horror that ought to be felt for them. Original sin, followed by all the ills that it has caused, appears there in a particular order. I have represented the four ends of man, the fear of God, the Indulgences, and all the works of mercy. Grace is depicted in a separate cartouche, conscience in another; the freedom that we have to obtain salvation or destruction, the small number of the Elect, -- all that a Christian is obliged to know is found expressed by emblems which portray each of these things. All is so natural, and so well depicted, that the coarsest minds have no difficulty in rising to the knowledge of things spiritual, by means of the material Images of these, which they have before their eyes.

"This game is called, 'from Point to Point,' -- that is, from the point of birth to the point of Eternity. Our Iroquois name it, 'The way to arrive at the place where one lives forever, whether in Paradise or in Hell.'

"Directions for playing this game will be given at the bottom of the card on which it will be printed. I intend to have it engraved, so I can have many copies of it, and be enabled to render our mysteries intelligible even to those by whom I cannot make myself understood.

"There are some of our Iroquois to whom I have taught it only twice, and who have learned it perfectly; and others to whom I have shown it only four times, who have made themselves so skillful in it that they have compelled me to play it with them. We passed the Easter Holidays agreeably with this game, which is equally holy and profitable. All our Indians have an extreme passion for learning it and playing it, -- either because they display in it quickness in easily understanding things that are so difficult; or because they see clearly that this game instructs them in what they must know to be saved.

"The experience that I have had with this new method, and the approval that several wise persons have given it, make me esteem it highly. Perhaps the Missionaries of France could use it with excellent results among the country people, -- both to make them pass, in a holy as well as agreeable manner, some hours of Sundays and Holy days; and also to teach them all the virtues of Christianity.

"Each cartouche and each emblem can furnish profitable talks that might be given to the people, -- as I show in the little Book that I have written on it, -- which I would have sent to France this year, had it not been for an illness which prevented me from putting it in proper shape. I hope to send it next year with another Game, -- a worldly one, -- that I have invented for destroying all the superstitions of our Indians, and giving them some excellent themes for conversation, which shall make them lose all the pleasure they now take in entertaining One another with their fables.

"Our elders, having invited me to their ceremony for the dead, which was to take place at Gandaouague, I went there to gratify them. The assembly was composed of the Onondaga, of some Oneidas, and of all the more important men of Mohawk. Each tribe was separated from the others, according to their custom. While waiting for the Onondaga to speak, our Mohawks were telling one another their fables and superstitions. I joined them and, mingling some words of truth among their lies, I made them see clearly how ridiculous their superstitions were.

"A Captain who was a friend of mine, finding it hard to brook this sort of insult, wished to impose silence on me; but I believed that in a matter of Religion, I should not allow anyone to close my mouth. Also, as I was not ignorant of the authority I had among these people, I said to this Captain, with considerable firmness: 'are you well aware that you offer me the keenest affront that I can ever receive? But who are you to bid me be silent, and did I come here to obey you? If I had treated you in this way at Quebec, would you not have reason to complain of it? But in what have I spoken wrongly, to close my mouth in this manner? And if I told the truth, are you unwilling that it should be heard?'

"The Captain was surprised at my showing that I was offended by a word that he was accustomed to use often, even to his friends; and he made me no answer, except that it was their custom on these occasions to tell their fables to one another. I again took the word and said, with all the force that was inspired in me: 'It is your custom to get drunk; is that a good custom, and am I to approve it? It is your custom to steal; am I to say that you do well? It is your custom to abandon yourselves to all sorts of debauchery, to violate all the laws of reason, and to live like brutes; is it not a part of my duty to reprimand you for all these vices, and try to give you an abhorrence for them? And yet you bid me be silent when I wish to speak to you about them. Is that reasonable? If these customs were holy and virtuous, they would be respected, and I would do everything imaginable to oblige you to retain them. But to see you pass all your lives in such execrable crimes, that is what I cannot make up my mind to do.'

"The same Captain gave me still another occasion to speak to him a little severely, when he told me rather rudely that I must withdraw from their company, because they were going to sing, according to their custom. It is true, I did not understand a word of their song, and did not wish even to tolerate it; but as I was not one to disturb their music, I thought he was wrong to make me retire in that manner. Also, as one must not pardon any offense in this kind of people when they commit faults which they themselves ought to consider as such, I told them that I would not disturb the feast, by remaining quiet in the place where I was; and that it was not becoming for me to leave the men's circle to join the women's, or to go among other persons whom I did not know. However, as I saw they were urgent that I should withdraw, I did so, for fear of offending them, and retired to the quarters of the Onondaga, -- to the captain to whom I declared my displeasure, which he considered reasonable.

"After the ceremony, which lasted five hours, I returned to the Village without waiting for the rest of that solemnity, which was to be concluded by our Mohawks. They knew my displeasure, and believed there were grounds for fearing it, -- the more so that, some time before, I had caused the report to be spread abroad that I intended to go to Quebec. The whole body of Mohawks blamed the Captain who had offended me, and were extremely sorry for the affront that he had offered me. He himself, having soon recognized his fault, came to see me with little delay, to offer me excuses for it.

"'My brother,' said he to me, 'I am unwilling to believe, although everyone asserts it, that you are irritated in mind and full of bitterness of heart because of my action; for you know the love I bear you, and the high opinion I have always had of your worth. Up to this time, we two have had only one heart, and we have treated each other like the two best friends in the world.' Then, putting his hand on my heart, 'They say that you are going to Quebec, and that you will not come to live with us any more. Regardless, I implore you not to get us into trouble with Onontio; for it would be a cause of confusion for yourself, if so many old men and young men, who love and honor you so, came to be ill-treated on your account. Tell me in what state is your heart, and what are your sentiments?'

"During all this speech I maintained great seriousness of demeanor, contrary to my custom, and seeing that he awaited my answer with impatience, I spoke to him as follows: 'They told you I was irritated in mind, and full of bitterness of heart. That is true, and it is you who are the cause of that. If I have been present at the ceremonies of your country, it has been only to please you, and to satisfy your desire for it; and yet you yourself have treated me with the last indignity. You have dared to impose silence on me when I was speaking of the Faith, which is the one thing in the world that I have most at heart. If you had wished to give me some mark of your friendship, you would have listened to me, at least with patience; or would have taken pleasure there, which would have been infinitely agreeable to me. Far from showing me this kindness, you did command me to be silent. Besides, could you have offered me a graver affront than to drive me out of the company of those whom I came so far to seek, and with whom I have taken up my abode, to try to make them win eternal happiness for themselves? Were you not ashamed to see me so well received by the Onondaga, whom I did not know, and driven out by those who try to pass for friends of ours?'

"This reproach was a little severe, but God made use of it to obtain a good result that I dared not hope for. This Captain, after hearing me quite patiently, took the word then and said to me, with much sincerity: 'My brother, I see clearly what is the reason of this quarrel: it is that we are not yet Christians. But if you will entrust the care of this important matter to me, I promise you a favorable start of that. This is the way you must play your part in it. First, you will gather us all together; and then, offering us six yards of wampum for our three families, with each one of these presents you will say what you have on your mind. After that, let me manage it; I take charge of all the rest, and hope that all will go well.'

"I assured him that he could not give me a keener pleasure, that he had entered perfectly into my inmost thoughts, and that I would follow the good advice he had just given me. Then we parted, highly pleased with each other.

"This Captain, who had great authority among the Indians and was capable of conducting a great affair with skill, embraced this with so much enthusiasm that he himself went in quest of the most important men of the country, to broach this great project to them. As, however, he had to cross a torrent that was impossible to ford, he postponed his journey until the next day; but he came to see me on the same day, to assure me that he thought seriously of carrying out what he had promised me. I judged by the diligence he had just shown that he would pursue the affair with enthusiasm, for, an old man -- sixty years of age, as he was -- had only to order his nephews to bring the Elders for him, without taking that trouble himself.

"On the next day, he returned to the torrent, crossed it, and brought back all the more considerable men in the Villages of the Mohawks. I then began to deliver them a speech, which I made as emphatic as I could, upon their false Divinities, their Sorcerers, and all their superstitions. 'My brothers,' I said to them, 'I am filled with joy to see you all assembled here. You have received Word that I was going away to Quebec, and it is true. But I will not deprive you of my bodily presence by departing without your knowledge. I am not unaware that you fear in case I shall not return to you again, and that you desire to have me remain here, to maintain the peace that you enjoy with the French. I have come here only to die here; and you know that, in the three years while we have lived together away from the disturbances of war, I have spared neither my exertions, my health, nor my life to assure you an eternal happiness. After so many labors, I see that I have been unable to make any impression on your minds. That is what has given me the thought of seeking some other country. You have seen how the Mahicans, your enemies, had themselves instructed, and found a happiness which you despise. What! shall the Iroquois alone be eternally wretched? You wish me to remain here with you, to maintain the peace; and, to oblige me to do so, you often allege to me that you are now one with the Governor of the French and with me. Have you any reason to say this, -- you, who have neither the same sentiments, nor the same behavior as we? You think that the Master of life is a Demon, whom you call Agreskoue, and I say that your Agreskoue is a slave whom God keeps chained in Hell as a proud and wicked spirit.

"'So, to have a firm peace, you must be like me, and believe what I believe; and then Onontio Will say: "Now I believe the Mohawk to be sincere and faithful; and now do I love him as one of my children." All the French Will rejoice to know that you are their brothers. All France will be interested in your good fortune, and all the world will know about it.'

"After this speech, I threw down two yards of wampum, saying: 'Mohawk, my brother, if you will listen to me, there is my voice, which warns you to renounce Agreskoue and never to speak of him again; to worship the true God, and to observe the Law.' This first speech was received with a great cry of applause, and it seemed to me that those Indians were moved by my speech.

"Then I threw down another two yards of wampum, to oblige the tricksters to cease invoking the Demons for the cure of their sick, and to make use of natural remedies, whose power and virtue I had often shown them. I spoke with emphasis on this point, because it is one of the superstitions to which they give most credence. Then, I heard a second cry of joy, -- with which all the assembly, and even the tricksters who were present, told me their disposition to do all in this matter that I should wish.

"The last present that I made, to do away with the superstition of Dances, was received with the same acclamation.

"After this I was told that an answer would be given me in a council. Thus passed off that first interview, which gave us great hopes of this people's conversion.

"Some days later, two answers were given to what I had said, in two different assemblies that were held on the same subject. The first was in the presence of all the Onondaga, who were returning from the Dutch Colony, where they had gone to trade. I was sent for by the elders, to hear what reply they had to give me, and to see it confirmed more solemnly in the presence of their new guests.

"As soon as I entered the Cabin where the Council was being held, someone presented me with a great piece of meat, -- to feed me, and make me favorably disposed to that great procedure. I immediately shared it among those nearest me. After this, the Iroquois who was the most important of all the country, rising to speak, addressed in the following terms the valiant Garacontie, who had just spoken to them:

"'My brother,' he said to him, 'you did lately tell us some marvels, and did see what applause we gave your speech. Today I must tell you that we listen to you no longer, and that it is not your words that have touched us. Here is a Frenchman' (said he, pointing to me), 'who has changed our heart, so that his thoughts and desires are now ours, and we from now on have only one mind.' Then he repeated, with an admirable accuracy and exercise of memory, all that I had said to them in the Council. He added to my speech so much native eloquence and so many pleasant embellishments for the refutation of the same errors I had condemned, that I was charmed. After this, he offered the presents that he had to give.

"Garacontie, Captain of the Onondaga, rising in his turn, answered the other in these words: 'My brother, you throw me into confusion by rejecting my voice in this manner. Is it of so little importance that you ought to prefer this Frenchman who has come to teach you? What Will my Onondagas think when I report to them the contempt in which you hold their speech?' But, all at once, changing the tone of his voice, he added kindly: 'Think not, my brother Mohawk, that I am angry at what you have said; on the contrary, I thank you for despising my voice, and preferring to it that of a man who sacrifices himself for your salvation, and brings you the voice of God.'

"What Garacontie said had all the more weight from the fact that, besides the great authority and the reputation for an excellent intelligence that he has acquired for himself among all the Iroquois Nations, he was also inclined to declare himself boldly for the Faith, and did not hesitate to pray in public.

"I went forth from the assembly, filled with a joy that cannot be explained; and as it was on the day of the Annunciation that this Council was held, I drew a good omen for the conversion of these Infidels.

"On the following day, our Elders, assembling a second time, gave me a second reply, which seemed to me to be still more precise than the first; and the same Captain of whom I have spoken before addressed me as follows: 'My brother, it is an affair of importance that we are now discussing. You ask things of us which it is hard for us to grant you. For is it not difficult to break all at once with the habits in which we have been brought up, to abandon absolutely things of which we have been in possession since the beginning of the world? Still, as we are resolved to please you in all things, and to show you the great desire we have to listen to you, we make you the absolute Master of our bodies and of our souls. There is no obstacle that we will not surmount, to render ourselves worthy of the happiness that you desire to procure for us. So we implore you to instruct us. We assure you that we speak to you with sincerity; we declare to you that we believe what you believe, that we condemn what you condemn, and that we renounce all that you have warned us to abandon. As for the rest, if it happen that some evil spirit causes Agreskoue to be invoked, or violate what we promise you to observe, know that it will not be with our consent. If we had as much power over the minds of our Young people as elders ought to have, we could assure you that your orders here would be universally followed by everyone. Also, we entrust our sick ones to you, since you take from us all we thought could contribute to their health. Arrange your Chapel so that we can all go there to receive your teachings.'

"After this speech, I was presented with as much wampum as I had given them. I declared to all the assembly that I would do everything in my power to insure the success of a project so advantageous to them.

"Some days later, I saw that the Sorcerers of this Village were throwing into the fire their tortoise-drums and the other instruments of their calling; that the women did not summon the tricksters any more in their illnesses; that no Dance was any longer allowed except what I approved; and that all the Indians of this country declared themselves openly for the Faith. The elders prompted the Youth to come for instruction, to rely on prayer, and to make a public profession of the Christian Religion; and to incite these by their example to procure for themselves so great a good, the elders came in a crowd to the Chapel, and assiduously attended prayers.

"If things continue in the state in which I left them on setting out to go on a journey to Quebec, there Will be work enough among the Mohawks to occupy several fervent Missionaries. A thing that gives me still stronger hope of soon seeing all this people converted is that, since this great change, -- although I remained among them four months longer, until my journey to Quebec, -- I do not think that, in all that time, a single one of them has invoked the Demon, or any dances have been held which I had forbidden. When it happened that a man, who did not belong to the country or who had become intoxicated, invoked Agreskoue, he was ordered to be silent and was informed that that Demon was no longer invoked among the Mohawks."

There have been sent there, as a reinforcement, two Priests, -- Father Thierry Beschefer and Father Louis Nicolas.

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER AT ONEIDA.

THIS is the second Nation of the Iroquois as you go toward their great Lake called Ontario. Father Bruyas, who has charge of this Mission, has written a Journal about it, from which the following is taken.

"August 14, 1669. News arrives from Montreal that some Frenchmen have treacherously killed some Oneidas, upon their return from hunting, to get possession of the Beaver and Moose-skins that they had taken. Also, the Oneida who was imprisoned by the French of Montreal is still in irons; and that another one has been flogged there so that he died a short time afterward, from the effect of the punishment. All this news, true or false, irritate the feelings, and the consequences will probably fall upon us here.

"The 16th. People return from trading, with sixty kegs of brandy brought from Albany. A drunken man breaks in the door of my Chapel, reproaching me for the insolence of our Frenchmen. Another strikes my companion, with such violence that he bears the marks of it. Owing to the disorders that are prevailing in this Village, I take occasion to go on a trip toward our Lake, where there are some fishermen, -- although I am still weak from a fever. The heaviest cross that I have is that of the drunkards; and I have need of all my little virtue to bear it patiently. It breaks up all our exercises, and all our teaching; and prevents the people from coming to Chapel to say their prayers, morning and evening, -- each one thinking only of running away and hiding, to avoid the violence of those furious men.

"The 20th. An Ambassador from a certain Nation of the Mahicans who are at peace with the Iroquois, arrives here with twenty collars, with which he makes his presents, for the purpose of arresting the acts of hostility. This elates our Oneidas' spirits, to see themselves therefore sought after, -- although quite recently, this Spring, they had been at war with that Nation, despite the peace made with them. They had led one of their men home a prisoner.

"The 23rd. The Ambassador takes flight, frightened by the drunkards.

"The 25th. The scarcity of seasoning, for giving some taste to their corn boiled in water, obliges a large part of the Village to go in quest of fish, at a place 25 miles from here, -- where, with their javelins, they pierce the Salmon as it swims in the water.

"The 26th. Of two Young men who had gone to Susquehannock with hostile intent, one has been captured there and burned; for they are so eager to commit some murder in the enemy's country that sometimes even a single man Will go and execute a stroke of prowess, -- entering a hostile Village at night, and murdering one or several of those whom he finds asleep there; making his escape afterward by flight, although he may be pursued by thirty or forty of the enemy, who have awakened at the noise of the assault. The scalps which they bring back, and which they quickly snatch from the heads of those they have killed, are the sure signs of their victory. But often they are captured in these assaults and cruelly burned.

"The 28th. Father Pierron arrives from the Mohawk nation, to take me, so we can go to Onondaga, where we arrive on the following day, -- all the Missionaries of the Iroquois Nations having gathered there at the same time. What joy for us to see one another again!

"The sixth day of September. I return with Father Pierron to Oneida, he going on to his Mission at the Mohawk nation. During my absence, the drunkards so maltreated the man who is with me that he found himself forced to leave and take up his abode in the fields, to avoid their insolence.

"The 8th. An Oneida returns from the Shawnee, who are 500 miles from here. He informs us that two of his comrades, together with an Onondaga and a Seneca, were taken prisoner by some warriors of the Nation of the Amikwa. These four Iroquois were returning from their skirmishing, in which they had taken two of the enemy; but being met by sixty Ottawas, they were vanquished in their victory, and were themselves taken captive. Here are seeds of war.

Garacontie returns from Montreal fairly well pleased. The Ottawas gave him ten wild-cows' skins, well adorned with their paintings, as assurance to the Elders that they would go to Montreal in the Spring, to plant the tree of peace there, to put a stop to all these acts of hostility.

"The 9th. A band of eight warriors sets out toward Susquehannock, another band of five having preceded them two weeks ago.

"The 20th. Our warriors depart, to the number of 120, -- including fifty Onondaga and ten Cayuga, who had joined them. If our Oneida were gathered together, they could put into the field a hundred and sixty warriors.

"The second day of October. A drunken Oneida kills one of his comrades at the Mohawk nation.

"The 25th. I learn of the death of an old Christian who was baptized more than twenty years ago in the country of the Hurons. He had been here for about the last ten years, always ill. I confessed him before he was taken away to the fisheries, where God took him to himself. I have been told that, when he was near to death, he repeated only these words: 'I am going to Heaven; for a long time I have been a Christian;' and that he had the Cabin roof removed, over the place where he was lying, to give his soul passage Heavenward.

"November 20. It seems that I am now in an earthly Paradise. The lack of drink makes me enjoy a great rest, and gives those that are well inclined entire freedom to come and pray. The number of those who are receiving instruction increases every day, especially since I have begun to ask the Catechism. If I had a Bell, it would help me, as I must go through the streets of this Village and call the people.

"A drunken Oneida has killed a Mohawk. If they spare not one another, what would not we have to fear?

"December 5. All the Youth go in the direction of Susquehannock, to hunt the Stag. Meanwhile, the women who remain, go assiduously to the Catechism, -- in which I question them often, without their being ashamed to answer. The one who can repeat, on Sunday, all that has been taught during the week, has for reward a string of colored glass beads, or two little glass tubes, or two brass rings.

"The 20th. The snow is beginning to fall. Until now the weather has been as mild as in Autumn.

"The 10th of January, 1670. A woman of this Village says that she has seen the great God of the Iroquois, Teharonhiaouagon, -- who has revealed to her that the Susquehannocks will come to besiege this Village in the Spring, and that one of the most powerful of their enemies, named Hochitagete, Will be captured and burned by the Oneida. It is asserted that the voice of that Susquehannock was heard from the bottom of a kettle. He uttered wailing cries, like the cries of those who are being burned. This woman -- mad or possessed -- is believed in all that she says. Every day there is a gathering at her house, where there is only dancing, singing, and feasting, -- a powerful deterrent to our prayers.

"The 27th. Two Elders from Onondaga bring the news of the return of their warriors, with nine Susquehannock captives that were surprised while hunting. Two of them were given to Oneida, -- a Young man of twenty, and a woman. This woman was baptized at Onondaga by Father Millet.

"The 30th. They begin to burn her over a slow fire, and prolong her torture for the space of two days and two nights, -- because he for whom she was given was burned at Susquehannock for that length of time.

"The first day of February. Having found an opportunity to instruct that poor Young man who was taken prisoner, I did so publicly, in presence of the Elders and many people, who listened to me willingly, -- but, more so than anyone else, the one who was condemned to be burned. I succeeded in baptizing him. Some Elders wished to prevent me from procuring him this happiness; but I told them that it was our custom to pray with those who were put to death, and that they must content themselves with making him suffer in this life.

"On the following morning, I went back there. They finished burning him, and I saw him render up his soul to God. I was told that he called for me on the previous evening, in the midst of the flames; but he was refused the consolation that I might have been able to give him.

"The 5th. Fourteen warriors go to seek their enemies, of the Nation of the Mahicans, who are hunting in the direction of Montreal. I learn at the same time that six hundred men, both Seneca and Cayuga, have gone on the warpath toward the country of the Ottawa, where Father Allouez is to spend the winter.

"The 4th. Garacontie, Captain of Onondaga, has come here with forty-six fine collars, to assure the Oneida that he will always be at one with them. He spoke in favor of the Faith, and urged our Elders to attend prayers, after his example. He also gave them a present, as an invitation to light the fire of peace at Montreal, at the time when the Ottawas come down there.

"The 3rd of April. Our traders returned with forty kegs of brandy. That is to disturb our devotions during the coming Easter Holy days.

"The 4th. A drunken man set fire to a Cabin, and everything in it was burned in less than a quarter of an hour. If the wind had been in another direction, half of the Village would have been reduced to ashes. When our Indians have received an injury from anyone, they get half drunk and do with impunity all that passion suggests to them. All the satisfaction one receives from them is embraced in two sentences: 'He was drunk. He had lost his reason.'

"Seeing all these disorders, I went and passed the Easter Holy days with Father Millet, at Onondaga.

"May 26th. I passed the Pentecost Feast-days at Onondaga, where Father de Carheil had also gone from his Mission at Cayuga.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JEAN BAPTISTE AT ONONDAGA

THIS is the third Nation of the Iroquois. The state of this Mission Will be learned from a Letter sent by Father Millet, who has had charge of it, to the Reverend Father le Mercier, Superior-general of the Missions of New France:

Reverend Father,

On the day after the departure of Ateriata, who carried you my first Letters, I began in the morning to give the usual cry by which the people are summoned to Chapel. I kept up this same cry, morning and evening, during the following days, principally during Advent. Sometimes I called out, "Fire! Fire! Ever-burning hell-fire!" At other times, "To Heaven! To Heaven! Where are found all kinds of blessings, with eternal happiness."

For a week, I put before their eyes various strings of wampum beads, to mark the number and variety of the things I taught them. And during the following week I stretched a cord, and attached to it various collars, made of twine, with which the Indians fasten and chain the captives taken in war, to conduct them to the fire which is prepared for them. By this symbol I represented to them the cruel chains of sin with which the Demon loaded them, to drag them into the fires of hell.

I try especially to discredit in their minds their false Divinities, -- namely Dreams, and Agriskoue, -- to establish the truth on the ruins of falsehood and fables. Being one day at a feast to which I had been invited, I rose when it began, and, in a loud voice, pronounced the blessing in the language of the country; and seeing that such an unusual proceeding had surprised them all, I added that at the banquets held in France the custom was for the Priests in attendance to begin with this kind of prayer. In order, also, to gain Possession of so sacred a custom, -- which should Prevent their invoking the Demon, as they do at all their feasts at the conclusion of this one at which I was Present, I said Grace, and asked them in the future not to offer any other prayers at their feasts. One of the Elders told them that I was right; and ever since that time they have understood that to invite me to a feast was to invite me to make the prayer.

It happened one day that one of their Captains, intending to anticipate me, began to invoke their Demon. But I made strenuous opposition to this, and declared that Agriskoue could do nothing that he had asked from him; and that I was going to pray for it to the true God. Then, I said the blessing; and afterward, at the close of the meal, I said Grace, without anyone's daring to interrupt me. And the Captain who had spoken of Agriskoue even came in the evening to prayers.

Garacontie told me, in the presence of some others by whom he was accompanied, that it was not fair for me to give all my time to the children's instruction, without their fathers having a share of it. He told me that I ought to begin by teaching the elders, so they might, by their words and examples, themselves contribute to the education of the Young people; and that it was fitting for me to take Sundays for speaking to them on the mysteries of our Faith. I assured him that I was delighted at the proposal of so excellent a plan; and that, if they were willing, we would begin on the following Sunday. As it was important to win them, I asked Garacontie to invite them to a feast that I wished to give them on that day, -- a commission which he promised me to execute faithfully.

To adapt myself in some sort to the custom of the Indians, who sing while preparing their feasts, on the morning of the Sunday assigned, while preparing what I was going to give them, I sang the mercies of God. And, to strike their imaginations by some kind of formal display, I hung up a fine large wampum collar in the middle of the Cabin, placing on one side of it a map of the World, and on the other the Image of Saint Louis, King of France. In another place, I put the portraits of the King and the Prince. Beneath the wampum collar I had put the Bible, on a desk covered with a handsome red cloth, below which was to be seen the Image of Our Lord, -- who had at his feet all the symbols of the superstitions and immorality of these countries, as if to indicate that he had overcome them.

When all had assembled, and Garacontie had announced to them the purpose of the feast, I made them some compliments, with the usual presents. Then, after offering a prayer publicly in the middle of the Cabin, I let them know that the collar which I had hung there was meant to indicate to them that there was only one God. Finally I closed this speech with the Blessing that I pronounced over the feast; after which, we rendered thanks to God, and our Elders told me the great obligations they were under to me for the kind reception that I had given them, and for the care I took for their salvation. Garacontie was so carried away with delight that he did not know in what terms to show me the interest he took in so important an affair.

Five or six days before Christmas, as our Chapel was not large enough to receive the people who came in crowds to the instructions, I had to divide them into two bands, and hold two Catechisms on the same day. For this purpose I borrowed a Bell -- which they had received, thirteen or fourteen years before, from those of our Fathers who were in this Mission when war again broke out here. This Bell served me for calling the Elders together, as I used a smaller one for summoning the children.

Some days before, I had had a strife with some Sorcerers or tricksters of the country, whom I had met in the cabin of a sick man for whom I had taken a good deal of trouble, but whom I had never been able to win to God. Some elders had taken the side of these tricksters, and had caused the door of that cabin to be shut in my face on two separate occasions. I complained of it to some of the chief men of the Nation, who themselves procured my admission to the cabin, and openly censured, in the Council, the ill behavior of those who had offended me. But as I declared myself not yet satisfied with this reparation, -- because others might now refuse me admission to the Cabins. Garacontie, as the Captain-general of this Nation, called the Council; and inviting me to it, made me a present of two collars, -- one to appease me, and the other to ask me not to make my complaints to Onontio, whose displeasure could only be harmful.

I decided to proclaim strongly against the foolish and superstitious belief that they have in their dreams. I showed them that it was not the true God who spoke to them in sleep; but that it was the Demons of Hell who wished to make themselves obeyed as if they were their legitimate Lords. In closing I gave them a present of a wampum collar, in urging not to place faith any longer in their dreams.

I then withdrew into my Chapel, rather uncertain as to the reply they would make me; for even those of the elders who were best disposed toward prayer had feared the result of this council. But I deemed it necessary to declare themselves openly on the side of the Faith; for, by this means, they freed themselves from a great many dangerous occasions in which they found themselves involved, in the discharge of their office, which forces them to procure the execution of the things ordered by dreams.

After a long conference which they held together on this subject, they had me summoned; and Garacontie, speaking in the name of all the others, told me that they all received my voice, that they were persuaded of the truth of my words, renounced the superstitions that I had ordered them to, and pledged themselves to obey dreams no longer. He added that I knew they had already ceased to speak of Agriskoue at feasts; that, whenever I was present, it was I who offered the prayer, and that, in my absence, they prayed to God just as I did, -- not asking him merely for the good things of earth, but much more for the grace of being blessed in Heaven. He assured me that there would from then on be no more impure feasts, and no more excess in eating or drinking; and that in the games, dances, and public assemblies, in fishing and in hunting, there would be no further talk of dreams, -- adding that, if everyone did not yet come to pray, I must have a little patience, and soon they would all be Christians. To give me assurances of the sincerity of their promises, he made me a present of a wampum collar, which I received.

I still have every reason to fear these things have been more easily resolved upon than they Will be executed, -- both because there is no government here to make private individuals obey the resolutions of a council; and because our Indians experience much difficulty in forgetting entirely their ancient customs.

I thought that I should not lose any time, and that I must make use of the good disposition existing in all minds. I accordingly began to declare myself openly against the tricksters; I tried to bring them into disrepute on all occasions; and I believed that, if I could deprive them of that confidence in and attachment to their sorcery which these tribes entertain, I would soon establish Christianity on the ruins of Idolatry. God had already furnished me two occasions on which I had utterly disconcerted them, and exposed their bad faith.

Here is what occurred at the first one. One day, when I had entered a Cabin where ten or twelve of these Sorcerers were gathered around a man who had only a slight earache, they immediately offered me a thousand civilities, and made me draw near, although they would have liked to see me at a great distance from them. I looked on at what they were doing, without saying anything, although their ridiculous ceremonies made me indignant. They took into their mouths a certain mysterious water, and blew it with violence over the sick man's cheeks and temples; and he who acted as chief of this band ordered them to throw some of this water also on the hair and head of this poor man, and even on the mat where he was lying. It was necessary that everything should be sprinkled, to drive away the Demon of the disease in this Indian's ear. I noticed that they then all drank of this same water, and that they took the medicine that was to cure the sick man.

After I had watched the operation of these clever people for some time, I approached the sick man to ask him where his ailment Was, and how he felt. The tricksters, taking the word immediately, said that two little Demons had already come out of his ear, and now only one was left, who was more obstinate than the others.

"That is wonderful," I said to them, "and I would be glad to see the third one come out; so go on urging him, for I wish to be a spectator of so tremendous a cure. For a long time, I have been curious to see the exit of one of those unclean spirits that torment the sick people of Canada; for they are not so mischievous in France. But I shall be so watchful for the exit of these Demons, which you say have bodies and are visible, that this one will be unable to escape my scrutiny."

I do not know whether those fraudsters saw that I was making fun of them, and that I knew of their tricks, but they appeared so confused that they could not recover themselves; and when I urged them to finish that marvelous operation, which was to put the Devil to flight, they said to me, showing some little bags in which were drugs, that there was what expelled the Demons from sick bodies.

"Well then," said I to him who acted as Master-trickster, "you claim to be the exterminator of Demons, large and small; who is preventing you now from causing to come out of this sick man the one that you say is still left in him?" I knew that it was their usual trick to have in their mouths either a little stone, or a bit of iron or leather, or a little bone; and that, sucking hard at the part of the body where the ailment was, they would say that they had successfully extracted what they had in the mouth, -- which they spit out before the eyes of the sick man, declaring that this was a Demon, which was the cause of his pain.

So I warned them that I was well aware of their wiles, and that it was hard to deceive me, and that I was not one to take iron or leather for a Demon. Then it was that I saw some embarrassed people. Some informed me that it was time to go and hold prayers; others asked me go and pray in the Chapel for the health of the sick man; and some even, to get rid of me, promised me that they would follow me immediately and become Christians. But I took care not to leave them until I could force them to confess that they were fraudsters. To cause them all possible confusion, I persisted in asking them to let me see that third Demon that was left in this sick man's body, -- saying that, after they had given me that satisfaction, I would leave them in quiet. It was in vain, however, that I pressed them; they would do nothing of the kind; and they were finally forced to confess to me that this third Demon was no longer there; and -- even before they had cured him -- that the sick man was well. And what seemed to me still more ridiculous is that this poor man was simple enough to believe that he had been cured of an ailment which he had never had; and to say to me, as he rose from his mat, that he was cured. I told this story afterward to some of our Indians, and made them see clearly the error they were in, to have so much confidence in such thorough fraudsters as their Medicine-men.

The other opportunity that God furnished me for bringing Dreams into disrepute, was the following. A girl of fifteen or sixteen years of age having gone astray in the woods and passed two nights there, her relatives were in great anxiety on her account. The tricksters were called, to learn what had become of her. These clever Diviners began to put their sorcery in operation, to learn some news of her. The first thing they do is to leap, dance, and shake their limbs, with such energy that they are soon all in a perspiration.

After that, they beat with stick and tortoise-drum; they sing, they shout; and they consult and question their Demon, who never answers them. After they had perspired well and tormented themselves, to learn in what condition that girl might be, they boldly declared that she had been killed by three Susquehannock, who had scalped her, -- cutting the scalp of the size of a small circle which they traced with their fingers on a piece of bark, before the eyes of the bystanders; and that she had died precisely at Sunrise.

After so exact and well-defined a prediction as this, our Indians would have been reluctant to doubt the death of that girl. Accordingly, her relatives' Cabin, and then all the Village, became filled with weeping and lamentations. Everyone was in mourning, except the tricksters -- who, to compensate themselves for the extraordinary exertions they had put forth in consulting their Demon, ate with a good appetite all that had been prepared for feeding them, as is customarily done on these occasions. They were puffed up with the success that had attended their incantations, and with the esteem in which their skill was held. But they were surprised when, having barely left the Cabin where they had been so well treated, they saw enter it the girl whom they had so positively declared to be dead, -- without her having met with any Susquehannocks.

If they could have convinced those simple people that it was only a phantom, they would have spared no lies to sustain their credit; but the parents, recognizing their daughter, changed their grief into joy, and the lamentations of all the Village into public acclamations.

This story was told me by the lost girl's mother herself; and as she had recognized the trickery of these tricksters, she disclosed to me several other instances of it, on which this event had caused her to reflect. She told me that these clever Medicine-men sometimes ordered a sick man to prepare himself a good feast, which would cure him, provided they were well fed; and that, still, it happened often that he would die on the next day.

I made advantageous use of all these deceptions in the council that I caused to be held against the tricksters, some days after the solemn promise made me by our Indians to renounce all these superstitions. It was there that I exposed all their mischievous tricks and all their deceits, the little intelligence they had in Medicine, and the worthlessness of their superstitious remedies; and to conclude my speech, I made a present of wampum, to make the elders apply a prompt remedy to these disorders which were ruining their country, by the death of their children and nephews.

After I had left the council, I was re-called, and Garacontie, speaking in the name of all the others, -- after renewing to me the solemn vow they had made to renounce dreams, Agriskoue and feasts of debauchery, -- told me that they recognized that they had been in error, and they had me to thank for having undeceived them; that they shared all my sentiments and were resolved to persuade the tricksters to use only natural remedies, without adding any superstition. Then, as a token of their pledge, they made me a present of wampum.

I told them how obliged I felt at a reply so favorable; and as I was beginning to give them some conception of the benefit this resolution was to them, Garacontie interrupted me, and said: "We are in sadness on account of sorrowful news, that we have just received, that Father Garnier has just been assassinated." At first, I was struck with surprise at so sad a piece of news, and wished to speak in person with the bearer of it, to inform myself of the facts in the case; but when I found that he had only conjectures, which were weak, I went promptly to tell our elders, for their reassurance, that it was only a false alarm. They testified their great obligation to me for the care I was taking to relieve the anxiety which so calamitous an accident had caused them.

In fact, it was learned that this news was false in regard to Father Garnier, but had lacked little of being true in respect to Father Fremin, -- who was almost killed by a drunken man at Seneca, a Village some days' journey distant from this one; for a long time he carried on his face the marks of this Indian's fury. That is what we are exposed to every day in this country of Barbarians. Our Onondagas are not so hot-headed or so brutal in their drunkenness. Most, even when they are in that condition, give to us only caresses; and if some make complaints, it is to reproach me with not loving them enough.

I withdrew into my cabin, where I found several more elders, -- who asked me to complete what I had begun, and to strengthen them in the resolution which they held to renounce all their superstitions. I knew, they said, that errors in which one has grown old are hard to abandon; that they feared the Demon would cast them again into their old dreams; that they came to me to arm themselves against that enemy. Therefore, they asked me to instruct them in the falsity of two or three of the old ideas in which they had been nurtured, -- as, for example, that their souls became separated from their bodies during sleep; that dreams were the arbiters of the good or the bad fortune that they had in war or in hunting. They also asked me why, after having a dream that they would be successful in one or the other of those occupations, it had scarcely ever proved false; while, on the contrary, after often praying to God for some success, they had frequently been disappointed in their expectation. I answered every question as well as I could; and they were satisfied with my replies.

I was watching with unusual care for the execution of the promises that had been made to me, and even ratified by a number of presents, when the news arrived that the warriors were returning victorious. They had been expected for a long time; and the Diviners, who use pyromancy on these occasions, had proclaimed various predictions concerning their return. One of their oracles reported that one of their bands was to return in three days; that it would be followed by the others, and that they would come back without having gained any advantage over the enemy. As I am the declared opponent of these false Prophets, I noted the details of this prophecy, and added that, in time, it Would be known whether it were true.

The three days passed, and nothing of what had been predicted had yet occurred; I caused tremendous perplexity to him who had quoted this Oracle to me, when I demanded of him, in the presence of many persons, an explanation of it. He answered me coldly that the band which was to have returned the third day, according to the oracle, would come back perhaps on the next day. I answered that the prophecy would be equally false, whether they should not return for a year or should return on the fifth day; but that, to convince him fully of the deceit of his Prophet, we would wait one more day for the result of his prediction. Nearly two weeks passed without anyone coming back; and then the victorious return of the warriors showed, with double force, the falsity of the oracle.

The shouts of victory were heard from afar; everyone was in a state of impatience to know whether there were scalps or prisoners of war, and how many of them there were. Finally, the advance runners entered the Village, bringing news in regard to the expedition; and a long file was drawn up on both sides of the way, from the gate where they halted to the fire where the elders were assembled. They there repeated the cries of victory, -- uttering nine of them, to indicate that they had nine captives, six men and three women. Then it was that the joy of the whole people burst forth.

They began to play a sort of Comedy, the persons advanced in years dancing a Ballet, which they executed by practiced postures, and steps performed in admirable measure. Then they went to meet the Young warriors who had brought the good news, and led them in triumph to the fire of the elders. As soon as they reached it, several thousands of wampum beads were presented to them; and the most important member of the band was made to recount the whole expedition in detail, -- the cause of their delay, the taking of the captives, by whom each had been taken, and how many of their own men they had lost. The narrative was interrupted by shouts of joy and acclamations for the victors that were uttered from time to time; and all ended with signs of public rejoicing.

Then the stage or scaffold was erected on which all the captives were to be burned; and I noted that some carried their vengeance even to such an excess of brutality as to ask me not to instruct or baptize these captives, -- in order that, after being burned in this life, they might again be burned forever in the other. Such inhumanity filled me with horror, and I made them see that there was nothing so unreasonable as to push one's resentment beyond the limits of this life. I persuaded them to not put any obstacle in the way of these wretched people's eternal happiness, and even themselves to urge the captives to receive instruction.

The captives were received, according to custom, between a double file composed of all the inhabitants, who showered blows upon them with sticks as they passed. Then, all bleeding and covered with wounds, they were made to mount the scaffold that had been prepared for them, to serve as a spectacle for these Indians and as objects for their cruelty.

These captives were all comely persons. They were clothed in the richest garments of the country, and the victims were crowned, according to custom, with the rarest feathers and the most beautiful strings of wampum that could be found. They were even compelled to paint their faces with the finest and brightest colors, so nothing might be wanting to the adornment of this triumph. Being therefore arrayed, they were made to march upon the stage where they were to be burned, to serve first as a spectacle for all the people. These wretches, to show their fearlessness and to show that they did not dread death, sang and danced on the scaffold to the cadence of some martial airs, in which they made boast of their exploits, and proudly made known to their enemies that all their proceedings would be unable to wrest from them the least sigh. A brutality carried to this excess horrified me. But the utterly barbarous act which two Iroquois, without waiting longer, executed upon one of these captives, touched me with pity beyond my power to express in words.

These two Indians who wished to make a cruel test of that warrior's bravery, passing a little cord around his arm, began to draw it tight, each one on his side, -- with such violence that, as it soon cut into the flesh and penetrated even to the sinews, the pain that it caused this wretched captive, by cutting them, was so excessive that it made him fall upon the spot, swooning and half dead. I had gone to the place to try to instruct all those captives and prepare them for Baptism; but I judged it more fitting to defer this purpose until a more convenient time, and after our Indians should have exhausted the first heat of their revenge.

After this first exhibition, the captives were led into the cabins that were prepared for them, there to await the Sentence either of life or of death. I visited them all, one after the other, with all the compassion inspired in me by the wretched condition in which I saw them; and trying to sow in their minds some holy seeds for their salvation, I left there some favorable inclination for Baptism.

On the next day, I began my visits again, with so happy a measure of success that I baptized all those who were to be burned; in fact, they were burned soon afterward.

Father Bruyas baptized at his Mission one of those to whom I had spoken, and who was sent to Oneida with one of the three captive women, the two others having been taken to Cayuga.

Of the five captives who were left here, two were given their lives; but, some days afterward, one of them was killed with a knife, without my knowledge.

Life had been granted to one of the two others who remained; but this unhappy man was so grieved, because the same favor had not been shown to his companion, that he could not conceal his sorrow; so, by his complaints and his threats, he caused those who had adopted him to abandon him some days afterward, -- a rare example of friendship, as this Barbarian preferred to expose himself to the danger of perishing in torments, than to endure the death of his friend. Having learned this news, I hurried to the spot, mounted the scaffold, and spoke to our Onondagas, to ask them not to take it ill that I showed this wretched man the road to Heaven. I told them that, since he was ready to depart from this life, it was a part of my duty to procure him one that should be eternally happy; and that this happiness was so great that I would willingly suffer the same torments as those in which this captive was ending his life.

I approached the captive without delay, and urged him, while our elders themselves encouraged me in this good work. The poor man, who was half-dead, listened attentively, asking me to remain with him and not abandon him. The tortures were renewed, and he was burned in all parts of his body by the application of red-hot irons. As soon as these were removed for putting into the fire again, I would approach him and have him perform the necessary acts to prepare him for Baptism.

The cold was then severe, and one of the Indians who was present at this cruel spectacle, after first lending him his blanket for a covering, took it away from him to protect himself from the severity of the season; so that the prisoner was left entirely naked and all shivering with cold, although there were, tolerably near him, many fires where the hatchets and irons were being heated to redness for application to all parts of his body. I was keenly touched by so pitiable a wretch, and covered him with a cassock that I am accustomed to wear here, being unable to afford him any greater relief. I had to remove it when the hot irons were applied, and I wrapped him in it as soon as they were withdrawn. Our Indians expressed themselves differently in regard to the kindness I showed this poor man, -- some approving it, others finding something to say against it, and several making fun of it.

After the captive had been burned in a number of places, he was unbound, and led, covered with my cassock, into the same cabin with one of his companions whom they had begun to burn the day before, and who had been so fortunate as to receive baptism. I followed him, and took my place near him, to suggest to him, from time to time, some thought of Heaven, and to baptize the man whom I had begun to instruct. There was a crowd gathered in the cabin to witness the services that I rendered these poor victims.

And as I was then asked several questions, I instructed the captives and all who were gathered around them. I was asked what was the happiness of those who are in Heaven; and I explained it to them in as clear a manner as I could. And when the captives interrupted my teachings with the songs that they were forced to utter, I was requested to sing also. I did so, and sang the Psalm which begins with the words, Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes.

Finally I baptized this captive. I assisted them again on the next morning, when they expired, after having passed the whole night in torments.

Some days later, in a great council where the elders and the warriors were assembled, I gave them a present of four yards of wampum, as a token of my rejoicing with them over the fortunate result of their late war. For it is fitting that, having to live among these Indians, I should show them the interest I take in their joy and in their sorrow, -- so, having secured their friendship, I may be able more easily to persuade them to feel as I do, and to convert them.

I then urged the Young people to follow the example of the elders, who had already renounced dreams and all that was forbidden by God's law. The elders renewed their promises to me, and gave me assurances that they would urge the Young men, who had returned from the war a few days before, to conform to all that I had decided upon with them in their councils.

But, since that time, the success in those wars, however inconsiderable it may have been, has so filled them with courage that they have appeared less docile in all that has to do with the Faith; and the greatest obstacle that it has in these countries is the corruption of these Young warriors. As they constitute all the strength of their Nation, they easily give laws to the others, and their bad example always has injurious consequences. Even the elders, who ought to use all the authority that their age and experience give them for keeping these immoral Young men in order, often encourage these disorderly habits in them, by either flattering the evil or conniving at it; and some have not maintained all the dependability that they had solemnly promised me. There have even been some who, seeing that the duty of a Christian held them to many things that were hard for them, and that they must either cease to be addicted to drunkenness, debauchery, and superstitions, or not embrace Christianity, have been so mean-spirited as to become disgusted with a law that forbids all their pleasures.

I learned that one elder had held a feast of debauchery, although he afterward protested to me that I had been misinformed in the matter; that another had raised the customary cry for a public act of superstition; and that afterward, two had said, in full council, that it must no longer be permitted me to speak about the Faith and about forsaking their ancient customs. All this made me resolve to lay my complaints before them. Garacontie approved my project heartily, and told me not to spare even himself.

I accordingly had the Bell rung, to notify the elders to come to me; and when they had all assembled in my cabin, I told them that I spoke to them in the name of God, of our great King, and of our Governor, who all urged them to embrace the Christian Faith. I told them that it was for their good, and not for my own interests, that I urged them to do right and avoid evil; that so long as God should give me a voice, they must expect to be not only reminded of their duty, but also reprimanded for their faults; and that they must not take it ill, as it was a part of our duty to act therefore, since we were the dispensers of the word of God.

I began by reprimanding Garacontie for some weakness that he had shown in the previous year; for he deserved only praises for this year, having shown himself as firm for the interests of God and those of the French as I could have wished. Then I openly blamed the impiety of him who was said to have held a feast of debauchery; and I finished with the other who had raised the cry customary for a public superstitious observance.

My reproaches were followed by a present, a wampum necklace, that I gave to the Ambassadors, to urge them to keep the resolution they had taken to renounce every superstition; and even to urge the tribes to whom they were sent to declare themselves openly for the Faith, and forbid all the disorders which prevent them from gaining this blessing for themselves.

At first, the elders appeared a little surprised at the liberty that I had allowed myself of quarreling with them, although they did not show me that they were offended by it. Still, they did not give me all the satisfaction for which I had hoped from them; for after they had been some time divided on the subject of the Festival that they call Onnonhouaroia, -- which I wished to put a stop to because it is the source of countless disorders, -- at last those who obstinately favored its celebration, joining all the Young people, carried the day over those who were well-intentioned.

I was answered that I might speak whenever I deemed it fitting; and as for the wampum collar that I had presented so they could invite the other Nations to embrace the Faith, I was told that I should have a reply when those whom they sent as Ambassadors returned. But I have learned that some of those Ambassadors did nothing of what I had asked of them, and that Garacontie was almost the only one who supported, in Oneida and in Mohawk, the interests of the Christian Faith.

Our elders have several times held their council here, to deliberate on what I had said to them about sending some envoys to Montreal, to take part in the council which was to be held for the purpose of firmly establishing the peace between them and the Algonquins. It was decided to do it, and even to send some of their people to Seneca, to cause the elders of that Village to join with our envoys. They also received orders to ask them, on the part of all the Nation, to commit no further acts of hostility in the country of the Ottawas, and to give the same admonitions when visiting Cayuga. I was assured that, at the earliest date, others would set out to carry the same intelligence to the Oneidas and the Mohawks. Garacontie told me that he was making preparations to depart in six days; and that he would wait for the other Iroquois Nations on the way, so they could all go together.

Our Onondagas have asked me to Write in their favor to Onontio, which I have done with joy, because this year I have had every reason to be satisfied with their conduct.

But if they deserve some praises, Garacontie is entitled, alone, to more esteem than all the others. He is an incomparable man, and the soul of every good work accomplished here. He upholds the Faith by his personal repute; he maintains the Peace by his authority; he controls the spirits of these Indians with a skill and prudence which equals that of the wisest men of Europe. He declares himself so boldly for the interest of France that he can justly be called the Protector of that Crown in this country; he has a fervor for the Faith comparable to that of the first Christians; he knows how to conduct himself in such a way that he always maintains the fame and authority conferred upon him by his Office of Captain-general of this Nation, and uses it only to do good to all the people.

I hope for a favorable result to this journey; and if it were as easy for us to drive out drunkenness from all this country as it Will be for our Governor to strengthen the Peace between the Iroquois and the Algonquin, we would soon see our Indians turn Christians. It is impossible to conceive by how many disorders and evils these vices are accompanied. There is nothing more usual here than to see, on the streets and in the cabins, men overcome with wine; and what is still more deplorable is that they are no longer ashamed of it.

Still, I hope much from the resolution which they have adopted to abandon their superstitions, and from the inclination which they manifest for the Christian Faith. They take care to have the little sick children brought to me in the Chapel, and they have me pray over the new-born babes. They are glad to be stirred up and awakened from the drowsiness which drunkenness causes them. They are delighted when they hear the Bell calling them to Prayers; and if I omit to ring it, they reproach me for that.

This Mission is the least difficult of all those among the Iroquois, and the only regret that I have is that I do not find here those opportunities to suffer for God which I had persuaded myself I was to encounter.

Onondaga, this 15th of June, 1670.

Pierre Millet.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AT CAYUGA.

THIS Mission is in a fourth Iroquois Nation, of which Father de Carrheil has charge, We shall learn the condition of it from an extract of the most important matters that we have drawn from one of his letters, dated in June, 1670.

This Nation has only three Villages, -- Cayuga, to which we have given the name of Saint Joseph, Patron of the whole Mission; Kiohero, which we call Saint Estienne; and Onnontare, which is called the Village of Saint Rene.

Following is what the Father says of it:

"Since last Autumn I have baptized twenty-five children and twelve adults. Heaven has taken a large part of them, -- and, among others, nine children, whose salvation is assured.

"When I began to hold my Catechisms here, fearing that I could not find anyone who would be willing to answer me in public, I instructed some children in private, beforehand, to make use of them in teaching the others, by their example, the way in which answers must be given; but I was surprised when I saw three or four of the oldest women rise first, and anticipate the children, to answer me. On the first day, we counted eighty-eight persons there, besides those who listened at the door in large numbers. One day, when I had explained the creation of the world, and the number of years that we estimate from its beginning to our own times; and had, to give them a more ready comprehension of this number, designated it by means of some little stones that served me as counters, -- while I was fearing that this exercise would confuse them, and that they would be unable to repeat the computation very well, a warrior suddenly arose from his place and repeated faithfully what I had said to them. But he asked from me, as if in payment, the prize that I give to the children when they answer well.

"I have strenuously opposed their superstitions, and especially the Divinity of Dreams, which is the source of all their errors, and the soul of their Religion; and while contending against it, I have in the mean time learned two things.

"The first is that it is not the Dream that they worship as the Master of their lives, but a certain one of the Spirits called by them Agatkonchoria, -- who, as they think, sometimes speak to them in sleep, and command them to obey their dreams exactly. The principal of these Spirits is Taronhiaouagon, whom they acknowledge as a Divinity, and obey as the great Master of their lives; and when they speak of dreams as of a God, they mean only that it is by this means that they gain knowledge of the Will of God, and of what is needful for the preservation of their lives, and that the doing of what they have seen in dreams is a means which contributes to the establishment of their health and of their good fortune.

"Sometimes, too, they give this same name of 'Master of their lives' to the subject of their dream, -- for example, to a bearskin or deerskin, and to other like objects that they have seen in their sleep, because they regard them as remedies to which God has attached the good fortune of a long life. They take marvelous pains to preserve these things, with this in view; and when they are ill, they cover themselves with these, or put them near at hand, as a defense against the attacks of the disease.

"The second thing that I have discovered, while contending against the obedience that they render to their dreams, is that, as they are unable to conceive how the soul works during sleep, when it represents distant and absent objects to them, they become persuaded that it leaves the body when asleep, and goes in quest of these objects to the places where they see them, -- returning into its body toward the end of the night, when all the dreams are dissipated.

"It is not so easy to make them understand the way in which Dreams are formed, and how the images of what we perceive through the senses are impressed upon our imaginations, and are represented to our minds during sleep. I have, however, tried to explain these things to them in a manner that should be fairly intelligible, by comparing the soul, when it recalls past and distant events out of sleep, with itself when it represents these things to itself in sleep.

"'You well know,' I said to them, 'that our souls remember, during the day, what has happened for a long time previously, and in places far distant from us. Is it not true that at this moment, they represent the country of the Susquehannocks and that of the Ottawas, or Quebec and Montreal, to those of you who have been there, as if you were there now? Your souls have not left your bodies to go to those places, for you are still alive; nor have they crossed the great River for this purpose, or made any journey at all. The same thing occurs during the dreams of night. But still,' I said to them, 'why should the representation of objects which takes place in our souls during sleep be the Master of our lives, rather than the image of the same objects which is depicted in the same soul when not sleep? For what is called a remembrance during the day, is named a dream during the night.'

"The ideas of all these tribes prompt them to the pursuit of nothing but hunting and warfare. Among them are seen only parties of twenty, thirty, or fifty men, -- of a hundred, and sometimes of two hundred; rarely do they go to the number of a thousand in a single band. These bands are divided, to go some in quest of men, and others of beasts; they make war more like highwaymen than like soldiers; and their expeditions are made more by means of surprises than by regular battles. They rest all their glory in coming home accompanied by captives, -- men, women, and children, -- or loaded with the scalps of those whom they have killed in combat.

"There is nothing more hostile to our Missions than the victories that these peoples gain over their enemies, because by these victories they are made insolent; while there is nothing more desirable for the advancement of Christianity in this country than the humiliation of these spirits, -- breathing, as they do, only blood and carnage; making it their glory to kill and burn people.

"We spent last winter in tolerable peace, and without the fear into which we are usually thrown by the enterprises of the Susquehannock, who, being hostile to this Nation, had sent an Ambassador in the autumn, with three wampum collars, to negotiate for peace. He waited until March for an answer, so he could go back; but the men of Onondaga had gone out on the war-path, last winter, toward Susquehannock; they brought home eight or nine prisoners, of whom they presented two to the Inhabitants of Cayuga, with forty collars, to persuade them to continue the war against Susquehannock.

"Consequently, they broke this unlucky Ambassador's head, after they had detained him five or six months, when he thought that he was on the eve of his departure. His body was burned after his death; and one of his nephews, who had accompanied him, received the same treatment from these Indians, -- who trouble themselves little with international law, and do not keep faith except so far as it is to their interest to do so."

THE MISSION OF SAINT MICHEL AT SENECA.

FATHER Fremin, superior of the Iroquois Missions, has taken charge of this Mission of saint Michel, which has four Villages, one of which he has entrusted to Father Garnier, his companion, reserving for himself the management of the three others. We shall learn the condition of this Mission from the letters which he has written about them to the Reverend Father le Mercier, superior of the Missions of New France.

LETTER FROM FATHER FREMIN.

OUR Iroquois Missions made, during the past year, 1669, considerable progress. We began the preaching of the Gospel there at Seneca, where there are more people than in the four other Lower Iroquois Nations.

When I arrived here, toward the end of 1668, I was very well received; but a kind of contagion, supervening at the same time, ravaged the whole country to such an extent that my entire occupation was to visit the cabins constantly, for the purpose of instructing and baptizing the sick who were at the point of death. In a few months I baptized more than 120 persons, nearly all adults, of whom more than ninety died immediately after Baptism. But as I was alone, and as I could not be in several places at the same time, more than a hundred and fifty died in places far distant from here, where they were engaged, some in fishing and others in hunting.

So pressing a necessity compelled me to ask for aid, and to ask Father Garnier, who was at Onondaga, to come and help me as soon as possible; but, when he arrived, the distemper had already ceased. Accordingly, having no further occupation with the sick, we began to proclaim the Gospel to these people, who had never heard of Jesus Christ; and to do it with the greater success in different places, Father Garnier took charge of the Village named Gandachiragou. There, in a short time, he built a Chapel, which is convenient, and to which people come from all directions for instruction.

As for me, on the twenty-seventh of September, 1669, I entered the Village named Gandougarae, where I was received with all the marks of public joy. For a long time I had been expected there with impatience.

This Village is composed of the remnants of three different Nations which were formerly overthrown by the Iroquois, obliged to surrender at the discretion of the conqueror, and to come and settle in his country. The first Nation is called Onnontioga (Eries?), the second the Neutrals, and the third the Hurons. The first two have seen scarcely any Europeans. As for the third, it is a sort of conglomerate of several Villages of the Hurons, all of whom were instructed in the Faith, before that flourishing Nation was overthrown by the arms of the Iroquois.

While my Chapel was being built, I began to visit the cabins, for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the people, -- and that I might seek out the sheep that had strayed from the ancient Church of the Hurons, and try to lead them back again into the fold. These good people were delighted to see me, and to hear about the Faith; and it was impossible to satisfy fully their desire in this direction.

When I had made my round of visits, I found that about forty adult Christians had preserved the Faith, took no part in the immorality of the country, and lived in all the purity of Christianity. All the rest of the Huron Nation showed me so great an eagerness for Baptism that I hope that they all Will be good Christians. These Indians -- who were only being born in Christianity when the Iroquois compelled them, by force of arms, to support their interests -- have still preserved the purity of their Faith all this time, in the midst of the corruption of a people abandoned to all sorts of vices and superstitions. Scarcely were they imbued with the first principles of the Christian Religion, when they saw themselves transported into the abode of disorderly habits and abominations.

As for the Onondagas, Senecas, and Neutrals, as they have scarcely seen any Europeans, and have never heard of the Faith.

What I am going to relate will show what idea our Indians have of Paradise, when they are not yet thoroughly instructed in our mysteries.

Last year, I baptized a Young woman of the more influential class of Seneca, who died a day after her baptism. The mother could not be comforted for this loss, our Indians being extraordinarily fond of their children; and when I tried to soothe her sorrow by representing to her the infinite happiness which her daughter was enjoying in Heaven, she said to me with considerable naivete: "You did not know her. She was Mistress here and commanded more than twenty slaves, who are still with me; she did not know what it was to go to the forest to get wood, or to the River to draw water; she could not take upon herself the care of all that has to do with domestic duties. Being at present the only one of our family in Paradise, she has great difficulty in getting used to it; for she Will be forced to do her own cooking, to go for wood and water, and to do everything with her own hands in the preparation of her food and drink. Indeed, is she not to be pitied at not having anyone who can serve her in that place? You see here one of my slaves, who is ill; I ask you instruct her well and put her on the road to Heaven, so she will not stray from it, and that she may go and live with my daughter to help her in all her domestic affairs."

I used this opportunity to instruct the sick slave. I spoke to her and found her quite inclined to listen to me. I urged and instructed her, and she opened her eyes to the truth, asking me for Baptism, -- which I could not refuse her, as I believed that she was in danger of dying. But God ordered otherwise; for her health was restored some time afterward, and now she fulfills the duties of a good Christian. I applied myself then to the instruction of the mistress, and, after I had gradually freed her of the low, material conception that she entertained of Paradise, to form in her a more correct image of that supreme happiness, she assured me that there was nothing in the world she would not do to attain it; and that she was resolved to go and join her daughter, to dwell forever with her in that blessed abode. Since then, she has always shown great diligence in receiving instruction; she even takes care to have all her slaves instructed, and to make them pray; and through her alone, more than twenty persons have been brought to God.

During the six months that I have spent here, I have baptized twenty or twenty-five Indians, and there are ten or twelve more Adults who are preparing themselves for this Sacrament.

Since for a long time, there has not been a more abundant crop of nuts than that of the present year, the joy of this whole people is so great that one sees everywhere only games, dances, and feasts which often reach the point of debauchery, although for seasoning they have nothing but oil. But what has afforded me extreme consolation is that there have been only two Christians who were so lax as to allow themselves to yield to the requests of the tricksters, who urged them to have a certain superstitious feast held, in which all those who dance throw warm ashes on the sick person, believing this to be a powerful remedy for his ailment.

The Iroquois have only a single Divinity -- the dream. To it they render their submission, and follow all its orders with the utmost exactness. The Senecas are more attached to this superstition than any of the others; their Religion in this respect becomes even a matter of scruple: whatever it be that they think they have done in their dreams, they believe they must execute it at the earliest moment. The other nations content themselves with observing those of their dreams which are the most important; but this people, which has the reputation of living more religiously than its neighbors, would think itself guilty of a great crime if it failed in its observance of a single dream. The people think only of that, they talk about nothing else, and all their cabins are filled with their dreams. They spare no pains to show their attachment to that, and their folly in this particular goes to such an excess as would be hard to imagine.

He who has dreamed during the night that he was bathing, runs immediately, as soon as he rises, all naked, to several cabins, in each of which he has a kettleful of water thrown over his body, however cold the weather may be. Another who has dreamed that he was taken prisoner and burned alive, has himself bound and burned like a captive on the next day, being persuaded that by therefore satisfying his dream, this fidelity Will avert from him the pain and infamy of captivity and death, -- which, according to what he has learned from his Divinity, he is otherwise bound to suffer among his enemies. Some have been known to go as far as Quebec, traveling 375 miles, for the sake of getting a dog that they had dreamed of buying there. From this, it is easy to judge in what peril we are every day, among people who Will murder us in cold blood if they have dreamed of doing so; and how slight needs to be an offense that an Indian has received from someone, to enable his heated imagination to represent to him in a dream that he takes revenge on the offender. We have to regard ourselves here as victims who are every moment being led to torture, and are made to die a hundred times by the ever-present image of death.

By an inclination natural to their sex, the infidel women are the most Religious in observing their dreams, and in following that Idol's orders. The worship paid to it by this people might pass rather for a superstition than for a full-fledged Idolatry, because they do not worship their dream or offer it any sacrifice. They believe that when they have dreamed something and have failed to perform it, there always befalls them a misfortune which was mysteriously expressed in the dream. I have even noted that the majority of these Indians put themselves to little trouble to obey their dreams when they are in health; but, the moment they have the least ailment, they are convinced there is no more powerful cure for it and for the saving of their lives, than to perform all that they have dreamed. The tricksters -- who are the Priests of their Divinity -- contribute not a little toward keeping them in this superstition; for as they are always summoned to explain the Dreams, and as they know admirably how to turn them to their own profit, they live and grow rich on the credulity of these poor people, who spare nothing -- above all, when they are sick -- to carry out what the trickster has told them the dream orders them to do.

This is the greatest obstacle that these peoples have to the faith, and is the stumbling-block of Christianity; for, as to drunkenness, although they are madly addicted to it, yet the women and the old men are not given to this drinking. It may be hoped that their example and the fervor of the Missionaries will temper the hot-headedness of a warlike youth who breathe only blood and brandy.

To overthrow the dream-superstition, I make them see clearly how the fidelity practiced in the observance of Dreams has not been able to save people they know from either death or captivity, or even from the entire destruction of their Nation. This consideration has opened the eyes of many, and has caused them to detest the vain dream superstition and the trickster's bad faith.

Still, there is no means more effective for bringing the Iroquois into subjection to the Faith than to humble their pride by force of arms; and as long as they shall fear those of the French, they Will offer scarcely any obstacle to their conversion.

God has his Predestined ones, not only among the Iroquois, where there are Missionaries, but he also permits the Iroquois to go and carry war even to the most distant regions, and to lead home captives, to make them find, in the prisons and fires of the Iroquois, the liberty of the children of God, and afterward Paradise.

Two captives from Susquehannock were brought here to be burned, according to custom; and after the first had had himself instructed and had given me all the signs of a holy disposition to receive Baptism, I conferred it upon him. At the end of fifteen hours of frightful torments, he went to Heaven.

The second was at first unwilling to listen to me, and even repulsed me several times, so that finally I was forced to leave him and give him leisure to reflect on what I had told him of Paradise and Hell; but, a short time afterward, he recalled me of his own choice, and told me that he wished to obey God and be saved. I baptized him, after giving him the necessary instruction, and after he had made evident to me that faith was at work in his heart.

Immediately he was led to the place of torture, and from that happy moment of his conversion until the last breath of his life, he sang continually, with an invincible courage: "Burn my body as much as you Will; tear it in pieces; this torment Will soon pass, after which I shall go to Heaven. I shall go to Heaven and be forever happy there." But he pronounced these words with so much faith and fervor that one of our good Christians, who saw him burned, and did not know that I had instructed and baptized him, said to the bystanders with him: "This Captive surely has the faith; he certainly must have been instructed by one of our Fathers who must be at Susquehannock."

As there were no more sick persons at Seneca, I set out to go to Onondaga, where all the Missionaries of this country were expected to go for the purpose of conferring together on the means of working effectively for the salvation of these tribes, and of overcoming all the obstacles to their conversion that were encountered.

On the tenth of August, 1669, I had the happiness to embrace Father de Carheil at Cayuga, from where I wrote to those of our Fathers who are among the Iroquois, to go to Onondaga toward the end of the current month. Meanwhile, I had leisure to pause for some days at that Mission, where I was witness to the faith and virtue of the old Christians whom the late Father Menard had formerly baptized; several infidels, even, had not yet forgotten the prayers which he had taught them. And so, all that I saw in that new Church gave me great consolation, and a strong hope for the total conversion of this country. Father de Carheil is loved there; no one is opposed to the faith; several elders come to his little Chapel to pray; and he is having another built, which Will be larger and more convenient, and Will be completed in two months. I believe that then they will come to it in crowds to pray. It is Rene, his Companion, who is at once its contractor and builder. It will resemble the cabins of the Indians in nothing but the bark roof; all the rest after that is like such a house as is built in France. Behind the Altar a little room has been created. In all the Village they talk about nothing but Rene's skill. He gives a number of medicines, which he himself manufactures in that place; he dresses all kinds of wounds and cures them; and he treats all the sick. Several people of Cayuga told me they would have all died without him. It passes belief to what degree he is loved by all the Indians.

On the twentieth of August, Father de Carheil and I arrived at Onondaga, where -- while waiting for Father Bruyas, who is at Oneida, and for Father Pierron, who is at the Mohawk nation -- I had leisure to consider the remains of our old Mission. Everything there appears to me to be in the same condition in which it was when we left it in 1658, except that the Onondaga have been much humbled of late by the Susquehannock; for nearly all their braves perished in the war. They speak to us with much more gentleness and are far more pliable than they formerly were. There is a Church of Christians of long standing, numbering about forty persons, who are living good lives; and many are receiving instruction. Garacontie loves us truly.

The Prince and the Orator visited me, with all the civility imaginable, and paid us a hundred courtesies.

On the twenty-sixth of August, Fathers Bruyas and Pierron arrived here; and we saw six of us together, to deliberate on all matters for six days.

When we were ready to separate, there came an Iroquois envoy from Montreal, from the Governor, with wampum collars. He also brought Letters from you and from Father Chaumonot, from which we learned that the French had massacred, near Montreal, seven Oneida, together with one of the most influential men of Seneca. This news made all this Nation angry. A council, to which we were called, was immediately held, to deliberate on what was to be done. The envoy told, with considerable coldness, all that had happened. He even dared to exchange the collars, taking the finest, of five thousand beads of wholly black wampum, which he assigned to his own Nation; and giving to the Seneca only the one that was the least valuable. But as Father Chaumonot's Letter instructed us in all details, we made strenuous opposition to this arrangement, and finally obliged him to make no innovations on the instructions that he had received.

Garacontie, meeting in the Village a man from Seneca, gave him the collar that was for that Nation, saying to him: "It is too far to go there myself; you will inform your elders of the voice and thought of Onontio." As for the collar designed for the people of Oneida, he said that, as they were soon to come to Onondaga to hold a general council there, they would be informed of Onontio's Will. An affair of this nature is unfavorable, and capable of rekindling the war between the Iroquois and the French.

Scarcely was this council over when there was heard in the Village the cry of an Oneida, who had just had a lucky escape from the hands of a band of warriors of the Amikwa Nation. At this cry, the people assembled, and asked him to tell his adventure. "We were," said he, "a band of five, and were returning victorious with two Shawnee prisoners; but, unfortunately encountering a group of warriors of the Amikwa Nation, we were defeated by them; and my four Comrades being killed or captured with our two prisoners, I alone escaped from this encounter." That will furnish many seeds of strife, and material for arousing to vengeance a people proud and indomitable. We do not yet know what resolution they will adopt in this matter.

Departing from Onondaga, we arrived on the seventh of September at Gandachiragou. While we were calling at Ganondagan, a drunken man seized Father Garnier with one hand, and raised the other two different times to stab him with a knife; but, by good luck, a woman who was not far from this Barbarian, took the knife out of his hand and prevented him from carrying his brutality farther. I admired the firmness and resoluteness of the Father, who did not even change color.

Three days after our arrival, he took possession of the Mission of Gandachiorago, where there are yet only three or four Christians who make public profession of their Faith. He Will have the care of only this single Village, -- at least, for this year, -- so he may have time to learn the language of the country perfectly, and himself make Rules for it and a Dictionary, to teach it to others. Therefore I must take charge of the three other Villages.

With the first day of September all the Youth of this country began, according to custom, to take the field; and the rest of the inhabitants who could bear the fatigues of war or of hunting set out soon after. They may amount to about five hundred for war, -- divided into several bands, which are all marching against the Shawnee; and four or five hundred for the Beaver-hunt, which they will carry on in the direction of the Huron country. These hunters take their wives and children with them, so that there remains here only a small number of persons, advanced in years. I learned that they did the same thing at Cayuga, and that they had all been divided into either hunters or warriors. What is deplorable is that many of these people will die without baptism, for these expeditions are not made without the loss of many lives.

Most of the people who belong to the Villages where we are settled, are at war, or out hunting, during nine months of the year; and for a month before setting out, the Young men are accustomed to abandon themselves to those excesses of drinking which go to the point of madness, -- so that, excepting the old men and the women, who are not subject to these disorders, it is difficult to contrive opportunities for speaking to them.

A Seneca, calling at Onondaga, was given charge of the wampum collar which Onontio presented to the Senecas, on the occasion of the death of one of their warriors who was assassinated by our Frenchmen. This collar was received here with considerable coldness; and although the exemplary chastisement, which the Governor had given those assassins, made the Iroquois approve his conduct, still I believe that they would have preferred ten wampum collars to the death of those three Frenchmen, because they do not see themselves in a position to render the same justice on a like occasion. Still, they declare that they are content with this satisfaction; and I do think that they dare not push their resentment farther, or undertake any action against the French.

On the twenty-seventh of September, as I found myself a little relieved from my ailment, I started off to take possession of the Mission of saint Michel, in a Village called Gandagarae. Our best Christian, Francois Tehoronhiongo, came to meet me, and conducted me into one of the finest cabins of the Village, -- belonging to one of the most influential men, although an unbeliever, -- in order that his authority might give me more protection against the insolent conduct of the drunkards.

Father Garnier continues to work diligently in the Village of Gandachiragou.

THE MISSIONS OF THE UPPER ALGONQUINS, COMMONLY CALLED THE OTTAWAS, AND, IN PARTICULAR, OF THE MISSION OF SAULT STE. MARIE.

The Superior of these Missions is Father Dablon, who Sent this Report to Quebec to the Reverend Father Francois le Mercier, Superior-General.

WE call these People the Upper Algonquins, to distinguish them from the Lower Algonquins, who are found lower down, around Tadoussac and Quebec.

They are commonly given the name Ottawas, because, of more than thirty different Nations that are found in these Countries, the first to come down to our French Settlements were the Ottawas, whose name afterward remained with all the others.

As we have a great number of different Peoples to cultivate in a great extent of territory, we have divided them all into three general Missions, which comprise many special ones, according to the diversity of Languages and Peoples, all having connection with these three Missions.

The first, which forms a center for the rest, is called Sault Ste. Marie, situated at the foot of the Rapids, which receive their waters from Lake Superior, and discharge into Lake Huron.

The second Mission, which is the farthest, is that of saint Esprit, toward the extremity of this Lake Superior, in a place called by the Indians Chagaouamigong point.

The third bears the name of St. Francois Xavier, at the far end of the Bay called Green Bay, which is separated only by a tongue of land from Lake Superior.

In speaking of these three Missions separately, we shall take occasion to say something of the peculiarities and curious things to be found in the places where they are situated.

THE NATURE AND SOME PECULIARITIES OF SAULT STE. MARIE, AND THE NATIONS WHICH ARE ACCUSTOMED TO GO THERE.

WHAT is commonly called Sault Ste. Marie is not properly a Sault, or a high waterfall, but a violent current of waters from Lake Superior, -- which, finding themselves checked by a great number of rocks that dispute their passage, form a dangerous cascade of a mile in width, all these waters descending and plunging headlong together, as if by a flight of stairs, over the rocks which bar the whole river. It is 7 miles below Lake Superior, and 30 miles above Lake Huron, this entire extent making a beautiful river, cut up by many Islands, which divide it and increase its width in some places so that the eye cannot reach across. It flows gently through almost its entire course, being difficult of passage only at Sault Ste. Marie.

It is at the foot of these rapids, and even amid these boiling waters, that extensive fishing is carried on, from Spring until Winter, of a kind of fish found usually only in Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It is called in the native language Atikamekw, and in ours "whitefish," because it is white; and it is most excellent, so that it furnishes food, almost by itself, to the greater part of all these peoples.

Dexterity and strength are needed for this kind of fishing; for one must stand upright in a bark Canoe, and there, among the whirlpools, with muscles tense, thrust deep into the water a rod, at the end of which is fastened a not made in the form of a pocket, into which the fish are made to enter. One must look for them as they glide between the Rocks, pursue them when they are seen; and when they have been made to enter the net, raise them with a sudden strong pull into the canoe. This is repeated over and over again, six or seven large fish being taken each time, until a load of them is obtained.

Not all persons are fitted for this fishing; and sometimes those are found who, by the exertion they are forced to make, overturn the Canoe, for lack of possessing sufficient skill and experience.

This convenience of having fish in such quantities that one has only to go and draw them out of the water, attracts the surrounding Nations to the spot during the Summer. These people, being wanderers, without fields and without corn, and living mostly only by fishing, find here the means to satisfy their wants. Therefore we have been obliged to establish here a permanent Mission, which we call Sault Ste. Marie, which is the center for the others, as we are here surrounded by different Nations, of which the following are those which sustain relations to the place, coming here to live on its fish.

The principal and native Inhabitants of this district are those who call themselves Pahouitingwach Irini, and whom the French call Ojibwes. They live at Sault Ste. Marie as in their own Country, the others being there only as borrowers. They comprise only a hundred and fifty people, but have united themselves with three other Nations which number more than five hundred and fifty persons, to whom they have made a cession of the rights of their native Country; and so these live here permanently, except when they are out hunting.

Next come those who are called the Noquet Menominee, who extend toward the South of Lake Superior, from where they take their origin; and the Ojibwes, together with the Marameg, toward the North of the same Lake, which region they regard as their own proper Country.

Besides these four Nations, there are seven others dependent on this Mission. The people called Achiligouiane, the Amikwas, and the Mississaugas fish here, and hunt on the Islands and in the regions round about Lake Huron; they number more than four hundred people.

Two other Nations, to the number of five hundred people, -- entirely nomadic, and with no fixed abode, -- go toward the lands of the North to hunt during the Winter, and return here to fish during the Summer. There remain six other Nations, who are either people from Hudson Bay, as the Crees and the Winnebago, or wanderers in the regions around Hudson Bay, -- most of them having been driven out of their Country by famine, and coming here from time to time to enjoy the abundance of fish.

Two reasons have led us to form the resolution to make a journey as far as the region of Hudson Bay. The first is, to see in what way we can apply ourselves to the conversion of those tribes, -- despite the great obstacles that confront us, owing to their manner of life, wandering constantly as they do in the depths of the woods, and assembling only rarely for some Market or Festival, according to their custom.

The second motive for this journey is to discover at last that North sea of which so much has already been said, and which has not yet been found by land. The incentives to this discovery are:

First, to find out, by a comparison of the Latitude and Longitude of this place with that of the Sea, whether that Sea is the Bay to which Hudson penetrated in 1612, or some other; and then to ascertain what part of the North Sea is nearest to us.

Secondly, to learn whether communication can be had from Quebec all the way to this Sea by following all the Northern Shores, just as was attempted some years ago. This depends on the location of that Bay, which we here have at our backs, toward the North; for, if it is found to be Hudson Bay, or another one farther Westward, easy Communication cannot be hoped for, since it would be necessary to double a point extending to more than sixty-three degrees of latitude.

Thirdly, to verify the quite probable conjectures that a passage could be made by this route to the Japan Sea. The report of the Indians is that, at some days' journey from the Mission of saint Francois Xavier, which is at Green Bay, is found a great River, more than 2 miles in width. This, coming from the regions of the North, flows toward the South -- and to such a distance that the Indians who have navigated it, in going to seek for enemies to fight with, after a good many days' journey have not found its mouth, which can be only toward the Sea of Florida or that of California. Mention Will be made subsequently of a considerable Nation living in the direction of that River, and of the journey we hope to make there this year, to carry the Faith there and gain a knowledge of those new Countries. Besides, we are also assured by the report of many other Indians that at 500 miles from the Mission of saint Esprit among the Ottawas, toward the West, is the Western Sea, to which one descends by another great River which is reached by an eight days' journey from this Mission, and which goes and comes far inland -- for so the Indians designate the ebb and flow of the Sea; and one of them declares that he has seen there four sailing Vessels.

After those two Seas, that of the South and that of the West, only that of the North is lacking, to make us surrounded by them on all sides; and when this has been discovered, these advantages Will be derived from it, -- that it Will be possible to pass from the North Sea to that of the South or to that of the West; and, secondly, as this Western Sea can only be the Japan Sea, it would be possible to facilitate the passage there, and afterward commerce.

THE STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AT THE MISSION OF SAULT STE. MARIE.

THE nomadic life led by most of the Indians of these Countries lengthens the process of their conversion, and leaves them only a little time for receiving the instruction that we give them.

To render them more stationary, we have fixed our abode here, where we cause the soil to be tilled, to persuade them by our example to do the same; and in this several have already begun to imitate us.

Besides, we have had a Chapel built, and have taken care to adorn it, going farther in this than one would dare promise himself in a Country so destitute of all things. We there administer Baptism to children as well as Adults, with all the ceremonies of the Church; and admonish the new Christians during the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The old men attend on certain days to hear the word of God, and the children gather there every day to learn the Prayers and the Catechism.

The diligence shown by them, joined to their docility, would have already much increased the size of that Church, if the Devil did not hold them, as if enchained, by the most detestable of all the customs existing among the Indians. It consists in each one's making for himself, in his early years, a God which he reverences then for the rest of his days, with superstitious and ridiculous veneration. It is this which they believe to he the sole author of their good fortune in all their enterprises of war, fishing, and hunting; and so they wear its permanent hieroglyphic, -- marking on their skin, as with the graver, the representations of the Divinities that they have chosen.

This is the way in which they create the Divinity. When a Child has reached the age of ten or twelve years, his father gives him a lesson, imparting to him the necessary instructions for finding out what Will be his God from then on.

First, he has him fast for several days, so, with his head empty, he may easily dream during his sleep; for it is then that this fancied God is bound to reveal himself to him, so that the sole objective of all their ingenuity and all their exertions is to see in their sleep something extraordinary, which then takes for them the place of a Divinity.

Accordingly, when morning has come, the father questions his son, seriously and with great secrecy, on all that has occurred during the night. If nothing has appeared to him, the fast must be begun again, and followed up until finally something is formed in the empty brain that represents to him either the Sun, or Thunder, or something else about which he has often been talked to; and, immediately upon awaking, he tells the good news to his father, who confirms the image in his thoughts. Consequently, after he has been brought up from infancy in this belief and has continued all his life to honor this God of his imagination with diverse sacrifices and many feasts which are held in his honor, it is almost impossible to free his mind of this cursed superstition when he has grown old in it, or even passed some years.

At first we believed that it was only the young boys who were brought up in these stupid notions; but we have since learned that the little girls also are made to fast for the same purpose; and we find no persons more attached to these silly customs, or more obstinate in clinging to this error, than the old women, who Will not even lend an ear to our instructions.

THE MISSION OF SAINT ESPRIT AT CHAGAOUAMIGONG POINT, IN LAKE SUPERIOR. OF THE PECULIARITIES AND RARITIES THAT ARE FOUND IN LAKE SUPERIOR; AND FIRST, OF THE DIFFERENT FISHERIES IN WHICH IT ABOUNDS.

THIS Lake has almost the form of a bent Bow, more than 450 miles long; the South side serves as its string, and the arrow seems to be a great Tongue of land projecting more than 200 miles into the width of the Lake, starting from this same South side, at about its middle.

The North side is frightful, due to a succession of Rocks which form the end of that tremendous Mountain-chain which, beginning beyond Cap de Tourmente, below Quebec, and continuing as far as this point, over a distance of more than 1500 miles in extent, finally comes and loses itself at the end of this Lake.

It is clear almost throughout and unencumbered with Islands, which are ordinarily found only toward the North shores. This great open space gives force to the winds, and they stir it up with as much violence as the Ocean.

It is almost everywhere so abundant in Sturgeon, Whitefish, Trout, Carp, and Herring, that a single Fisherman Will catch in one night twenty large Sturgeon, or a hundred and fifty Whitefish, or eight hundred Herring, in one net. These Herring are much like those of the Sea in shape and size, but are not quite so good. One often has to undergo much exposure for this fishing, which, in certain parts, is carried on only in the offing, and in places that are dangerous and subject to storms; while at night the fishing is done before the Moon rises two Frenchmen were drowned there last Autumn, being surprised by a gust of wind which they could not avoid.

In the River named Ontonagon, which is toward the South, extensive fishing for Sturgeon is carried on, day and night, from Spring until Autumn; and it is there that the Indians go to gather their provision.

Opposite this River on the North side, a quite similar fishery is carried on in a little cave where a single not furnishes you thirty and forty Sturgeon in one night.

This plenty is found besides in a River at the end of the Lake; and going down along the North side, one comes upon another River which takes its name from the black Sturgeon that are caught there; they are not so good as the others, but Travelers who are starving find them excellent.

At the point of saint Esprit, Chagaouamigong, where the Ottawas and the Hurons live, there are caught at all times of the year great numbers of Whitefish, Trout, and Herring. This manna begins in November, and lasts until the ice comes; and the colder the weather becomes, the more fish one catches.

These Herring are found in every part of the Lake on the South side, from Spring down to the end of August; and a full list of all its fisheries would require a complete enumeration of all the caves and all the Rivers of this Lake.

It is how Providence has provided for these poor peoples, who, in default of hunting and of corn, live mostly only on fish.

THE COPPER MINES WHICH ARE FOUND IN LAKE SUPERIOR.

Until now it had been thought that these Mines were found only in one or two Islands; but, since we have made more exact inquiries on the subject, we have learned from the Indians some secrets which they did not wish to reveal. It has been necessary to use craftiness to elicit this information, and to distinguish the true from the false. Still, we do not vouch for the truth of all that we are about to relate, upon their simple deposition, until we are able to speak with more assurance after having gone in person to the places referred to; and this we hope to do this Summer, at the same time when we go in search of lost sheep all through the region of that great Lake.

Upon entering it by its mouth, where it empties into Sault Ste. Marie, the first place met where Copper is found in abundance, is an Island, distant 100 or 125 miles and situated toward the North, opposite a spot called Michipicoten. The Indians say that it is a floating Island, which is sometimes far off, sometimes near, according to the winds that push it and drive it in all directions. They add that, a long time ago, four Indians came there by chance, having lost their way in the fog by which that Island is almost always surrounded. It was in the times before they had any commerce with the French, and when they did not use kettles or hatchets. These men, wishing to prepare themselves something to eat, adopted their usual method: taking some stones that they found at the water's edge, they heated them red-hot, and threw them into a bark dish filled with water to make it boil, and by this device to cook their meat. While selecting these stones, they found that they were almost all pieces of Copper; accordingly they made use of some of them, and, after taking their meal, decided to embark as soon as possible, fearing the Lynxes and Hares, which are as large as Dogs in that region, were coming to eat up their provisions and even their Canoe.

Before setting out, they loaded themselves with a good many of these stones, large and small, and even with some slabs of Copper; but they had not gone far from the shore when a powerful voice made itself heard to their ears, calling in great wrath: "Who are those robbers carrying off my children's cradles and playthings?" The Copper slabs are the cradles, because among the Indians these are made of only one or two boards joined together, on which they put their children to bed; and those Little pieces of Copper that they were carrying off are the toys and playthings of the Indian children, who play together with little stones.

That voice astonished them, as they did not know whose it was. Some say that it was Thunder, because there are many storms there; and others that it was a certain Spirit whom they call Missibizi, who passes among these peoples for the God of the waters, as Neptune did among the Pagans. Others say it came from Memogovissiouis: these are, they say, marine People somewhat like the fabulous Tritons or the Sirens, who always live in the water and have long hair reaching to the waist. One of our Indians told us he had seen one of them in the water, according to what he imagined. However this may be, that astounding voice inspired such terror in our Travelers' souls that one of the four died before reaching land. A short time afterward a second was taken off, and then the third; so that only one was left, who, after returning to his Country and relating all that had happened, died soon afterward.

The Indians, all timid and superstitious as they are, have never dared to go there since that time, for fear of dying there, believing that there are certain Spirits who kill those who approach. And in the memory of man, no one has been known to set foot there, or even to be willing to sail in that direction, -- although the Island seems to be open enough, and its trees may even be distinguished from another Island, named Achemikouan.

There is truth and there is untruth in this whole narrative, and the following is what is most probable: namely, that those four persons were poisoned by the water that they boiled with the pieces of copper; for we know by experience that this copper, when it is put into the fire for the first time, exhales malignant vapors, which are thick and infectious and whiten the fireplace. It is not, however, a poison so immediate as not to operate more promptly in some cases than in others, as happened with those of whom we are speaking; who, being already affected by the poison, may have easily imagined that they heard those voices, if they heard, however slightly, some echo, such as is commonly found among the Rocks bordering that Island.

Perhaps this fable has been invented since the event, from not knowing to what to attribute the death of those Indians; and when they say that it is a floating Island, it may be that the mists with which it is often laden, by becoming thin or dense under the Sun's rays, make the Island appear to the observer sometimes near, and at other times farther away. What is certain is that, in the common opinion of the Indians, there is a great abundance of Copper in that Island; but they dare not go there. It is there that we hope to begin the discoveries, which we intend making this Summer.

Advancing as far as the part called "the great inlet," one comes to an Island 7 miles from land, renowned for the metal that is found there, and for the name of Thunder, which it bears because it is said to thunder there all the time.

But farther toward the West, on the same North side, is found the Island which is most famous for Copper, and is called Isle Royale; this is the one in which, as the Indians have told many people, the metal exists in abundance, and in many places. It is large, and is fully 62 miles long; it is distant 17 miles from the mainland, and more than 150 miles from the end of the Lake. Pieces of Copper, mingled with the stones, are found at the water's edge almost all around the Island, especially on the South side; but principally in a certain inlet that is near the end facing the Northeast, toward the lake, there are some steep clay hills where are seen several strata or beds of red Copper, one over another, separated or divided by other strata of earth or of Rocks. In the water is seen Copper sand; and from it may be dipped up with ladles grains as large as a nut, and other smaller ones reduced to sand. This large Island is almost all surrounded with Islets that are said to be formed of Copper; they are encountered in various places, as far as the mainland on the North. One is only two gunshots distant from Minong; it is between the middle of the Island and the end that faces the Northeast. Again, on this Northeast side, far out in the lake, there is another Island which, because of the copper in which it abounds, is called Manitouminis [i.e., "Island of the spirit"]; of this it is said that those who came here formerly, upon throwing stones at the ground, made it ring, just as brass is accustomed to ring.

Going on to the end of the Lake, and coming back a day's journey along the South side, one sees at the water's edge a Rock of Copper weighing fully four hundred gold coins, so hard that steel can scarcely cut it; yet, when it is heated, it may be cut like lead.

50 or 75 miles this side of that spot is situated Chagaouamigong point, where we have established the Mission of saint Esprit, of which we shall speak subsequently. Near that place are some Islands, on the shores of which are often found Rocks of Copper, and even slabs of the same material.

Last Spring, we bought from the Indians a slab of pure Copper, two feet square, and weighing more than fifty gold coins. It is not thought, however, that the mines are found in the Islands, but that all these Copper pebbles probably come from Minong or from the other Islands which are the sources of it, borne upon floating ice or rolled along in the depths of the water by the impetuous winds, -- particularly by the Northeast wind, which is extremely violent.

On the Mainland, at the place where the Ottawas raise Indian corn, a mile from the water's edge, the women have sometimes found pieces of Copper scattered, of the weight of five, ten, or fifteen gold coins. It is in digging up the sand to plant their corn that they make these chance discoveries.

Still returning toward the mouth of the Lake and following the South side, at 50 miles' distance from the spot we have just mentioned one enters the River called Nantounagan, in which is seen a height from which stones of red Copper fall into the water or on the ground, and are easily found. Three years ago we were given a massive piece of it, fifty gold coins in weight, which was taken in this same spot; from it we have cut off some fragments, and sent them to Quebec to Sir Talon.

All do not agree as to the precise spot where it is found, some maintaining that it is where the river begins to narrow, and others saying that it is encountered near the Lake, by digging in the clay. Some have said that at the place where the River forks, and in the channel farthest to the East, on this side of a point of land, one must dig in the rich earth to find this Copper; and that pieces of this metal are even found scattered in the channel which is in the middle.

Still continuing in this direction, the long point of land presents itself which we have called the arrow of the bow; at its end there is only an Islet, which appears to be six feet square, and is said to be all of copper. We are assured that in the interior, toward the South, mines of this metal are found in different places.

All this information makes it worthwhile to undertake an exact investigation in these matters; and that is what we shall try to do, -- as also to examine a certain verdigris which is said to run down through the crevices of certain Rocks at the waterside, where one even finds among the pebbles some rather soft pieces, of a pleasant green hue.

THE PEOPLES CONNECTED WITH THE MISSION OF SAINT ESPRIT, AT THE POINT CALLED CHAGAOUAMIGONG.

MORE than fifty Villages can be counted, which comprise diverse peoples, either nomadic or stationary, who depend in some sort on this Mission; and to whom the Gospel can be proclaimed, either by going into their Country, or waiting for them to come to this to do their trading.

The three Nations comprised under the name of Ottawas, of which one has embraced Christianity, and that of the Petun Hurons -- among whom there are more than five hundred baptized persons -- inhabit this point; they live there on fish and corn, and rarely by hunting, and number more than fifteen hundred people.

The Illinois, tribes extending toward the South, have five large Villages, of which one has a stretch of 7 miles, the cabins being placed lengthwise.

They number nearly two thousand people, and go to this place from time to time in great numbers, as Merchants, to carry away hatchets and kettles, guns, and other articles that they need. During the stay that they make here, we take the opportunity to sow in their hearts the first seeds of the Gospel. Fuller mention Will be subsequently made of these peoples, and of the desire which they manifest to have one of our Fathers among them to instruct them; and also of the plan formed by Father Marquette to go there next Autumn.

Eight days' journey from here toward the West is the first of the thirty Villages of the Sioux. The extensive warfare carried on by them with our Hurons, and with some other Nations of those Regions, keeps them more confined, and obliges them to come here only in small numbers, and as if on an Embassy. Of them also mention will be made subsequently, and of what this Father has done to put them in a state of peace and keep them there.

Of all the Nations toward the North, there are three who come to trade here; and recently two hundred Canoes passed some time here.

Four other Nations also -- of the number of those composing the Mission of saint Francois Xavier, at Green Bay -- received here the first tint of the Faith during the time when, fleeing from the pursuit of the Iroquois, they resided here.

LETTER FROM FATHER JACQUES MARQUETTE TO THE REVEREND FATHER SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS. 1670.

Reverend Father,

I render an account to you of the condition of the Mission of saint Esprit among the Ottawas, according to the order that I have received from You -- and again, recently, from Father Dablon -- since my arrival here, after a Voyage of a month amid snow and ice, which blocked our passage, and amid almost constant dangers of death.

Having been assigned to continue the Mission of saint Esprit, -- which Father Allouez had begun, and where he had baptized the principal men of the Nation of the Kiskakon Ottawas, -- I arrived here on the thirteenth of September, and went to visit the Indians in the Clearings, who are divided among five Villages. The Hurons, to the number of four or five hundred people, still preserve a little Christianity. Some of the chief men, assembled in a council, were glad to see me at first; but when I informed them that I did not yet know their language perfectly, and that no other Father was coming to the place, -- both because they had all gone to the Iroquois; and because Father Allouez, who understood them thoroughly, had been unwilling to return to them for this Winter, because they did not take enough interest in Prayer, -- they acknowledged that they were well deserving of this punishment. Since then they have spoken of the matter during the Winter, and resolved to do better, as they have declared to me.

The Nation of the Sinago Ottawas is far from the Kingdom of God, because of its extreme attachment, above all the other Nations, to indecencies, sacrifices, and trickery. They turn Prayer to ridicule, and scarcely Will they hear us speak of Christianity; they are proud and without intelligence; so that I think there is so little to be accomplished with this Nation that I have not even been willing to baptize the children who were well, or those who seemed able to escape disease, -- contenting myself with being on the watch for the sick.

The people of the Nation of Keinouche declare themselves boldly, saying that it is not yet time. Still there are two men that were formerly baptized, -- one of whom, who is rather old, is looked upon as a wonder among the Indians, from his never yet having chosen to marry; and he still persists in his resolution, whatever one can say to him on the subject. He undergoes Sharp attacks, even from his relatives; but that does not affect him any more than the loss he suffered of all his Merchandise that he had brought the previous year from the French settlements, not even saving with which to cover himself. These are harsh trials for Indians, most of whom seek only to possess much in this world.

The other, who is a Young man newly married, seems to be of a different nature from the rest. The Indians, extraordinarily attached to their dreams, had concluded that it was necessary for a certain number of Young men to commit indecent acts with some Young girls, -- the girls choosing for this purpose such Young men as they pleased. Never is any refusal given, because they believe that on dreams depend the men's lives. This Young Christian was called; at first, he entered the Cabin, but, seeing that those immoral acts were about to begin, he pretended to be ill, and immediately went away. Someone went to call him back, but he would have none of it.

The critical illness of a sick Young man caused the tricksters to say that the Devil must be invoked by the observance of some altogether extraordinary superstitions. The Christians did not make any invocation to him; there were only the trickster and the sick man, who was made to pass over some large fires that had been lighted in all the Cabins. They said that he did not feel the heat, although his body had been smeared with oil for five or six days. Men, women, and children ran through the Cabins, asking as a riddle what they had in their thoughts; and he who guessed it was glad to give the person what he sought. I prevented them from carrying out the indecencies that they are accustomed to practice at the close of all these deviltries; and I do not think that they will return to them, because the sick man died soon afterward.

The Nation of the Kiskakon Ottawas, which for three years had refused to receive the Gospel, as proclaimed to them by Father Allouez, resolved at last, toward Autumn of 1668, to obey God. This resolution was adopted in a council, and announced to the Father, who was therefore obliged to winter with them for a fourth time, to instruct and baptize them. The chiefs of the Nation declared themselves Christians; and to cultivate them, the Father having gone on to another Mission, I was given charge of them, and went to assume my duties in September, 1669.

All the Christians were in their fields, harvesting the Indian corn. They heard me with pleasure when I told them that I came to la pointe only out of consideration for them and for the Hurons; that they should never be abandoned, but cherished more warmly than all the other nations; and that they had only one common interest with the French. I baptized the new-born babes, and visited the Elders, whom I found all favorably disposed; and when the Chief had permitted that a dog should be suspended from a pole near his Cabin, -- a kind of sacrifice that the Indians make to the Sun, -- and I had told him that was not right, he went at once and threw it down. A sick man, instructed but not yet baptized, asked me to grant him that grace, or else to remain near him, because he did not wish to employ the trickster for his cure, and he was afraid of Hell-fire. He thanked me for the care that I had taken of him, and soon after, he gave me a present of a slave that had been brought to him from the Illinois, two or three months before.

Some Young women who have been baptized serve as examples to all the other women, and do not blush to declare that they are Christians. Marriages among the Indians are broken almost as easily as they are made, and it is no dishonor to marry again. Learning that a Young Christian woman, abandoned by her husband, was exposed to this danger because of her relatives, I went to visit her and encouraged her to conduct herself like a Christian. She kept her word so well that there has never been heard any gossip about her; her conduct, together with the remonstrances that I made to her husband, compelled him to take her back toward the end of the Winter.

The Pagans hold no feast without Sacrifice, and we have much difficulty in restraining them from it. The Christians have now changed their methods of procedure; and to effect this change more easily, I keep a little of their usage, and take from it all that is bad. They must make speeches at the opening of the feast; they accordingly address themselves to God, whom they ask for health and for what they need, saying that it is for this purpose that they give the feast.

When I invited the Kiskakon Ottawas to come and winter near the Chapel, they left all the other Nations, to gather together near us, so they might be instructed. They declare themselves Christians, and it is for this reason that, in all the councils and in all matters of consequence, I spoke to them. They have gained the upper hand over the other Nations and may be said to govern three others.

The elders told me that the Young people had not yet any sense, and that I must check them in their immoral conduct. I spoke to them often about their daughters, so they might not permit the Young men to go and visit them at night. I knew almost all that was going on among two Nations that were near us; but while I had heard mention of almost all the other women, I was never told anything about the Christians; and whenever I asked some of the elders their opinion about them, they would have no answer to give me except that they were inclined to pray. I often impressed this matter upon the women, knowing well all the pleadings they suffer every night, and the courage they must have to resist them.

One day when I was instructing the elders in my Cabin and telling them about the Creation of the World and other Old Testament Narratives, they gave me an account of what they used to believe formerly. They have some knowledge of the Tower of Babel, saying that their old men had told them how formerly a great house had been built, but a strong wind had overthrown it.

After the Easter Holidays, all the Indians separated to go in search of their food, -- asking me to have one of our Fathers go and join them in the Autumn, when they should have reassembled. Their request was granted, and if God sends some Father to us, he Will take my place, while I shall go to start the Mission among the Illinois, in accordance with the Father Superior's orders.

The Illinois are distant from la pointe thirty days' journey by land, by a difficult route, and live by themselves, Southwestward from the point of saint Esprit.

One passes the Nation of the Ketchigamins, who live in the interior, constituting more than twenty large cabins, and who seek acquaintance with the French, hoping to obtain hatchets, knives, and other iron implements from them. The Ketchigamins fear the French so much that they withdrew from the fire two Illinois, who, after being bound to the stakes, stated that the Frenchman had said that he wished peace to prevail over all the earth.

One goes on then to the Miamis, and, after crossing great prairies, reaches the Illinois, who are mainly gathered in two Villages, containing more than eight or nine thousand people. These people are fairly well inclined toward Christianity, since Father Allouez spoke to them at la Pointe. They worship the Sun and Thunder. Those whom I have seen seem to be of a tolerably good disposition: they do not go about at night, as do the other Indians; a man boldly kills his wife if he learns that she has not been faithful; they are more moderate in their Sacrifices; and they promise me to embrace Christianity, and observe all that I shall say in the Country. With this purpose in view, the Ottawas gave me a Young man who had lately come from the Illinois, and he furnished me the rudiments of the language, during the leisure allowed me by the Indians of la Pointe in the course of the Winter. One can scarcely understand it, although it is somewhat like the Algonquin. After the fashion of the Indians, the Illinois wish for us to share their miseries with them, and suffer every imaginable hardship of barbarism.

The Illinois journey always by land; they raise Indian corn, which they have in great abundance; they have squashes as large as those of France, and have a great many roots and fruits. There is fine hunting there of bison, Bears, Stags, Turkeys, Ducks, Canadian geese, Pigeons, and Cranes. The people left their Village some time in the year, to go all together to the places where the animals are killed, and better to resist the enemy who come to attack them. They believe that if I go to them, I shall establish peace everywhere, that they will always live in one place, and that it will be only the Young men who will go hunting.

When the Illinois come to la Pointe, they cross a great river which is nearly 2 miles in width, flows from North to South, and to such a distance that the Illinois, who do not know what a Canoe is, have not yet heard any mention of its mouth. They simply know that there are some large Nations lower down than themselves, some of whom, toward the East-Southeast of their Country, raise two crops of Indian corn in a year. A Nation that they call Shawnee came to see them last Summer; and this Young man who has been given me, and is teaching me the language, saw them. They are laden with glass Beads, which shows that they have communication with Europeans. They had come overland a journey of nearly thirty days, before reaching the Country. It is hard to believe that that great River discharges its waters in Virginia, and we think rather that it has its mouth in California. If the Indians who promise to make me a Canoe do not break their word to me, we shall explore this River as far as we can, with a Frenchman and this Young man who was given me, who knows some of those languages and has a facility for learning the others. We shall visit the Nations dwelling there, to open the passage to our Fathers. This discovery will give us full knowledge either of the southern Pacific Ocean or of the northern Pacific Ocean.

Six or seven days' journey below the Illinois, there is another great River, on which live some powerful Nations, who use wooden Canoes; of them we can Write nothing else until next year.

The Illinois are warriors and take a great many Slaves, whom they trade with the Ottawas for Muskets, gunpowder, Kettles, Hatchets and Knives. They were formerly at war with the Sioux, but made peace with them some years ago, to facilitate their coming to la Pointe, -- where I am going to await them, so I may accompany them into their Country.

The Sioux, who are the Iroquois of this country, beyond la Pointe, -- but less deceitful than they, and who never attack until they have been attacked, -- are toward the Southwest from the Mission of St. Esprit. It is a large nation and has not yet been visited, as we are engaged in the conversion of the Ottawas. They fear the Frenchman because he brings iron into this country; they have a language wholly different from the Algonquin and the Huron; there are a good many villages, but they extend over a great deal of territory. Their manners and customs are quite extraordinary: they chiefly worship the Calumet (tobacco pipe), and say not a word at their feasts; and when any stranger arrives, they feed him with a wooden fork, as one would a Child. All the nations of the Lake make war on them, but with little success. They have the wild rice, use little Canoes, and keep their word inviolate.

I sent them a present by the Interpreter, with a message that they must show due recognition to the Frenchman wherever they met him, and must not kill him or the Indians accompanying him; that the black Gown wished to proceed into the Country of the Assiniboine Sioux, and into that of the Crees; that he was already among the Meskwakis; and that I should set out this Autumn to go to the Illinois, the passage to whom they were to leave free. To this they consented; but, as for my present, they were waiting until all their people should have come back from hunting; and they said that they would be at la Pointe this Autumn, to hold council with the Illinois and talk with me. I could wish that all the Nations had as much love for God as these people have fear of the French; Christianity would soon be flourishing.

The Assiniboine Sioux, who have almost the same language as the Sioux, are Westward from the Mission of St. Esprit, being fifteen or twenty days' journey distant on a Lake, where they gather wild rice, and fish are plentiful. I heard that there was in their Country a great River leading to the Western Sea; and an Indian told me that, being at its mouth, he had seen Frenchmen and four large Canoes with sails.

The Crees are nomadic people and we do not yet know their meeting place. They are toward the Northwest of the Mission of saint Esprit, are always in the woods, and have only the bow to live by. They visited the Mission where I was last Autumn, two hundred Canoes coming to buy Merchandise and corn. They went into the woods to pass the Winter; but I have seen them this Spring, on the Lakeshore.

THE MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS XAVIER ON THE "BAY OF STINKARDS," OR RATHER "OF STINKING WATERS." LETTER FROM FATHER ALLOUEZ, WHO HAS HAD CHARGE OF THIS MISSION, TO THE REVEREND FATHER SUPERIOR. 1670.

Reverend Father,

On the third of November, we departed from Sault Ste. Marie, I and two others. Two Canoe-loads of Potawatomis wished to conduct me to their Country; not that they wished to receive instruction, but that I might curb some Young Frenchmen, who, being among them for the purpose of trading, were threatening and maltreating them.

We arrived on the first day at the entrance to Lake Huron, where we slept under the shelter of the Islands. The length of the journey and the difficulty of the way, because of the lateness of the Season, led us to rely on saint Francis Xavier, Patron of our Mission.

On the fourth, toward noon, we rounded the Cape which forms the detour, and is the beginning of the Strait or the Gulf of Lake Huron, which is well known, and of Lake Michigan, -- which is unknown, and is smaller than Lake Huron. Toward evening, the contrary wind, which was about to cast our Canoe upon the shoals of Rocks, forced us to finish our journey.

On the 5th, upon waking, we found ourselves Covered with snow, and the surface of the canoe coated with ice. We were compelled to embark with all the baggage and provisions, with great difficulty, our bare feet in the water, to keep the Canoe afloat, which otherwise would have broken. After leaving a great number of Islands to the Northward, we slept on a little Island, where we were detained six days by the bad weather. The snow and frosts threatening us with ice, my Companions relied on saint Anne, to whom we entrusted our journey.

On the eleventh, we embarked, despite the contrary wind, and crossed to another Island, and from there to the mainland, where we found two Frenchmen with several Indians. From them we learned of the great dangers to which we were about to expose ourselves, due to the storms that are frequent on this Lake, and the ice which would soon be afloat. We launched the Canoe, and then rounded successfully enough the Cape which makes a detour to the West, having left in our rear a large Island named Mackinac, celebrated among the Indians. Their legends about this Island are pleasing.

They say that it is the native Country of one of their Gods, named Michabous -- that is, "the great Hare," Ouisaketchak, who is the one that created the Earth; and that it was in these Islands that he invented nets for catching fish, after he had attentively considered the spider while she was working at her web to catch flies in it. They believe that Lake Superior is a Pond made by Beavers, and that its Dam was double, -- the first being at the place called by us Sault Ste. Marie, and the second 12 miles below. In ascending the River, they say, this same God found that second Dam first and broke it down completely; and that is why there is no waterfall or whirlpools in that rapid. As to the first Dam, being impatient, he only walked on it to tread it down; and for that reason, there still remain great falls and whirlpools there.

This God, they add, while chasing a Beaver in Lake Superior, crossed with a single stride a bay of 20 miles in width. In view of so mighty an enemy, the Beavers changed their location, and withdrew to another Lake, Nipigon, -- from where they afterward, by means of the Rivers flowing from it, arrived at Hudson Bay, with the intention of crossing over to France; but, finding the water bitter, they lost heart, and spread throughout the Rivers and Lakes of this entire Country. And that is the reason why there are no Beavers in France, and the French come to get them here. The people believe that it is this God who is the master of our lives, and that he grants life only to those to whom he has appeared in sleep. This is a part of the legends with which the Indians often entertain us.

On the fourteenth, while we were taking a little rest, our Canoe was borne away from us by a gust of wind, which carried it to the other side of the River; then it was brought back to us by another gust of wind, when, awakened by the noise it made, we were thinking of making a Raft, to go and get it. Toward evening, after making a long day's journey and finding no place for disembarking, due to the inaccessible banks, we were forced to remain out in the stream during the night; but, being surprised by an unusual gust of wind, we had to land among Rocks.

After we had continued our Voyage until the twenty-fifth, amid continual dangers, God indemnified us for all our hardships by causing us to chance upon a Cabin of Potawatomi, who were engaged in fishing and hunting at the edge of the wood. They fed us with all that they had, but especially with fen, which is the nut of the beech-tree, which they roast, and Pound into flour. I had leisure to instruct them, and to confer Baptism upon two little sick children.

On the twenty-seventh, while we were trying to paddle with the utmost vigor possible, we were perceived by four Cabins of Indians named Menominees, who forced us to land: but as they were pressed with hunger, and we were at the end of our provisions, we could not remain long together.

On the twenty-ninth, as the Mouth of the River which we were to enter was frozen over, we were in great difficulty. We thought of making the rest of the journey to the rendezvous by land; but, a furious wind having arisen during the night, we found ourselves enabled, owing to the breaking-up of the ice, to continue our Voyage. We finished it on the second of December, on the eve of saint Francis Xavier's day, when we arrived at the place where the French were.

On the following day, as the Indians had gone into winter quarters, I found here only one Village of different Nations -- Sauk, Potawatomi, Meskwaki, Winnebago -- about six hundred people. 4 miles away was another, of a hundred and fifty people; 10 miles away, one of a hundred people; and 20 miles from here, on the other side of the Bay, one of about three hundred people.

All these Nations have their fields of Indian corn, squashes, beans, and tobacco. On this Bay, in a place that they call Ouestatinong, 62 miles away, there is a large Nation named Meskwaki, and a day's journey from them there are two others, Oumamiwek Innu and Mascouten. Of all these Peoples, a portion gained a knowledge of our Faith at saint Esprit point, where I instructed them; we shall do so more fully, with Heaven's help.

In the matter of our sustenance, we have had a good deal of trouble. Scarcely have we found material to make our cabin; all that we have had for food has been only Indian corn and acorns; the few fish that are seen here, and that but seldom, are poor; and the water of this bay and of the rivers is like stagnant ditch-water.

The Indians of this region are more than usually barbarous; they are without ingenuity, and do not know how to make even a bark dish or a ladle; they commonly use shells. They are grasping and avaricious to an extraordinary degree, and sell their little commodities at a high price, because they have only what is barely necessary. The season in which we arrived among them was not favorable for us: they were all in a needy condition, and little able to give us any assistance, so that we suffered hunger.

THE MISSION TO THE SAUK.

THE Village of the Sauk is the first where I began to give instruction. As soon as we were provided with a cabin there, I assembled all the elders, to whom, after relating the news of the peace with the Iroquois, I explained the purpose of my journey, which was only their instruction. I explained to them the principal articles of our belief, which they heard with approval, appearing to me very well disposed toward Christianity. Oh, if we could aid them in their poverty, how flourishing our Church would be! The rest of that month, I labored for their instruction.

THE MISSION TO THE POTAWATOMIS

ON the seventeenth of February I went to the Village of the Potawatomis, which is 20 miles from this place, on the other side of the Lake. After walking all day without halting, we arrived there at Sunset, sustained by some small bit of frozen meat that hunger made us eat. On the day after my arrival, they made us a present of all the fat of a Bear, with many signs of affection.

On the nineteenth, I assembled the council, and, after relating the news, informed them of the purpose that had brought me to their Country, reserving for the following day a fuller speech on our religion.

On the twenty-third, we set out to return from there; but the wind, which froze our faces, and the snow, compelled us to halt, after we had gone 5 miles, and to pass the night on the Lake. On the following day, the severity of the cold having diminished, although little, we continued our journey with much suffering. On my part, I had my nose frozen, and I had a fainting fit that compelled me to sit, down on the ice, where I would have remained -- my Companions having gone on ahead -- if, by a Divine providence, I had not found in my handkerchief a clove, which gave me strength enough to reach the settlement.

At the opening of March, the great thaws having begun, the Indians broke up their settlements to go in quest of the means to sustain life, after being pressed with hunger.

I was sorry not to have been able to go through all the Villages, by reason of the remoteness of some of them, and the little inclination of others to receive me. I decided to try at least to establish Christianity firmly in a neighboring Village, composed mostly of Potawatomis. Calling the men together twice, I explained to them fully our Mysteries and the obligation resting upon them to embrace our Faith; and that this was the sole reason that had brought me to their Country in the Autumn. They received favorably all that I said to them, and I often visited them in their cabins, to instill in the residents what I had taught them in public. I received great consolation in the assurance which certain persons gave me that, since hearing me five years ago at the point of saint Esprit, on Lake Superior, they had always invoked the true God.

Our stay was not long, as hunger was pressing them, and they were forced to go in search of provisions. We withdrew full of consolation.

On the 21st of that month, I took the Sun's altitude, and found that this was about 46 degrees, 40 minutes; and its elevation from the Pole, or the complement of the above, was about 43 degrees, 20 minutes. The ice did not break up here until the 12th of April, the Winter having been extremely severe this year; and consequently navigation was impeded.

On the 16th of April, I embarked to go and begin the Mission to the Meskwakis, a people of considerable note in all these regions. We slept at the head of the bay, at the mouth of the River into Green Bay, which we have named for saint Francis. On our way we saw clouds of Swans, Canadian geese, and Ducks. The Indians set snares for them at the head of the bay, where they catch as many as fifty in one night, this game seeking in Autumn the wild rice that the wind has shaken off in September.

On the 17th, we ascended the River saint Francois, which is 130, and sometimes 200, yards wide. After proceeding 10 miles, we found the Village of the Indians called Sauks, whose people were beginning a work that well deserves to have its place here. From one bank of the River to the other they make a barricade by driving down large stakes in four yards of water, so that there is a kind of bridge over the stream for the fishermen, who, with the help of a small weir, easily catch the Sturgeon and every other kind of fish, -- which this dam stops, although the water does not cease to flow between the stakes. They call this contrivance Mitihikan, and it serves them during the Spring and a part of the Summer.

On the eighteenth we passed the portage called by the natives Kekaling, our sailors dragging the canoe among rapids; while I walked on the River-bank, where I found apple-trees and vine-stocks in great numbers.

On the 19th, our Sailors ascended the Rapids for 5 miles by the use of poles, and I went by land as far as the other portage, which they call Ooukocitiming, -- that is, "the bank." We observed, on this same day, the Eclipse of the Sun predicted by the Astrologers, which lasted from noon until two o'clock; a third of the Sun's disk, or nearly that, appeared to be eclipsed, the other two-thirds making a Crescent. We arrived in the evening at the entrance to Green Bay, which we have named Lake saint Francois; it is about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide, extends from the North-Northeast to the south-southwest, and abounds in fish; but is uninhabited, on account of the Sioux, who are there feared.

On the twentieth, which was Sunday, I said Mass, after voyaging 12 or 15 miles on the Lake, after which we came to a River, flowing from a Lake bordered with wild rice; this stream we followed, and found at the end of it the River that leads to the Meskwakis in one direction, and what leads to the Mascouten in the other. We entered this first stream, which flows from a Lake; there we saw two Turkeys perched on a tree, male and female, resembling perfectly those of France -- the same size, the same color, and the same cry. Bustards, Ducks, Swans, and Geese are in great number on all these Lakes and Rivers, -- the wild rice, on which they live, attracting them there. There are large and small Stags, Bears, and Beavers in great abundance.

On the twenty-fourth, after turning and doubling several times in various Lakes and Rivers, we arrived at the Village of the Meskwakis. This people came in crowds to meet us, to see, as they said, the Manitou, who was coming to their country. They accompanied us with respect as far as the door of the cabin, which we were made to enter.

This Nation is renowned for being populous, the men who bear arms numbering more than four hundred; while the number of women and children there is the greater on account of the polygamy which prevails among them, -- each man having commonly four wives, some having six, and others as many as ten. Six large cabins of these poor people were put to rout this March by eighteen Iroquois from Seneca, -- who, under the guidance of two fugitive Iroquois Slaves of the Potawatomis, made an onslaught, and killed all the people, except thirty women whom they led away as captives. As the men were away hunting, they met with little resistance, -- there being only six warriors left in the cabins, besides the women and children, who numbered a hundred. This carnage was committed two days' journey from the place of our winter quarters, at the foot of the Lake of the Illinois, which is called Lake Michigan.

On the twenty-fifth, I called together the Elders in a large assembly, with the purpose of giving them the first acquaintance with our Mysteries. Then, when I had, by means of a present which I made them, dried the tears which the remembrance of the massacre perpetrated by the Iroquois caused them to shed, I explained to them the principal Articles of our Faith. They understood me without my having need of an interpreter, and that, too, with attention; but, oh, my God! what ideas and ways contrary to the Gospel these poor people have! They accept the Sovereignty of God, Creator of all things; but for the rest, they have not a word to say.

A Meskwaki told me, in private, that his ancestor had come from Heaven, and that he had preached the Sovereignty of a God who had made all the other Gods; that he had assured them that he would go to Heaven after his death, where he should die no more; and that his body would not be found in the place where it had been buried, -- which was verified, said this Meskwaki, the body being no longer found where it had been put. These are fables which God uses for their salvation; for after the man had finished telling me everything, he added that he was dismissing all his wives, retaining only one, whom he would not change; and that he was resolved to obey me and pray to God. I hope that God will show him mercy.

I tried to visit the people in their cabins, which are in great number, -- sometimes for the purpose of instructing them in private; and at other times to go and carry them some little medicine, -- or, rather, something sweet for their little sick children, whom I was baptizing. Toward the end, they brought them to me voluntarily in the cabin where I lodged.

I spoke their language, in the assurance they gave me that they understood me; it is the same as that of the Sauk. But alas, what difficulty they have in perceiving a Law that is so opposed to all their customs!

These Indians withdrew to those regions to escape the persecution of the Iroquois, and settled in an excellent country, -- the soil, which is black there, yielding them Indian corn in abundance. They live by hunting during the Winter, returning to their cabins toward its close, and living there on Indian corn that they had hidden away the previous Autumn; they season it with fish.

In the midst of their clearings, they have a Fort, where their cabins of heavy bark are situated, for resisting all sorts of attacks. On their journeys, they make themselves cabins with mats. They are at war with the Sioux, their neighbors. Canoes are not used by them; and for that reason, they do not make war on the Iroquois, although they are often killed by them. They are held in low estimation, and are considered by the other Nations as stingy, avaricious, thieving, irritable, and quarrelsome. They have a poor opinion of the French, ever since two traders in Beaver-skins appeared among them; if these men had behaved as they ought, I would have had less trouble in giving these poor people other ideas of the whole French Nation, -- which they are beginning to esteem, since I explained to them the only motive that brought me to their country.

On the twenty-sixth, the Elders came into the cabin where I was lodging, to hold council there. The assembly having been convened, the Captain, after laying at my feet a present of some skins, spoke in the following terms: "We thank you," he said, "for having come to visit and console us in our affliction; and we are the more obliged to you, as no one has until now shown us that kindness." They added that they had nothing further to say to me, except that they were too dispirited to speak to me, being all occupied in mourning their dead.

"Black Gown, who is not dispirited and who takes pity on people, take pity on us as you deem best. You could dwell here near us, to protect us from our enemies, and teach us to speak to the great Manitou, the same as you teach the Ojibwes. You could cause to be restored to us our wives, who were led away prisoners. You could stay the arms of the Iroquois, and speak to them of peace in our behalf for the future. I have no sense to say anything to you; only take pity on us in the way you will judge most fitting. When you see the Iroquois, tell them that they have taken me for someone else. I do not make war on them, I have not eaten their people; but my neighbors took them prisoners and made me a present of them; I adopted them, and they are living here as my children." This speech has nothing of the savage in it.

I told them that in the treaty of peace which the French had made with the Iroquois, no mention had been made of them; that no Frenchman had then been here, and that they were not known; that, as to other matters, I much approved what their Captain had said; that I would not forget it, and that in the following Autumn, I would render them an answer.

In the evening, four Indians of the Nation of the Miamis, arrived from a place two days' journey away, bringing three Iroquois scalps and a half-smoked arm, to console the relatives of those whom the Iroquois had killed a short time before.

On the twenty-seventh, we took our departure. We named this Mission after saint Mark, because on his day the Faith was proclaimed there.

THE MISSION TO THE MIAMIS AND MASCOUTEN.

ON the twenty-ninth, we entered the River which leads to the Mascouten, who by the Hurons are called Assista Ectaeronnons, "Nation of Fire." This River is beautiful, without rapids or portages, and flows toward the Southwest.

On the thirtieth, landing opposite the Village and leaving our canoe at the water's edge, after walking 2 miles through beautiful Prairies, we perceived the Fort. The Indians, seeing us, immediately gave the cry in their Village, hurried to meet us, and accompanied us with honor into the cabin of the Chief, where refreshments were immediately brought to us, and the feet and legs of the Frenchmen with me were anointed with oil.

Afterward, a feast was prepared, which was attended with the following ceremonies. When all were seated, and after some had filled a dish with powdered tobacco, an Old man arose and, turning to me, with both hands full of tobacco which he took from the dish, addressed me as follows: "This is well, black Gown, that you come to visit us. Take pity on us; you are a Manitou; we give you tobacco to smoke. The Sioux and the Iroquois are eating us; take pity on us. We are often ill, our children are dying, we are hungry. Hear me, Manitou; I give you tobacco to smoke. Let the earth give us corn, and the rivers yield us fish; do not let disease kill us any more, or famine treat us any longer so harshly!"

At each desire, the Old men who were present uttered a loud "Oh!" in response. I had a horror of this ceremony and, asking them to hear me, I told them it was not I to whom their vows must be addressed; that I relied on Prayer to the only true God; that it was in him that they ought to place their trust; I told them that he was the sole Master of all things, as well as of their lives, I being only his servant and envoy. They offered us a sacrifice like they make to their false Gods.

Toward evening, I gathered them together, and gave them a present of glass Beads, Knives, and Hatchets, so I could say to them: "Become acquainted with the black Gown. I am not the Manitou who is the master of your lives, and has created Heaven and Earth; I am his servant; I obey him, and I bear his word through all the earth."

The Indians named Miamis are here only in small numbers; their main body having not yet come in from their hunting; therefore I say almost nothing about them in detail. Their language is in harmony with their disposition: they are gentle, affable, sedate; they also speak slowly. This whole Nation was to arrive in sixteen days; but, obedience calling me to Sault Ste. Marie, I was not at liberty to wait for them.

These people are settled in an attractive place, where beautiful Plains and Fields meet the eye as far as one can see. Their River leads by a six days' Voyage to the great River named Mississippi, and it is along their River that the other populous Nations are situated. 10 miles from here are the Kickapoo and the Kitchigamich, who speak the same language as the Mascouten.

On the first of May, I went to visit them in their cabins; and I instructed them, speaking their language sufficiently to make myself understood. They heard me with respect, admired the main features of our Faith, and were eager to lavish on me all the best things they had. Those poor Mountaineers are kind beyond all power of belief; but they have their superstitions and practice polygamy, as is customary with the Indians.

The courtesies that they showed me kept me busy almost all day: they came to my cabin to give me an invitation, conducted me to their own, and, after making me sit down on a fine new piece of fur, presented me a handful of tobacco, which they placed at my feet; and brought me a kettle full of fat, meat, and Indian corn, accompanying it with a speech or a compliment. I always took occasion then to inform them of the truths of our Faith. God never failed to make me understood, their language being the same as that of the Sauk.

I baptized there five children who were in danger of dying, whom they themselves brought to me that I might give them medicine. When, at times, I sought retirement for the purpose of praying, they would follow me, and, from time to time, come and interrupt me, saying to me in a suppliant tone, "Manitou, take pity on us!" In truth, they taught me the respect and affection with which I ought to address God.

On the second of May, the Elders came to our cabin to hold a council; they thanked me, by an address and by some gift, for having come to their country; and they urged me to come there often. "Guard our land," they said; "come often, and teach us how we are to speak to that great Manitou whom you have made us know." As we were pressed for time, I set out to return to the place from where I had come; and arrived there safely, proceeding by way of the River saint Francois, in three days.

On the sixth, I paid a visit to the Menominees, 20 miles away from our cabin, and found them at their River in small numbers, the Young people being still in the woods. This Nation has been almost exterminated by the wars. I had difficulty in understanding them, but in time made the discovery that their language is Algonquin, although much corrupted. They succeeded in understanding me better than I understood them. After making a little present to the Elders, I proclaimed the Gospel to them, which they admired and heard with respect.

On the ninth, the Elders invited me to their council, and there made me a present, with an expression of Thanks for my having come to visit them to give them a knowledge of the true God. This Mission we have named after saint Michael, as well as the River where they dwell.

On the tenth, when I arrived at the settlement, a Potawatomi, not daring to ask me for news, addressed our dog in these words: "Tell me, O Captain's dog, what is the state of affairs among the Miamis? Your Master has told you; you have followed him everywhere. Do not conceal the matter from me, for I dare not ask him about it." I saw well what his plan was.

On the thirteenth, I crossed the Bay to go to find the Winnebagos in their Clearings, where they were assembling. The next day, I held council with the Old men and the youth, and proclaimed the Gospel to them, as I had done to the others. About thirty years ago, all the people of this Nation were killed or taken captive by the Illinois, with the exception of a single man who escaped, shot through the body with an arrow. When the Illinois had sent back his captive countrymen to inhabit the country again, he was made Captain of his Nation, as having never been a slave.

They speak a peculiar language which the other Indians do not understand; it resembles neither the Huron nor the Algonquin. There are, they say, only certain tribes of the Southwest who speak as they do. I learned some words from them, but especially the Catechism, the Lord's Prayer, and the Hail Mary.

I visited them in their cabins and instructed them, doing the same to the Potawatomis who live with them; and both asked me, with gifts, to come and instruct them the following Autumn.

CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIANS. 1670.

WE cannot make our Christians live strictly up to their profession of Christianity on account of the way in which we have to live among them in the beginning; having only a cabin, after their own mode, we cannot instruct them, or perform the other exercises of Religion at stated times, as is done in a Chapel. We have, however, tried to call them together every Sunday, to teach them the Catechism and make them pray. We have here seven adult Christians and forty-eight others, either children or persons almost grown up, whom we baptized when they were dangerously ill, a part of them at the Point of saint Esprit, and a part in these districts during the past Winter. I do not Count those who have died, who are about seventeen in number.

I have received consolation this Winter from seeing the fervor of our Christians, but especially that of a girl named Marie Movena, who was baptized at the Point of saint Esprit. From last Spring, she has resisted her relatives: despite all the efforts they have made to compel her to marry her stepbrother, she has never consented to it. Her brother has often struck her, and her mother has frequently refused her anything to eat, -- sometimes reaching such a pitch of anger that she would take a firebrand and burn her daughter's arms with it. This poor girl told me about all this bad treatment; but her courage could never be shaken.

On the twentieth, I embarked with a Frenchman and an Indian to go to Sault Ste. Marie, leaving all these peoples in the hope that we should see them again next Autumn, as I had promised them.

As a reinforcement to the workers in so large a Mission, there have been sent to it Father Gabriel Druillettes, one of the oldest and most influential Missionaries; and Father Louis Andre, who arrived here last year and was at the outset assigned to this Mission. He accordingly arrived there after having served a training period of a year here, as Missionary among the Algonquins who live in these parts.

Besides, as the Fathers of that Mission mention the Solar Eclipse of April nineteenth of this present year, 1670, it would have been possible, from the observation that was made of it here at the same time, to ascertain the difference of Longitude between them and us. But as it requires great exactness and many technicalities to reach the desired end by an Eclipse of the Sun, we shall wait for one of the Moon, to arrive at an easier and surer conclusion in the matter.

Still, for the satisfaction of some Curious persons, we give an account of that Eclipse as it appeared at Quebec. It began at a quarter before two o'clock, and ended at twenty-three minutes after three, its total duration being 1 hour and 40 minutes, -- the whole being measured by the movement of a Pendulum exactly adjusted to the movement of the Sun. The extent of the Eclipse was a little more than five fingers. We had marked on a card six concentric circles, separated by equal distances, with each space divided into twelve parts to give us the minutes by fives. But this device being too large for the dimensions of the place where we had taken up our position to make the observation, we were unable to estimate this extent except by conjecture. If this can serve for determining the Longitude of Quebec, well and good.

YEAR 1671
NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1670 AND 1671. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER JEAN PINETTE, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

Since the King has checked the insolence of the Iroquois by the fear of his arms, we have carried the Gospel more than 1000 miles in all directions; and there is hardly a people left in all this great tract of country to whom the faith has not penetrated.

Last summer, I was with one of our Fathers, among the Mascouten, 1250 miles from Quebec; we found there other peoples, who promised to carry more than 1250 miles farther the good news of Salvation which we announced to them. At the same time, others of our Fathers were preaching the name of Jesus Christ in the Ottawas' country, at both ends of Lake Superior and on Lake Huron; and this Summer, while continuing to cultivate the Iroquois, who are situated toward the south, we are also turning our attention toward the peoples of the North. One of our Fathers has but recently set out for Hudson Bay, to which no Frenchman has yet penetrated, fully resolved to make his way by land as far as that famous bay of Hudson. Thus we can say that the torch of the Faith now illumines the four quarters of this new World.

More than twenty different Missions, among more than twenty distinct Nations, give our Fathers constant occupation; and the Chapels, built in countries most remote from here, are filled almost daily with those poor Indians.

These Blessings from Heaven are purchased only with famine, which sometimes reduces the Missionary to acorns and moss; With toil that exhausts him, and makes him perspire from morning tilt evening; and with almost constant danger of death, -- from being either forced to go, in quest of the stray sheep in these vast Forests, over snow and ice; or obliged to fare, in frail bark canoes, on Lakes which are no less stormy than the sea.

Such are the allurements that we offer to those whom we invite to come and take part in these glorious conquests; but they will discover from experience that they have never tasted delights so sweet as are found in these paltry cabins. In these, there is lack of everything; but there one finds God most fully when opportunity offers to speak to some poor Indian, to appeal to his heart, and to set him on the pathway to Heaven.

Our Missionaries are infinitely obliged to the King for having opened the door to them, and made a free passage to so many Nations at such a distance from us; it is the result of the peace accomplished between the Iroquois and the Ottawas by the pains of the wise Minister. But as these Iroquois are still Iroquois, and the Ottawas still barbarians, both must be made to observe a respectful demeanor -- the Iroquois through fear, and the Ottawas through the high opinion they are made to conceive of his Majesty.

To this end, Sir de Courcelle, our Governor, accompanied by the most active of our Frenchmen, made an expedition this Summer into the Iroquois' country, showing them that the 100 miles of streams which he had to travel by boat will not prevent his bringing them to reason when necessary. For the same purpose, Sir Talon, our Intendant, keeps the Ottawas in a reverential attitude, and inspires them with the respect that they have for his Majesty, in whose name he has taken possession of all their lands.

I will assure you that the events about to be related must not be read with any disbelief, since I have drawn my information from original sources, so to speak, for there is hardly a Mission in all this country which I have not had the happiness to visit in person.

Claude Dablon

THE EMBASSY OF SOHONCHIOGOUA, CAPTAIN OF THE NATION OF THE CAYUGA IROQUOIS, IN BEHALF OF THE IROQUOIS OF SENECA.

THE Iroquois who are called Senecas, who exceed the others in number, having taken in war some captives from the people adjacent to the Ottawa Algonquins, our allies, and Sir de Courcelles, our Governor, being informed of that, he sent them word at the earliest opportunity that he was displeased by their conduct; and that unless they wished to see him with his Army in their Country, they must restore those Captives to him immediately, being further expressly forbidden to mutilate them, or exercise toward them a single one of their customary acts of cruelty. This order seemed harsh to those proud spirits. "For whom does Onontio take us?" they asked. "He is vexed because we go to war, and wishes us to lower our hatchets and leave his allies undisturbed. Who are his allies? How would he have us recognize them when he claims to take under his protection all the peoples discovered through all these regions; and when every day, as we learn from our people who escape from the cruelty of the stake, they make new discoveries, and enter nations which have always been hostile to us, -- which, even while receiving notification of peace from Onontio, set out from their own country to make war upon us, and to come and slay us under our palisades? Let Onontio check their hatchets if he wishes us to stay our own. He threatens to bring desolation on our Land; let us see whether his arms Will be long enough to remove the scalps from our heads, as we have done in times past with those of the French."

Those insolent people still believed that the rapids and floods which must be surmounted to reach their Country were impassable to the French. Yet, after delivering a part of their fire, -- fearing to incur the Governor's indignation, and to suffer the misfortune of the people of Mohawk, whose Villages he had destroyed by fire a few years before, -- these ruffians deemed it necessary to give him at least some satisfaction. They decided to send him eight prisoners of war, out of twenty-five or thirty whom they had carried off from the nation of the Potawatomi Algonquins, whom Father Allouez had instructed during the winter at the head of Green Bay. The Elders especially urged this arrangement, which was approved by the warriors and by all the Young men.

This Embassy, fearing in case the Governor might spurn them if they presented themselves in person, thought it best to employ a Captain of great repute, Saonchiogoua by name, of the neighboring nation known as Cayuga. This man was their friend, and upheld their interests on all occasions; and he had recently concluded with them a league, offensive and defensive, against any people who might make war upon them. He accepted this commission willingly, because he had in his heart a much loftier motive for undertaking such a journey.

LOUIS SAONCHIOGOUA, CAPTAIN OF THE IROQUOIS NATION CALLED CAYUGA.

IMMEDIATELY upon Saonchiogoua's arrival here in Quebec, he exerted himself without delay to discharge the Commission with which he had been entrusted by the people of Seneca. Holding council with the Governor, he delivered into his hands the eight Captives, with emphatic protestations from the Senecas of submission to all his orders. The Governor fed him and all his retinue. Everything was concluded with assurances of satisfaction on each side.

SOME OTHER IROQUOIS BAPTIZED IN THE CHURCH AT QUEBEC.

Formerly, there came out of the Country of the Iroquois only monsters of cruelty, who filled our forests and fields with terror, and laid waste all our settlements. But now that peace prevails everywhere, thanks to His Majesty's arms, and that there is no cabin among these barbarous Nations whose door is not open to the preachers, some leave their homes from time to time to seek our friendship, and live near us.

It is by the pious conduct of a noble-hearted Christian widow, of the Nation of Mohawk, whose eulogy merits a place here. She came down here this Spring with two little children of hers, -- leaving her own Country, where she was highly esteemed and in comfortable circumstances. Her sole motive was to secure greater freedom in her devotional exercises, from which she was diverted by her kinsfolk. The discovery of her purpose, which she had kept secret, so incensed all her family that, out of spite, they degraded her from her noble rank, in an assembly of the Village notables; and deprived her of the name and title of Oiander, -- that is, a person of quality. This is a dignity which they highly esteem, which she had inherited from her Ancestors, and deserved by her own intelligence, prudence, and discreet conduct. At the same time, they installed another woman in her place. Women of this rank are much respected; they hold councils, and the Elders decide no important affair without their advice.

It was one of these women of quality who took the lead in persuading the Iroquois of Onondaga, and afterward the other nations, to make peace with the French, -- coming in person down to Quebec on this errand, with some of her slaves. Upon her return to her own Country she, with most of her family, embraced the Faith; and she has since died a truly Christian death.

THE MISSIONS TO THE IROQUOIS DURING THE YEARS 1670 AND 1671. THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS.

THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS AT MOHAWK.

Of eighty-four baptized at the Mission of the Martyrs at the Mohawk nation, seventy-four died soon after Baptism, -- mostly children under seven years.

God's Providence was especially seen in the Baptism of two women with Child, and of their offspring. They had been captured in war, and brought to the conquerors' country, with twenty-five other Captives. One of the women was only two months pregnant.

The two babes, on being taken from the wombs of their mothers, -- who were breathing their last at the stake, amid the horrible torments which those barbarians made them suffer, -- were found to have enough life left to be baptized. Father Jean Pierron, who has chief charge of that Mission, baptized them.

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

THE MISSION OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AT ONONDAGA.

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

Once, when he had gone to trade in New Netherland, where he is well known, the Governor of the place, having declared, in an assembly attended by some of the chief men among the Iroquois, his desire to see them all at peace with the Nation of the Mahicans, -- who go and slay them under their palisades, -- appealed to him in particular, as a man of good sense and experience, to learn his opinion regarding the most effective method of attaining this end. Garacontie replied to him frankly. "Truly," said he, "it becomes you to undertake such reconciliations as that; you know nothing about such matters. That glory belongs only to Onontio." (He referred to our Governor.) "When he holds council with us at Quebec, before opening the matters in hand, he urges us to honor God, and to keep his commandments. But you, you do quite the contrary, -- asking me why I wear this Crucifix and this Rosary at my neck, making fun of them, and saying they are of no account."

They have a certain ceremony -- one of the most important of their superstitious observances -- which they hold at least once a year, toward February, with great solemnity, in honor of their dreams, through which they claim to know all the decrees of a certain Taronhiaouagon respecting their good or evil fortune. This spirit, they declare, is the mightiest of all spirits, and the Master of our lives. The ceremony is held either for the cure of some person of wealth and station; or before their hunting expedition, to obtain good success there; or when they are about to adopt some important war plans. It Will sometimes last four or five days, during which all is disorder, and no one does more than snatch a hasty meal. All are at liberty to run through the cabins in grotesque attire, both men and women, indicating -- by signs, or by singing in enigmatic and obscure terms -- what they have wished for in their dreams; and each person tries to divine, offering the thing guessed, however precious it may be, and making a boast of appearing generous.

The head-man of the Village is the prime mover in this whole affair, and to him it belongs to determine the time and conditions of the ceremony. It offered a fresh opportunity, which Garacontie seized, to make known to all his people that he was a Christian at heart, and not, as some people are, in external appearance only.

One day, after the completion of some business in the Council, one of the elders brought forward the matter of the Onnonhouaroia, as they call this superstitious ceremony. Then Garacontie took the word and addressed them as follows: "You know that I have sufficiently declared my position on all such matters, and you cannot be ignorant of my sentiments. It suffices to assure you, as I have on all occasions, that I am a Christian." With that he rose and went out of the Cabin, leaving the whole assembly with heads lowered in speechless surprise; so that all had to return to their homes without reaching any conclusion.

This astonished the whole Village, and even stirred to anger some ill-disposed persons; but such firmness on the part of our Neophyte gave consolation to all the Christians, and added to the repute of our Missionaries.

THE MISSIONS OF LA CONCEPTION, SAINT MICHEL, AND SAINT JACQUES (GANONDAGAN), IN SENECA.

ALTHOUGH the Nation of the Senecas is the most barbarous, has the least communication with the French, and is apparently the farthest removed from a condition for embracing the Faith, yet our Fathers, who have labored in those Missions for two years, have found there some chosen souls; and Father Julien Garnier, who is now in sole charge there, asks us for aid, -- in the hope that those Peoples, who exceed in population all the rest of the Iroquois, will finally become softened. A hundred and ten have been Baptized this year.

I Will conclude this Chapter with the Abstract of a letter which I have received from Father Julien Garnier, as follows: "Drunkenness -- caused by the liquor which the infidels bring here from the Dutch, carrying it more than 200 miles by land -- has been more general than ever, having spread even to the women; and these vices continue for twelve or fifteen days after the coming of each band of traders. During all this time, no food is prepared or fire lighted in the Cabins, which remain deserted day and night, -- all the rest of the people taking flight, and hiding in the fields and woods. The intoxicated persons have been so far respectful as not to come to the Chapel; and we have held our meetings there on Sundays as usual."

THE MISSIONS TO THE OTTAWAS DURING THE YEARS 1670 AND 1671. EXPLANATION OF THE IDEA THAT SHOULD BE HELD REGARDING ALL THE MISSIONS INCLUDED UNDER THE NAME OTTAWA.

The Mission of Sault Ste. Marie, 7 miles below the mouth of Lake superior, is situated on the banks of the river by which this great Lake discharges its waters, at the place called Sault Ste. Marie. It is the great resort of most of the Indians of these regions, and lies in the almost universal route of all who go down to the French settlements. It was also on this spot that all these lands were taken possession of in his Majesty's name, in the presence and with the approval of fourteen Nations who had come here for that purpose.

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

It will be easy to recognize the rivers and routes leading to various Nations, either stationary or nomadic, located in the vicinity of this same lake, who are somewhat dependent on this Mission of saint Esprit in the matter of trade, which draws them to our Indians' abode. For it is a Southward course that is taken by the great river called by the natives, Mississippi, which must empty somewhere in the region of the Florida sea, more than 1000 miles away. Beyond that great river lie the eight Villages of the Illinois, 250 miles from saint Esprit point; while 100 or 125 miles Westward from saint Esprit point is found the Nation of the Sioux, -- populous and warlike, and regarded as the Iroquois of these regions, waging war, almost unaided, with all the other tribes nearby. Still farther away is situated another Nation, of an unknown tongue, beyond which lies the Western sea.

Proceeding toward the West-Northwest, we find the people called Assiniboine Sioux, constituting one large village, -- or, as others say, thirty small villages in a group, -- not far from the North sea, two weeks' journey from the Mission of saint Esprit.

Finally, the Crees are dispersed through the whole Region to the North of Lake Superior, -- possessing neither corn, nor fields, nor any fixed abode; but forever wandering through those vast Forests, and seeking food there by hunting. There are also other Nations in those districts, for that reason called "the peoples of the Interior," or of the North Sea.

Note all the places on this Lake where copper is said to be found. For, although we have no definite knowledge on the subject, because no thorough surveys have been made, yet the slabs and huge lumps of this metal which we have seen, each weighing fifty or one hundred gold coins, and much more; that great rock of copper, four hundred gold coins in weight, seen near the head of the Lake by all who pass; and the numerous pieces found at the water's edge in various places -- all force upon us the conviction that somewhere there are parent mines which have not yet been discovered.

After surveying this entire Lake Superior, together with the Nations surrounding it, let us go down to Lake Huron, almost in the middle of which we shall see the Mission of saint Simon, established on the Islands which were formerly the true country of some Nations of the Ottawas, and which they were forced to leave when the Hurons were ravaged by the Iroquois.

But since the King's Arms have compelled the Iroquois to live at peace with our Algonquins, part of the Ottawas have returned to their country; and we have planted this Mission, with which are connected the peoples of the Mississaugas, the Amikwas, and other surrounding tribes.

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

From there, one enters Lake Michigan, also called Lake of the Illinois. After the People who formerly lived near the Western sea were driven away from it by their foes, they sought a refuge on the shores of this Lake; and when the Iroquois expelled them from there also, they finally withdrew to a spot seven days' journey beyond the great river.

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

Approaching the head of the same bay, we see the river of the Menominees, -- or, translated, "the wild-rice Nation," -- which is a dependency of the Mission of St. Francois Xavier, as are also the Potawatomi, the Sauk, and other Tribes, -- who, driven from their own abode, the Lands toward the South, near Mackinac, have sought refuge at the head of this bay. Beyond it, and farther Inland, may be seen the Fire Nation, or the Mascouten, with an Illinois tribe called the Miami, and also the Meskwaki.

Finally, the remaining tribes, farther distant toward the South and Southwest, are either beginning to draw near to us, -- for already the Illinois have reached the bay mentioned above, -- or else are waiting until we can advance to them.

TAKING POSSESSION, IN THE KING'S NAME, OF ALL THE COUNTRIES COMMONLY INCLUDED UNDER THE DESIGNATION OTTAWA.

When Sir Talon, our Intendant, returned from Portugal, and after his shipwreck, he was commanded by the King to return to this country; and at the same time received his Majesty's orders to exert himself strenuously for the establishment of Christianity here, by aiding our Missions, and to cause the name of our invincible Monarch to be acknowledged by even the most remote Nations. These commands were obeyed as speedily as possible. Sir Talon had no sooner landed than he considered means for insuring the success of these plans, -- choosing, to that end, Sir de saint Lusson, commissioned to take possession, in his place and in his Majesty's name, of the territories lying between the East and the West, from Montreal as far as the southern Pacific Ocean, covering the utmost extent and range possible.

For this purpose, after wintering on Lake Huron, Sir de saint Lusson went to Sault Ste. Marie early in May of this year, 1671. First, he summoned the surrounding tribes living within a radius of 250 miles, and even more; and they responded through their Ambassadors, to the number of fourteen Nations. After making all necessary preparations for the successful issue of the whole undertaking to the honor of France, he began, on June fourth of the same year, with the most solemn ceremony ever observed in these regions. For, when all had assembled in a great public council, and a height had been chosen well adapted to his purpose, -- overlooking, as it did, the Village of the Ojibwes, -- he caused the Cross to be planted there, and then the King's standard to be raised, with all the pomp that he could devise.

The Cross was publicly blessed, with all the ceremonies of the Church, by the Superior of these Missions; and then, when it had been raised from the ground for the purpose of planting it, the Vexilla was sung. Many Frenchmen there at the time joined in this hymn, to the wonder and delight of the assembled Indians. Then the French coat of arms, fixed to a Cedar pole, was also erected, above the Cross; while the Exaudiat was sung, and prayer for his Majesty's Sacred person was offered in that faraway corner of the world.

After this, Sir de saint Lusson, observing all the forms customary on such occasions, took possession of those regions, while the air resounded with repeated shouts of "Long live the King!" and with the discharge of musketry, -- to the delight and astonishment of all those peoples, who had never seen anything of the kind.

After this confused uproar of voices and muskets had ceased, perfect silence was imposed upon the whole assemblage; and Father Claude Allouez began to praise the King, to make all those Nations understand what sort of a man he was whose standard they saw, and to whose sovereignty they were that day submitting, being well versed in their tongue and in their ways.

"Here is an excellent matter," said he to them, "which is the cause of this council. Cast your eyes upon the Cross: there it was that Jesus Christ was fastened and died. But look likewise at that other post, to which are affixed the coat-of-arms of the great Captain of France whom we call King. He lives beyond the sea; he is the Captain of the greatest Captains, and has not his equal in the world. All the Captains you have ever seen, or of whom you have ever heard, are mere children compared with him. He is like a great tree, and they, only like little plants that we tread under foot in walking.

"You know about Onontio, that famous Captain of Quebec. You know and feel that he is the terror of the Iroquois, and that his name makes them tremble, now that he has laid waste their country and set fire to their Villages. Beyond the sea there are ten thousand Onontios like him, who are only the Soldiers of that Great Captain, our Great King, of whom I am speaking. When he says, 'I am going to war,' all obey him; and those ten thousand Captains raise Companies of a hundred soldiers each, both on sea and on land. Some embark in ships, one or two hundred in number, like those that you have seen at Quebec. Your Canoes hold only four or five men -- or, at the most, ten or twelve. Our ships in France hold four or five hundred, and even as many as a thousand.

"Other men make war by land, but in such vast numbers that, if drawn up in a double file, they would extend farther than from here to Mississaquenk, although the distance exceeds 50 miles. When he attacks, he is more terrible than the thunder: the earth trembles, the air and the sea are set on fire by the discharge of his Cannon; while he has been seen amid his squadrons, all covered with the blood of his foes, of whom he has slain so many with his sword that he does not Count their scalps, but the rivers of blood which he sets flowing. So many prisoners of war does he lead away that he makes no account of them, letting them go about where they Will, to show that he does not fear them. No one now dares make war upon him, all nations beyond the sea having most submissively sued for peace. From all parts of the world, people go to listen to his words and to admire him, and he alone decides all the affairs of the world.

"What shall I say of his wealth? You Count yourselves rich when you have ten or twelve sacks of corn, some hatchets, glass beads, kettles, or other things of that sort. He has towns of his own, more in number than you have people in all these countries 1250 miles around; while in each town there are warehouses containing enough hatchets to cut down all your forests, kettles to cook all your moose, and glass beads to fill all your cabins. His house is longer than from here to the head of Sault Ste. Marie," -- that is, more than a mile, -- "and higher than the tallest of your trees; and it contains more families than the largest of your Villages can hold."

The Father added much more of this sort, which was received with wonder by those people, who were all astonished to hear that there was any man on earth so great, rich, and powerful.

THE MISSION OF SAINT SIMON ON THE LAKE OF THE HURONS.

WAR and peace gave birth to this Mission, -- the war waged by the people called Sioux, who drove the Ottawas from Saint Esprit point, where they lived; and the peace with the Iroquois, which permitted them to return to their own country. A part of the Ottawas, who last summer separated from the rest, went to the Island called Manitoulin, lying in the middle of Lake Huron, as to their former country.

The chief man of this new Colony asked us at the same time for one of our Fathers, to plant the Faith in that new settlement. To that duty was assigned Father Louis Andre, who went up to those regions this year, and has there carried on a number of temporary Missions, which have borne fruits commensurate with the hardships which he has suffered -- as may be gathered from his own account of each separate Mission.

MISSION AT MISSISSAUGA.

"ON August 28, 1670," -- these are the Father's words -- "I set out from Sault Ste. Marie; and three days later, arrived at Mississauga; these people are situated upon the banks of a river rich in sturgeon, which empties into Lake Huron, nearly 75 miles from Sault Ste. Marie.

"Landing at the place where this Nation had erected its Cabins, I mounted a large stump, to be seen and heard by all these people. To those whom curiosity had attracted, I spoke on the subject of their salvation, -- my speech being short, for a shower came up and silenced me; but it did not prevent my going soon after into the various Cabins to continue my talk, and there I conferred Baptism upon seven little children, but recently born. My visits occupied me until nightfall, and on my return to the Canoe I was obliged to go supperless to bed, as a bilious attack had taken away my appetite, and smoked meat was incapable of restoring it.

"All those poor people had been suffering from a famine, and I found them reduced to a fir-tree diet. I never would have believed that the inner bark of that tree could serve as food, but the Indians told me that they liked it. I do not know whether it would always be so, but I do know that, when hunger forced me to seek some sort of food to keep me from dying, I could not swallow fir-bark. I did eat some bark of another tree, and hunger made me find there the taste of bread and the substantial quality of fish; but my stomach has become used to other and much more meager foods than the above, and even to dispensing almost entirely with food for a considerable time."

MISSION ON THE ISLAND CALLED OUIEBITCHIOUAN.

"AMONG a number of Islands opposite Manitoulin Island, toward the North, there is one called Ouiebitchiouan, where fifteen or sixteen hundred Indians of various Nations assembled, to perform certain superstitious rites which they are accustomed to render to the departed.

"The Captain of the Amikwas having died three years before, his eldest son had invited various tribes to attend the games and spectacles which he wished to hold in his father's honor. He intended to take this opportunity to resuscitate him, as they say, by taking his name; for it is customary to recall the illustrious dead to life at this Festival, by conferring the name of the deceased upon one of the most important men, who is considered his successor and takes his place. When the Festival is held in honor of some noted Captain, the assembly is large; and so it was that the present one was well attended, because he whom they wished to resuscitate had distinguished himself against the Iroquois on diverse occasions, -- especially when, his enemies having made their way to this spot, to the number of 120, they were so severely repulsed by this Captain that only a single man escaped from his hands to carry the news of their defeat. That was what made his memory Revered, and had drawn there many chiefs of different Nations, in so great numbers that there were cabins in which as many as two or three hundred persons were gathered together.

"I did not wish to lose so excellent an opportunity for announcing Jesus Christ to all those peoples, or to let so large a company disperse until I had spoken to them about God and their own salvation. I had difficulty in making myself heard, -- although I spoke in a loud tone, -- on account of the noise and din caused by the chaotic intermingling of so many families. Accordingly I thought that I would speak by means of presents, some of the most important of which I mention below.

"First, showing them some pictures of Christ's Shroud, I said that the maker of all things had a son -- pure spirit, like himself, Eternal like himself, All Powerful like himself -- who had made himself man to save men, and to teach them the way to Heaven; that we called this Son of God, made man, Jesus Christ; that he had died to appease his Father, who was angry with men because of their disobedience and their sins; that this Son was raised to life, and had left on the winding-sheet in which he had been wrapped the impression of his form, just as they saw it; and that I had come to teach them what this God-Man had taught to men.

"The 2nd present, which was a hatchet, was to notify them that they must build me a Chapel, in which I could speak to God and teach them the way to Heaven.

"The 3rd present was intended to persuade them to render the honor and respect due from them to the Governor, who gave them back their country by compelling the Iroquois to sue for peace.

"With the 4th present, I anticipated a complaint which they might well have made, at our having refused them some Frenchmen for building a fort. I presented to them a pair of compasses with which, I told them, I would trace on paper a fort which they, who knew how to handle the hatchet, would build under my direction.

"The 5th was a Sphere, by which I wished to let them know that I would teach their children the Sun's path. This astonished two of the most noted Captains, who, although calling themselves' brothers of the Sun,' yet could not show me its paths, or why some days were longer than others, and many other curious things which, with the aid of my Sphere, I explained to them in terms adapted to their comprehension.

"After therefore speaking in public, my further care was to approach them individually; and in this occupation I spent each entire day throughout the continuance of the assembly, except the last three days, when the Indians held their rejoicings and lamentations in memory of their deceased relatives. My time spent in visiting the Cabins was not wasted, as in twelve days I baptized fifteen little children, while I left no one without adequate instruction."

MISSION ON THE ISLAND OF MANITOULIN.

"AMONG the Islands of Lake Huron, this is the fairest and largest being at least 100 miles long, and from 25 to 50 miles broad. It would be difficult to find a finer country for comfortable settlement. Its soil seems excellent, the country being intersected by frequent streams, dotted with numerous Lakes, and surrounded by many bays abounding in fish. The island is readily found in Lake Huron, as it occupies its center, and attracts attention above all the others by its size.

"It was formerly the Ottawas' country, where they were instructed by our Fathers before the fear of the Iroquois drove them from so pleasant an abode, and forced them to take refuge at the head of Lake Superior, -- where our Missionaries followed them, to a spot more than 750 miles from their enemies. But as one's longing for his native land is not stifled by distance, -- least of all among Indians, who possess an incredibly strong attachment for the country of their birth, -- as soon as they saw some prospect of being able to return there in safety, as a result of the peace with the Iroquois, they hurried to do so; and there I followed them, to engage in their instruction.

"I do not know what my predecessors may have suffered in their country, but I proved well enough by experience how far one can go without quite dying of hunger. My daily allowance of food was not given me until after Sunset; and if there were any bad morsel it was sure to be reserved for me, -- while even that was so small in quantity as hardly to suffice for sustaining life. To such straits were we reduced by ill success in fishing and hunting that year. After causing a thorough but ineffectual search in all the cabins for a bit of smoked meat, I decided that I must resort to every experiment to avoid dying of hunger. Therefore I went into the woods, as did most of the Indians, to hunt for roots, acorns, and a kind of moss called by the French 'rock tripe;' but all in vain. I had not gone far when weakness made me believe that I was a long distance from the cabins, so utterly had my two months' hunger exhausted me.

"Then I remembered seeing the Missionaries eat the inner bark of the fir tree, and I attempted to accomplish this; but I could not swallow it, and I returned from the woods as empty as I had set out. Entering the cabin, I was offered an excellent dish; for I was told that a piece of the door had been put into the pot. 'Will you eat some if we give it to you?' I was asked. 'Why not,' I replied, 'if it is anything that can be eaten?' It was an old Moose-skin, with which a woman who had recently arrived was furnishing us a feast. She gave me a little of it, and it lasted me for twenty-four hours. The same liberality was shown by her on the two succeeding days, but I could not eat the food; for, as usual, I had been given the worst part, and the pieces that had not been steeped in the kettle while it was boiling. As I had some of the Native shoes left, and some books, I had good hopes of prolonging my life, -- taking a little Theriac, after eating such unaccustomed diet.

"My being in so deplorable a condition, however, did not make me lose heart, or cease my instruction to the Indians. Never have I engaged more in the saving of souls than during that period. I made daily visits to the cabins, where I gave instruction and held prayers, as was my habit, until I was forced to desist after being dangerously bitten in the leg by one of their dogs. This mishap I turned to account by urging the people to build me a Chapel, as they had pledged themselves to do. It Was erected in a short time; and then I began to make the round of the cabins, bell in hand, to call the children together twice a day, -- in the morning, to teach them the prayers and the Catechism; in the evening, to explain to them some Pictures representing the life and teachings of the Son of God. To these I added some curiosities which I had brought from France, and which I showed them with excellent results, -- the Trigon especially being of use to me in giving them some conception of the beauty of Paradise and the Mystery of the holy Trinity.

"Finally, to arouse their fervor more and more, I conceived the project of composing some Spiritual Canticles. No sooner had I begun to have these sung in the Chapel, accompanied by a sweet-toned flute (for one must make himself all things to all men, to convert all to Jesus Christ) than they all came in crowds, both adults and children; so that, to avoid confusion, I let only the girls enter the Chapel, while the others remained without, and therefore we sang in two choruses, those without responding to those within. By this means it was easy for me to instruct them all, and prepare them for Baptism, -- which, however, I conferred on only six children, the continuance and increasing severity of the famine dispersing all the people and closing this Mission."

MISSION ON LAKE NIPISSING.

"FINDING nothing further to live on at Lake Huron, I was therefore called to that of the Nipissings, to impart my teachings there.

"Accordingly, I took a Canoe for that lake; and had I not been with some master-Canoemen, that night of my departure from Manitoulin Island would have been the last of my life. So great was the danger that I have seen nothing like it on the ocean, if I may compare a Canoe voyage with that of a Ship. During the darkness, we passed between rocks that were beaten by the waves with such violence that we seemed every moment about to be engulfed in the waters, even the Indians thinking that we were lost. Yet we were preserved, and finally, after many hardships, arrived at lake Nipissing.

"Under the name Outiskouagami, or 'long-haired people,' are included various Nations of which the principal one dwells in the country of the Nipissings and on the so-called 'Frenchmen's river,' which connects Lake Huron with Lake Nipissing.

"As far as I can judge, the country of these people is rugged, and little adapted to agriculture; but, in compensation, it abounds in Beavers, nothing but lakes and treeless rocks meeting the eye in nearly every direction.

"These rocks were of great service to me, for they are not so sterile as might be imagined, but possess the means of preventing a poor soul from starving. They are covered with a kind of plant, which resembles the scum on a marsh that has been dried up by the Sun's heat. Some call it 'moss,' although it is not in the form of moss; others style it 'rock tripe;' for myself, I would rather use the name 'rock mushrooms.' There are two kinds: the small variety is easy to Cook, and is better than the large, which does not Cook tender, and is always a little bitter. TO make a broth of the first, it is only necessary to boil it; and then, being left near the fire, and occasionally stirred with a stick, it is made to resemble black glue. One must close his eyes on first tasting it, and take care in case his lips stick together.

"This manna is perennial, and when one is hungry he partakes of it without longing for the fleshpots of Egypt. It may be gathered at any season, as it grows on the steep slope of the rocks, where the snow does not lodge so easily as in a flat region.

"Extremely abundant here in Summer are blueberries, a small fruit of the size of a pea, and pleasant to the taste; and before and after the season of snow, there is found in the marshes another fruit, of a red color and slightly larger. It is somewhat sour, and is liked by those whose teeth are never set on edge.

"In some places there are oak trees, but they do not all bear equally good acorns. Once I ate some that were scarcely inferior in taste to Chestnuts. Others are bitter, and need to be cooked twelve hours, with occasional changes of water, and to be passed through a sort of lye, to be rendered edible, -- that is, the first boiling is in water containing a good quantity of ashes.

"I am so knowledgeable on the subject of acorns and rock tripe, as they furnished my chief sustenance during my three months' stay here. I was occasionally given a moose-skin, or even some smoked meat; but that was a feast by no means common. Nature is content with little, and becomes used to anything. so accustomed did I become to acorns that ate them almost as one would eat olives; and I was not treated to them so generously as not to leave me often still hungry for them.

"Despite this famine, I did not neglect my duties. I could not entice the Indians to prayers with presents, but my musical instrument came to my aid. I promised them to play on it, and to let them sing my Canticles, after they had prayed. This inducement was so successful that not only did I instruct those who loved the faith, but also those who hated it; for, in their wish to hear their children sing, they learned everything with them, almost without intending to. In the space of three months, they became sufficiently versed in our Mysteries; for it was my unfailing custom, in the morning at daybreak, and in the evening a little before Sunset, to make the round of the Cabins. I explained now our principal Mysteries, now some of my Canticles; again, I questioned the children in their parents' presence, making everyone join in public prayers; while finally all would sing together. As a result, my rounds were not, as a rule, completed until late at night, when nothing was to be found to eat. Acorns, rock tripe, and moose-skin were then delicious dishes to me.

"When the ice began to melt, I prepared to return to Manitoulin Island, where I found occupation for three weeks among the Amikwas, who form the Beaver Nation. There I Baptized nine children, and discharged the same functions as at the other Missions; but I did not find the same scarcity of provisions, for God was satisfied with our previous sufferings from hunger, and gave us the means for ending the winter in comfort, moose being more easily killed at that time of the year.

"Missionaries to this country of the Ottawas must know with saint Paul what it is to experience scarcity much oftener than plenty. Most of our Fathers have, during the past winter, received their share of this grace shown them by our Lord, of suffering something in his service. The souls of these poor Indians are precious enough to make us undergo with joy all such hardships; and those who aspire to the happiness of laboring for their conversion must expect to find nothing here, except what nature refuses to have anywhere else."

THE MISSION OF SAINT IGNACE AT MACKINAC.

MACKINAC is an Island of note in these regions. It is 2 miles in diameter, and has such high, steep rocks in some places that it can be seen at a distance of more than 30 miles.

It is situated exactly in the strait connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, and forms the key and the door for all the peoples of the South, as does Sault Ste. Marie for those of the North; for in these regions there are only those two passages by water for many Nations, who must seek one or the other of the two if they wish to visit the French settlements.

This circumstance makes it easy both to instruct these poor people when they pass, and to gain ready access to their countries.

This spot is the most noted in all these regions for its abundance of fish, since, in Indian parlance, this is its native country. No other place, however it may abound in fish, is properly its abode, which is only in the neighborhood of Mackinac.

In fact, besides the fish common to all the other Nations, as the herring, carp, pike, golden fish, whitefish, and sturgeon, there are here found three kinds of trout: one, the common kind; the second, larger, being three feet in length and one in width; and the third, monstrous, for no other word expresses it, -- being besides so fat that the Indians, who delight in grease, have difficulty in eating it. They are so abundant that one man will pierce with his javelin as many as 40 or 50, under the ice, in three hours' time.

These advantages, in times past, attracted to so desirable a spot most of the Indians of this region, who were dispersed by the fear of the Iroquois. The three Nations now dwelling as strangers on Green Bay, formerly lived on the mainland, to the south of this Island, -- some on the shores of the Lake Michigan, others on those of Lake Huron. A part of the Ojibwes possessed territories on the mainland, toward the west; and the rest also regard that region as their country for passing the winter, during which there are no fish at Sault Ste. Marie. The Hurons called Petuns lived for some years on the Island itself, taking refuge from the Iroquois. Four Villages of the Ottawas had also their lands in these regions. But, especially, those who bore the name of the Island and were called Mackinac, were so numerous that some of them still living declare that they constituted thirty Villages; and that they all had entrenched themselves in a fort 4 miles in circumference, when the Iroquois -- elated at gaining a victory over three thousand men of that Nation, who had carried the war even into the country of the Mohawks -- came and defeated them.

The abundance of fish, and the excellence of the soil for raising Indian corn, have always proved a powerful attraction for the tribes of these regions, the greater number of whom live only on fish, and some of them on Indian corn.

So it is that many of these same tribes, seeing the apparent stability of the peace with the Iroquois, are turning their eyes toward so advantageous a location as this, with the intention of returning here, each to its own country, in imitation of those who have already made such a beginning on the Islands of Lake Huron. The lake, by this means, Will be populated with nations almost from one end to the other -- which would be desirable for facilitating the instruction of these tribes, as we would not be forced, in that case, to go in quest of them 500 and 750 miles on these great Lakes, with inconceivable danger and fatigue on our part.

To promote the execution of the plan announced to us by a number of Indians, to settle this country again, -- some of them having already passed the Winter here, hunting in the neighborhood -- we have also wintered here to form plans for the Mission of saint Ignace, from where it Will be easy to gain access to all the Missions of Lake Huron when the Nations shall have returned each to its own district.

We do not mean to imply that, amid so many advantages, this place has not its inconveniences, -- especially for Frenchmen, who are not yet skilled, as the Indians are, in the various kinds of fishing amid which the Indians are born and raised. The winds and tides certainly furnish the fishermen enough to cope with.

First, the winds. This spot is midway between three great Lakes which surround it and seem to be incessantly playing ball with one another, -- the winds from Lake Michigan no sooner subsiding than the Lake of the Hurons sends back those which it has received, then Lake Superior adds others of its own. Thus they continue in endless succession; and as these Lakes are large, it is, inevitable that the winds arising from them should be violent, especially throughout the Autumn.

The second inconvenience arises from the tides, concerning which no fixed rules can be given. For, whether they are caused by the winds, which, blowing from one direction or another, drive the water before them, and make it run in a sort of flow and ebb; or whether they are true tides, and so some other cause explains the rise and fall of the water, we have at times noted such irregularity in this action, and again such precision, that we cannot yet pronounce upon the principle of these movements. We have noted that, at full and at new Moon, the tides change once each day, -- today high, tomorrow low, -- for eight or ten days; while at other times, hardly any change is perceptible, the water maintaining nearly an average altitude, neither high nor low, unless the winds cause some variation.

But in this sort of tide, three things are somewhat surprising. The first is that it almost always flows in one direction here, -- namely, toward Lake Michigan, -- and meanwhile it rises and falls as usual.

The second is that it runs almost always against the wind, sometimes with as much strength as the tides before Quebec; and we have seen cakes of ice moving against the wind as, rapidly as ships under sail.

The third is that, amid these currents, we have discovered a great discharge of water gushing up from the bottom of the Lake, and causing constant whirlpools in the strait between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. We believe this to be an underground outlet from Lake superior into Lake Huron and Lake Michigan; and indeed, we do not otherwise see any answer to two queries, -- namely, what becomes of all the water of Lake Superior, and from where comes that in the two Lakes of Huron and of Michigan? For, as to Lake Superior, it has but one visible outlet, which is the river of Sault Ste. Marie; and yet it receives into it more than forty fine rivers, of which fully twelve are wider and of greater volume than that of Sault Ste. Marie. Where does all that water go, unless it find an issue under ground and so passes through? Besides, we see only a few rivers entering Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, which, however, are of enormous size, and probably receive the greater part of their water by subterranean inlets, such as that one may be, of which we are speaking.

But whatever the cause of the currents, the fishermen feel their effects only too well, since these break their nets, or drive them upon the rocks at the bottom of the lake, where they easily catch, owing to the shape of rocks of this sort, which are of a remarkable nature. For they are not ordinary stones, but are all pierced through like sponges, in forms so diversified by numerous cavities as to furnish a pleasing spectacle to the curious, -- who would find in one of these stones a sort of illustration, in miniature, of what is attempted with such ingenuity in artificial grottoes.

The future course of this Mission depends on the resolution adopted by the Indians to return there. Indeed, we learn that the Petun Hurons have already sought refuge there, for reasons which will be explained.

THE MISSION OF SAINT ESPRIT, AT THE HEAD OF LAKE SUPERIOR.

THESE regions of the North have their Iroquois, as do those of the South. They are a certain people called the Sioux, who, as they are naturally warlike, have made themselves feared by all their neighbors; and although they use only bows and arrows, they yet handle them with such skill and readiness as to fill the air with shafts in an instant, -- especially when, like the Parthians, they face about in their flight; for then they discharge their arrows so rapidly as to render themselves just as formidable when fleeing as when attacking.

They live near and on the banks of that great river called Mississippi, of which further mention will be made. They comprise no fewer than fifteen Villages of considerable size, and yet do not know what it is to till the soil for the purpose of sowing seed. They are content with a kind of marsh rye which we call wild rice, which the prairies furnish them naturally, -- they dividing the prairies among themselves, and each gathering his own harvest separately, without encroaching on the others.

They are 150 miles from the head of Lake superior in a Westerly direction, and almost in the center of the Nations of the West, -- with all of whom they are at war, because of a general League formed against themselves as against a common foe.

They speak a Language peculiar to themselves, and entirely distinct from that of the Algonquins and Hurons, whom they far exceed in magnanimity, -- being often content with the glory of winning a victory, and sending back free and uninjured the prisoners captured by them in battle. Our Ottawas and Hurons of point saint Esprit had so far maintained a sort of peace with them; but as their relations became embroiled during the past winter, some murders even being committed on each side, our Indians had reason to fear the storm might burst over them, and deemed it safer to leave their location.

This they did in the Spring, when they withdrew to Lake Huron, -- the Ottawas to the Island of Manitoulin, to join the people of their own Nation who had preceded them there, where we then planted the Mission of saint Simon; and the Hurons to that famous Island of Mackinac, where we last winter began the Mission of saint Ignace.

And as, in transmigrations of this sort, people's minds are in no settled condition, so Father Marquette, who had charge of that Mission of saint Esprit, had more to suffer than to achieve for those people's Conversion; for what with Baptizing some children, comforting the sick, and continuing the instruction of those professing Christianity, he was unable to give much attention to converting the others. He had to leave that post with the rest, and to follow his flock, undergoing the same hardships and incurring the same dangers.

Their purpose was to go to that land of Mackinac where they had already dwelt in times past, and which they have reason to prefer to many others because of its attractions, and also because its climate seems to be utterly different from that of the surrounding regions. For the winter there is rather short, not beginning until long after Christmas, and ending toward the middle of March, at which season we have witnessed here the new birth of Spring.

DESCRIPTION OF DIVERSE PARHELIA THAT HAVE APPEARED THIS WINTER IN THESE REGIONS.

ON the twenty-first of January, 1671, one or two hours before Sunset, the first Parhelion was seen at Green Bay. High in the air was seen a great Crescent, its horns pointing Heavenward; while on the two sides of the Sun were two other Suns, at equal distances from the real one, which occupied the middle. They were not entirely revealed, as they were covered in part by a Rainbow-hued cloud, and in part by an intense white radiance, which prevented the eye from clearly distinguishing them. When the Indians saw this, they said that it was the sign of a severe cold spell; and the succeeding days were extremely cold.

On March sixteenth of the same year, the same Parhelion showed itself in three places more than 125 miles apart.

It was seen at the Mission of saint Ignace at Mackinac, where three Suns appeared, seeming to be about a mile from one another.

The following three circumstances were noted by us. First, they became visible twice on the same day, -- namely, in the morning, an hour after the Sun rose; and in the evening, an hour before it set.

Second, that one of the three which in the morning was toward the South, was found in the evening toward the North; and the one which in the morning was toward the North, was seen in a lower position than the one in the middle; while in the evening, having changed its position and taken the South side, it was situated higher than the real Sun.

The third circumstance has to do with the shape of the two false Suris; for the one toward the South seemed so well formed that it could hardly be distinguished from the real one, except that, on the side toward the real one, it appeared to be adorned with a band of scarlet. The other, however, which was on the left, had much more the appearance of an oval-shaped Iris than of a Sun, although it was evidently a representation of one, in which the Painter had not been remarkably successful; yet it was crowned with a sort of gold ribbon, which gave it a beautiful aspect.

This same Parhelion was seen the same day on the Island of Manitoulin, in Lake Huron, more than 100 miles from Mackinac. The following curious facts were noted. Three Suns appeared in the West simultaneously, parallel with the earth, and equal in size, although not in beauty.

The real Sun was toward the West-Southwest, while of the two false ones, one was toward the West, the other toward the Southwest. At the same time were seen parts of two circles parallel with the horizon and colored much like the Rainbow, -- the blue being inside, the color of aurora in the middle, and the dull gray or ash-color on the outside. Besides, a quarter of a circle, perpendicular to the horizon, and colored nearly in the same manner, touched the false Sun which was toward the West; and cutting the semicircle which was parallel with the horizon, became confused and lost at this intersection, where the false Sun appeared. The Sky was not so clear near the Suns as in its remaining portion, where not a cloud was seen and the atmosphere was moderately clear. The Moon was distinctly visible, and, had it been night, the stars would have been easily seen. The atmosphere was able to hold the false Suns for a considerable time, but not the real one. These three Suns together did not give so much light as does the real Sun when the Sky is perfectly clear.

There was an apparent wind in the higher atmosphere, the false Suns disappearing from time to time, as did even the real one; above it finally was seen a fourth Sun, situated directly over it, and at the same distance from it as the two others which were seen at its sides. This third false Sun continued but a short time, although the two semicircles which we mentioned did not fade away so soon; and when all the false Suns ceased to appear, they left behind them two Rainbows as the last beautiful traces of their light. The Indians, who regard all such unusual things as Spirits, and who hold that these Spirits are married, asked the Father who instructed them whether these were the Sun's wives that he was observing with such curiosity. He told them that God wished to instruct them concerning the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, and to persuade them by means of the Sun that they worshiped. Indeed, on the day after this Parhelion, the women who had before been unwilling to hear any mention of prayer, offered their children for Baptism.

Finally, this same Phenomenon was also seen on the same day at Sault Ste. Marie, but in a manner different and more wondrous, -- since, in addition to the appearance of three Suns in the morning, eight were seen all together soon after noon, arranged as follows. The real Sun was crowned with a circle formed of Rainbow hues, of which it occupied the center, having at its two sides two counterfeit Suns, and two others placed, one at its head, so to speak, and the other at its feet. These four last named were situated on the circle's circumference, equally distant from, and directly opposite, one another.

Also, another circle was seen, of like hues with the first, but much larger, passing up through the center of the real Sun and carrying, at its lowest point and at its two sides, three apparent Suns. And all these eight luminaries formed together a Spectacle highly pleasing to see, as can be inferred from the figure representing it

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER, AND THE NATIONS DEPENDENT ON IT.

THIS Mission embraces eight different Nations, or even more, if we include some unsettled tribes which sustain relations to it.

The first to receive our attention, and the best instructed in the faith, are the people living at the head of the Bay commonly called Green Bay. This name, which is the same as that given by the Indians to those who live near the sea, it bears perhaps because the odor of the marshes surrounding this Bay somewhat resembles that of the sea; and there can hardly be more violent blasts of wind on the Ocean than are experienced in this region, accompanied by heavy and almost continual thunder.

Four Nations live here, -- that is, the people named Winnebagos, who have always lived here as in their own country, and who have been reduced to nothing from their populous state in the past, having been exterminated by the Illinois, their enemies; the Potawatomi, the Sauk, and the nation of the Fork also live here, but as foreigners, driven by their fear of the Iroquois from their own territories, which lie between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

A fifth Nation, known as "the Wild-Rice people," because this grain grows in their country, dwells on the banks of a river of considerable beauty, which empties into this same Bay, 35 or 50 miles from its head.

Proceeding inland by another river at the end of the Bay, we pursue our course, and, turning to the right, encounter the Nation of the Meskwaki, -- a proud and arrogant people; while at no great distance is another, called the Nantoue. Then, ascending the Same river toward the left, we, find the Mascouten and Miami Nations, who are more civilized and gentle, as Will be shown below.

All these Nations are included in the Mission of saint Francois Xavier, and it Will be seen in the following articles how the Faith was proclaimed to them all, and what were the operations of grace upon those poor Indians.

JOURNEY TO GREEN BAY

FATHER Claude Allouez, -- who has charge of this Church, and laid its first foundations -- being obliged last year to make a tour as far as Sault Ste. Marie, set out with little delay, intending not merely to make his way to Green Bay, but also to push on as far as the Mascouten. I accompanied him on this journey.

We reached the head of this Bay on the 6th of September, 1670, after a voyage of more than 250 miles, which we made by Canoe, without mishap. We found matters there in a bad state, and the Indians highly incensed against the French who were trading with them; they were maltreating the French in deed and Word, pillaging and robbing them of their goods, and subjecting them to unbearable insolence and indignity.

The cause of the disturbance was this: the natives had received some ill treatment from the French, whom they had this year visited for purposes of trade, and especially from the Soldiers, at whose hands they claimed to have suffered many wrongs and injuries. To avenge themselves, -- these peoples being more unruly than any others, -- they had chosen 40 of their Young men, appointed a Captain over them, and therefore formed a Company of Soldiers, for the purpose of treating our Frenchmen who were in those regions in the same way as the Soldiers at our French settlements had treated them.

Upon our arrival, we soothed the feelings and checked the insolence of these Indians; after which we called together the four Nations of this Bay, to announce to them in full Council the motive of our coming, which was merely to teach them the way to Heaven; and to administer the needed reprimands for the current disturbances, to which, as our hearers were elders and were more discreet than the Young men, they were bound to apply a remedy unless they wished to incur the Governor's indignation.

This Council was attended, on their part, with the same Formalities they had seen observed at our settlements. Those newly-made Soldiers took it upon themselves to honor us with the same ceremonies that they had seen practiced by ours, but wholly in the manner of Indians, -- that is, absurdly, as they were unaccustomed to such things. For, when it was time to assemble, two of them came to call us, muskets shouldered and war-hatchets, instead of swords, at the belt; and throughout the sitting of the assembly they continued this species of sentry duty at the Cabin door, assuming as much dignity as they could, and pacing back and forth (which the Indians never do) with their muskets now on one shoulder and now on the other, striking the most astonishing attitudes, and making themselves the more ridiculous, the more they tried to comport themselves seriously. We had difficulty in refraining from laughter, although we were negotiating the most important matters, -- namely, the Mysteries of our Religion, and what must be done so not to burn forever in Hell.

In the evening, all the elders paid us a visit of honor, those Indian Soldiers, so amusingly Frenchified, still on duty. They assured us of their pleasure at seeing us, and at hearing about matters pertaining to the Faith, which had been explained to them. Then, trying to justify themselves as best they could concerning the disorders for which we had reprimanded them, they added that their Soldiers had not used the French so ill as they themselves had been used at our settlements; that they had maimed no one, but themselves bore the marks of broken arms, cut hands, and other wounds that they had received. They further declared that their Young men had no sense, and would not listen to the elders, especially since they allowed themselves the license commonly attributed to Soldiers; still, they said, they had obeyed us and had dispersed that Company, of which we saw no further sign. They gave also several other excuses in their justification, and told us about the kind reception which the Governor and the French at Quebec had given them, -- which had compelled them to stop the disturbances all the more promptly.

JOURNEY OF THE SAME TWO FATHERS TO THE MASCOUTEN, AND THE BEAUTY AND CURIOSITIES OF THAT COUNTRY.

Scarcely has one proceeded a day's journey up the river from the head of Green Bay, when he finds 7 or 10 miles of rapids to contend with; and they are more difficult than is usual in other rivers, since the pebbles on which the men must walk barefoot, dragging the Canoes, are so Sharp and cutting that they have the utmost difficulty in withstanding the Swift current which flows there.

At the Fall of these rapids, we found a sort of Idol which the Indians of that region honor, never failing to offer it some Sacrifice in passing, -- either of tobacco, or arrows, or painted objects, or other articles, -- to thank it for aiding them to escape, on their way up, the dangers of the waterfalls occurring in the stream; or else, if they have to descend, to pray for its assistance on that perilous voyage. It is a rock shaped by nature in the form of a human bust, in which one seems to distinguish, from a distance, the head, shoulders, breast and, more especially, the face, which passers-by are accustomed to Paint with their finest colors. To remove this cause of idolatry, we had it carried away by main force and thrown to the bottom of the river, never to appear again.

After accomplishing this journey, which is equally rough and dangerous, we enter, in compensation for all these difficulties overcome, the fairest land possible to see, -- in every direction, prairies only, as far as the eye can reach, cut by a river which gently winds through it, and on which it requires the traveler to paddle his canoe. The region of forests and mountains is passed when one arrives here, and nothing but little grove-planted hills present themselves at intervals, as if to offer their shade to the traveler, so he can there find shelter from the Sun's heat.

Nothing but elms, oaks, and other similar trees are seen here, -- and not those which, growing commonly only on poor soil, are merely fit to furnish bark for covering Cabins or for making Canoes. So these people do not know what it is to travel by water; and have no other houses, mostly, than such as are made of rushes woven together in the form of mats. Vines, plum-trees, and apple-trees are readily found on the way; and seem by their aspect to invite the traveler to land and taste of their fruit, which is sweet and exceedingly abundant.

The banks of this river, which flows gently through the midst of these prairies, are covered throughout with a certain plant bearing what is called here wild rice, of which the birds are wonderfully fond. All sorts of game are so plentiful that without stopping long one can kill what he chooses.

All this prairie country, extending to our knowledge more than 750 miles in every direction, -- to say nothing of its farther extent, of which we have no knowledge, -- affords ample sustenance to the wild cows, not infrequently encountered in herds of four and five hundred each. These, by their abundance, furnish adequate provision for whole Villages, which therefore are not obliged to scatter by families during their hunting season, as is the case with the Indians elsewhere.

In these rich pasture-lands are also found bison, called Pisikiou, which resemble our bulls in size and strength. They surpass our cattle, however, -- first, in being more prolific, the female bearing three and four Young at a time; secondly, in having larger horns, which are similar to those of our cattle in form and color, but are of double their size, being nearly two feet long when the animal is fairly mature; and thirdly, in having thick, heavy, dark-colored hair which somewhat resembles the wool of sheep, but is coarser and thicker. Therefore it is made into robes and fur garments which afford greater protection from the cold than any other furs of this country. Its flesh is excellent; and the fat, when mixed with wild rice, makes the most delicate of native dishes.

The same river of which we are speaking is broken up by several small lakes, on which are seen in great numbers certain rare birds of a peculiar sort, called by the Indians Chete. One would take them for Swans, from a distance, as they have the Swan's white plumage and long necks, their feet, and bodies of the same size; but the point of difference and curiosity lies in the beak, which is fully a foot in length, and as thick as one's arm. They usually carry it resting upon the neck, which they bend back for the purpose, as if to offer it a most inviting bed. They maintain this posture to relieve themselves of its weight, except when they use it for fishing; for then it is wonderful to see how, beneath this beak, nature has fashioned a sort of net, -- which opens and shuts, more or less, according to the supply of fish there enclosed. This net is made of skin, of extremely fine and elastic texture, which, when closed, is gathered up so well and so snugly all along the under side of the beak that nothing of it is seen, -- so the fishes may not take fright at it; but the birds can enlarge it so quickly and open it so wide that it would easily hold a man's head. Swimming at the same time to meet the fish, or waiting for it below the rapids, while it comes down, they hold this not all stretched for it, and make it enter as into a fishing-net, then they promptly shut it, in case the fish escape. Thus God teaches man artificial fishing, by the lesson furnished by these natural fishers.

One does not tire of paddling over these lakes and rivers when he meets with such diversion. He has to push on for more than 50 miles through this fair country before reaching the Mascouten; they are situated on a little hill, from where nothing but vast prairies are to be seen on all sides, with some groves scattered, which nature seems to furnish solely for the gratification of the eye, or to meet the needs of man, who cannot dispense with wood.

Here we arrived on the fifteenth of September, 1670, and were received by an assembly of all the people.

EVENTS ATTENDING THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FAITH TO THE MASCOUTEN, AND TO ONE OF THE ILLINOIS NATIONS.

THE Fire Nation is erroneously so called, its correct name being Mascouten, which means "a treeless country," like that inhabited by these people; but as, by changing a few letters, this Word is made to mean "fire," therefore the people have come to be called the Fire Nation. It is united, within the same palisade enclosure, to another people called the Miami, who form one of the Nations of the Illinois, -- being separated from the rest, to make its home in these regions.

They form together more than three thousand people, and are able to furnish each four hundred men for the common defense against the Iroquois, who pursue them even into these remote districts.

On the next day after arriving at this Village, we took in hand the matters which had led us there, and convoking the elders of the two nations separately, we announced to them:

First, that we were the Ambassadors of the Master of our lives, sent to all Nations of this earth to instruct them; that we had spoken to the Ottawas, to the Ojibwes, to the Hurons, to the Potawatomi, and to all the others, by whom we had been heard with favor; and that we promised ourselves the same from them, in view of the kind reception that they had given us on our arrival.

Secondly, Father Allouez, after reviewing what he had taught them the previous Spring, explained some of the most evident truths of our Faith, as, for example, on Paradise and Hell; while to aid them better to conceive and to take into their hearts, he showed them a Picture of the universal Judgment, and described to them, in terms suited to their understanding, something of the happiness of the Saints and the torments of the damned.

These poor people looked with wonder at this Picture, having never seen anything like it, and listened with an attention and silence full of respect, -- but with such eagerness that, not satisfied with the instructions given them through the day in public and in private, in the streets, public places, and fields, they assembled during the night, in crowds, to hear a more detailed account of the Mysteries about which they had been told.

They had conceived so high an opinion of the things of the Faith, and of those who proclaimed it, that they invited us to many feasts, not so much for the sake of eating as of obtaining, through us, either recovery from their ailments, or good success in their hunting and in war. Of this sort was a feast to which we were called, where a peculiar ceremony was observed. It seemed to be a feast for fighting, and not for eating; for in place of a table, a sort of trophy had been erected, on which had been hung all a warrior's arms, -- bow, arrows, quiver, and war-hatchet, -- together with provisions, namely, a little meal and some tobacco; with other articles commonly carried on their persons by the Warriors of this country, to give them renewed courage for fighting. The master of the feast did, however, produce a dish of Indian corn cooked in bison-fat; and in placing it before us, he addressed us as follows:

"You have heard of the peoples called Sioux. They have eaten me to the bone, and have not left me a single member of my family alive. I must taste of their flesh, as they have tasted of my kinsfolk. I am ready to set out against them in war, but I despair of success there unless you, who are the masters of life and of death, are favorable toward me in this undertaking. Therefore, to obtain victory by your means, I invite you to this banquet."

This was a fine opportunity to persuade that man and instruct him, and with him the entire assembly, by declaring that we were but the weak servants of the great God of Armies; but that the great secret of success was to acknowledge him and obey his commandments. It was easy during the meal, which was simply of Indian corn, to continue these themes.

They invited us to other feasts also, for similar purposes, -- either to gain our favor or to afford us some diversion; for occasionally some of the oldest men would appear, dressed as if for playing a comedy, and would dance to the music of some tuneful airs, which they sang in excellent harmony.

THE NATION OP THE ILLINOIS, ESPECIALLY THE GOOD DISPOSITION AND POLITENESS OF THOSE PEOPLES.

As the name Ottawas has been given to all the Indians of these regions, although of different Nations, because the first to appear among the French were the Ottawas, so it is with the name of the Illinois, who are numerous and dwell toward the South, since the first who visited point saint Esprit to trade were called Illinois.

These People are situated in the midst of that beautiful region mentioned by us, near the great river named Mississippi, of which it is good to note here what information we have gathered. It seems to form an enclosure, as it were, for all our lakes, rising in the regions of the North and flowing toward the south, until it empties into the sea -- supposed by us to be either the vermilion or the Florida Sea, as there is no knowledge of any large rivers in that direction except those which empty into these two Seas. Some Indians have assured us that this is so noble a river that, at more than 750 miles' distance from its mouth, it is larger than the one flowing before Quebec; for they declare that it is more than 2 miles wide. They also state that all this vast stretch of country consists of nothing but treeless prairies, -- so that its inhabitants are all obliged to burn peat and animal excrement dried in the Sun, -- until we come within 50 miles of the sea, when Forests begin to appear again. Some warriors of this country who tell us they have made their way there, declare that they saw there men resembling the French, who were splitting trees with long knives; and that some of them had their houses on the water, -- for therefore they expressed themselves in speaking of sawed boards and of Ships. They state that all along that great river are various Tribes of different Nations, of dissimilar languages and customs, and all at war with one another. Some are seen situated on the coast, but many more in the interior; and so they continue until we reach the Nation of the Sioux, who are scattered over more than 250 miles of territory.

The Illinois lie on the farther side of this great river; and from them those living here with the Mascouten separated, for the purpose of forming here a sort of transplanted Colony. For it is almost impossible for us to make the long journey to their country; and many of them have already joined their countrymen here.

These people showed us such politeness, caresses, and evidences of affection as will scarcely be credited; and this is especially true of the chief of that Illinois Nation, who is respected in his cabin as a Prince would be in his Palace. He was ever surrounded there by the leading men of the Village, whom we might almost call courtiers, so becoming and deferential was their demeanor, and so respectful the silence which they never failed to observe as a mark of their esteem for his person and for us.

It was a Cabin of considerable size, in the middle of which he had put his most precious possessions, to receive us there, and had taken his seat opposite us; and he hardly ever went out during our entire stay, as if to honor us with his presence, and not to lose our company or conversation.

Even in the streets and in the other Cabins, when we were invited out to eat, he commonly attended us, or sent some of his people to escort us. The duties of the kitchen, although speedily dispatched, were not performed in his presence or in ours. He took remarkable pains to prevent our being disturbed by the throngs of people who were constantly feasting their 'eyes upon us. When it was time to hold our evening prayers, he always bestirred himself, and showed the most charming eagerness to make a bright, shining fire that would give us abundant light for reading; and he even imposed a profound silence upon all who were present.

To show us the greater honor, he took care to have his Cabin constantly full of the chief men of his Nation, who seemed to pay their Court very well for Barbarians. Although, during our entire stay at that place, our speech with this Captain and with the rest was only on the things of the Faith, he never showed any weariness; but the more he heard, the more, eager he seemed to learn.

And what we say of the Chief may be said of all the rest of this Nation, in whom we have noted the same disposition, together with a docility which has no savor of the Barbarian. Besides their evident eagerness to receive our instructions, they enjoy a great advantage over other Indians, as far as the Faith is concerned, in that they have hardly any superstitions, and are not accustomed to offer Sacrifices to various spirits, as do the Ottawas and others. The reason of this may be that, as they do not fish, but live on Indian corn, which is easily raised in those fertile lands that they occupy, and on game, which is plenty, and of which they are never in want, they have no fear of the perils of the Lakes, -- where many other Indians perish while fishing, either in their Canoes, or by breaking through the ice. The Ottawas believe that there are water spirits which devour them, and which plunder their nets when the nets are carried off by storms; and so they try to appease them or to win their favor by numerous Sacrifices. These people are free from all that, and worship only the Sun. But, when they are instructed in the truths of our Religion, they will speedily change this worship and render it to the Creator of the Sun, as some have already begun to do.

During our stay in this Village, twelve or fifteen men arrived there from the real country of the Illinois -- partly to visit their relatives or their countrymen, and partly to do some trading. When they were about to take their departure and return home, they appeared before us ceremoniously, in a body; and, after saluting us, told us in the presence of a great crowd, which always surrounded us, that they came to entrust their journey to us; and that they implored us to conduct them safely to their own country, there to rejoin their kinsfolk, and to preserve them from all mishap on the way. And therefore they took their leave of us, proud of having spoken with some spirits, as they said, and of having received news from the other world.

Let us add one word more on these Illinois, concerning their manners and customs. All Indians pride themselves on their fine headgear; and on wearing their hair either long or short, as may be their National mode. These people have united both fashions, having what the Ottawas regard as handsome in their short and erect hair, and also what pleases others in their long locks; for, clipping most of the head, as do the above-named people, they leave four great mustaches, one on each side of each ear, arranging them in such order as to avoid inconvenience from them.

They are not rich in household utensils, their country hardly furnishing them material for making bark dishes, as the trees growing on those vast and beautiful prairies are not suitable for the purpose. But if they are therefore at a disadvantage, so beautiful a country seems, in compensation, to contribute to the lovable disposition with which they are endowed, and of which they gave us the most convincing proof upon our departure. For the Chief of whom we have spoken, -- who is the King of the Nation, -- together with the leading men and a part of the Village, decided to accompany us, as a mark of honor, to our place of embarkation, a short 2 mile's distance from the Village.

Upon our return there, we hope to find a Chapel, which they are preparing to build themselves.

THE MISSION OF SAINT MARC AT THE VILLAGE OF THE MESKWAKI.

THESE people are arrogant because of their numbers, their Cabins being estimated at more than two hundred, while in each there are five or six, and even as many as ten families. Several other Nations swell the size of this one, -- or, rather, make a Babylon of it by the disorder which reigns there, as in its empire.

The light of the Faith having yet made no impression upon them, they had formed a plan, as they are proud and arrogant, to take vengeance, by killing some Frenchmen, for the ill treatment they had themselves received during the past summer at our French settlements. Consequently, our Young Frenchmen who are here trading dared not set foot there; but all this did not frighten Father Allouez, who counted himself happy to expose his life to evident danger to bear the Gospel to those poor Indians, as he has done to all other peoples of those regions.

He set out therefore from Green Bay, where he was making his residence, on the twentieth of February, 1671; and after traveling, in six days, 60 miles over snow and ice, in the severest part of the winter, -- some of those whom he had joined being frost-bitten, and almost perishing with the cold, -- he finally reached this Village. He had no sooner entered it than he went from Cabin to Cabin, cheering some with the hope of Paradise, and frightening others with the fear of Hell.

From those arrogant natures he was bound to expect nothing but jests, repulses and mockery, with which they at first received the word he bore them -- especially in certain Cabins whose Chiefs had as many as eight wives, and into which he could not step without abhorrence, as into a harem. Still, the Father's patience won the day; and he saw that those people were insensibly softening, and that what they heard at first with mockery, they soon after received with fear and respect.

The Father says in one of his reports:

"I was surprised and delighted at the tokens of endearment which I received from most of these people, instead of the hatchet blows that I expected; and at the simplicity of a good old man in whose cabin I publicly explained the holy Mysteries. As soon as I produced my Crucifix, to display it before the people's eyes, this good man, moved at the sight, wished to acknowledge it as his God, and to worship it by an offering. It consisted of powdered tobacco, of which he took two or three handfuls, one by one, and, as if offering the censer an equal number of times, scattered it over the Crucifix and over me, -- which is the highest mark of honor that they can show toward those whom they regard as Spirits."

YEAR 1672
NEW FRANCE DURING THE YEARS 1671 AND 1672. SENT TO THE REV. FATHER JEAN PINETTE, PROVINCIAL OF THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE. BY THE REVEREND FATHER CLAUDE DABLON, RECTOR OF THE COLLEGE OF QUEBEC, AND SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF THE JESUITS IN NEW FRANCE.

Reverend Father,

We watch, with some grief, the Vessels set sail from our roadstead, since they bear away Sir de Courcelles and Sir Talon. We shall always remember Sir de Courcelles for having so effectively reduced the Iroquois to submission, and we shall ever wish for Sir Talon's return to give the finishing stroke to the undertakings begun by him for the benefit of this country.

These losses would be more keenly felt were they not happily repaired by the coming of the Count de Frontenac, our new Governor, whom the King has chosen to carry forward the noble plans for New France.

The discovery of the North Sea and of the famous Hudson Bay -- a discovery so long attempted, and last year undertaken by order of Sir Talon, our Intendant -- enabled one of our Missionaries to bear the Faith to countries where it had never been Proclaimed, as will be seen in the account of his journey there through the interior.

We expect no less result from the expedition which the Count de Frontenac and Sir Talon have had undertaken, in accordance with his Majesty's purposes, for the discovery of the southern Pacific Ocean, which would probably give us access to the great China and Japan seas. The Father and the Frenchmen who were sent on that hazardous expedition, have need of much courage and prudence in their quest of unknown seas over an entirely new route of 750 or 1000 miles, among Tribes who have never seen any Europeans.

At the same time, a group started out to make a more careful examination of the copper mine only recently discovered by Sir Pere at lake Superior. The Ship of four or five hundred tons' burden which is being built here, and another larger one, the materials for which are ready, will demonstrate the service this country can render in maritime affairs.

Claude Dablon

THE MISSION TO THE HURON COLONY OF NOTRE-DAME DE FOY, NEAR QUEBEC; OF THAT AT ST. XAVIER DES PRES, NEAR MONTREAL; AND OF THAT TO THE IROQUOIS COUNTRIES -- FOR THE YEARS 1671 AND 1672. OF THE CHARITY OF THE CHRISTIANS OF THAT NEW CHURCH.

DIVINE Providence decreed that the Huron Colony should be planted at Notre-Dame de Foy, near this town and in the midst of the French settlements, to show that it is no respecter of persons in the distribution of its gifts; and to put our French people to confusion by that Colony's good examples.

THE CONVERSION OF JOACHIM ANNIEOUTON, AND HIS DEATH.

ALTHOUGH this little Church is flourishing, and all the Christian virtues are here displayed in their glory, yet it never fails to be the case that there are some rebellious souls to furnish exercise for a fervent Missionary's fervor, and for the charity of the most holy members composing the church.

For more than twenty-five years Joachim Annieouton had been counted among the Faithful, by virtue of baptism, although he had still remained an infidel at heart, and was a Christian only in name, occasionally, bearing a fair outward appearance. Among his vices were impurity, drinking, and impiety, -- the scandal caused by which was all the greater because he was esteemed for his valor, his intelligence, and his good sense. These fine qualities gave him the foremost rank in all their affairs, and no step was taken without his advice.

God allowed him to be accused of complicity in a crime of which he was innocent. On evidence which made his guilt seem probable, he was seized and led to prison, where his feet were loaded with irons. The reason for this action was as follows. Two Young rogues who had returned from the country of the Iroquois, where they had been prisoners of war, made up their minds, on finding themselves persecuted for their evil ways, to return there. But, to insure their welcome from those People, and to gain readmission more easily to their good graces, they deemed it necessary to conduct to them some enemy of theirs, or, at least, to bring them his scalp.

Having adopted this resolution, they confronted an Indian of the Abenaki Nation, who are our allies and are hostile to the Iroquois, -- inviting him to go and drink his share of a bottle with them. Taking him aside into the woods, and causing him to become intoxicated, they bound him to a tree, planning to embark with him the next morning at daybreak. But the Hurons, having heard of the affair and notified Sir Talon, our Intendant, Sir Talon immediately sent out some Soldiers, who marched so quickly that they found the Abenaki alone in his restraints, the guilty ones having had barely time to escape as soon as they saw the group. The Soldiers unbound the man and led him back to his people, who, indignant over the occurrence, and still remembering a quarrel they had had with Annieouton, persuaded the one who had been in danger to declare in the presence of witnesses that he had learned from those two fugitives that Annieouton was the author of this treachery. Its consequences had been seriously feared, as the Abenaki nation is large and rather unruly.

Additional plausibility was given this slanderous accusation by the fact that one of the two men was a near relative of the accused, from where it was inferred that the accused could not have been ignorant of that wicked plot, and, knowing about it, should have put an effective restraint on the men, -- or at least have notified those who were able to prevent such an outrage. This slander found such ready belief in men's minds that nearly two months passed before the truth became known; and that space of time allowed this hardened heart to soften.

At his first interview with Father Chaumonot he said to him: "Ah, my Father, I have been deceiving you until now. I used to deceive Aondechete" (Father Ragueneau's name); "I also often deceived Teharonhiagannra" that is, Father le Mercier. "I deceived you all. You urged me often to become converted; and I, to gratify you and rid myself of such pleading, granted you in appearance what you wished of me. You must know that we have a 'yes' which means 'no,' a sort of long-drawn and languid 'yes.' When we say aaao, although we seem to yield what is asked of us, yet that aaao, therefore prolonged, means, 'I Will do nothing of the sort.' On the other hand, when we consent to anything in earnest, we cut the word shorter and say Ao, 'yes.' Now that I have opened my eyes, I am determined to change my life."

He was then still in irons; but, a few days later, no conclusive proof being found of the crime charged against him, he was released. The consequent rejoicing in the village was great, especially when, at a feast which he gave to all his people in the Father's presence, he addressed them as follows: "My brothers, I now acknowledge Hechon" their name for Father Chaumonot "as my Father, and declare myself his Son." These resolutions, so publicly made, were not mere words; they were attended with results. Nothing more was seen in him of his old habits; he was among the foremost in all devotional exercises.

THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS.

THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS AT MOHAWK.

WE have seven Missionaries among the five Iroquois Nations. Father Bruyas, who is their Superior-General, has, with Father Boniface, taken charge of the Mission of the Martyrs at the Mohawk nation, after laboring four or five years in the Nation of the Oneida, the most arrogant and least pliable of all the Iroquois.

That arduous Mission, saint Francois Xavier, has fallen to the care of Father Millet. Father de Lamberville is over the Church of St. Jean Baptiste at Onondaga. Father de Carrheil, who was detained at Quebec by a contraction of the tendons, returned from there in the Spring to his Mission of St. Joseph; he had been cured of his ailment in a miraculous manner. We have learned that he arrived in Perfect health; and that Father Raffeix, who had charge of that Mission in his absence, has gone to aid Father Garnier, and share with him the care of the three Missions -- la Conception, St. Michel, and St. Jacques (Ganondagan) -- in Seneca, where from twelve to thirteen thousand people are estimated. The progress of all these Nations in learning the truths of our Faith has continued to be marked this year, although I find in our Missionaries' notes only two hundred baptized, -- which means that the sick have been fewer this year; and that those who are well are, although adequately instructed, not yet strong enough in the resolve to abandon their dreams and renounce their superstitious practices.

The Indians of Mohawk, who were those most thoroughly humbled by the King's arms, continue to be those best inclined to embrace the Faith. Affliction is needed by these People to render them responsive to the impulses of grace. In proof of the notable progress made among them by our Fathers, through their tireless constancy in teaching them, more than sixty have received baptism.

Fifteen of the most fervent members of that Church, Christians and Christian trainees together, have severed their connection with it, to come and partake of the spirit of Christianity and devotion among the Huron Christians of Notre-Dame de Foy. They were received with such benevolence that all the cabins -- that is, all hearts -- were opened to them, and each one freely shared his best with them. More than fifty others were entertaining the same purpose, and their canoes were all in readiness; but their well-grounded fear in case they might displease their relatives, and in case the Mahican Nations, their enemies, might be tempted to take advantage of their absence, forced them to postpone their departure until a more favorable juncture

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER AT ONEIDA.

Father Bruyas, who is still at the above-named Mission, writes to me concerning it as follows:

"God has afforded me the opportunity which I had long sought for a thorough talk on our holy Mysteries to the Elders of this village. I proposed to them, when all the Young people were away hunting or at war, a project of mine for holding daily meetings, where I might explain to them our Christian truths. They highly approved of this proposition. These talks were held in the manner of conferences, in which I was listened to with deep attention. Our attendance never failed to be fairly large, -- many coming through curiosity, others to pass the time, or, finally, to receive instruction for embracing the faith.

"A man of the village, wise in matters relating to their dreams, desired the honor of opening the first conference, -- asking that I would, before speaking myself, hear him relate what he had learned through his ancestors regarding the creation of the world. I willingly granted his request, so not to displease the people at the outset, and that I might seize the opportunity presented for giving them a higher estimation of the substantialness of the truths which we teach them. At the close of these talks, I always offered a prayer on behalf of the entire Company.

"Since my last letter, in May, 1671, I count thirty people baptized, most of whom were children who have gone to Heaven.

"A noted trickster was held in unusual veneration among all the Iroquois; and even as his reputation and example delayed the progress of the Faith during his lifetime, so his ghost still seems to be wicked to Christianity. An elder recently convened the Council, and announced to it that this trickster had appeared to him in a dream, and, regarding him with a terrible expression, had requested him to bear word to the elders that they were irreversibly lost; and that the Susquehannocks would come the next Spring to besiege the village and burn and slay all who resisted them. If, however, they wished to avoid these disasters, they must remove his body from the spot where it was buried, and carry it out along the road leading to Susquehannock. He said that then there would be no further cause for alarm, since, as he had overcome this common enemy of the Nation during his lifetime, he was still pursuing him after his death; and his body would inspire terror in the hearts of all who should venture to approach the village.

"All thanked this old man for the good counsel that he had given them; and although the ground was covered with snow, they executed, to the letter, the order they had received, -- bearing the dead body out along the road to Susquehannock, and there erecting for it the finest mausoleum to be seen among these Indians. As this rogue was found to be a liar while alive, he proved no less untrustworthy after his death, -- two women having recently been brained by those Susquehannocks within 125 feet of the palisade surrounding the village."

THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AT CAYUGA.

THE Letter received by me on the 24th of June from Father Raffeix, who was sent from here last year to go and take charge of that Mission in Father de Carrheil's absence, gives us an account of it in considerable detail. He writes as follows:

"Cayuga is the fairest country that I have seen in America. Its latitude is 42.5 degrees, and the variation of the magnetic needle there is scarcely more than ten degrees. It is a tract situated between two Lakes, and not exceeding 10 miles in width, consisting of almost uninterrupted plains, the woods bordering which are extremely beautiful.

"Mohawk is a narrow valley, often abounding in stones, and always covered with mists. The mountains hemming it in seem to me of poor soil. Oneida and Onondaga appear to be rough regions, and little adapted to hunting, the same being true of Seneca. Around Cayuga, there are killed annually more than a thousand Deer.

"Fish -- salmon, as well as eels and other kinds -- are as plenty here as at Onondaga. 10 miles from here I saw by the side of a river, within a limited space, eight or ten extremely fine salt-Springs. Many snares are set there for catching pigeons, from seven to eight hundred being often taken at once. Cayuga Lake, one of the two adjoining our village, is fully 35 miles long by 2 or 4 miles wide. Swans and Canadian geese are abundant there during the entire Winter; and in Spring, one sees nothing but continual clouds of all sorts of wild fowl.

"The Oswego River, which flows from this Lake, divides, in its upper waters, into several channels, bordered by prairies; and at intervals are pleasant and somewhat deep inlets, which are preserves for game.

"I find the inhabitants of Cayuga more pliable and less arrogant than the Onondaga and Oneida, and if God had humbled them as he has the Mohawk, I believe the Faith could be planted here more easily than in any of the other Iroquois Nations. There are more than three hundred warriors here, and a tremendous number of little children.

"As for things spiritual, and the interests of the Mission, I hardly know what to say. Since God removed Father Menard when he was beginning his labors here with such excellent results; and nearly a year ago, Father de Carrheil, -- after he had learned the language perfectly, I do not think that the hour of their conversion has yet arrived.

"TO remove from our Christian trainees and Neophytes the aversion to Christianity that some slaves from the neutral Nation and some renegade Hurons had given them, I introduced Church singing among them, adapting to that various Prayers, and some Hymns in their tongue on the principal mysteries of our faith.

"I am occupied most of the day in visiting the sick, instructing them, and taking care that they do not die without Baptism. God did not permit me to succeed with the first one whom I visited on my arrival, who died soon after. I went to see him several times, and was even beginning to give him some instruction, but his mother could not endure it. One day when I remained with the sick man longer than she wished me to, she took a stick to drive me out, and her daughter a large stone, which she threw at me, -- without hitting me, however. I watched for opportunity to effect my object, -- accosting that wretched mother on various occasions, and imploring her to take pity on her son, but finding her ever inflexible. Thus, that poor Young man died without Baptism, -- at least, an actual one. It seems as if God's curse were upon that cabin, Father de Carrheil having been still more unworthily treated there than I, and for a similar cause.

"After this affliction, God consoled me by the conversion of a Young prisoner of war, between twenty and twenty-two years of age. I have never found an Indian of greater docility. He had just had half of one hand cut off, and his nails pulled out; a crowd of people surrounded him on all sides, vying with one another in making him sing; he was allowed to take breath from time to time, and these occasions I used for instructing him. Amid all this disturbance, he seemed to have presence of mind only for grasping the truths of Christianity, which I taught him. Finally I baptized him, affording him so great joy that he thanked me publicly by singing of the kindness that I had just shown him.

"I Will add," says the Father, "the news concerning our petty wars. On Ascension day, twenty Senecas and forty of the most arrogant of our Young men set out from this village, to go and strike a blow in the fields of the Susquehannocks, four days' journey. The Senecas -- who formed a band by themselves, the others having gone on ahead by water -- were attacked by sixty Susquehannock boys, 15 or 16 years old, and put to flight, with the loss of two of their number, -- one being killed on the spot, and the other led away captive. These Young victors, learning that the Cayuga band had gone by canoe, promptly took canoes, and pursued them with such speed that they overtook and routed them, -- eight of our men being killed in their canoes; while fifteen or sixteen returned badly wounded by arrows and knives, or half killed by hatchet-strokes. The battlefield remained in possession of the Susquehannock boys, with a loss of fifteen or sixteen of their number. God preserves the Susquehannock, who Count but three hundred warriors, and favors their arms, to humble the Iroquois and maintain the peace and our Missions."

Since the above letter was written, Father de Carrheil has returned safely to his Mission; and Father Raffeix has gone to labor with Father Garnier in the Seneca Missions.

THE MISSIONS OF LA CONCEPTION, SAINT MICHEL, AND SAINT JACQUES (GANONDAGAN), IN SENECA. A LETTER FROM FATHER JULIEN GARNIER, WRITTEN IN JULY, 1672.

"The spiritual interests of these Missions depend largely on worldly affairs, and on the state of men's minds regarding the peace with the French. The elders of the village of Gandachioragon had declared to me, in a council called for the purpose, that they wished to adopt the custom of praying to God, and some began to do so; and although I could not yet see there any great beginnings of faith, yet their example persuaded the people to give me a hearing, and procured for me freedom to visit the sick.

But rumors of the approach of a French army soon undid these small beginnings. An old man who came some years ago from Cayuga, -- a mischief-maker, but a persuasive speaker, able to do what he Will with our Senecas -- is accustomed to demonstrate to them that the faith makes people die. He cites whole families who embraced it in times past, when the late Father Menard was staying at Cayuga -- families of whom, he says, not one soul is now left. He adds that the black-gowned men are here only as spies, and convey all information to Onontio, -- that is, to the Governor; or that they are sorcerers, who effect by disease what Onontio cannot accomplish by his arms.

I know with certainty that my death has been proposed, on the grounds that I am a spy and more or less a sorcerer; and that our host himself, Onnonkenritaoui, the most influential Chief of this great Nation, has often proposed to his sister to kill me as a sorcerer, when she declared to him her great distrust of me because of her daughter's frequent fits of sickness. As I do not retire as early as is their habit, and as I spend a considerable part of the evening praying in the Chapel, they think that I am communing with some evil spirit, and plotting with him the ruin of their family. And so my life depends on that little girl's health. I would have equal cause for alarm if news reached us of the march of a French army to this country, -- a number of men having assured me that, in that case, they would certainly brain me.

That old man of whom I just spoke also turns to his own advantage all that has occurred in these latter years. And so the people ceased to attend Chapel, -- while, if I visited their cabins in quest of the sick, I was only regarded with disfavor; and if I attempted to instruct them, I was usually interrupted by some words of abuse. Drunkenness being added to all this, I was compelled to take refuge in the Chapel, where I have always found a safe sanctuary. I am surprised that, in all these disturbances, only a single drunken man has followed me there, while even he was prevented from harming me. In eleven months, there have died in all the Villages of this nation only thirty-three baptized persons, of whom nearly all were children.

God has shown great mercy to a Captive from the Shawnee, or Chaouanong, a man declining in years. Ordinarily, only Young people are brought from those countries so far distant. I was at the place where he arrived together with an Interpreter, -- the only one for that language in this country, so far as I know. He listened with pleasure to all that I taught him of the principal mysteries of our faith. Finally I found him prepared for Baptism, and I believe that he went to Heaven on the day of his arrival at Seneca, -- God having led him, bound and fettered, more than 750 miles.

A woman, seized with epilepsy, fell into the midst of a great fire; and, before she could be rescued, was so severely burned that the bones of her hands and arms dropped off, one after another. As I was not in this village at the time, a Young Frenchman whom I have with me, who knows the language well and discharges worthily the duties of Indian layman, hurried to her. Finding her in possession of her reason, he spoke to her concerning God, instructed her, and baptized her. This poor creature passed the eight or ten days of life remaining to her in prayer, which was her sole comfort in her intense sufferings.

It is not so much depravity of morals that prevents our Indians from being Christians, as the prejudiced impressions which most of them have of the Faith and Christianity. I know nearly two hundred families among them who maintain inviolate the marriage-bond, and rear their children in morality; who keep their daughters from undue freedom of communication abroad, and from plunging into riots of sensuality; and who would be inclined to live Christian lives if they had the Faith.

Seneca, this 20th of July, 1672."

THE MISSIONS TO THE INNU AND ALGONQUIN TRIBES AT TADOUSSAC, TO THE OTTAWAS, AND TO HUDSON BAY, IN THE YEARS 1671 AND 1672. OF THE MISSION AT TADOUSSAC. LETTER FROM FATHER FRANCOIS DE CREPIEUL, JUNE 2, 1672.

Reverend Father,

I started from Quebec on the 25th of October, 1671, with the Indians whom I was to follow through the woods all Winter long; and in three days we reached Tadoussac, where I found the Indians of the place delighted at my coming. They gave me encouraging signs of their piety throughout my entire stay with them, but especially on all Saints' day, -- celebrating that great Festival with all the practices of devotion that are observed in the midst of the Holiest Christian communities.

Not until the sixth of November did we leave that place to enter the Saguenay river; but, being stopped on the following night by bad weather, we sought refuge in a bay of considerable size, where we remained during four days of wind and storm.

I had here the happiness to taste the first discomforts of the winter season, caused by the cold, which was already severe; by our being from then on obliged to make our beds on nothing but the snow covered with some fir-branches; and above all by smoke, the great Cross of those who winter with these Indians. One must have had the experience to conceive how painful that kind of smoke is to eyes unaccustomed to it, and even to those of the Indians. It is especially trying when one is shut up, as we were, in a little bark cabin, where the wet and half-decayed wood used for fuel, the damp air, the snow, and the occasional winds, render the smoke so stinging that, although we may avoid it a little by constantly maintaining a reclining posture as low as possible, yet we often nearly lose our eyesight from weeping; for tears flow incessantly all day long, -- tears so briny and stinging that at night the same pain is felt as if the eyes were loaded with salt. As one is forced, after journeying a number of miles, to halt for 5 or 6 whole days, and sometimes longer, he must make up his mind to pass that entire period, with no intermission, in this little martyrdom.

On the eleventh of November, we spread our sails to a favorable wind, which, however, pierced us with a cold rain that chilled us all severely. Toward evening, we approached a large bay where a landing on our part seemed to be invited by the beauty of a rather spacious Harbor, which appeared to be crowned by thirty high mountains surrounding it on all sides. The foot of the highest one was chosen as the site for our cabin, and as a place for suffering four or five nights of cold calculated to put one's patience to the test. So intense was it that it closed the rivers with ice and forced us to pursue our way through the woods, amid almost incredible hardships. The comfort afforded me by looking at the Likeness of my beloved Father St. Francis Xavier, and my reliquary, in which I carry a piece of the true Cross, ameliorated my little sufferings.

On the 13th, the cold increased exceedingly, and compelled us to remain for six days in the midst of a thick smoke which made us weep day and night, blinding us for a time.

On the 21st, after we had begun the fatigues of a journey through the snow, threading dense forests and climbing steep mountains, our hunters killed a moose; they showed me her fawn, which was no bigger than one's thumb. After studying carefully the entire anatomy of this little animal, I was struck with admiration for the wisdom of the Creator, who can enclose in so small a compass so many different parts, all so well adapted to their functions. Had the creature been larger, it would have relieved the hunger that troubled us, and, until the first day of December, caused us no less suffering than the cold and smoke.

At this point a Christian family of the Indians called Eskimo came to join us, having left their Compatriots, -- who are, they say, so brutal as to cause those who receive Baptism to be strangled.

Meanwhile, we continued on our way, which was indicated only by moose-tracks; we directed our course by these as far as possible, for the sake of procuring provisions. We became involved in difficult paths, where I often sank in the snow up to my waist, the difficulty being to extricate myself again. After we had journeyed a number of days to no purpose, and in dire hunger, finally we encountered two elks and four beavers. This occurred most seasonably, the day preceding Christmas, when our Indians used the time in preparing for the great Festival, -- being unwilling to go hunting on that day; and observing the fast of the Church, despite the fasts that had gone before.

Hunger finally forcing us to resume our journey, we were compelled to make our way over some rough places, climbing mountains and then descending them, -- which is accomplished only with much difficulty when they are covered with snow. We were also obliged to cross lakes, where the water left by the rain of the three days preceding gave us much trouble, since it came up over our snowshoes and even half-way to our knees.

Finally, we had to endure a cold wind that sprang up and put us in great danger of having our faces, feet, and hands frozen. All these hardships weaken the strength of a Missionary who, like the others of his group, has eaten hardly a morsel before starting. But the severest of these sufferings comes toward evening, in the three or four hours devoted to erecting cabins, before there is any fire.

One day in that month, -- it was a Friday, -- being unusually pressed with hunger, we implored Our Lord by his sacred wounds to take pity on us. Our prayers were not displeasing to him; for on that day he gave us, within a short time, five beavers which served to restore our strength and prepare us for undergoing fresh hardships as we continued our journey. Here it was that, as we were crossing a river, the ice gave way under me; and I would have completed my sacrifice, had the water there been a little deeper.

TO tell you what occurred during the last three months of Winter would require a repetition of all that befell us during the three preceding. Our route was a different one, but we experienced the same difficulties. February was the severest as to temperature; but March seemed to us the most troublesome, on account of the smoke. We passed February in scarcity, but in March enjoyed an abundance of moose.

During these two months we twice felt an earthquake, -- a rather moderate one, but the continuation of what began with such violence throughout all Canada in 1662, and which has not yet ceased in these regions of the North, although it is felt but slightly and only occasionally.

Finally, all our journeyings came to an end fittingly at a lake bearing the name of the Cross, from its having the Perfect shape of one. It was also a providence that assigned us the region of this Lake de la Croix for making our Indians observe the holy Ceremonies of the adoration of the Cross.

We ascended to the Saguenay, reaching it on the 16th of May, 1672; and on the following day we joyfully saw once more Tadoussac, which we had left six months before. It was the season for undertaking the Mission to the Papinachois Innu. Its location is 75 miles below Tadoussac, and I reached it safely, at the time when the Indians were arriving there from the depths of the woods to carry on their trading with the French.

THE MISSION TO THE OTTAWAS.

Last year, we published a Map of the Lakes and Territories where these Missions are situated. We have thought best to republish it this year, to satisfy the curiosity of those who have not seen it, and to designate some new Missions recently planted in that country, -- as, for example, that of St. Francois Xavier, lately established on the river emptying into Green Bay, 5 miles from its mouth; and the Mission of the Apostles, on the Northern coast bordering Lake Huron. Father Henry Nouvel, Superior of all these Ottawa Missions, describes what has occurred there:

THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES ON LAKE HURON.

"ON the 26th of October, 1671," -- says the Father, -- "I set out from Sault Ste. Marie to go and take up my Winter quarters in the country of the Amikwas, where I arrived only after 18 days' journeying, -- having had the consolation on the way to baptize 4 little children, and to instruct their parents, who heard me willingly.

"The bad weather and contrary winds forcing us to take refuge in various Islands, I could not reach that of Manitoulin before the 6th of November. It was there that I saw that good Indian named Louis, who may be regarded as the miracle of this part of Christendom; for it is no small wonder to see an Indian who for several years has stood firm in his resolve to spend the remainder of his days in Celibacy, -- his sole objective being to render himself more acceptable to God by this mode of life, which is unheard of among the Indians. I was delighted to see the respect shown him by the Young people of his Nation, and the care taken by him to prepare a slave for receiving Baptism the following Spring.

"Leaving Manitoulin Island November 8th, and being detained 2 days on a rocky point by head-winds, at last I reached the place where I was to pass the Winter with the Amikwas, the Indians known as the Beaver Nation.

"Our little Chapel was soon built. The Devil strove to disturb the solemnity of that occasion by certain superstitious ceremonies which we call trickery, and which these Indians employ for restoring the sick to health. One of our good Christians being reduced to a critical state by a dangerous illness, a large number of infidels assembled in his cabin, and employed all the superstitious rites known to them, to restore him to health. Being informed of this, I went at once to that cabin, where I found the entire company intent on this act of impiety.

I approached the sick man, wrought his reconciliation with God by the Sacrament of Penance, in the midst of that crowd, and remained constantly at his side, -- resolved to suffer anything, rather than allow the sheep to be snatched from his Pastor's arms. Those barbarians, seeing their trickery interrupted, grew angry, threatened me, and arrogantly implored me to withdraw and let them finish what they had begun. I stood firm, and told them that the sick man belonged to me, because he was a Christian; and that I would never abandon him. One of those madmen, more insolent than the others, decided to use force in ejecting me; I resisted; the rest joined him, and they dragged me out with violence; and as rage was added to force, they could not eject me from the cabin without leaving marks of their anger on my face. I was more delighted to bear those wounds than if they had given me an empire; and the atonement that they rendered me afterward, in acknowledging their error and asking my forgiveness, gave me less pleasure than did the blows that I had received.

"This Mission was followed by another that I undertook to the Ottawas of Manitoulin Island.

"With the approach of Spring, I was forced to think about closing my winter's work and returning to Sault Ste. Marie. Our Christians made a large Cross, and asked me to assist them when they planted it in the midst of their Fields. I had, to my regret, to leave these good Neophytes; I visited Mississauga, where I conferred nine Baptisms."

THE MISSION OF SAINT IGNACE AT MACKINAC.

THE Hurons of the Petun nation, known as the Petuns, being expelled years ago from their country by the Iroquois, took refuge on that Island so noted for its fisheries, named Mackinac. Here, however, they were allowed to remain only a few years, that same foe compelling them to leave so advantageous a position. They therefore withdrew farther to some Islands, which still bear their name, situated at the entrance to Green Bay; but, not finding themselves even there sufficiently secure, they retired far into the depths of the woods; and from there finally sought out, as a last abode, at the end of lake Superior, a spot that has received the name of point St. Esprit. There they were far enough from the Iroquois not to fear them, but too near the Sioux, -- who are the Iroquois of those Northern regions, being the most powerful and warlike People of that country.

Still, everything had been quite peaceful for a number of years until last year, when, these Sioux being angered by the Hurons and the Ottawas, war broke out between the two sides, beginning with such warmth that some prisoners captured on each side were burned to death.

The Sioux, however, would not begin hostilities until after they had sent back to Father Marquette certain Pictures which he had given them, to convey to them some idea of our Religion and teach them through their eyes; he could not accomplish this otherwise, on account of their language being entirely different from the Huron and the Algonquin. Such formidable enemies soon struck terror to the hearts of our Hurons and Ottawas, who decided to abandon point Saint Esprit and all their fields, which they had long been cultivating. In this retreat, the Hurons, recalling the great advantages that they had formerly enjoyed at Mackinac, turned their eyes there, intending to seek refuge there, which they did a year ago.

That spot has everything possible to commend it to Indians: fish are abundant at all seasons, and the soil is productive; there is excellent hunting, -- bears, deer, and wildcats; and it is the great resort of all Nations going to or coming from the North or the South. Therefore last year, we built a Chapel there, to receive the passersby and to train the Hurons who have there taken up their abode.

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER, OF THE ADVANTAGES OF THE SITE CHOSEN FOR BUILDING THE CHAPEL.

THE bay commonly called Green Bay receives a river, in which wild fowl and fish are caught both together. Of this practice the Indians are the inventors; for, perceiving that Ducks, Teal, and other birds of that kind dive into the water in quest of the grains of wild rice to be found there toward the Autumn season, they stretch nets for them with such skill that, without counting the fish, they sometimes catch in one night as many as a hundred wild fowl. This fishing is equally pleasant and profitable; for it is a pleasure to see in a net, when it is drawn out of the water, a Duck caught side by side with a pike, and Carp entangled in the same meshes with Teal. The Indians subsist on this manna nearly three months in the year.

Nature and necessity, which have taught them this mode of fishing, have prompted them to invent still another on the same river, 5 miles from its mouth.

It is a device that is somewhat rude, but excellently adapted to their purpose, and it enables a child to fish with great success. They construct it in such a manner as to bar the entire river from one bank to the other, making a sort of palisade of stakes, which they plant in the water in a straight line, leaving only space enough to allow the water to run between certain hurdles, which stop the large fish. Along this barrier they arrange scaffolds, on which they place themselves in ambush and await their prey with impatience, When the fish, following the current, reach this barrier, the fisher plunges in a pocket-shaped net, into which he easily coaxes them.

These two kinds of fishing draw to this spot many Indians from all directions. The location of the place contributes to this result; for, bordering that river, near the spot of which we have just spoken, we see a prairie of 250 or 300 yards in width, bounded on either side by woods of full-grown trees. And besides the grapes, plums, apples, and other fruits, which would be fairly good if the Indians had patience to let them ripen, there also grows on the prairies a kind of lime resembling that of France, but having no bitter taste -- not even in its rind. The plant bearing it slightly resembles the fern.

The Bear and the Wildcat -- the Wildcat being as large as a medium-sized dog -- abound in the country; and as the woods are free from underbrush, extensive prairies are seen in the forests, and contribute to the pleasure of living there. The above-named animals, as well as the Stag, are easily hunted, -- both in the woods, which are not dense, and on the river, into which the last-named animal often plunges in its course, when it is pursued, and is taken without difficulty.

TO all the advantages of this place may be added its being the great -- and the only -- thoroughfare for all the surrounding Nations, who maintain a constant communication, either in visiting or trading. So it was that we turned our eyes there, with a view to placing our Chapel there in the midst of more than ten different Nations, who can furnish us over fifteen thousand people to be instructed.

There Fathers Claude Allouez and Louis Andre have taken up their abode, for the purpose of laboring to save all those peoples; and for their greater convenience in this pursuit, they have divided the work, -- one devoting himself to the more remote Nations in the forests, and the other to those gathered on the shores of Green Bay.

THE TRIBES DWELLING ABOUT GREEN BAY, AND THEIR FALSE DIVINITIES.

FOUR different Tribes are situated near the head of the bay, where they live partly on what they gather from the fields, and partly by fishing and hunting.

Two others, a little farther away, make their usual abode on the rivers emptying into this same bay from the North; and all acknowledge various sorts of divinities, to whom they offer frequent sacrifices. These People have Gods, as had the Pagans of old, -- having them in the Skies, in the air, on the earth, in the woods, in the water, and even in hell. And, as there have been Theologians who placed special intelligences not only in the heavenly bodies, but also on the earth, for the preservation of each species of all creatures, so those of our Indians who are regarded as intelligent among their fellows hold the belief that, besides the Sun and thunder, -- which they recognize as the Gods of the Sky and of the air, -- each species of animal, fishes, and birds, has a special genii who cares for it, watches over its safety, and protects it from the harm that might befall it.

Therefore, just as the Egyptians offered rats and mice on their altars, so these people cherish a special regard for these animals, as was illustrated in the case of a mouse that we had caught and thrown outdoors; for, a girl having snatched it up and being inclined to eat it, her father first took the mouse and gave a thousand caresses to it. Upon our asking him why he treated it therefore, "Because," said he, "I wish to console the genii that cares for mice, in order that so unusual a dish may not hurt my daughter."

There are certain animals to whose genii they pay far more respect than to others, because they are more useful to them, It passes belief what veneration they have for the Bear; for after killing one in hunting, they are accustomed to hold a solemn feast over it with special ceremonies. Carefully saving the animal's head, they Paint it with the finest colors they can find; and during the feast, they place it in an elevated position, to receive the worship of all the guests and the praises that they give to it, one after another, in their choicest songs.

They follow a somewhat Similar usage in regard to the other Divinities; but, to secure their favor, they practice devotions of various kinds, of which the following is the most customary and the most important. They pass four or five days without eating, so, having their heads weakened by this fast, they may see in their dreams one of those Divinities, on whom, they think, depends all their welfare; and as they believe that they cannot be successful in hunting the Stag or the Bear, unless they have first seen these in a dream, their whole anxiety is, before going to seek these animals, to see in their sleep the animal upon which they have plans.

Accordingly, they prepare for their hunting excursions by long fasts, -- which they sometimes protract even to ten days, as is most commonly done by those of the Meskwaki Nation. They do far more; for while the men are at the hunt, the little children have to fast, so they can dream of the Bear, of which their relatives are in quest; and they imagine that the animal Will be caught if it be once seen in a dream, even by these children.

They have many more superstitions, which it would be tiresome to describe here, but which cause much trouble to a Missionary, -- who has all these monsters to combat at the same time. Such has been the experience of Father Andre, of whose labors we are about to give some account.

THE MISSION TO THE PEOPLES AT GREEN BAY.

THE Father had already criticized them vigorously on account of their vices, and especially their superstitions, during several months which he spent with them last Summer; but wishing to devote the whole Winter to the work, he set out on the I 5th of December, to go there by a route equally rough and dangerous. For, starting out on the ice that covered the bay, and desiring to make short cuts from point to point, to facilitate and shorten his journey, he found toward evening, when he wished to gain the shore, that access to that was barred by mountains of ice-floes, -- heaped one upon another, and forming a sort of rampart, which it was impossible to pierce.

Meanwhile, the Sun set before he could find an outlet. The Father had already directed his attention to a pile of ice-floes, in the midst of which he proposed to pass the night, under the lee of those mountains of ice, But he was happily inspired not to tarry there longer; for that heap of ice was swept away by the wind on that night. He found a safer retreat on a point of land that projected into the Lake, and there he remained with his Companions, -- out of danger, indeed, of perishing, but exposed to the rigors of a severe cold. Yet he was forced to keep that highly disadvantageous position for three days; after which a north wind, succeeding the rain, made of the entire Lake nothing but one sheet of ice, so smooth that it was extremely difficult to walk without falling at nearly every step. TO escape from so arduous a route, he hurried to adopt another, both more difficult and more dangerous; for, taking his course along the woods, and becoming involved in a region encumbered with cedars and firs, where the ice was not strong enough to bear him, he broke through at every moment, and even found himself caught in the midst of numerous holes that had formed in the ice, so that it was difficult for him to extricate himself.

Still, he made his escape, dragging himself out from amid those pitfalls, and continued his journey with the same dangers and fatigues until he reached the spot where the Indians were, -- one of whose chiefs offered him a bag of acorns, to feed him well after so much toil. This was not to be refused, being a present of no small account among those people, who have no more delicious dish during the Winter, when they are unsuccessful in hunting or fishing.

The Father's first task was to visit all the cabins, teach the children, and explain on every occasion the mysteries of our religion. The days were too short for satisfying the holy curiosity of all these people, who did not give him leisure even to take his meals until late; or to perform his devotions, except in some remote spot, where they persisted in following him.

The reason why he was so eagerly sought was found in certain spiritual Songs that he was accustomed to have the children sing to French airs, which pleased those Indians extremely; so that our mysteries were proclaimed in the streets and cabins, and were received with applause, impressing themselves insensibly on people's minds through these Songs.

This success encouraged the Father, and made him resolve to criticize the men through the children, and to combat idolatry with souls of extreme innocence. In short, he composed some Songs against the superstitions that we have mentioned, and against the vices most opposed to Christianity; and after teaching the children to sing them to the accompaniment of a sweet-toned flute, he went everywhere with these little Indian musicians, to declare war on tricksters, Dreamers, and those who had several wives. And, as the Indians are passionately fond of their children, and Will endure anything at their hands, they accepted the reproaches, bitter though these were, that were made them through the Songs, since they came from their children's mouths.

It sometimes occurred when the Father, in the heat of discussion, was obliged to refute the errors of these superstitions people, and convince the old men of the falsity of their idolatry, -- this band of children, wearying of so much debate, would throw themselves in the way, and by striking up their Songs, force their parents to be silent.

Besides these exercises of piety, which were performed in the village, the Father used to call the Indians together in his little Chapel, where he had three large Pictures adapted to these People's instruction, -- one representing the universal judgment, in the upper part of which the parents were glad to be shown the place that their baptized children would occupy; while below they saw, with horror, the torments suffered by the devil.

In the second Picture were represented twelve emblems, each of which contained one of the articles of the Apostles' creed. The third showed, Jesus dying on the Cross. Their eagerness to come and pray before these Pictures, and to receive instruction, was such that many children used to come barefoot through the snow, over nearly a half mile's distance.

In these occupations the Father passed the whole Winter, -- visiting the Villages, one after another.

Father Andre writes: "Until now, I have not shared the opinion of those that believe that Lake Huron is subject to an ebb and flow, in common with the Sea; because I had observed no fixed movement of the sort during the time of my stay on the shores of that Lake. But, after passing the so-called 'wild rice river', I began to suspect that there might be a tide in Green Bay. We had left our canoe in the water, in very calm weather; and the next morning were greatly surprised to find it high and dry. I was more astonished than the rest, because I bore in mind that for a long time the Lake had been perfectly calm. Then, I decided to study this tide, and at the outset reflected that the contrary, but very moderate, wind did not prevent the flow or ebb, as the case might be. I also became aware that, in the river emptying into the bay at its head, the tide rises and falls twice in a little more than 24 hours, -- rising usually a foot; while the highest tide I have seen made the river rise three feet, but it was aided by a violent Northeast wind. Unless the Southwest wind is strong, it does not check the river's course; so that ordinarily the middle flows constantly downward to the Lake, although at each end the water rises with the fixed periods of the tide.

"As there are but two winds prevailing on that river and on the Lake, one might easily attribute to them these tides, except that the lake's follow the Moon's course; I have ascertained that at full Moon the tides are at their highest, then they fall, and they continue to diminish as the Moon wanes. It is not surprising that this flow and ebb is more appreciable at the head of the bay than in Lake Huron, or in Lake Michigan; for were the tide to rise even but an inch in these Lakes, it would necessarily be noticeable in the bay, which is about 35 or 50 miles long by 12 or 15 miles, or more, wide at its mouth, and narrows constantly. Consequently the water, being contracted within a small space at the head of the bay, must of necessity rise much higher there than in the Lake, where it is less confined."

FATHER CLAUDE ALLOUEZ'S MISSION TO THE MASCOUTEN, THE MESKWAKIS, AND OTHER TRIBES TOWARD THE SOUTH.

WE would need here almost as much time for following Father Claude Allouez in an account of his Apostolic journeys, as he took in making them; for he has not visited a single Nation without performing deeds that would be long to relate.

The Father's labors could be estimated by the Baptisms he has conferred, and these Baptisms by the admirable dispensations of Providence, which have been signally displayed for these Indians' salvation. This Will be easily recognized from the short account that we are about to give of the almost incredible pains he took to instruct Tribes of five different tongues, -- some of whom, coming but recently from the regions of the Southwest, had never heard of the Faith.

Upon the Father's arrival at Green Bay, after more than 250 miles' journey by water, he had no sooner landed than he found a new-born babe, who was at the point of death. He baptized it, and sent it to Heaven, at the same time. At the same place and on the same occasion he baptized an old man who was ill, but who, surviving his baptism, was still unable to obtain, after more than sixty years, what the Child secured after living a quarter of an hour.

Let us consider two more acts of Providence. The favorable reception given the Father by the Mascouten gave him an opportunity to confer two baptisms, while the ill treatment that he received on the way to the Meskwakis was compensated by two more.

In that village of the Mascouten, -- that is, the fire Nation, -- he found three tribes, of different tongues. He was received there as an Angel from Heaven, -- especially by those who had recently come from the regions of the South, and had never been acquainted with any Frenchman. They could not sate themselves with looking at him; the days were too short for hearing him tell about our mysteries; the whole night must be used for the purpose. so favorable a reception detained the Father, by no means against his Will, and enabled him to baptize two sick persons. A sick woman whom he made a Christian on his way to the Meskwakis cost him some fatigue; for he had to go in quest of her in a forest where, losing his way, he was forced to seek shelter under a tree and pass the night in the snow, with no fire.

Still other baptisms he was compelled to pay for with severer sufferings, when he chanced upon starving villages, where, together with their wretched inhabitants, he was willing to content himself with acorns only, which the people gave him in small quantities, not having enough for themselves.

The sign of the Cross is held in such veneration among those Meskwaki Peoples that the Father thought it time to plant a cross in the middle of their village. And since then, hardly a person has been seen in the village, Young or old, who does not make the sign of the Cross with reverence. They even have such confidence in it that, some Young warriors having formed a company to wage war on the Sioux, -- tribes who make themselves feared by all their neighbors, -- and having appealed to the Father to learn how they could ensure a victorious return, he told them the story of Constantine, and encouraged them by his example to rely on the Cross. They believed it, for they marked their shields with this sign; every morning and evening they made it on themselves, without fail; and on meeting the enemy, the first thing they did was to make the sign of the Cross, after which they gave battle so confidently that they happily won the victory.

Thus our holy Faith is more and more gaining a footing among these peoples, and we have good hope that in a short time we shall carry it as far as the famous river named Mississippi, -- and even to the southern Pacific Ocean, so the Gospel will extend as far Southward as it has been borne Northward.

JOURNEY TO THE NORTH SEA BY LAND, AND THE DISCOVERY OF HUDSON BAY. MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS XAVIER IN 1671 AND 1672.

THE sea to the North of us is the famous bay to which Hudson gave his name; it has long been stirring our Frenchmen's curiosity to discover it by land, and learn its location with reference to ourselves, its distance, and what tribes dwell on its shores. The wish to gain a knowledge of this sea has increased since we learned through our Indians that recently some ships made their appearance there, and even opened a trade with those Nations, who have always been represented to us as populous, and rich in pelts.

Therefore Sir Talon, our Intendant, deemed it his duty to effect this discovery; and knowing that it was his Majesty's purpose to have all the Tribes of Canada instructed in Christianity, he asked for one of our Fathers, to open a way for our Frenchmen to that bay at the same time he bore the Gospel there. Accordingly, we fixed our choice on Father Charles Albanel, former Missionary to Tadoussac, since he has had much communication with the Indians who possess a knowledge of that sea, who alone are able to act as guides over those until now unknown ways.

Sir de saint Simon and another Frenchman being chosen for this enterprise, and the Intendant having most fully equipped them with everything essential to its success, the Father set out from Quebec August 6, 1671, assigning them a rendezvous at Tadoussac, where he was to choose an Indian of intelligence to serve him as guide throughout this journey.

We Will follow him step by step, and we shall best learn all that occurred on this expedition by giving here his journal, just as he wrote it during his journey:

JOURNAL OF FATHER CHARLES ALBANEL (1671)

I reached Tadoussac on the 8th day of August; and there I found myself forced to contend vigorously to overcome the opposition offered by the Indians against this undertaking.

The Captain of the place having died a few days before, I appealed to the uncle of the deceased, as the one possessing the greatest influence. This Indian, who has much respect for us, and no less affection for all the French, decided to oblige me with a good grace. He assembled all his men, and, after some conversation with individuals, turned to me and said: "My Young men have no sense. If my nephew were not dead, I would guide you. It is an honor for us to accompany a Missionary, who is the first to sacrifice himself that he may open a new road for the introduction of the Faith; and we are under obligations to you for offering us the means of doing a charity to our brothers, whom we will go to visit for the purpose of instructing them. Here are two of my people, whom I give you, -- my brothers-in-law; and this other one, who is my own nephew, Will make a third. They Will assume your guidance, and you will let them take part in the good that you will do in laboring for the conversion of so many infidel nations."

Then, addressing those Young men, he said to them: "My nephews, remember that I am interested in the success of this journey; and that I choose you to release me from the obligation of going in person, having long ago pledged myself for the purpose."

This good man's affection did not stop there: he insisted on embarking us and our baggage in his sailboat, as being more spacious than our canoes, and on conducting us, with his attendants, for a distance of 100 miles.

We had already accomplished 37 miles in our course up the Saguenay River, when we met two canoes coming down, in one of which was a man who was supposed to know the way to the sea, as he had come from there not more than eight years before. After informing him of our purpose, I asked him to consent to serve us as guide; but, experience of the past making him fear the future, he excused himself for a long time, alleging the difficulty of the route, but was compelled to yield to the urgency of our conductor.

Accordingly, we all set out together on the 22nd, and spent four days, owing to head-winds, in reaching Chicoutimi, where we remained three days. The first two days were employed in hearing confessions, and administering the communion to the people. On the third day, they carried our canoes and all our luggage, on their backs, for 3 miles.

On the 29th, after making a considerable present to those good Indians who had conveyed us so far in their sailboat, we embarked in our canoes to ascend the rapids -- the first that were encountered -- to lake Kenogami. We arrived there the next day, and I found two cabins of Indians from Sillery.

On the 1st of September, we encamped on the farther shore of a lake called Kinougamichis, noted for the great numbers of long-tailed frogs that occupy it and maintain a constant croaking. They are held to be extremely venomous, although the toads, snakes, and vipers in those regions are not so.

On the 2nd, we made our quarters near the mouth of Lac Saint-Jean, which is known as Piekouagami, and has a length of 75 miles and a width of 25 miles. Into this lake flow 12 rivers, while from it issues but a single one, forming that fine large river called the Saguenay. It is a beautiful region, the land being level and apparently fertile, with fine prairies. It is the country of the otter, moose, beaver, and, above all, the porcupine. Therefore the Indians living there are called Kakouchac (Porcupine Innu), taking their name from the word Kakou, which in their language means "porcupine."

It was formerly the place where all the Nations between the two Seas, those of the East and the North, used to go for purposes of trade; and I have seen more than twenty Nations gathered there. The Inhabitants were extremely reduced by their latest wars with the Iroquois, and by the smallpox, which is the disease of the Indians. They are beginning to regain their numbers, by additions from the outside Nations who, since the peace, resort there from various directions. We halted there for three days to provide ourselves with food, which was already beginning to fail us.

On the 7th, we reached the end of the Lake. As good luck would have it, I met two Indians, who supplied us with two muskets suitable for hunting, four of ours being useless.

On the 17th, five canoes bearing Atikamekw, or whitefish, and Mistassini Innu, came and joined us, bringing word that 2 vessels had anchored in Hudson Bay and conducted extensive trading with the Indians, having stopped there for purposes of trade. They showed us a hatchet and some tobacco, which they had obtained from a Papinachois Innu who had been on a trading trip toward the North sea that Summer. They added that our lives would be in danger, as hard fighting had taken place there, -- one Indian having been killed in the strife, and another led away captive. They said enough to terrify all our men; but, as it was then past the season for continuing our journey, on account of the approach of Winter, their words had no serious weight with me.

Still, not to act without guidance in this matter, seeing that I had no passport, I decided to send to Quebec for one, -- rendering, at the same time, an account of all that I had just heard; and asking what measures I should adopt under present conditions.

Two Indians and a Frenchman set out on the 19th of September with my letters. Pending their return I engaged in teaching that little band whom God so seasonably sent me. I baptized a little Child and two adults, after the necessary instruction; and occupied myself in training those who were Christians, until the tenth of October, when our canoe returned with land grant documents from our Bishop, and passports from Sir de Courcelles, our Governor, and Sir Talon, our Intendant. I also received their advice, which has been useful to me in the existing state of affairs.

The season being too far advanced for us to reach the sea before the coming of snow and ice, by which we were stopped on the last day of October, our Indians chose that place for passing the Winter, on account of its excellent hunting.

I do not intend to give a detailed account of that winter's events, or of its accompanying hardships and fatigues. I can affirm that, of the ten Winters which I have passed in the woods with the Indians, the first nine caused me less discomfort than this last.

This was not due to any lack of provisions, -- the region where we wintered being fairly well stocked with moose and caribou; while the beaver and porcupine had been increasing there for seven or eight years, during which no one had hunted in those vast forests. The snows were heavy, but our hunters were extremely dexterous, and all sure-footed, steady of hand, and keen of sight; while of lead and gunpowder, hatchets and knives, swords and muskets, they had no lack, Sir Talon's liberality having provided for all our wants.

The cause of all our sufferings was solely the ill treatment that we received from our guides themselves. They were undecided what course they should adopt, -- or, to express it better, they were all determined not to proceed farther, but to return. Yet, fearing an ill reception at Quebec, to shield themselves, they undertook, by trying my patience with every kind of indignity, to make me take the first step in retreat, and abandon all thought of continuing the journey.

I was consoled by the holy and courageous resolve of a good old man, about seventy years of age, -- who, learning that his children had taken refuge in Quebec at the time of the Iroquois incursions, and that they had there been baptized, made a journey of 1000 miles to receive instruction and enjoy the same happiness.

We resume the course of our journey. Spring had already inherited the rigors of Winter, the rivers were free, the ice had melted, when it became necessary to enter upon a series of conflicts with our guides on the subject of our enterprise. That unfortunate creature of whom I just spoke, being extremely incensed at my refusal to confer Baptism upon him, decided to close the river against us, although he had no power to do so. TO disguise his purpose, he gave a long description of the route, the great number and difficulty of the portages, the rapids, and the waterfalls; and as the whole tendency of his recital was but to discourage my men, it was easy for him to persuade them to second his plan by saying that they had forgotten the way, and could not go on for lack of a good guide. At this point, I began to suspect that they were all conspiring together; and that that overcritical fellow had used this solution to do us the present ill turn and check our progress.

To defeat this purpose, I decided to make use of a good old man of the nation of the Mistassini Innu, who -- being needy, having a large family, and having long been at odds with the above-named malicious fellow, readily allowed himself to be won at sight of a rich present.

I further promised him as much tobacco as he could use on the way, and a second considerable present upon our return, if he and his son would embark and guide us to Eastmain on Hudson Bay, 50 miles along the shore. He began to laugh, and said to his son, "Come on, we shall not lack tobacco this Summer."

On the first of June, 1672, we set out from Nataschegamiou to continue our journey, our group numbering nineteen, of whom sixteen were Indians and three Frenchmen, in three canoes. We had six days' journey of rapids, where we had to propel the canoes almost constantly against the current. Often we had to land and walk through the woods, -- climbing over rocks, leaping into ditches, and again scrambling up steep heights through clumps of trees whose branches tore our clothes; while, with all that, we were heavily burdened. After this, we were delayed two days by rains.

The ninth tried our patience severely due to an extremely difficult portage, both on account of its length, which some place at 10 miles, and because of the bad traveling. One must always be in the water half-way to his knees, and at times even to his waist, in crossing and recrossing streams that flow through the midst of a vast Plain which must be traversed to gain the river Nekoubau, to the Southwest of the one left behind. Even the Indians dread this journey, as one full of fatigues and peril.

Toward six o'clock on the morning of the tenth, we arrived at Paslistaskau which divides the lands of the North from those of the South. It is a small tongue of land, 65 yards in width and 130 in length, the two ends of this point being bounded by two small Lakes, from where issue two rivers. One flows down to the East, and the other to the Northwest, -- the Eastern emptying into the sea at Tadoussac by way of the Saguenay; and the Northwestern into Hudson Bay, by way of Nemeskau, which marks the middle point of the route between the two seas.

Toward evening, we met three Mistassini Innu in a canoe that was in excellent condition. They were coming to meet us, having perceived the great smoke we made from time to time, as we approached that Nation, as a signal of our arrival. This canoe took leave of us at nightfall, under pretense of continuing on its way; but all of a sudden, after turning the Island on which we were stationed, it came and joined us again that evening. Examining more attentively the eldest of the three men, whose name was Moukoutaen -- meaning "crooked knife" -- I began to suspect that he wished to make us purchase our passage. But, perceiving my suspicion, he tried to conceal his plan; and in the morning, when he left, he explained himself by saying to me: "Black Gown, stay here; our old man, the master of this country, must be notified of your arrival. I Will go and tell him."

It is no new thing for the Indians, obeying a maxim of their policy or of their greed, to be extremely cautious in granting strangers a passage, by way of their rivers, to distant Nations. The rivers are to them what fields are to the French, their sole source of Subsistence, -- whether in the form of fish and game, or in that of trade. Still, I pretended to take offense at this language, and therefore answered somewhat brusquely: "Is it you that bids me halt?"

"No, it is not I."

"Who, then?"

"The Old man Sesibahoura."

"Where is he?"

"Far from here," was his answer.

"Well, then, you are to let him know that today I Will rest, as I am tired; but if tomorrow morning your Old man does not appear, do tell him that I am hurried and shall continue my journey."

He embarked and left at once; but I was surprised when, in the evening, four canoes made their appearance, coming to ask me in the Old man's name to excuse him for not coming, as a head-wind had detained him until the next day.

On the 13th of June, eighteen canoes appeared, most of their occupants with painted faces, and adorned with all their costliest ornaments, -- such as high head-dresses and wampum collars, belts, and bracelets. They came and landed near us; and when the Captain set foot on land, I had him saluted with ten musket-shots in sign of rejoicing. On the same evening, I caused him and the chief men of his group to be summoned, so I could present to them two rich gifts, accompanied by the following address:

"Sesibahoura, it is not to purchase the passage of this river and of your Lake that I regale you with two presents. The Frenchman, having delivered this whole country from the incursions of the Iroquois, your foes, deserves to be given the right to go and come with entire freedom through this region, which he has subdued with his arms. Besides, God gives me the right of free passage everywhere, as he sends me to make him known throughout all these regions. Neither Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Nipissing, Ottawa, nor any strange Nation has ever required anything of my brothers, when they passed to and fro through those peoples' territories.

"As Your friend, ally, and kinsman, I give you a mat to cover the graves of your dead who were slain by the Iroquois, your enemies; and to you who escaped their fires and their cruelty, it Will say that you shall live in the future. Onontio has wrested the war-hatchet from their hands. Your country was dead; he has restored it to life. He has cleared away the trees and rocks that blocked your rivers and checked the course of their waters. Fish, hunt, and trade in all directions, without fear of being discovered by your enemies, either from the noise of your arms, the odor of your tobacco, or the smoke of your fires. The peace is general everywhere.

"This second present tells you that the Iroquois prays to God now, since the Frenchman has given him some sense; and that the Frenchman intends that you too shall imitate him, now that he has restored you to freedom. 'I love God,' says the Frenchman to you. 'I will have no allies that acknowledge the Demon for their master, and rely on him in their needs. My friendship is not to be merely on earth and in this world; I desire it to be continued in the other, after death. And, to that end, abandon the plan of carrying On commerce with the Europeans who are trading toward Hudson Bay, and resume your old route to Lac Saint-Jean, where you will always find some black gown to instruct and baptize you.'"

That whole evening was nothing but one great feast for our cordial reception, and for making us share, in the native fashion, all the best things that the people had; and at night, when all had assembled in response to the Captain's call there was ordered, as the best means of testifying to us their joy, a public dance, -- in which, with occasional mingling of voice and drum, they passed the night therefore rejoicing, everything being conducted with propriety.

On the 16th, we took our departure, and arrived at Kimaganusis. On the 17th, we reached Pikousitesinacut, -- that is, "the place where shoes are worn out," -- so named from the difficulty of the route.

On the 18th, we entered that great Lake of the Mistassini Innu, which is supposed to be so large that it takes twenty days of fair weather to go around it. This Lake owes its name to the rocks in which it abounds, and which are of a tremendous size. It has many beautiful Islands; and wild fowl, fish of all kinds, moose, bears, caribous, porcupines, and beavers are abundant. We had already proceeded 15 miles among the Islands that are scattered through its waters, when I perceived what looked like a bit of rising ground, as far away as one could see. I asked our men whether we were to direct our course there. "Be silent," said our guide; "do not look at it, unless you wish to die." The Indians of all those Regions imagine that whoever would cross this Lake must carefully refrain from curiously inspecting his route, and especially the place where he is to land. Merely looking at it, they say, stirs up the waters, and evokes storms that chill the boldest with fear.

On the 19th, we arrived at Makouamitikac -- that is, "the Bears' fishing place." It is a flat region with shallow water, and also extremely rich in fish, -- small sturgeon, pike, and whitefish having their haunts there. It is a pleasure to see the bears walking on the shores of this piece of water, and, as they go, catching with a paw now one fish and now another, with admirable dexterity.

We reached Ouetataskouamiou on the 22nd, after a hard day's journey, -- being forced to leave the great river, as the waterfalls and rapids were too violent, and make our way among some small lakes, with seventeen portages, to regain the same river. Here our guide went astray twice, which forced us to make a portage of 5 long miles amid rivers, declivities, mountains, submerged plains, and brooks that we had to cross with the water up to our waists.

On the 23rd and 24th, we found a less mountainous region. Its atmosphere is milder, and its fields are beautiful; and the soil would bear abundantly, and be capable of supporting a large population if it were cultivated. This region, the fairest on our entire journey, extended as far as Nemiscau, where we arrived the 25th of June, toward noon.

Nemiscau is a large lake, of ten days' journey in circumference, half surrounded from North to South by a semicircular range of high mountains. At the mouth of the great river, which extends from the East to the Northeast, are seen vast plains, which continue even below the semicircular mountain-range; while all this open country is so agreeably intersected by water that there appear to the eye to be a corresponding number of rivers forming so many Islands that it is hard to Count them. All these Islands are seen to be so scored with the trails of the moose, beaver, deer, and porcupine, that they would seem to be the place of their abode, where they are accustomed to range. Five large rivers empty into this lake, making it so rich in fish that fish formed the main subsistence of a populous Indian nation dwelling here eight or ten years ago.

The sad monuments of their place of residence are still to be seen; and also, on a rocky islet, the remains of a large fort constructed of stout trees by the Iroquois, from where he guarded all the approaches and made frequent murderous sallies. Seven years ago, he killed on this spot, or led away captive, eighty persons; this caused the entire abandonment of the place, its original inhabitants departing from there. Owing to the size of the river and the nearness of the sea, there was formerly much trade here, people coming from various quarters.

The river forms a great elbow in turning to the Northeast, compelling us to make four difficult portages among some small lakes, to regain it by a direct Northeasterly course. We went to Nataouatikouan to pass the night.

On the 26th, we arrived at Tehepimont, an exceedingly mountainous region.

On the 27th, we accomplished the last of the portages. Thus far, we had experienced no discomfort from the persecution of those little Sharp stinging flies known as mosquitoes and gnats. But at this point, it became impossible for us to sleep, constantly occupied as we were with defending ourselves, by the smoke that we made on every side, from the cruel warfare waged against us by those tiny creatures, whose numbers seemed infinite.

On the 28th, scarcely had we proceeded a half mile when we encountered, in a small stream on our left, a hoy (ship) of ten or twelve tons, with its rigging carrying the English Flag and a lateen sail. A musket-shot's distance from there, we entered two deserted houses. A little farther on, we found that the Indians had wintered near there, and had recently left. We pursued our course as far as a point of land 15 miles away from the house of the Europeans. There, the tide being low and the wind against us, we withdrew, the mud up to our waists, into a little river on our right, flowing toward the Northeast. Here, upon turning and looking around, we found two or three cabins and an abandoned dog, showing us that the Indians were near, and had decamped only two days before. All that evening, we remained there, firing loud musket-shots to make ourselves heard, and amusing ourselves with watching the sea which we had so long sought, and that famous Hudson Bay.

On the 29th, one of our canoes started for the mouth of the Rupert River, where our men thought the Indians must be. On the 30th, my host, falling into an ill humor, lost heart for continuing the journey; and intent only on returning, said that he was anxious about his four-months-old granddaughter, whom he had left behind. We went back to the Englishmen's house. I had to curb myself, to conceal my indignation.

On the morning of the first of July, I tried to show him that, as our canoe had not returned, it must have met with Indians and be waiting for us. At first he objected that it would be extremely difficult to make a passage of 50 miles by canoe on the sea. Then I thought that he was persuaded; but, to force him to declare himself more decidedly, I answered: "Your own honor, and that of those that sent you, demand that you will not halt so near the goal." This brought him over entirely; and made him decide to continue the journey. Then he answered me with much brusqueness, "Make haste, let us embark." We started that same day, toward six o'clock; and 25 miles from there, about two o'clock, we met a canoe which the Captain, knowing that we were coming, had dispatched hurriedly, to meet us and act as our escort.

As soon as the people caught sight of us in the distance, they all left their cabins and came down to the water's edge, -- the Captain crying at the top of his voice, in compliment to us: "The black Gown is coming to visit us; the black Gown is coming to visit us." At once, a band of Young men left the main body, and hurried toward us, the water up to their waists. Some carried us ashore, others seized our canoe, and the rest took our luggage. The Captain, taking me with one hand and seizing my paddle with the other, led me directly to his lodge, had all our baggage carried there, and placed the two Frenchmen one on each side of me. There we remained until he had caused the construction of a cabin for us. While the women were working on it, I produced a handsome calumet (tobacco pipe) and six yards of tobacco, which I gave to the Captain, so he could smoke and regale his Young men. To give him a smoke is the greatest pleasure and courtesy that one can render an Indian, -- especially in that country, and at a season when tobacco is scarce.

As soon as we were housed, the Captain prepared a fine feast; while all vied with one another in their expressions of endearment toward us, bringing us the best of their possessions. They all, one after another, came to visit us, the women even bringing their children to see a black gown -- a novel sight to them.

I was not, however, fully satisfied with these extraordinary civilities. One thing troubled me. I had reflected, in talking with the occupants of the canoe that had come to meet us, that under pretext of favoring the Nation with whom they were accustomed to trade, these people were likely to take offense at our visit and our claims, our purpose not being clear to them.

To make them take a correct view of our action, I decided to convince them that I was entirely disinterested in my visit; and that I had not come to carry on any trading, or to enrich myself at their expense, or to the prejudice of the people with whom they were accustomed to deal -- but rather to enrich them, by giving them freely all that we had brought so far with such difficulty.

Accordingly I called together all the Captains and chief men, and therefore addressed them:

Present 1. "Kiaskou," -- the Captain's name, meaning "gull," -- "we often experience, and with pleasure, a benefit whose author and cause we do not know. The blessing of peace with the Iroquois, now enjoyed by you, is of that nature; you know neither him that gives you this peace, nor his purpose in giving it to you.

"Look at this present, which Will open your eyes to a knowledge of your benefactor. 'It is I,' says Onontio to you, 'who have made peace, without your knowing it. For the past five years the Iroquois has ceased to disturb you; he makes no more incursions into your territories; I have snatched from him his Pakamagan (battle-axe) and have even rescued from the flames your two daughters and many of your kin. Very well, live in peace and safety; I restore to you your country, from where the Iroquois had driven you. Fish, hunt, and trade everywhere, and fear nothing from now on.'

Present II. "It is not the allurements of trade or of commerce that bring me here. If I have borne the fatigue of so long a journey amid so many risks, it was from no other motive than to enlighten you with the light of the Faith, and render you happy after this life. Those were my thoughts, and those were the thoughts of the Frenchmen who sent me here, -- to assure you, by this present, that the reason why they secured peace for you with the Iroquois was to compel you to pray in earnest. Your conversion to Christianity must be your acknowledgment of that great blessing. This is the second present."

These presents produced such an effect on the hearers that they immediately decided to have themselves all instructed. Then they all wished to be baptized; and their chief led the way for all the rest, being unwilling to let me depart until I had baptized him.

It was a cause of regret to me to find myself, on the fifth, obliged to leave so soon so fair a Mission-field. Accompanying us to the water-side, they followed our canoe for a long time with their gaze. God granting us a rather favorable wind, we set sail, and proceeded as far as the Englishmen's lodge, where we passed the night.

Before leaving Hudson Bay, I ought to give you a sketch of it; but my brief stay at the mouth of the Rupert River did not afford me leisure to explore that bay; I Will merely say that the River by which we entered it is called Nemiscausipiou (Rupert River), and rises in lake Nemiscau, from where it takes its name. It is a beautiful river, nearly a mile wide, and more in some parts, but of no great depth. Rising toward the Southeast, it flows Northwestward for about 200 miles, is rapid, and is broken in its course by eighteen falls. Fearing, therefore, to shatter the canoes, and run the risk of losing everything, we carried them, with all the luggage, through the woods. All these portages are long and difficult, two or three of them being of nearly 7 miles each, the others of 2, 5, or 6 miles.

The flow and ebb of the tide, which is well defined here, affects this river for 10 miles, until intercepted by rapids; but this fact does not prevent the water's keeping its freshness in the highest tides, -- not only in the river, but even 10 miles out into the bay.

It passes belief how far the sea recedes at low tide -- estimated at fully 50 miles by the Indians, all that vast stretch, as far as the eye can reach, presenting nothing but mud and rocks, mostly, and nearly all being left bare of water; so that the river, flowing over that mud and becoming lost in it, has not then enough water to float a canoe.

We found that the mouth of the river is at the fiftieth degree of latitude; and remarked that, in emptying, it seeks the bay by many windings, which form Islands fitted for habitation.

Upon the point to the Westward, the Cree are settled; and upon the bay, the Mataouakirinouek and Monsonis, each nation being separated from its neighbors by large rivers. The people of the sea dwell toward the Northeast on the Rupert River -- the place visited by us, situated 50 miles along the sea; it is a long rocky point at the fifty-first degree of latitude, where from time immemorial the Indians have been accustomed to gather for purposes of trade. And farther toward the Northeast are settled the Pitchibourenik Cree, the Kouakouikouesiouek, and many other nations. Three days' journey into the depth of the bay, toward the Northwest, is a large river called by some Indians Kichesipiou, and by others Mousousipiou, "Moose river", on which are many nations; while on the left, as you advance, lies the well-known Island of Akimiski, 100 miles long by 50 miles wide, abounding in all kinds of animals but especially notable for its white bears. There is said to be a small bay where the water never freezes, and in which vessels can pass the winter comfortably.

I say nothing of the abundance of wild fowl in this region. On the Island of Akimiski, if the Cree are to be believed, they are so numerous that in one place, where the birds shed their feathers at molting time, any Indians or deer coming to the spot are buried in feathers over their heads, and are often unable to extricate themselves.

Nor do I speak of the variety and plenty of fruits growing here, as this is not the place to visit in quest of delicacies and dainties. What commonly caught my attention were some small berries, called blueberries from their color, little red apples, and dark pears, and abundance of goose-berries, which are common in all these cold countries.

I saw in various places many large trees from which the bark had been removed; and upon my asking my guide whether these were not signs and writing which the people were accustomed to use, he answered me that the Indians had stripped those trees, when pressed with hunger, to feed upon their bark. God has given to warm countries their necessary food-stuffs, and to these cold regions the bear, moose, beaver, and porcupine; they constitute a food-supply which are well worth the figs and oranges of the tropics.

They are in error who have said that this region, whether by reason of the intense cold, the ice and snow, or the lack of wood suitable for building and heating, is uninhabitable. They have not seen these vast and dense forests, these beautiful plains, and these wide prairies bordering the rivers in various places and covered with every kind of grass suited to the maintenance of cattle. On the fifteenth of June, there were wild roses here, as beautiful and fragrant as those at Quebec. The season seemed to me farther advanced, the air extremely mild and agreeable. There was no night during my visit; the twilight had not yet faded from the west when the dawn of day appeared in the East.

On the sixth, we regained our river with great difficulty, due to the swiftness of its current and the frequent waterfalls. At such places, the Indians leap into the water, and drag their canoes after them by main strength, -- some pulling with ropes, and others pushing with long poles; while often it was impossible to overcome the impetuosity of the stream, which flowed over the rocks with marvelous swiftness. Canoes and all the luggage had to be carried through the woods, -- now amid mountains, lofty and fearful, and now over vast plains and by paths of extreme difficulty.

We were four days in reaching Nemiscau, where we planted the King's standard, the ninth of July, on the point of the Island intersecting this Lake.

On the fourteenth, we met two canoes filled with Indians, who gave us a warm reception. In our interview with them, they told us that a group of a hundred and fifty Mistassini Innu were at no great distance; and invited me to go and visit them, assuring me that they would all be delighted to see us. I answered that it would give me special pleasure to pay them a visit. But when I was on the point of setting out, our guide, who was feigning to be asleep, suddenly cried: "Where would you go, black gown? We are in haste; let us continue our journey." I was forced to obey him. It is vexatious to be dependent on an Indian's humor; one cannot always do what he would.

On the 18th, we reached the Minahigouskat river, where our coming was awaited by two hundred Indians, who, after greeting us in the native fashion, fed us all. Here occurred a good opportunity to praise the glory of our nation and the advantages of our holy faith. They heard me with such satisfaction that they then all declared themselves publicly for prayer, and promised that they would go to Lac Saint-Jean the next Spring, to receive instruction.

Toward two o'clock on the afternoon of the 19th, I planted the standard of our King on that river, to serve as a safeguard to all those Tribes against all the Iroquois Nations.

We reached Lac Saint-Jean on the 23rd, after many hardships. I was quite surprised, upon my arrival, to learn that the Mistassini Innus had been waiting for me for a month. They were that first company whom I had met on my way to their country; and I had deferred granting them the Sacrament of Baptism until my return, sending them to Lac Saint-Jean, -- partly to test their resolution, partly also to instruct them fully and at my leisure upon my return.

After instructing them sufficiently, I advised them to remain at the lake and spend the Winter there, to become better grounded in Christianity.

I hope this journey Will result in profit to them; for, as the people dwelling on this lake are Christians of longer standing and firmer in the Faith, their example Will be of great value to the nation in question, in giving its members a true idea of our holy Religion.

We left the lake on the 29th to go to Chicoutimi, where Sir de saint Denis, Captain of Tadoussac, awaited us to take us on board his vessel. We arrived there on the first of August.

Immediately after reaching Quebec, I attempted to give an account of the successive events of our journey to those who had employed me, and whom I knew to be most interested in the success of that Mission.

Until now, this journey had been deemed impossible for the French, who had already three times attempted it, but, unable to overcome the obstacles in its way, had been forced to abandon it. The conduct of the expedition was my due, after my eighteen years of efforts to that end; and I led the way, together with two Frenchmen and six Indians.

This journey is extremely difficult, and all that I Write about it is only half of what the traveler must endure. There are 200 saults, or waterfalls, and consequently 200 portages, where both canoe and luggage must be carried on the back. There are 400 rapids, where a long pole must be constantly in hand to surmount them. I say nothing of the difficulties to be encountered on foot; they must be experienced to be understood. Going and returning, the distance is 2000 miles; we covered 1500 miles in less than forty days. Our rule was to start early in the morning, and encamp late. Setting forth as soon as the dawn allowed us to catch but a glimpse of the rocks in the river, we continued until, for lack of light, we could no longer distinguish them.

In their marriages and superstitions are found the two capital vices, and the most difficult obstacle to overcome among all the Indian Nations. Those Northern tribes are less subject to these vices, not being accustomed to a sensual life, and showing themselves less obstinate in their superstitions.

Polygamy is not common with these people. I even remarked that the second wife of those who had two was nearly always some near relative; and, upon inquiring the reason that could underlie such a custom, I was answered that, when a woman lost her husband, it was the nearest relative's duty to take care of her and maintain her, -- holding her not as a slave but as a wife.

YEAR 1673
EXTRACT FROM THE LETTER OF FATHER NOUVEL, JESUIT, WRITTEN FROM STE. MARIE DU SAULT TO THE GOVERNOR, MAY 29, 1673.

The Indians among whom we live have never appeared to us more disposed to embrace Christianity than at present, because of the good treatment that they received last year from Sir de Courcelle, and the attentions of all the French with whom they live. Their trade has done much toward this, and the continuation of it is important. We try as much as we can, correspondingly to what the Governor and the Intendant have written to us about it, to incline them to continue their communication with the French. But already we see that the establishment of the English on the great Hudson Bay, and the proximity of the Iroquois, with whom the Mississaugas have pursued their winter hunting, will cause a decided prejudice against the colony.

The English have already diverted a great many of the inland Indians who visit lake Superior, and attracted them to themselves by their great liberality; and the Iroquois have sent considerable presents to all these nations, to confirm, they say, The Peace that Onontio made, -- but rather to get their pelts, with which the Iroquois are expecting these tribes to respond to their presents. Some of the Indians of these regions, who saw during the winter the Indians from the interior who made their trade last autumn with des groisiliers and the English, have assured us that two ships had arrived at that great bay, And that they were annoyed by a third, which followed them, and from which they feared shipwreck. They added that about two hundred men were put ashore, and that in four days they had built a large House, which they fortified with several cannons. The Indians praise their liberality. I learned yesterday that they are to hold a great council with all the neighboring nations around them. All this news troubled the Indians attached to us, who are enjoying the peace that the victorious arms of the King have acquired for them; they have some fears in case all this be disturbed by these revolutions.

The Father who has Charge of the mission of St. Francois Xavier writes me that the Seneca Iroquois have brought 20 peace-presents to the Indians of his quarter; and that they have taken away two women, who had long been captives among his Indians. These presents say that the Iroquois obey Onontio as their common father; and that therefore they have only gifts of peace, and are to love each other as brothers. They are only using this bait either for the sake of their commerce with the Ottawas, at the request of the dutch, or to beguile them into a renewal of the war, if they succeed with the Susquehannock, who are the only enemies that the Iroquois now have Upon their hands.

Nouvel

COPY OF THE LETTER WRITTEN FROM TIONNONTOGUEN BY FATHER BRUYAS, JESUIT, JUNE 12, 1673, ADDRESSED TO THE GOVERNOR.

I HAVE Long been Desiring an opportunity to present to you the humble respects of all the Fathers who live in the Iroquois missions. I could not desire a more favorable one than that afforded by Father Boniface, who is taking to Quebec a large group of our Christians; they will take refuge there, where they hope to preserve their faith and be secure from their Enemies. They will benefit in finding, at Quebec, the things necessary to Relieve their extreme poverty. Those who remain here will not delay to Follow them, Especially If they learn of the good reception that will have been given to their compatriots. We will urge them to this as much as we can, since Sir Talon has assured us that the King desires it.

There is no other news in these areas, Except that our neighbors, the Dutch, have not yet seen any ship land at Manhattan; this makes them uneasy, and causes goods to be so expensive that our Iroquois are resolved to get these at Montreal. I hope to have the honor of writing to you through our ambassadors, who will soon depart to go to Kente, to assure you of their obedience.

COPY OF THE LETTER WRITTEN FROM SENECA BY FATHER GARNIER, JESUIT, TO THE GOVERNOR, THE SIXTH OF JULY, 1673

As soon as I received your orders, brought by Sir de la Salle, I made them known to the Indians of this nation, which comprises 3 villages, -- two composed of the natives of the country, and the third of the remnants of several Huron nations destroyed by the Iroquois. All may make 800 men capable of waging war upon their enemies. The principal men of each village have been appointed to go and see you at the place you have designated; they are willing to receive your orders, and to satisfy you in all things. They have made peace with all the nations against whom Sir de Courcelle forbade them to make war, since The King had taken those nations Under his protection; they have expressly recommended to all their Young men not to turn their weapons in that direction.

Their main purpose now is for commerce with Montreal, where they would willingly take their pelts If commodities could be bought cheaper there than at Albany, where wares have gone up in price this year. They are also Desirous that the French should inhabit their country, -- especially those who Are most useful to them, such as blacksmiths and gunsmiths.

COPY OF THE LETTER WRITTEN FROM TECHIROGUEN BY FATHER DE LAMBERVILLE, JESUIT, TO THE GOVERNOR, SEPTEMBER 9, 1673.

I CAME here from Onondaga expressly to see Sir de La Salle and give him this letter. I am under the greatest obligations to you for the goodness that you have shown in writing me so courteously as you have done in the Letter that Garacontie brought me. Both he and all the Iroquois Are delighted to have seen you and heard you speak. The presents that you gave them, together with your affability, completely won their hearts. Your action has had the same effect as that of Sir de Courcelle, who rendered himself formidable, but it also gained the affection of those who had nothing but distrust and secret hostility.

Garacontie told me that he could not yet give any answer to the proposition that you made, to educate some Iroquois children at Quebec, because that depends upon the five nations; he is to go to them this winter on an embassy. I thank you for having so well recommended us to the Iroquois, and declaring your desire that we Be not disturbed by drunkards, or Insulted by anyone.

Sir de La Salle, who is in haste to depart to carry you the news of the recapture of Manhattan and Albany by the Dutch, and of a report that they have 20 ships of war which are sailing toward Quebec, does not permit me to write you more at length.

NEW FRANCE IN THE YEARS 1672 AND 1673. THE MISSION OF NOTRE DAME DE FOYE, NEAR QUEBEC.

Pierre Atironta, Captain of the hurons, died on The sixteenth of December, 1672, with strong indications of Predestination. During the six years that had elapsed since his return from the Iroquois country, where he was a captive, he had always been very fervent; he had Never been known to indulge in the excessive use of liquor, or in any other scandalous Sin.

Among persons who have come from the Iroquois Country to profess The Christian faith in Freedom, we have had The pleasure of seeing once more one of our Huron Captains, named Jacques Onnha'tetaionk, with all His family, consisting of ten persons. This good man had been taken by Reverend Father Le Moyne to Mohawk; he was to aid him by his example, in the conversion of that nation. But when he saw that drunkenness posed many obstacles to the faith among those poor Indians, fearing, also, that his Children might become addicted to the same debauchery if they continued to have communication with the Iroquois, -- he resolved last Summer to come and join his countrymen.

As soon as this Captain arrived at Notre Dame de foy, where the Hurons dwell at present, they all strove to surpass one another in giving him warm welcome. Mothers of families Vied in bringing Him Loads of Indian corn; some gave Him Chests full of it, while others, to outdo Their companions in Liberality, gave Him presents of fine Fields of Indian corn, almost ripe. A number of feasts were given in His honor. So he might be Acknowledged and reinstated in his Office of Captain, Each of The matrons brought Him wampum Collars, to establish a fund for Him, -- from which he might draw whatever was necessary to be munificent, when the occasion presented itself; and to make reparation for the faults of his nephews, according to the obligations of his office. This done, the Council assembled; and when all were Present, I restored to him, with a wampum Collar, the Captains voice, which had so long been silent, at least for us.

The good man thanked the Father on The spot, but without a present. This he gave at a feast where, to install himself in The dignity of Captain, he replied according to Their Custom with a wampum Collar; he presented it to our Lady as a slight Contribution toward the building of her house of Lorette, which is to be built in the new Huron village, on the same plan as what came from Nazareth. He added two others: one for the Count de Frontenac, our Governor; the other he gave to the old Huron women who were dependent on him in his Capacity of Captain to unite them all together.

He was not satisfied with making his wampum speak, to reinstate him in his office of Captain. Many fine speeches which he delivered on various occasions have caused him to be acknowledged as Captain to a much greater extent. The first speech that I heard Him make in public was against drunkenness. So clearly did he depict the evils that this vice has caused among all the nations who are addicted to it that we have had no disorders in that respect in our village.

Theft, to which The Hurons were exceedingly addicted before Their baptism, is now so rare among them that they would hesitate to appropriate a coin, a Nail, or a Pin which they might find in the street. No sooner do they pick up Anything than they bring It to me, so I can restore it to the person to whom it belongs. As for swearing, blaspheming, and cursing, which cause the damnation of so many Frenchmen, our Huron Indians do not even know The Terms for these. The Superstitions of their forefathers are entirely done away with, and are no longer spoken of, as if they had never existed. The stability of marriage, and conjugal constancy, which formerly, in Their own country, we had so much trouble in causing to be observed, now reign to the same extent among them as among The best Christians in Europe. Luxury in fine clothes finds no entrance into their families. Superfluous expenses in feasts are never encountered in Their households; all Their banquets consist in a well-seasoned Kettle, filled in proportion to the number of guests. Sins of impurity, such as kisses and Lascivious looks, are not habitual among them; exposing The naked figure, which formerly in Their country was not considered Immodest or wicked, is now done away with, so that at present there is more modesty and decency among The Huron youth than among The French.

Who would ever have said that to make the Huron nation Christian, It would have to be exterminated? Formerly I wept at the overthrow of the Hurons by The Iroquois, and now I Praise God for it; for I see clearly that if the nation had remained flourishing as it was of old, we would not in a hundred years have gained so much ascendancy over Them, to adapt them to our Christian customs, as we have gained in a few years.

I have The same Opinion as regards the Iroquois. I am convinced that to make them good Christians in their own country is a difficult thing, and one that will take a long time to accomplish; but if we could gradually detach Them from Their dwelling-place, and attract Them to Our Huron Colonies, it would be easy to make worthy Christians of them. Indeed, great expenses would not be necessary to attain this end. If we had clothing to give Them When they should come to us, until such time as they could become familiar with The Hunting-Grounds, we would soon gain a good part of those who have already some disposition for embracing The faith. Proof of this lies in The coming of nearly Fifty persons who started from a single Iroquois village on The faith of a promise given Them by Father Bruyas, on behalf of Sir de Courcel and Sir Talon, that They would be lacking nothing when they reached here.

THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS IN THE YEARS 1672 AND 1673.

Father Bruyas, the superior of the Iroquois missions, writes me from the Mohawk nation, of which he has had Charge for the past year and where He and Father Boniface work jointly in the instruction of The Christians of that mission.

THE MISSION OF SAINT MARIE AMONG THE LOWER IROQUOIS.

WHEN the Mohawk Iroquois concluded peace with their enemies, they had not sufficient Prescience to foresee What disadvantages would befall them, and that The hatchet of the Mahican would be less formidable to them than the liberty of going as often as they pleased to trade for brandy in New Netherland. As soon as that wicked peace between them and the Mahicans was concluded at Albany, the Road was at once opened to them to go there at all times in Perfect safety, and afterward to become intoxicated daily during the greatest Heat of The summer. Formerly, they used to drink here only at intervals and at certain seasons; many had to band together and keep themselves in readiness to resist The enemy in case of attack. But since they have no Fear of being insulted by the Mahicans, drunkenness has become so continual that they cease to drink only on leaving the village; and some have even been known to carry their kegs of brandy to the place where they fish, situated at a distance of over 62 miles from here.

This general dissipation was quickly followed by a kind of disease, which began in June, and ceased only in september. It was a fever of so malignant a character that in less than Five days one would either recover, or succumb to its violence.

"It was a sad spectacle for us," says Father Bruyas, "to see brought into the village from all sides the dead and dying, whom two or three days' illness had either carried off or reduced to The last extremity. Most of those who were attacked by the disease felt such violent pains in the head that they lost Their reason. Father Boniface and I had a great deal to do while this General affliction lasted. The fatigue and continual watching, which gave us an opportunity of practicing Charity while attempting to relieve the poor dying people, seemed to us to be Trifling in comparison with The anxiety that we felt at seeing many of those miserable people deprived of reason, and unable to make use of the last moment of Their lives to avert the greatest of all evils after their death. I had The happiness of Administering baptism to those whom I found in possession of Their faculties; when they observed that I would have liked to relieve them, they became docile in listening to all that I told Them.

"When I saw what little prospect there was here of making new Christians, the disease finally coming to an end, I applied myself chiefly to Instructing the old people, and to bringing back to The fold many of the sheep who had strayed from it, -- I mean, many Mohawks who called themselves Christians, but were so only in name. Bad example and Profligacy had so corrupted Their morals, and they had so completely forgotten their duty, that they barely remembered that they had been baptized. God has granted me The grace of withdrawing a considerable number from Their evil ways, and of seeing at present a little Church, which is beginning to give as much education as it formerly caused scandal.

"I have conferred Baptism upon a man and a woman. The man is old, sixty years of age, who at one time was a person of note, but whom a natural infirmity has caused to be so despised by the Mohawks that they look upon Him As a slave. This good man is diligent at prayer, and endures with admirable patience The affliction that God has sent Him, in The hope that he will some day receive consolation. The woman is only twenty-five years of age. The dread that she felt that baptism would send her to Heaven sooner than she wished caused her to have An aversion for that sacrament. The error still prevails, in The minds of many Iroquois, that baptism shortens life.

THE MISSION OF GANDAOUAGUE, OR OF SAINT PIERRE, IN THE COUNTRY OF MOHAWK.

IN the two villages that lie nearest to New Netherland, which are situated at a distance of about 12 miles from Tionnontoguen, a second mission has been established, the care of which has for the past four years been conferred upon Father Boniface. To this mission The name of saint Peter has been given, because, after his majesty's arms had conquered The lower Iroquois, it was at Gandaouague that the faith was embraced with more constancy than in any other district of Mohawk. There it was that a nascent Church was first seen. Therefore we call It The first and Principal mission that we have among the Iroquois.

This Church exists in the two smallest villages in the whole Iroquois country; a single village of the Upper Iroquois is larger and more populous than the two of which I speak. Considerable evil conduct still prevails at Gandaouague, as well as elsewhere; still, in these two small villages, there are more souls who are Christian than in the other Iroquois villages. As the Mohawks were The first to shed The blood of the missionaries who bore The faith to Them, they were also the first to receive the fruit of their merits in greater abundance than the other Iroquois nations.

I say nothing of The esteem shown by this new Church for all The outward signs of our holy Religion. Crosses, medals, and other similar Articles are Their most precious jewels. So fondly do they preserve These that they wear them around their Necks, even at preaching in New Netherland, where The heretics have never been able to tear away from Them a single bead of Their Rosaries.

The Father writes that he saw nothing more touching than The misfortune of a little Child. The mother having died two days after her childbirth, and its father being at The point of death, the Child was carried to him to learn who should be its nurse. The Relatives had decided to strangle it, so it could be buried with its mother, who in Cruel compassion had wished that they might be buried in the same grave.

I shall conclude by relating what I have just learned from a Letter of Father Boniface. He writes to a missionary that a woman who had been baptized only six months before was abandoned by her husband, the most noted Captain of the area where he resided. He had Left Her an only daughter, whose cheerful nature made Her beloved by all The village, while she was her mother's only consolation and hope. But God called the daughter to himself, and to try The courage of that Christian woman by so great a loss. Everyone at once blamed Her for having adopted The customs of the strangers by becoming a Christian, it being said throughout The village that The faith had caused her daughter's death. That virtuous Indian woman courageously scorned all The reports that hatred and slander spread against her. She remained as constant as ever in her devotion, being regularly seen to go to The Chapel, and leading a most exemplary life. God did not Long delay to reward her faithfulness. For, shortly after this storm, in exchange for a little daughter whom he had taken away from Her, he restored to Her, as a Christian, her husband who had abandoned Her, While he was still an infidel, on account of that daughter. He now took Her back, and loudly proclaimed that he condemned his superstitions to embrace our religion. This man, -- who had been won partly by conversation with Father fremin near Montreal, and partly by The good example given Him by his Christian countrymen, -- immediately upon his return to Gandaouague, spoke highly in favor of The faith in the presence of a great number of persons, and also of the advantages of dwelling near the French. The account given by that Captain, as well as the declaration of his intention to go and live with The Christian Mohawks who are settled near Montreal at La Prairie, Quebec, so affected The majority of the Mohawk that they are following Him with a number of women and children, leaving Their country, and Their relatives who persist in remaining behind, to go and dwell as Christians among The French.

It is no slight proof of the faith of These good Indians that they have abandoned Their Native country, Their petty household effects, and Their fields abounding in corn; and have sought a foreign land, to live there, -- in poverty and want; but also that they may be able publicly to profess Christianity there, which they could not do at home on account of the great disorders caused by drinking.

A resolution so quickly taken and so promptly carried out aroused astonishment in the Indians. The Mohawks of Tionnontoguen, who are not yet fully inclined toward The faith, expressed to Father Bruyas Their resentment, and The reason they had for complaining of the Black gowns, who seemed intent upon making a desert of their country and completely ruining Their villages.

The Father replied, by a wampum Collar, that he felt compassion for Them on seeing Them therefore abandoned by their people; that neither Father Boniface nor He had inspired the Mohawks of Gandaouague with the idea of going away; but that The example and voice of Their bravest warrior had exerted such an influence upon them that they thought that they should not remain any Longer in Their country while he was absent from it. The Father told them that the change would not ruin Their villages, as they thought; but on the contrary These would increase and become more flourishing than before, under The protection of our governor. Our governor would inform his majesty that We were now convinced of The sincerity of the Mohawks, who formerly stated, in one of Their embassies, that The French and The Mohawks were like two bodies animated by one soul or like two brothers who acknowledge the same Father.

This address, Delivered by The mouth of a person who fully possesses The Hearts of the Mohawks, Appeased The rising storm, and The entire assembly had nothing to say against so clever an answer.

We are further assured that The other Mohawks, who in small number have remained in The two villages of Gandaouague and Gannagaro, are so dismayed by this departure that they will soon follow the example of Their countrymen.

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER AMONG THE IROQUOIS OF ONEIDA.

A LETTER from Father Millet will show The condition of that mission. He Begins It therefore:

"In the one year that I have spent in this mission, I have baptized thirty-four persons -- among these, six adults and twelve children, with The ceremonies of The Church; The remainder, both adults and children, when in danger of death. Sixteen of the converts died.

"No sooner had I arrived here than I attempted to become acquainted with The people, gather The Christians together, and seek out The sick. The blessing that God has granted to our medicines has partly enabled me to succeed to The affection that our Oneidas had for Their first pastor, Father Bruyas.

"As to Their belief in and hope of Paradise, they nearly all say that they have come from there, and that they will return there. Those among them who have the best Knowledge of Their fables and superstitions believe in transmigration of the soul. They think that Their souls have come down from the sky; that they will return there when they are separated from their bodies; and that, after remaining there for some time, they will be reproduced in Their own family by Their descendants.

"One of those whom I baptized came to me recently, and said: 'I am somewhat in trouble, and you must Advise me. The time is approaching when The warriors will return. The Father of my little daughter, whom you have baptized with me, had left me and married another; but, when he went to the war, he told me that he would take me back when he returned. I do not know whether he will be pleased at our being Christians. I am resolved,' she said to me, 'to show Him my daughter's little crucifix and my Rosary, and to say to Him: "see you these emblems of Christianity? We are no longer what we were. When you left, we were infidels; now we are baptized." If he say that he is displeased at it, I will tell Him that He is Free to withdraw, and that I think more of The faith than of marriage.' I confirmed Her in her good resolution; and I considered it all the more Praiseworthy and meritorious before God since husbands are scarce in this country, and The fate of the women depends upon Their husbands, who supply them with food and clothes.

"Many persons no longer invoke Agriskoue and this has often been professed in open assembly. Some say to me: 'We have made no invocation, because you tell us that it is not right.' Others say. 'Such a one will offer The prayer; He knows how to say It;' and usually they are The first to inform me of it. But when they forget to offer prayer, I do not, for that is The chief Reason why I go to feasts, which in this country are religious ceremonies."

THE MISSION OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AT ONONDAGA.

"Since Father millet has Left me The care of The mission of Onondaga, to go and reside at Oneida, I tried to keep up The good Customs that he introduced, -- among others, public penance for those who by some evil deed have given scandal to The Christians, and even to The infidels, who do not fail to inform me of The slightest fault that they observe in The Christians.

"All the Christians who compose this Church are completely exempt from the vice of drinking, which has now become a Custom among The Iroquois. They are not all fervent to the same degree. I am not surprised at it; I am much more astonished to see that, in the midst of immorality, they so well resist The torrent of bad example. I remember that When I was in Europe, I heard on many occasions that among The Christian Indians in Canada, The women are The most devout and faithful; and that Their rare virtues are more frequently mentioned in the reports than those of the men. I will enable you to judge of this.

I will not cite any other example among The men than that of Garacontie, whose virtue and reputation do honor to our Church. I was a witness of The constancy with Which he had rejected The proposals made to Him to give invitations to feasts of which he had dreamed; that, after declaring at a solemn feast that he should in future follow and observe The Law of him who made heaven and earth, he had kept his promise to the captain of the black gowns, -- he meant The Bishop of Petraea, who had baptized Him. Then he added, with a smile: 'As to marriage, you know my wife's ill temper. Had I not been a Christian, I would have sent Her away Long ago, as The Iroquois do, so I might take another.'

"He frequently asks why The Europeans sell brandy, since The Iroquois make such a bad use of it. 'Its sale should be forbidden,' he said. I told Him that The dutch were not good Christians. 'That is true,' he added; 'for they do not approve of our making the sign of The cross.' They have also vainly tried several times to take away from him his Rosary, and The small crucifix that he carries round his Neck. The last time when he went to New York, He was asked whether he was still a Christian, and whether he could Read. He replied that his faith would last as long as his life, and that he was not altogether ignorant of writing. His constancy, he said, was Praised, and He was urged to persevere. How he loudly professes Christianity has drawn upon him the hatred of some of the most notable men of Onondaga. They tried to discredit him in The minds of their people by Saying that he was no longer a man; that he had become French; that The black gowns had turned His head; and that, since he had abandoned The customs of the Country, he had also ceased to have Any affection for it. They even said that Their affairs should no longer be confided to Him, and that he would die at the first sin that he should commit. He will win the esteem of the Count de Frontenac, The King's Lieutenant-general in Canada, -- to whom he is going to pay his respects at The entrance of Lake Ontario, and congratulate Him upon his safe arrival in this country.

"I mention here The piety of an Iroquois woman who was instructed and baptized by Father Fremin at La Prairie, Quebec, near Montreal, two years ago. That woman had already decided to pass her Life among the French, with whom she could better keep up her devotion than in her own country, where drinking and other bad conduct are more prevalent than are The maxims of our religion. When she saw that her husband, a Christian trainee, was yielding to the requests of the persons from Onondaga to persuade Him to go back to his own country, and that it was in vain that she opposed his return, after representing to him that he would infallibly revert to The evil Habits which he was beginning to give up, she deemed It her duty to follow Him, for fear in case her son, whom he took with him, should learn to live like The Iroquois, -- that is, become a drunkard and libertine.

"By bad example and The continual requests made to the husband to return to his former mode of living, he became corrupted to such an extent as to say that all things said about Paradise and hell were nothing but fables and fictions of the black gowns. He even tried to compel his wife to renounce Christianity. He threatened to leave Her, and make Her endure every ill treatment within His power. Finally, when she saw that he was proceeding to extremities, she told him that she felt compassion for him at seeing him so corrupted; that she was horrified at His proposing to Her to renounce The faith; that his threats did not frighten Her; and that she was resolved to endure anything rather than lose The hope of being some day happy in heaven. She came to relate this to me, and told me that she cared little for all her husband's threats; that she feared only in case her little son -- who had already been made to drink brandy, and had been compelled to leave his mother's Dwelling and reside with Him -- should also begin to imitate his Father; and that she would try to take advantage of The time during which he would be gone to war to steal the Boy from Him and return to Montreal, to La Prairie, Quebec.

"This man, so corrupted, did not long delay in showing his ill will. After marrying another woman, he made himself drunk, -- or pretended to be so, as they do who wish to injure others with greater impunity. He entered The Cabin of his first wife; he threw down or broke all The furniture; he tore off Her clothes; he struck Her, and said that he would kill Her. She was wrested from His hands, and assisted to escape. She at once came to Pray in The Chapel, and to recount to me what I have just said. The same outrages were continued for several days, and did not cease until some relatives of this Christian woman, unable to restrain Their resentment, made themselves drunk also, and avenged The ill treatment that Their Relative had been made to endure. She was afterward sought in marriage; but she said that, since God had therefore permitted her to be separated from her first husband, she would not marry another, and that she was glad to be Free and live alone. After that, she redoubled her devotions, and took the greatest care in bringing up her son properly. She even stole him from his father, to fly with Him and take Him to La Prairie, Quebec.

"She cast discredit -- with great cleverness, so as not to Offend her people -- on the reliance of the Country on whom The Iroquois call Agriskoue. They urged Her in vain on many occasions to call in The tricksters and medicine-men of the Country. These, by Charlatanry, pretend to draw from the bodies of the sick the hair and teeth of animals, or small pieces of wood or cloth, after invoking, in most instances, The Agriskoue. To him they usually sacrifice either Dogs, with which a feast is given to the sick person; or tobacco, which they throw into The fire. Her uncle, a superstitious man, wished once, in spite of her opposition, to call in The medicine-men to cure her son. She protested that neither she nor her boy would use any other medicines than those that I might give Her. She was troubled with a violent toothache, which prevented Her from attending to her household duties. Her uncle, who became impatient at seeing his Food grow cold while cooking because she had to stop her work, insisted upon her relying on the tricksters, and her relatives urged Her to do so. To relieve herself from Their pleadings, she told Them that She was not permitted to allow The invocations that they would utter over her person; and that as she was a Christian, she must do nothing in religious matters without The advice of The black gown; that, if I thought it right for her to make use of the tricksters' remedies, she would at once consent to do so.

"One of her relatives, who belonged to the corps of tricksters, immediately carried these words to me; and after giving me a long account of the wonders that he worked through his art in removing spells, he concluded that I should not prevent him from exerting his skill, or from giving Her medicine. I told Him that it was not necessary to give any medicine; that The disease was in The jaw. 'Yes,' he said, 'I shall expel the little demons that some malicious persons have caused to enter Her, to give annoyance to our family. Would you take pleasure in seeing Her suffer?' I told Him that I would not, and that I Had compassion for Her; but that, to show Him and all the family that the pain was not due to the oski, or demons, as he said, I would relieve her by extracting a decayed tooth that Caused Her so much suffering. And at once, taking my Forceps, I pulled out The tooth, and put an end to The pain. This has given me such a reputation that all who have toothache came to me, either to obtain some remedy, or to ask me to extract The aching teeth. Thus they are now convinced that toothaches are not caused by spells or demons. That good Christian woman seized The opportunity to prove that The diseases usually attributed to imaginary sorceries are due to as natural causes as toothache is; but The tricksters withdrew, and would not listen to Her.

THE BAPTISM OF SOME ADULTS.

"A woman took some Hemlock juice, because she could not bear to see herself abandoned by her husband, who married her rival. I am summoned in the capacity of a physician who has succeeded before in counteracting the effects of that poison. I make her take orvietan and shortly afterward some theriac, -- on condition that no one else shall give Her any other medicine, in case it should take away The strength of mine. But hardly have I left the Dwelling than a woman makes Her swallow more than a pint of Colored water. I return; I taste the water, and find that It has no strength. I ask the attendant whether she thought that it was good medicine; she says that she knew nothing about it, but that, as she had been requested to give a medicine, she prepared one As she was able. I scold The persons whom I had warned not to allow any other medicines but mine to be given so soon to the sick woman; and I tell her that my remedy has been spoiled. I give an emetic to The patient, to make Her throw up The water that she has taken; but The poison has already penetrated into the intestines.

"The blame is placed on her who took upon herself to administer medicine contrary to the physician's orders. I tell them that there is no longer any probability of saving Her, and that she will die. The tricksters at once hurry to her; they perform all Their Apish tricks, and say that an oski is killing Her, which is stronger than The poison. While preparations are being made for The trickery, I make The mother understand that her daughter has sinned in therefore trying to destroy herself.

"'It is true,' she says; 'but what is to be done?'

'It is necessary,' I say, 'that I should wipe out her sin before she dies, and that you should help me by inducing her to listen to me.'

Meanwhile, the sick woman is foaming at the mouth; she utters loud cries, and is seized with dreadful convulsions. I cause Her feet and arms to be held, while I hold her head to prevent Her from moving, and to speak to Her in closer proximity. I try to make her say that she asks God to pardon her.

"'I have not sinned,' she says; 'he who has abandoned me is The only one who is Guilty.'

"Finally, after many earnest requests, she told me that she was sorry for having offended God, and that she asked him to have pity on her. That was all that I could obtain from her, owing to the violent convulsions that attacked her. Therefore, I baptized Her solely on condition that she had the proper dispositions for receiving baptism in The state in which she then was. She died on The same day.

"A man and a woman died after having persistently refused to be baptized, The woman said that she did not wish to go to the paradise of the French, where She would be burned as Captives are burned here. Neither of them was of the Iroquois nation.

"Two Susquehannock who were captured by The Iroquois were more fortunate. They received baptism Immediately before The Red-hot irons were applied to Them. One of them, who was burned during The night in a Cabin, from his feet to his knees, prayed again to God with me on The Following day, while tied to a stake in The public place of the village. I will not repeat here what is already known -- that The tortures inflicted upon prisoners of war are horrible. The patience of these poor victims is admirable; but one cannot contemplate without a feeling of horror the sight of Their roasting Flesh, and of men who Devour it like famished Dogs.

"One day, when I was passing near the Spot where The Body of one of those tortured captives was being cut to pieces, I could not help drawing near and criticizing such brutality. I saw one of these Cannibals who asked for a Knife with which to cut off an arm. I opposed him, and threatened Him that, if he did not desist, God would punish him severely for his cruelty. He stated, as his reason for doing so, that he was invited to a feast, commanded by a dream, at which They were to eat nothing but human Flesh, to be brought by those who were invited to it. Two days later, his wife fell into The hands of the Susquehannock, who Revenged themselves upon her person for The Cruelty of her husband.

"A Christian woman died, after receiving The sacrament of Penance. A drunken man, who had just crippled another old woman, had entered her Cabin. The only person who was with her ran away, and abandoned Her to that furious man, who, with a wooden pike, bruised Her entire face, Broke Her jaw, pierced Her cheeks, inflicted several wounds in Her head and shoulders, and Left Her for dead on The spot. Although they disapproved of my dressing The wounds of the old woman, for whom they had less pity than for a Dog, I dressed Them, and comforted Her to the best of my ability. This caused many persons to say that it was well to be a Christian, since The black gowns assisted until death those who had loved The prayer. I made Her pray once more; and after making her confession, she began her death-song, consisting of the following words, which she enunciated with difficulty -- for, as The Iroquois Language contains no Labial Letters, she could still speak: 'Egiheia onne,' she said, 'garonhiague agatsiennonnia; nictouenha Jesous -- gue ouague, Jesous tagitenra.' 'At last I am dying, I am going to heaven to see Jesus; that is well. Jesus have pity on me.'

"Without medicines, I cannot be sure Of baptizing any child, because most of the people still remain in The error that baptism either hurries death, or prevents them from going to the Iroquois heaven. After baptizing three dying children, as a measure of precaution, while giving Them medicine, I wished to learn whether The parents would permit me to baptize Them; but they always persisted in objecting to baptism. Once, they wished to ascertain whether My fingers were wet when I approached a sick Child, so did they fear that I would baptize It. But, by means of the medicines, few escape us, and we give no cause for mistrust.

Father de Lamberville."

THE MISSION OF ST. JOSEPH AT CAYUGA.

Up to this year, I had been unable to baptize anyone except in secret, except those from whom I could not Conceal It. To avoid The Slanders that hell incited against me and Against baptism, through The universal belief which had impressed upon Their minds that baptism had not the beneficial effect which I told Them that it had; but other and quite contrary effects, which I Hid from them in order to more easily make Them consent to it. The 2 principal of these effects were, they said, an early death, and after death eternal Captivity, under the domination of the French.

I could not therefore hope to do anything toward The advancement of The faith without removing this error from the minds of the people, or at least causing it gradually to disappear. But, despite all my efforts to do so in previous years, I met no success; and even this year I could hope for still less than usual, because more illness prevailed and more deaths occurred than before.

Still, in spite of all The false rumors that have Circulated more freely Against me than Usual, God has granted me The grace of instilling into The Hearts of some mothers dispositions that I could not hope for from my own exertions. There were 13 who asked from me, on behalf of Their children, what they were yet unwilling to ask for themselves. They asked me to baptize Them, and brought them into The Chapel. Such a request could only be Infinitely agreeable to me, since it was a first Step toward dispelling from the minds of the people all Those erroneous Impressions Against baptism. But As nothing must be done hastily, I Never granted them Immediately what they asked. I always put them off to some future feast-day, so as to make them conceive, by that delay, a higher Opinion of what I wished to grant Them. I did grant it to them on the appointed day, when I baptized Their children with The Rites; and even made some of them, who were Capable of doing so, reply to the Questions that have to be put.

"As for The eleven adults whom I baptized, they have all died; for I have not baptized any who were not in danger of death. Except when reduced to that extremity, I find none who have any of the inclinations necessary for baptism. The liberty of marrying and of divorcing themselves When they please, The spirit of murder, and worldly considerations prevent Them from being docile to our Instructions. Of the baptized children, 18 have died; and This number, Added to that of The adults, makes 29 in all.

THE MISSIONS OF LA CONCEPTION AND OF ST. MICHEL AT SENECA.

Father Raffeix arrived at La Conception at The end of July; and a month afterward, I returned to st. Michel from where I had gone forth a year before, -- Both because The village had been entirely consumed by fire, and because I alone remained at Seneca. Here, I have experienced all The Satisfaction that I could hope to obtain from our Christians, -- through Their diligent attendance in The Chapel, night and morning, at prayers, and Their punctuality in coming every Sunday to The instruction that I give Them before Mass; and through The fervor that several of them manifest in taking The part of The faith when any Irreligious men speak Against it. Father Raffeix has charge of La Conception, and Father Julien Garnier, who labors In St. Michel, speak of both as follows:

"We have never performed our duties in greater quiet and have never preached the Gospel here with more Freedom than this year. We have been listened to by the infidels more attentively than we could have hoped.

"As there is no Chapel in the village of st. Jacques (Ganondagan), which is at least twice as large as that of st. Michel, I am compelled to make up for the deficiency by Frequently going through The Cabins, -- both for the purpose of baptizing The sick children and for Instructing The sick and other adults. I make Them say prayers after The instructions in The Cabins; and afterward many come to me, at st. Michel, to be Instructed and to pray in The Chapel.

The complaint that Everyone has to make when I go to see Them is that we prefer The Hurons to Them; and that, of all The Iroquois villages, theirs is the only one in which no missionary resides. If you do us The favor of sending us a third, I expect that he will be well received there. One is needed there, both for the purpose of effecting the Beginning of a Church, -- which cannot be done except by a person residing on The spot, -- and on account of the many children and adults who die before I hear of Their illness -- Consequently without assurance of salvation, because I am not on The spot. However diligent I may be, some always Escape me.

"Since July, 1672, I have baptized 43 children -- 29 of whom already Enjoy the happiness that baptism has procured for Them, while several of the others still Linger -- and 12 adults, 9 of whom died shortly after Their baptism. Besides these, several of the children who were baptized in previous years have died.

"I learned that a Child, who had been wounded with an arrow, was at The point of death. I baptized It, and it died an hour afterward.

"Of the 43 Children to whom I have administered baptism during the last year, 29 of them already Enjoy The bliss that that sacrament has procured Them, and they will soon be followed by several others Who still Linger, but cannot live Long. As to The adults, I have baptized only 12, 9 of whom died shortly afterward.

"The 38 persons, both adults and children, baptized by Father Raffeix, the majority of whom died after baptism, have increased The number of The elect."

These brave Missionaries find Their hands at the end of The year Laden with more than 200 Children and over 80 adults baptized, -- the majority of whom Enjoy Eternal bliss; for they died after having been baptized.

THE MISSION OF THE OTTAWAS OR ALGONQUINS.

THE war that all these tribes wage with The Sioux has compelled Them to leave lake superior, and to come and settle on lake Huron, where The peace that they have with The Iroquois procures Them a sanctuary against their new enemy.

We divide these missions into four, which are all comprised within a space of over 750 miles.

The first is The mission of Sault Ste. Marie.

The second is The mission of the Apostles, in The northern part of Lake Huron.

The third is that of saint Ignace, to the southwest, on the same Lake.

The fourth is that of saint Francois Xavier, in The great Green Bay.

THE MISSION OF SAULT STE. MARIE.

THIS Place, to which The abundance of whitefish Caught there gives considerable importance, daily becomes more beautiful and more comfortable, -- especially since the Indians apply themselves to planting Indian corn there. The Church that has recently been built there, and some fine ornaments sent by Charitable persons, excite Their admiration, and inspire Them with a high opinion of Christianity. In their reasonable fear of being attacked by the Sioux, their enemies, they prefer to Dwell near The Church, rather than in Their own fort. They even wished to place Their women and children There for safety, when they went down to Montreal to trade.

A most suitable spot has been selected on The river of saint Francois Xavier, which discharges into Green Bay; already a large Church has been built there, to which The tribes there will resort from time to time, during the fishing and Hunting season.

The Indians of The Kiskakon Ottawa tribe have shown a desire never to move away from the place that has been built for them. The Demon seemed to have incited the people of Kaentoton to request Them to go and dwell in Their country, -- where, Far from there being a structure dedicated to God, polygamy and tricksters' arts have dedicated most of the Cabins to hell. Those instruments of the Demon did everything in Their power to carry out Their plan. In the first place, they gave presents to the elders at Sault Ste. Marie, who were Their relatives. Then they applied secretly to the chief of the Young men, also giving Him fine presents; they offered Him the choice of any of Their girls for his second wife, and finally promised to make Him the chief of Their warriors. But he informed Father Gabriel Druillettes of what was going on, and assured Him that he was resolved not to give up either The Church.

The people of Kaentoton, however, made a final effort, and attempted in a council to bribe publicly him whom they could not corrupt in secret. They displayed The presents that Their chief sent to The Kiskakon Ottawa tribe to attract Them; and then, addressing Him in particular, they placed two wampum Collars at his feet, and said to Him: "It is you whom we desire." Then his father spoke for Him, and said to those of Kaentoton: "Know, my brothers and nephews, that even if my son and all my relatives wished to go where you desire them, and to move out of sight of The Church, I could only Be dragged there; and I would weep in advance over The loss of those who would attract us there, as a father weeps when he sees his children carried away by The enemy and taken into Captivity."

Finally, his son brought The whole matter to a conclusion, opposing craft To craft. He told Them that, as The enemy had killed one of Their relatives, Their honor required that they should avenge that death; and that he was quite ready to accompany Them to war for that purpose. He did This with The plan of inducing Them to come themselves and Live near The Church, and to win Them by means of the Ojibwes, whom he would bring to join them on that expedition. They agreed to this.

THE MISSISSAUGA MISSION.

WE Unite this mission of the Mississaugas to The preceding one of Sault Ste. Marie, because it is a sort of dependency of that, being The nearest to it; and because The same missionary has labored in both of Them.

This tribe, in addition to multiple wives and The superstitions that prevail in It, in Common with The others, is The proudest and most arrogant of all in the neighborhood. Still, Father Gabriel Druillettes, who was sent there, was received by them with all The Kindness of which these Indians are Capable. Even those who had The greatest number of wives, as well as The most noted tricksters, were The first to come and pay their respects to Him in Their fashion, as soon as he landed. Also, the two Principal persons among them, whom The rank of Captain of the tribe seemed to imbue with more arrogance, were precisely those who brought The humility of The gospel most into favor. One of them spoke out and said: "I have sent away a second wife, whom I had taken out of consideration for my deceased brother, to whom she belonged."

SOME MARVELS THAT GOD WROUGHT AT SAULT STE. MARIE.

A Band of Chichigouek Algonquins, consisting of ten or twelve warriors, had taken care to ask The blessing of God, previous to Their leaving to wage war against the Sioux, Their enemies. After embarking in three Canoes, they not only took thirteen Scalps from Their enemies and brought away two little girls as Captives; but when, on Their return, they were met by seven hostile canoes, which surrounded Them and discharged Their arrows at them for a Long time, they suffered not the slightest injury, and not one of them was even wounded. When They returned, their wives and children showed Their piety by bringing The two little Captive girls to The Church on The following Day, and teaching Them to pray and make The sign of The cross. The Captain of this band -- who is called Kamichisitit, because he has more toes than most men -- testified that it was nothing new for Him to observe some marvelous effect of prayer.

"My son" (he said) "was afflicted with retention of urine, without hope of a remedy; but this he found in The prayer that Father Gabriel Druillettes made Him say. That has since compelled me to cease to rely on the sun or to dreams, and to pray only to the great spirit, the master of men and The lord of war. It is from him that I expected all aid in The expedition that I undertook; to him I offered last winter The heads of all the animals on which I feasted; finally, it is He who, on The day on which I killed those foes, made me say to my Young men in The morning that we should arrive at noon at the Spot where the Combat was to take place."

THE MISSION OF THE APOSTLES ON LAKE HURON.

Father Bailloquet has obtained no other result than to be scorned and ignominiously driven from the Cabins. Everywhere, he encountered only threats of blows, insults, and commands to be silent, to leave them, and to go and preach to others. Meekness served him no more than severity, and Their fatal attachment to their superstitions caused all The means and all The holy skill which he employed to be of no help. He was even, at last, excluded from the feasts, because he was accustomed to repeat aloud a prayer formally opposed to the secret and Hidden plan that the giver of the feast among them usually has, of giving food to the Sun, or to some other false divinity.

THE MISSION OF ST. IGNACE AMONG THE PETUNS.

FATHER Marquette, who has charge of this mission, Writes the following, in the form of a Letter to Reverend Father Dablon, superior of the missions of the Jesuits in New France.

Reverend Father,

The Hurons called Petuns, or The Petun nation, who compose The mission of saint Ignace at Mackinac, Began last summer a fort near The Chapel, in Which all Their Cabins were enclosed. They have been more diligent at prayer, have listened more willingly to The instructions that I gave Them, and have consented to my requests for preventing grave misconduct and Their abominable Customs.

This year, the Petuns were here to the number of three hundred and eighty, and they were joined by over sixty of the Ottawas. Some of the Ottawas came from The mission of Saint francais Xavier, where Reverend Father Andre spent last winter with them; and they appeared to me to be different from what they were when I saw them at The point of saint Esprit. I cheerfully attended Their feasts of Squashes, at which I instructed them, and I cast ridicule on Their dreams.

Over two Hundred people left last autumn for hunting; those who remained here asked me what dances I prohibited. I replied that I would not permit those which God Forbids, such As indecent Ones; that, as regards The others, I would decide about them when I had seen Them. Every dance has its own name; but I did not find any harm in any of them, except that called "The bear dance." A woman who became impatient in her illness, to satisfy both her God and her Imagination, caused twenty women to be invited. They were Covered with bearskins and wore fine wampum Collars; They growled like Bears; they ate and pretended to Hide Like bears. Meanwhile, The sick woman danced, and from time to time told them to throw oil on the fire, with Certain superstitious observances. The men who acted as Singers had great difficulty in carrying out The sick woman's plan, not having heard similar airs, for That dance was not popular among The Petuns. I used this fact to dissuade Them from the dance.

I did not forbid others which are of no importance; for I considered that my winter's stay among them had been profitable: I had put a stop to The usual indecencies and exposure of the naked person. This all The Chiefs have resolved no longer to permit, and I have urged Them to it in The large assemblies. I tried to persuade some Huron women not to be present at any of those dances, which generally lasted a good part of The day; but they told me that they had only that time in which to divert themselves, and that I did not forbid Them to Dance.

As The Indians have Vivid imaginations, they are often cured of Their sickness When They are granted what they desire. Their medicine-men, who know nothing about Their diseases, propose a number of Things to Them for which they might have a desire. Sometimes The sick person mentions It, and they always give it to him.

THE MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER IN THE GREAT GREEN BAY.

THE following is what Fathers Louis Andre and Claude Allouez, who labor there, write of it.

STATE OF THE CHOUSKOUABIKA MISSION.

Reverend Father,

The fire that broke out in my Cabin on The twenty-second of December, 1672, has, by burning my Writing case and journal, deprived me of The means of writing accurately of the most remarkable things that have occurred in The bay of saint Xavier, of which I was given charge by Reverend Father Nouvel some months ago. I took possession of it on The 16th of November of East year, -- on Which day I arrived at Chouskouabika, and stopped there to procure a supply of herrings for my subsistence during the winter. The fishing had begun some days previously, and was abundant. The Indians asked me to speak to God that it might last for a long time; and they promised me to come and pray in my Chapel when The fishing should be over, at which time they would have leisure to come to me.

I had no desire to make them pray in their Cabins, because these were so littered with nets, and so full of fish, that I could hardly enter or kneel in them without inconvenience. But after Considering that the women and girls were constantly occupied in smoking The fish, and the men in preparing The nets, I thought that I must not show any reluctance to visit them every day, and to make Them pray As they wished.

They were not eager to sell us fish; therefore the French who were with me cast some nets into The water, -- more for the purpose of making the Indians believe that we would not buy fish from them when they might want to sell some, than with the hope of catching any with old nets all torn, the meshes of which were by far too wide. We had brought Them with us to mend them at leisure during The winter, so they could be of use to us in the spring; but the fire rendered that plan of no help. When The Indians saw that we had several nets and that we fished a little, they asked us to buy Their fish. The women, girls, and children brought me some, to obtain Something from me.

This gave me an opportunity of making them pray in the chapel, and of teaching them; but, when the fishing was over and Their provisions secured, The lazy people found that I was too far away from them, and the attendance was not such as I would have desired. Fire broke out in my Cabin, in which I lodged to protect myself from the cold, having made use of the debris of the dwelling to which The Indians had set fire shortly before I came to the bay. These debris having been reduced to ashes, I was compelled to build a Cabin like the Indians. The Chief first delivered a speech, saying that they would build a Cabin for me and a house of prayer; this was soon done. I had no great cause to regret The loss that I had experienced; for, on The same day, I was Comfortably Lodged in a house of straw. This method of building Cabins is The most convenient of all That I have yet seen. Straw is used to The height of a man, and then mats above it. They afford greater protection against cold and smoke than do bark Cabins; and one need fear neither rain nor snow if The mats have the least slope.

This little accident gave an opportunity, to those who were not well disposed toward prayer, to taunt me, because I had sung that the Devil was a slave, and that I despised him. Several said to me: "You have no sense; you anger the Devil too much; he will again set fire to your Cabin." The old women especially blamed me because I said that The evil spirit should be neither obeyed nor feared; but I gradually persuaded Them by showing Them that God was The author of that accident. "He, and not the Devil, has sense; he foresaw that, if I were near you, your children and girls would often come to me to pray. Cold and sloth rendered Them careless and made Them find The Road too Long."

It has surpassed all my expectations, and I would never have believed that God would have conferred so great a blessing upon this little mission. I call It little because I never had more than seven Cabins, comprising one hundred and sixty persons.

I had not intended to baptize any adults, although many asked me for baptism. I promised it to them on one condition, which I thought they could not fulfill; that was, to know The Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Credo by Heart, in their own Language. I had been with them but a short time when I found myself compelled either to pass for a liar, or to grant baptism to a girl sixteen years of age. She was diligent at prayer and not only had a horror of Committing any act of impurity, but even avoided meeting Young men. Her mother, who also asked for baptism, said to me one day: "you are a liar; you said that you would baptize my daughter when she should know The prayers; and now, when she knows Them, you do not baptize Her." To prove to this woman that I had not lied, I told The girl to say The prayers alone; this she did without omitting a word or syllable. I Thought Then that I could no longer refuse. That girl was more fervent after baptism than before it. This gave me Courage to baptize The others who knew The prayers, and to feign not to notice, although they made two or three mistakes; and there was not one who did not seem more diligent at prayer after baptism than before it.

I do not know whether Frenchwomen would be as diligent in going to mass. It was held at daybreak in February, when the weather was so cold that I had to approach the fire five or six times during mass; and I had some difficulty in saying all The words of The Consecration before The wine should freeze, although I had thawed The wine immediately before pronouncing Them. The cold has been extraordinary in this country; on one occasion The Chalice Stuck to my Lips. It may be considered strange that I said mass so early; but I was to a certain extent Compelled to do so, for fear of being interrupted or disturbed by those whom I did not wish to assist there, because they were not Fit to do so. I needed no Bell to warn The Christian women; all that was necessary was to say: "Tomorrow is Sunday." Many others knew Their prayers very well, and urgently pressed me to baptize them, as well as Their sisters and relatives.

They promised me that they would dream no more, pay no attention to their false divinities, and keep God's Commandments. But I did not trust them, Because They are taught from The age of four or Five years to blacken Their faces, to fast, and to dream of some false God, being led to believe that therefore they will be successful in fishing, Hunting, and war. The women are the Cause of this evil practice, even more than The men; For -- to save themselves The trouble of preparing Food, or to economize their provisions, or to accustom Their children to eat only at night -- they make Them fast like Dogs. They tell Them that then they will dream of The Sturgeon, the bear, or the stag manitou, or of some other similar one, who will make them spear Sturgeons or kill bears; and if they be not old enough to go out hunting or spearing, they still make them fast, by leading Them to believe that The hunters and spearers will be successful as they dream. These little children have the most ardent longing to kill some animal or spear a fish; therefore, if a dreamer be successful for once, they place all their confidence in dreams. I had some difficulty in persuading them to clean their faces. They told me that it was for God that they fasted; but their attachment to this custom of blackening their faces when they fast showed their bad faith. I found no better way of compelling Them to clean their faces than to show them The painting of the Devil, to whom they made themselves similar; and to refuse them entrance into my cabin when they came to me to pray. Marriage may serve as a curb upon lewdness, but there is none for dreams. As they advance in years, they become more attached to them, and The old people are more subject to them than the Young ones; and through this they gain credit by saying that The sun or The thunder, or some other false divinity has said this or that to Them.

I have produced some Effect on The minds of several of the young men, by making them reflect upon the hunting and the fishing in which the French, and even They themselves, have been successful, without having dreamed. But I do not know a single Indian who does not place his confidence in dreams when he intends to go to war. There are few who do not believe that prayer is injurious to warriors, and who do not address themselves to the Demon whom they believe to be the master of life and of death. "The Sioux who pray not" they say, "Killed us last summer, and prayer is the cause of it, for we had prayed." It was not difficult for me to convince Them of their error, but I do not think that I won over a single man. Not that nearly all those who told me that they prayed not, because they were warriors, only feigned to Believe what I said; but their feasts in honor of the devil were the true interpreters of their Hearts. To show them that they were wrong in blaming prayer, I attributed Their loss to Their idolatry, which was more criminal than that of the Sioux, who had no knowledge of God.

Kiogchin, a Sauk, while on his way to war, passed here with eighteen companions. I did not wish to make Him pray, because he had several wives, and possessed a Stone Idol, -- which, however, had not the slightest resemblance to The human form. Still, it was his God; he offered it tobacco to smoke, dedicated his feasts in its honor; adorned It with wampum, and embellished It with Paint; he kissed and Caressed It and bore It along with pomp, assuming an air of intrepidity when he had It on his back. Some weeks after he had left, one of the most notable men of his tribe wished to pray in our Chapel. At The end of The prayer he Said to God: "Take care of the warriors." I told him that I prayed not for them; and that they would be abandoned by God because their Chief carried with him his Stone Idol. He was astonished, and asked me if I knew that their warriors would be Killed. I reflected for a moment, to not make a rash statement; and then I said to him: "I do not know whether God will abandon Them or not; but I think so, because they scorn prayer. Perhaps they will be Killed, but God alone knows what will happen." I said as much to several other persons, -- in consequence of which, having learned of their defeat, they told me that I spoke the truth, and they made my doubtful words pass for a prophecy. Those warriors were surprised while asleep, and not one defended himself. Three took to flight, while The remainder were Killed and put into the Kettle. This accident gave me An opportunity of taunting those who scorn prayer, and who place Their confidence in the Devil.

He who is to be The Chief of the war-group that is preparing to set out against the Sioux, asked me for two months to make Him pray to God, without succeeding in making me yield. He had Impersonated the devil, imitating his voice to make believe that the devil spoke by his mouth; and he had held feasts in his honor. He said that this did not concern God, and that he could counterfeit The devil without despairing of his salvation; that he had always done so before going to war, that no misfortune had ever happened to him, and that he had always taken prisoners.

The Chief of the Sauk tribe, who engaged in fisticuffs with a Frenchman, told me that I did wrong to blame their customs. "It suits us, and Jesus did not tell you to denounce it. We care little whether it be the devil or God who gives us food. We dream sometimes of one Thing, sometimes of another; and whatever may appear to us in our sleep, we believe that it is The manitou in whose honor the feast must be given, for he gives us food; he makes us successful in fishing, Hunting, and all our undertakings. Experience shows us that we succeed better than the French; and if you will shoot at a mark with me, I shall show you that, through having dreamed, I can shoot better than you, who have never dreamed of any manitou." He laid stress upon the latter point and taunted me.

I told Him that I did not act as a Child; that, when I was a Child, I played at that game with my companions; and that I would show him whether I could shoot if, while he had a gun and I had another, he tried to shoot at me to kill me. But I added that, as I was a black gown, I did not pride myself upon being a Hunter or a soldier; and that he could address himself to the French if he wished to fight. This reminded him of the Blows that a Frenchman had given Him with his fists some time before; it put an end to His Chatter, and it made him more docile to me, -- but, previous to that, he would not listen to me. Later, I said to him: "The Devil maliciously deceives you; he makes you place all your confidence in dreams, so God may abandon you. The French, who dream not, are masters of iron and of merchandise. Dream of a gun, dream of hatchets, and you need not take The trouble to go to the French town if it be dreams that make you succeed. Consider The condition of the French, and you will see that there is not one who is not better Dressed than you. You are a Captain, and you are quite naked. You value a sack of corn at twelve Beaver-skins, and down below, for one Beaver-skin they give you a large sack of corn."

After I had spoken somewhat lengthily on that subject, he was compelled to admit that I was right; and from that time he did not try to appear clever. He told me that he had not contradicted me from the bottom of his Heart; and some days afterward he gave a feast, at which he told the Guests that he gave the feast in honor of the great manitou who has made all, and of Jesus his son. Some weeks later, he asked me to baptize his children and everyone in his Cabin. I granted that favor to his sister, who was 18 years old; to his daughter, who was almost marriageable; to his grandson; and to two others, adult girls, of his Cabin. But he could not persuade me to make him pray in the Chapel; because he had taken a second wife, after becoming aware that that was Incompatible with Christianity.

I have had no trouble this year with the Indians. None of them have been angry with me because I denounced The false divinity of the sun, of thunder, of The bear, of Mississippi, of michabous, and of Their dreams and of other things; nor because I spoke Against superstitious feasts and Against The tricksters. They had no objections to Cover themselves before me; and when they were in my Cabin, they were careful to Cover themselves, -- and even The children, who, at The end, did not blacken their faces any more to dream or to fast.

There were even some who fasted without blackening themselves, telling me that they fasted because they thought God would help Them spear fish. I had not yet obtained, from all those who fasted, that they should fast without blackening themselves; but this year some children fasted, as I told them I fasted, by eating only once a day. Several sturgeon and bear feasts were also given, but in a fashion that led me to entertain good hopes for the adults. Last year, I could never persuade them to renounce The bear and Mississippi, who is Their Neptune; but this year Many have done so.

There were some who said to the guests: "I wish to go to war, and I give you (God) a feast with no other objective than of making you eat." Their usual conduct would be blasphemous if we gave to Their words Their literal meaning. But taking into consideration what they wish to express, and the meaning that Their hearers attach to It in Their minds, we may excuse It. Still, I attempt to make them Change their way of speaking, -- which is disrespectful to God, but which they consider appropriate, because they use those words when they give a feast in honor of their own false divinities; and they imagine that they are not speaking properly to God if they do not speak to him in that manner.

I cannot say that it is my efforts that have made The Indians docile during The three months that I passed at Chouskouabika; God accomplished this, through The great numbers of sturgeon that were speared there. For when The Indians saw that, without invoking Mississippi, they caught more Sturgeon than in all The previous years, and that their neighbors who gave feasts in honor of Mississippi, that God of the waters, caught less than Usual, they told me that they would obey me; that they believed that Mississippi was worth nothing; that he was a slave; that I was to take Courage, and instruct Their children and girls; that they prayed not because they did not know The prayers.

I showed Them that it was easy to pray by saying spontaneous prayers; and that it was sufficient that they should listen to me, and kneel when I told Them to do so. They willingly agreed to this. I see nothing that inspires the Indians with a greater desire to pray than knowing The prayers, even imperfectly; and for that reason, I visit The Cabins every day, except Sunday, to instruct The old people without taxing their minds, and that they may learn a few of the prayers. I observed this year that The old women, whom I was unable last year to persuade to come and pray in The Chapel, came this year, because they could follow me Word by word as I prayed. As I speak only Algonquin, and as age has impaired Their hearing, it takes Them much more time than it does the children and girls to repeat what I say, although I speak distinctly.

After a three months' residence, I left Chouskouabika, to the great regret of all the people, especially of the ten adults whom I had baptized, and of the parents of the nine little children whom I had likewise baptized.

THE SUAMICO MISSION.

FATHER Andre continues:

A village of sixteen Cabins had been established a month before at Suamico. I delayed going there until the first day of Lent because I thought that I would do better by completing the instruction of The little flock of Chouskouabika. As soon as I arrived at Suamico, The elders caused a Cabin to be built for me, and showed me that I would oblige Them by remaining some time with them.

They hoped that I would speak to God for them, so that he might give Them Sturgeons; therefore they asked me to undertake that matter. The women also proffered The same request to me with equally earnest requests. I told Them that it would be useless for me to pray for them if they continued to give feasts to Mississippi; and that there was a great abundance of sturgeon at Chouskouabika, since the people there no longer gave feasts to Mississippi, that false divinity. They promised me that they would speak only to God, and would not invoke Mississippi. I do not know whether they kept their promises to me or not.

Feasts were frequently given without my having any reason to believe that They were in honor of any other manitou than of him who has made all. They even assured me that The war-feasts were in honor of God, and not, according to Their custom, of the Devil. It is quite true that The Devil had his share in them, for there was always Something superstitious connected with them.

There was one who Sang all night long of The manitou, for a bear-feast that he gave, to make Known that he was going to war. He told me that he had Impersonated God, and not The Devil. I told Him what was necessary on That point, and that I knew that he was worthless, and had no esteem for prayer. He is called "Porceau," and he is a true hog in his conduct. I scolded The guests for having been present at a diabolical feast; they alleged that Porceau had stated to them that he was giving a feast to the Manitou, and that they had not taken the trouble to ascertain to which manitou, but had merely eaten what was given Them.

It is customary among the Indians not to say to which manitou they give the feast, especially when they fear to Offend someone among the Guests, or The black gown, or The French. But The Indians generally know which manitou is referred to by he who delivers the speech before the food is served. I had reason to believe that a solemn feast had been given in honor of the devil; but after obtaining accurate information, I was told that he who had given the feast had said: "Here are two Kettles full of sturgeon to give food to God, and here are four of corn not to give food to the Devil." And so, all The Potawatomi protested to me that they gave feasts only in honor of God, with the exception of a single person, who was not in that village.

I was sorry to leave that village without completing not only The instruction of the girls, but also that of the children; for there were few who blackened their faces, and those who did so cleaned themselves when I told Them to. The parents themselves made Them remove the black from their faces after I had shown Them Their superstition, and had made them fear that their children, blackened like The devil, might, by displeasing God, cause The sturgeon to go away.

I found occupation as soon as I reached The house. Some days before, many Indians had Encamped on The opposite side of The river, a little below us, and had erected a village of eighteen Cabins. The cold weather of march, which has been unusual for this country, did not prevent The children and girls from coming to me to pray. They occupied my attention from about ten o'clock until the evening. Those who went Hunting came to pray to God in The Chapel, on The day previous to Their departure. Hardly any blackened themselves, and those who Knew that It displeased me did not come, or else they cleaned their faces in my presence. They were convinced of The folly of Their dreams when The snow was firm enough to bear The Dogs, but not The skenontons. There was hardly a Child who did not kill an animal; and because I impressed upon Their minds that it was God who had made The snow, they were readily convinced that it was not necessary to dream of the Manitou to kill animals; and they promised me that they would no longer blacken their faces to fast and afterward dream of some manitou.

On the twenty-fourth of march, all The Indians broke camp, and erected their Cabins almost at The entrance of The river, to not be Far from the bay of saint Xavier, where abundance of sturgeon had been caught with nets under The ice; and on The following Day, Reverend Father Allouez came here from the village of the Meskwaki, and enabled me to go into retreat and perform The spiritual exercises.

THE RIVER THAT DISCHARGES INTO GREEN BAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE COVE

THE Small quantity of Paper that I have left reminds me of The promise that I made to you last year to tell You what seems to be worthy of note in connection with The ebb and flow of our river. It has its tides like those of the seas, -- or, more properly speaking, of the rivers that fall into them. The unusual severity of The winter this year caused me to make an observation that until now could not be made. During march, I remarked that The highest winter tide is lower than The lowest of all The tides of the other seasons, when neither The bay nor The river is frozen. It was necessary to advance a considerable distance on The river to find water under The ice, which was a foot and a half thick; and The surface of The ice was not higher than The low tides of summer, or The average of both The highest and lowest tides.

I also observed that The volume of water increased in our river during that month, in proportion as The ice in The bay of saint Xavier diminished and broke up. This cannot be attributed to The greater abundance of water flowing from above, because The tide extended only as far as the foot of the rapid, -- which is easily seen at present, but not in summer, when one does not see that there is a rapid, because The lowest tide is generally higher than it. These two observations have troubled me, for I formerly believed that The winds were not the Cause of The tide. Were I permitted to Philosophize, I would argue against those who attribute The formal Cause of that to rarefaction, special or general. For if The water rarefies and then Condenses, all that great mass of water of the Lake Michigan rises in its vast basin when it rarefies, and falls when it condenses. And, as water always rises as much as it falls, it would follow that, however thick The ice of The bay and of The river might be, they would offer no more resistance than a pipe, -- which, however thick it may be, never prevents The water from rising as much as it has fallen, for it does not press against it. And, although it may be said that The ice presses on The water, still it cannot be said that it prevents The water from rising; for, while pressing on The water, it floats on it; and The Ice should be higher than The highest tides of summer and of autumn, or of spring, -- or, at least, than The mean tides, which is not the case. Opposite the Menominees, The ice was three feet thick, -- That is, where The bay Begins. But 30 miles from there, as one approaches the bottom of it and our river, The ice was about a foot and a half thick.

You know the Length and Width of The bay, so I shall not speak to You of them. If The cause of the ebb and flow be attributed to the winds, there will not be much difficulty in explaining how the lowest tides at the periods when there is no ice are higher than The highest tides of winter. For it will be said that The water, compelled by a violent motion, loses its force in proportion as it strikes against ice beneath Which it Flows, and consequently less water runs into The bay. I conclude by informing you that the ice in The bay has commenced to break up toward the bottom, and not on the side of The entrance toward The Open water of Lake Michigan, where the ice was three feet thick.

THE MISSION TO THE MASCOUTEN, ILLINOIS, AND OTHER TRIBES.

What Father Claude allouez has accomplished among these tribes is apostolic. He has preached The gospel to a great many pagan Indians, of various nations and of different Languages, and that with considerable success. It is best to make use of the journal of the same Father, to convey detailed Knowledge of all these Matters:

Reverend Father,

A few days after Father henri nouvel's departure, I embarked for The mission of saint Jacques, among the Mascouten, -- that was on The 9th of August, 1672, and I arrived there on The 13th. In this mission we have, during the past year, baptized 114 persons, of whom three adults and five children died shortly after baptism.

I began by procuring a separate Lodging for myself, so that all The tribes might Freely come and listen to The words of life; For I counted there twenty Cabins of Illinois, thirty large cabins of Kickapoo, Fifty of Mascouten, Over ninety of Miami, and three Wea. I placed our Chapel near the village, in the midst of Their Fields, Among The Mascouten. It was ready for The feast of The assumption, on which day I said Mass in it.

Shortly afterward, there was such a crowd of all those tribes that it was impossible for me to make myself heard. They broke through The Cabin, -- which was made, according to their fashion, of rush matting, -- to see us at Their ease. As I could not make myself heard, I sent out an old man to speak to Them. They replied to Him that they wished to see The black gown. A portion of the day had passed in that manner when I emerged from the Chapel, and, placing myself on a slightly elevated spot, I said: "It is important that you should listen to me, and not that you should see me. Listen to me therefore." I spoke the Miami Language, For The majority belonged to that tribe.

The great number of persons did not prevent my saying Mass every day. I had hung up a Blanket in the middle, to conceal The altar from The gaze of The multitude. They then stood respectfully, after I had explained the mystery of The faith to Them; and there were some who pushed back The Hangings a little, and said in a low voice: "Ah, my father, this is divine," and afterward caused the newcomers to observe profound silence. To inspire Them with The respect that they should pay to Churches, I ordered that no one should smoke, and that they should not converse together in it, at least while I was there.

Our Chapel was too small to contain the people. As soon as I had said mass, I gave instruction, and made all those whom The Chapel could contain say their prayers, after which they withdrew. Others, who succeeded these, received the same instruction, Each in his own Language. We also Chanted The prayers in Their Tongue, at The end of The instruction. The little boys and girls also prayed to God apart, and therefore The day passed in these holy occupations. When the crowd was too great, I went outside, either to make myself heard by all, or to save our Chapel, which would have been completely broken. I had barely time to take my food.

On the 18th, I planted at The door of our Chapel a cross 22 feet high. They listened in silence to The instruction that I gave Them on the subject. They knelt, they worshiped The cross, and prayed to God. The Miami who were present said to me: "This is excellent; we thank you for it. Say the same to all The Captains in council."

The 19th. I went to the Miami. I gathered The elders together and explained to Them The principal points of The faith, and The mystery of The cross; they listened to me with approval. At night I saw that they had hung on The cross clusters of Indian corn, girdles, and red garters. This is done among them as a mark of veneration.

On the 20th, two of the principal Miami came to me, and asked that, when I should go away, I would give Them that cross, so they could take It to their village. "It is not in its right place with The Mascouten," they said to me; "they obey you not." I gave Them no Positive answer; still, they Spread the report that I had given It to Them. The Mascouten on hearing this, came to complain, and told me that they would not allow it to be removed from the Spot where it was. This holy contention gave me joy. To satisfy Their devotion, I promised Them that it should not be removed from the Place where if was; and to gratify the desire of the Miami, I caused another similar one to be made, which I erected in their village, As I had planted The first among The Mascouten.

The 22nd. I noticed The eclipse of the sun, which occurred about eleven o'clock; I could not well observe its notable features. The Indians, who kept me occupied, did not trouble themselves about it.

The 29th. While proceeding to call a young Christian Mascouten to pray, I met a band of Illinois, who followed me. These poor people are so pleased to see a black gown that we cannot go anywhere without having a good company, -- so that we cannot speak to anyone privately, either in their homes or in The Chapel. They were astonished to see that I took The trouble to go to that young man. I showed Them how important it was, and seized the opportunity to instruct Them. They asked me what I liked in that country, for they did not know what they might present to me that would please me. "You refuse Beaver-skins," they said; "you come not to our feasts When we invite you." They speak truly, For they imagine that we come to this country for that object, and that what we preach to Them about hell and Paradise is merely by way of conversation, -- just as those who come from afar relate news of the Place from where they come; and therefore The word of God loses its force. They listened to me attentively, and repeated in their own Tongue what I had said in the Language of the Miami, which is almost The same.

On the last day of August, I had a slight Cold, which prevented me from speaking. Our Chapel being open in many places, for it had been broken frequently, was exposed to every wind; and this was the Cause of my catching cold. Although I could not teach Them as usual, they still came, as they said, to see The black gown, whose voice was dead and whose throat was sick. I could not make myself heard further than my nearest neighbor, to tell Them that The black gown was a man like them, who was ill and who would die as they would.

The 9th. While descending The rapids, our mariners broke our Canoe. I had gone on ahead by land, and had reached a Place called The Kakading, 2 miles farther, at Nightfall. One of the boatmen came to tell me of it. We retraced our steps; but when we arrived, we Could not reach the canoe, to get some of our provisions for supper.

On the following Day, we recovered from The water our baggage, which was soaked through, even my Chapel and my writings. After drying Everything, I sent two boatmen by land to buy a Canoe, and remained with another, who was ill, stranded on an Islet ten feet Long, until the sixteenth; we then departed, and arrived in our Chapel.

THE MISSION TO THE POTAWATOMI AND OTHER TRIBES IN GREEN BAY.

IN this mission of st. Francois Xavier -- either here at our house, or at the fort of the Potawatomi -- I have, during the past year, baptized thirty-four persons, among Whom was an adult man who was ill, and who died shortly afterward; The remainder are children. I do not count those whom Reverend Father Andre baptized there.

On the 27th, I planted a great cross on a plateau on the shore of the Lake, between The village of the Potawatomi and that of the Winnebago at the end of our Chapel. The elders showed much joy at this; they notified all by public proclamation, which they made The same night, that they must all pay great respect to The holy cross, planted in their country as a symbol of the Christianity which they desired to embrace.

In The forests where we live among The Indians, we see the holy Cross planted in The four villages where we are; and see The mission of saint Francois at Green Bay, where are The Potawatomi, The Sauk, The Winnebagos, The Menominees, The Sinago Ottawas, and others. Each tribe has its special Dialect.

Deeper in The woods, toward The west, is The mission of st. marc to the Meskwaki, where are The ouagoussak, Bear-clan Ojibwes, makoucoue, Eagle-clan Ojibwes. Still farther to The westward, in The woods, are The atchaterakangouen, The Mascouten, Marameg, Kickapoo, and Kitchigamich. The village of the Miami, where The atchatchakangouen are, and where come The Illinois, The Kakachkiouek, Peoria, Wea, memilounioue, pepikoukia, Kilitika, Moingona, -- some for a short time, Others for a longer time. These tribes dwell on The Banks of the Mississippi, and all speak the same Language.

After I had withdrawn to our house, we spent October in instructing Those who passed us on their way to Their autumn and winter Hunting. No Indians remain here, because this year there are neither acorns nor Ducks.

THE MISSION OF SAINT MARC TO THE MESKWAKI.

During the past year, -- that is, from June, 1672, to June, 1673, -- I have baptized there 48 persons.

Having learned that some Cabins of Meskwaki had remained in Their village on Account of the sick, who could not Walk, I went to see Them. It was while on the Road to the Meskwaki, The 4th of November, when I left to go there by land, -- about noon we found, at a little distance from the Road, a great rock, roughly carved into the figure of a man, the face of which had been painted red. It was opposite a small rapid, 5 miles on this side of a great rapid called The Kakalink. It is an Idol which passers-by invoke for The fortunate result of Their journey. We rolled It into The water.

February 3rd, 1673. Having learned that The Meskwaki had returned from their Hunt earlier than in other years, on account of a Sauk having been killed by a Meskwaki during The Hunt, I started once more to go on a somewhat longer mission. The Road was difficult. We reached Their village on The 6th.

The Meskwaki who had come from an Embassy to the Iroquois, two weeks before, had received bad impressions of Christianity and had Communicated These to Their countrymen. Since The spring, The Sioux have taken or killed thirty persons, most of whom had prayed to God before going to war.

I could barely find what I needed to make a Cabin for myself, and had to seek shelter in an old Cabin that was open on all Sides; but we repaired it to some extent.

The 8th. As I had my Cabin apart from the others, I built a small Chapel there. I performed all our duties in peace. I protested Loudly against Their superstitions, against their extraordinary License in having many wives, against Their exposing themselves naked, and against The insolence of the young men, -- without anyone ever contradicting me, even in Their Cabins and assemblies. The Captain -- who is The most infamous as regards The Multitude of his wives; and who, last winter, would not listen to me When I spoke to Him of his salvation -- came, after all those upbraidings, with his youngest wife and his son, to pray; and he listened to me willingly When I urged Him to be satisfied with that wife, and not to Seek others.

The 10th. A band of young men who have blackened Their faces enter our Cabin in The evening, and say that they come to sleep in The Chapel so that God may speak to Them in Their slumber, and promise to Deliver Their enemies to Them. This is in accordance with Their erroneous belief that Their genii speak to Them in their sleep. I undeceived Them, and they went Home quietly.

The 11th. They summoned me to the council, where The ambassadors who came From The Iroquois handed me Reverend Father Garnier's Letters. When I had Read Them, they asked me whether matters were right. I replied that they were, provided The Iroquois kept their word.

The 20th. Two Hundred warriors passed before our Chapel, but none entered it, except one of those whom I had baptized some days before. I asked those who favored prayer to God why they did not enter, and they replied that prayer had caused Them to die during The previous summer. Last winter, a band of young Meskwaki defeated eleven Canoes of Sioux; and they attributed Their victory to prayer, For they had all come to pray before starting. Their account of the aid that God had given Them persuaded The others to pray to Him. They did So last summer, and marked a Cross on Their shields, but out of the 19 that they numbered, 16 were captured or killed; while out of another band of 13, three were captured or killed.

The 21st. The elders enter our Cabin; they have ideas that excite Compassion. Some of them seemed to me to be barbarous to the last degree, -- As if they were possessed by rage, and resolved to be burned and eaten by their enemies, or to burn and eat Them. Their enemies, after burning Them, cut Them into pieces, As we do an animal or a fish, to Cook Them.

The 22nd. Some Sauks, who have come from Green Bay, cause a certain coldness among our neophytes. They tell Them that only children pray to God. Others say: "How can we pray to God? He does not love us; he loves only our enemies, for he always Delivers us into Their hands, and hardly ever Delivers any of them into ours."

The 25th. As a small group was going again to war, the old men came into our Cabin, and put to me several questions. They seem to acknowledge that war is governed by fate; they do not attribute victory either to The strength or Bravery of Their soldiers, or to The Strategy of their Captains, -- but to fate, or to the manitou, who gives one tribe to be eaten by another, when it pleases Him. That is why they fast, for they hope that The manitou will speak and show himself to them at night, and will say to Them: "I give you some of your enemies to eat; go and Seek Them." That is why, they said, The Captain of one of those bands would certainly kill some foes, -- because, they said, The manitou speaks to him. I explained to Them that he would kill some enemies because he was valiant, brave, a good Leader, etc.

Some days afterward, I baptized some young girls, Whom I had prepared by teaching Them The Catechism and The prayers. There were many who were half-prepared; but, When they were must fervent and were beginning to know Something, a heavy frost coming after rain caused an icy Crust to form upon The snow, which is a rare thing in this country. This made it easy to Hunt Deer and Elk, so that The young men killed Them, while The girls dressed The slaughtered animals, or carried them to the Cabins. And so I could get Them to come to The Chapel only in passing, and only seldom.

On the last day of April, I left for The mission of saint Jacques, among the Mascouten. We arrived there on The fourth of may; and on The following Day, while passing by, with all The French who accompanied me, we worshiped The cross that we had planted there The previous summer. In accordance with The Custom of these nations, I went on The following Day straight to The Cabin of The former Captain of the Mascouten, who had died a short time previously, to give him a little present, and therefore console The whole family.

The 5th. I built my Cabin at The cross, as I did Last year. It was not necessary to call The Indians to come to pray; They came quite readily. This continued The whole time I was there, so that our rush mats, of which our Chapel is built, were soon broken, while some others were merely pierced through, even though I made Them pray Outside, When they could not all get inside. We continued to perform our duties in peace as last year: we said Mass every day; we instructed, without stopping, bands that successively filled The Chapel; we taught The Catechism and prayers to all, but especially the little boys And girls.

As this tribe of the Miami is numerous, a portion of them do not approve what we preach to Them; The other portion profess to believe and to obey The black gown, and they even say in Their assemblies that they who obey Him not are unhappy. All those who love Christianity have not suffered from hunger throughout the winter, While The others have endured such famine that some have died. As a rule, all of them ate Their Dogs, and The skins of the animals that they had Killed in The autumn; and were compelled to return to Their village early, and with great difficulty. This tribe does not know how to walk on snowshoes; for that reason, they have suffered in this quarter, where there was an extraordinary quantity of snow.

The same Miami have given up The manitous whom they invoked for Their war, their Hunting, etc.; they invoke him alone who has made Heaven and earth. In fact, quite recently, when they went to war, they hung up a white skin on The cross in Their village, -- to invoke The God of armies, -- who has made men and Heaven and earth.

I visited a considerable portion of the Miami. They have large Cabins, made of great pieces of bark. I went away on The 22nd. I passed through The Meskwaki, to see our sick people there.

This is All that Father Claude allouez writes of his mission. It has no other bounds than those assigned to it by his fervor, which is ever discovering and teaching new nations. Meanwhile, Father Marquette has gone to discover other more remote tribes, as far as The southern Pacific Ocean; and Father Charles albanel has departed a second time to Seek those whom he had already discovered at Hudson Bay.

MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS XAVIER DES PRES, NEAR MONTREAL, DURING THE YEARS 1672 AND 1673.

The Iroquois carried war into countries that were deemed inaccessible to men, and among nations unknown to Europeans. They brought back from there a multitude of captives; and now these captives and the Iroquois, their conquerors, -- who themselves come to dwell here with their victims, -- unite, so they can all become fervent Christians.

On seeing these new believers gathered last autumn, it was pleasant for us to count in a single nascent Mission as many as twenty-two nations, several of whom speak entirely different tongues, while the others differ only in their idioms. These were seen, mingled together; Shawnees, Eries, Innu Algonquins, Nipissings, Hurons, Iroquois, Mahicans, Mohegans or Sokoki Abenakis, and other nations, no less opposed to one another through ancient feuds than through diversity of language.

This Mission began, about four years ago, by the gathering in this place of some Iroquois families. These Indians had heard of the Gospel from those of our Fathers who are in their country, and at once decided to embrace it. But, seeing that the execution of their plan would be too difficult if they remained in their own country, where idolatry and vice reign, they decided to abandon it, and come to dwell with those who assured them of eternal happiness if they chose to live as good Christians.

Soon the rumor spread through all the Iroquois nations that a new village of their countrymen was being formed at La Prairie, Quebec, and that all who retired there had no other intention than that of becoming Christians; and many of those Indians came here also.

As their numbers increased daily, it was soon found necessary to appoint captains to govern the village. The new captains at once assembled all their people, to declare publicly that no one would be admitted into the village who was not resolved to abstain from three things, namely: the idolatry of dreams, the changing of wives, and drunkenness. It was therefore enacted that no one should dwell among them, unless he first publicly declared that he renounced those abominations; and that, if anyone relapsed into them, he should be shamefully expelled.

The Indians of La Prairie, Quebec had a provision of corn for two years; but, as over eight hundred of their countrymen have come at various times to stay among them, all has been consumed in giving the strangers a warm reception.

The Indians seldom contradict those who speak to them; and when they are taught, they approve everything. This gives the missionaries much trouble in distinguishing those who sincerely believe. The natives of this country usually have much human respect, and would not dare to profess religion publicly when with infidels. But the Indians of La Prairie, Quebec overcame this obstacle at the outset. They glory in being Christians, and make so public a profession of it that no one ventures to come and dwell among them unless he is fully resolved to embrace the Faith. This causes the unchaste and the drunkards to say: "go not to la Prairie, for there are neither women nor liquor there."

Brandy has ruined the Algonquin missions; and it still prevents many Indians from being converted. The insatiable greed of the French is the cause of it. They go as far as 500 and 750 miles to seek the Indians in the woods, for the purpose of getting their furs by making them intoxicated. Still, although this little mission is in the midst of the French who carry on that detestable trade, not one has thought of bringing any here; nor have the Indians thought of going for any, although the Indians were nearly all addicted to drunkenness before their baptism.

Last winter, a Christian trainee was engaged in hunting alone with his wife, a good Christian. He met two of the principal men of the Mohawk nation, and they joined together for the hunt. The Christian trainee informs them of all that goes on at la Prairie. They listen, and, as they pray together every day, he teaches them the prayers thoroughly. When spring returns, they come here in order, they say, to remain with us and to live as Christians. Before settling permanently, they went to their own country for their wives, and loudly proclaimed their plan. Forty-two persons joined them. When all arrived here, they gave a present to declare that they abandoned their relatives, friends, cabins, and fields, to enjoy greater facilities for becoming good Christians.

Another infidel who came to visit us had no sooner arrived than he began a feast by sacrificing meats to the demon. All the people were indignant. The missionary proceeded to the cabin, and took down the kettle, and the Christians threw the meat to the dogs. The infidel was displeased; he said that dreams were his god, and he feared death neither for himself nor for his family through offending the God of heaven. The missionary retorted that perhaps he would soon feel the effects of the just anger of that all-powerful God. These threats were accomplished before long; for, at the end of three months, that Indian's three children, who were then in good health, were all taken from him by death.

YEAR 1674
THE DISCOVERY OF MANY COUNTRIES SITUATED TO THE SOUTH OF NEW FRANCE, MADE IN 1673. [QUEBEC, AUGUST 1, 1674.]

WE cannot this year give all the information regarding so important a discovery, since Sir Joliet, who was bringing the account of it, lost his papers in the wreck which befell him. This occurred below the Lachine Rapids, near Montreal, after he had safely passed more than forty rapids; he could hardly save his own life, for which he struggled in the waters during four hours.

However, you will find here what we have been able to put together after hearing him converse. Two years ago, the count de Frontenac, our governor, and Sir Talon, then our intendant, decided that it was important to undertake the discovery of the Southern Sea, after having accomplished that of the Northern; and to ascertain into what sea falls the great river (Mississippi), about which the Indians relate so much, and which is 1250 miles from them, beyond the Ottawas.

For this purpose, they could not have selected a person endowed with better qualities than is Sir Joliet, who has traveled much in that region. On arriving in the Ottawa country, he joined father Marquette, who awaited him for that voyage. They set out with five other Frenchmen, about the beginning of June, 1673, to enter countries in which no European had ever set foot.

Their journal stated that -- leaving Green Bay, at the latitude of 43 degrees and 40 minutes -- at first they voyaged for nearly 150 miles upon a small river, smooth and pleasant, running in a west-southwesterly direction. They found a portage which would enable them, by going a mile, to pass from that river to another, which flowed from the northwest.

Upon that stream they embarked, and, after going 100 miles to the southwest, they found themselves, on the 15th of June, at 42 and one-half degrees of latitude, and successfully entered that famous river called by the Indians Mississippi -- as one might say, "the Great River," because it is the most important of all the rivers in this country. It comes from a great distance northward, according to the Indians. It is a noble stream, and is usually a half mile wide. Its width is still greater at the places where it is interrupted by islands -- which, however, are few. Its depth is as much as twenty yards of water; and it flows gently, until it receives the discharge of another great river, which comes from the west and north-west, at about the 38th degree of latitude. Then, swollen with that volume of water, it becomes rapid; and its current has so much force that, in ascending it, only 10 or 12 miles a day can be accomplished, by paddling from morning to night.

There are forests on both sides, as far as the sea. The most vigorous trees that one sees there are a species of cotton-tree, of extraordinary girth and height. The Indians use these trees for making canoes, -- all of one piece, fifty feet in length and three in width, in which thirty men with all their baggage can embark. They make them of much more graceful shape than we do ours. They have so great a number of them that in a single village one sees as many as 280 together.

The nations are located near the Great River (Mississippi), or farther inland. Our travelers counted more than 40 villages, most of which consisted of 60 to 80 cabins. Some villages even contained 300 cabins, such as that of the Illinois, which contains over 8,000 people. All of the Indians who compose it have a gentle nature; they are affable and obliging. Our Frenchmen experienced the effects of this civility at the first village that they entered, for there a present was made them -- a pipe-stem for smoking, about three feet long, adorned with feathers of various kinds. This gift has almost a religious meaning among these peoples; because the calumet (tobacco pipe) is a passport and safeguard to enable one to go in safety everywhere, no one daring to injure in any manner those who bear this symbol. It has only to be displayed, and life is secure, even in the thickest of the fight. As there is a peace-pipe, so also is there a war-pipe; these differ, however, solely in the color of the feathers that cover them, -- red being the token of war, while the other colors are signs of peace.

The women are modest; also, when they do wrong, their noses are cut off. It is they who, with the old men, have the care of tilling the soil; and when the seed is sown, all go together to hunt the bison, which supply them with food. From the hides of these, they make their garments, dressing the skin with a certain kind of earth, which also serves them as a dye.

The soil is so fertile that it yields corn three times a year. It produces, naturally, fruits which are unknown to us and are excellent. Grapes, plums, apples, mulberries, chestnuts, pomegranates, and many others are gathered everywhere, and almost at all times, for winter is only known there by the rains.

The country is equally divided into prairies and forests, and provides fine pastures for the great number of animals with which it abounds. The bison never flee. The Father counted as many as 400 of them in a single herd. Stags, does, and deer are almost everywhere. Turkeys strut about, on all sides. Parroquets fly in flocks of 10 to 12; and quail rise on the prairies at every moment.

Through the midst of this fine country our travelers passed, advancing upon the Great River (Mississippi) to the 33rd degree of latitude, and going almost always toward the south. From time to time, they met Indians, by whom they were well received, through favor of their calumet-stem (tobacco pipe). Toward the end, they learned from the Indians that they were approaching European settlements; that they were only three days, and finally only two days distant from these; that the Europeans were on the left, and that they had to proceed but 125 miles farther, to reach the sea. Then the Father and Sir Joliet deliberated as to if it were advisable to go on. They felt certain that, if they advanced farther, they would fling themselves into the hands of the Spaniards of Florida, and would expose the French who accompanied them to the manifest danger of losing their lives. Besides, they would lose the results of their voyage, and could not give any information regarding it, if they were detained as prisoners -- as they probably would be, if they fell into the hands of Europeans. These reasons made them resolve to retrace their steps, after having obtained full information about everything.

They did not return by exactly the same route; at the end of November, they reached Green Bay, by different routes from the former one, and with no other guide than their compasses. While waiting for the journal of that voyage, we may make the following remarks regarding the utility of this discovery:

The first is that it opens up to us a great field for the preaching of the Faith. The altogether diverse languages of these tribes do not frighten our missionaries; some of them already know and make themselves understood in that of the Illinois, the first Indians who are encountered upon the river. It is among them that father Marquette will begin to establish the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

The second concerns the end of this discovery. The Father and Sir Joliet know that it is toward the gulf of Mexico -- that is, Florida. For eastward there can only be Virginia, the sea-coast of which is, at most, at 34 degrees of latitude; while they went as low as 33, and still had not come within 125 miles of the sea, to the west. Likewise, it cannot be the Gulf of California; because their route, which was nearly always toward the south, took them away from that sea. There remains therefore only Florida, which is midway between both; and it is most probable that the river, which geographers trace, and call Saint Esprit, is the Mississippi, on which our French navigated.

The third is that, as it would have been highly desirable that the end of that discovery should prove to be the Gulf of California, -- which would have given access to the sea of Japan and of China, -- so, also, we must not despair of succeeding in that other discovery of the western sea, by means of the Mississippi. For, ascending to the northwest by the river which empties into it at the 38th degree, perhaps one would reach some lake, which will discharge its waters toward the west. It is this that we seek, and it is all the more to be desired, because all these countries abound in lakes and are intersected by rivers, which offer wonderful communications between these countries.

The fourth concerns a great and important advantage, which perhaps will hardly be believed. It is that we could go with facility to Florida in a barque, and by easy navigation. It would only be necessary to make a canal, by cutting through but a mile of prairie, to pass from the foot of Lake Michigan to the river Saint Louis. Here is the route that would be followed: the barque would be built on lake Erie, which is near lake Ontario; it would easily pass from lake Erie to lake Huron, from where it would enter Lake Michigan. At the end of that lake the canal of which I have spoken would be made, to gain a passage into the river Saint Louis, which falls into the Mississippi. The barque, when there, would easily sail to the gulf of Mexico. Fort Frontenac, which Sir de Frontenac has had built on lake Ontario, would promote that undertaking; for it would facilitate communication between Quebec and lake Erie, from which that fort is not distant. And even, were it not for a waterfall (Niagara Falls) separating lake Erie from lake Ontario, a barque built at Kingston, Ontario could go to Florida by the routes that I have just mentioned.

The fifth refers to the great advantages that would accrue from the establishment of new colonies, in countries so beautiful and upon lands so fertile.

Let us see what Sir Jollyet says of them, for this is his project:

"At first, when we were told of these treeless lands, I imagined that it was a country ravaged by fire, where the soil was so poor that it could produce nothing. But we have certainly observed the contrary; and no better soil can be found, either for corn, for grapes, or for any other fruit.

"The river, which we named for Saint Louis, which rises near the lower end of Lake Michigan, seemed to me the most beautiful, and most suitable for settlement. The place at which we entered the lake is a harbor, convenient for receiving vessels and sheltering them from the wind. The river is wide and deep, abounding in catfish and sturgeon. Game is abundant there; bison, cows, stags, does, and Turkeys are found there in greater numbers than elsewhere. For a distance of 200 miles, I did not pass a quarter of an hour without seeing some.

"There are prairies 7, 15, 25, and 50 miles in length, and 7 miles in width, surrounded by forests of the same extent; beyond these, the prairies begin again, so that there is as much of one sort of land as of the other. Sometimes we saw the grass short, and, at other times, five or six feet high; hemp, which grows naturally there, reaches a height of eight feet.

"A settler would not there spend ten years in cutting down and burning the trees; on the day of his arrival, he could put his plow into the ground. And, if he had no oxen from France, he could use those of this country, or even the animals possessed by the Western Indians, on which they ride, as we do on horses.

"After sowing grain of all kinds, he might devote himself especially to planting the vine, and grafting fruit-trees; to dressing bison-hides, with which to make shoes; and with the wool of these bison he could make cloth, much finer than most of what we bring from France. Thus he would easily find in the country his food and clothing, and nothing would be wanting except salt."

VOYAGE AROUND ISLE JESUS.

Reverend Father,

After having roughly drawn, according to what remained in my Imagination, a quick sketch of the shores of Isle Jesus, which is washed by the Riviere des Prairies, I take the opportunity afforded by our two inhabitants, Jean Du Val and Thomas, to point out what good there is in this route, upon which some Project may be founded.

The shore is everywhere Sterile, and difficult to access -- Sterile, as there is more bad land than good; difficult to access, because the approaches to it are bordered by rapids, five in number -- one at 2 miles from the entrance at the lower end; two others, about a third of the Way going up from the lower end, which are 2 miles away from each other; and two others, toward the upper end, also separated from each other by about 4 miles. Most of these rapids are difficult at this season, when there is no water. Not so in the spring; the Canoes, however, would have considerable trouble in keeping close to the banks of the River, on account of the low trees, and the trunks of those which have fallen beyond the points of the Rocks; these are numerous, for most of the river-bed is paved with them and the bank shows almost nothing else, The current is Rapid; in some places much skill is needed to avoid being carried away by it.

However, the lower point, where Sir frison lives, is good land; and there are some other good coves. The best, after the lower point, is a cove which is 5 or 7 miles above the lower point; but, as it has not a mile of good land. There is, above the third rapid, fine Country, after one has passed a rather somber and gloomy region. There are, beyond, two fine basins and channels surrounded by fairly good land, which are separated by a beautiful Island about 640 or 770 yards long and 130 wide. This tract covers fully 5 miles, or more; it begins toward the middle of the Island, and extends toward its upper part. This is believed to be most of the Island, which is estimated to be about 7 miles through the middle.

The Inconveniences of this Place, besides the rapids, must be numbered:

1. The proximity of Montreal, which will soon be frequented by traders to these regions if they scent any Indians there.

2. The narrowness of the passage around one of the two Extremities of the Island, which are likely to be seized by these same traders.

3. The Opposition of those who are said to lay claim to these Places. For Sir frison told me that Sir Dupuy had obtained, a long time ago, 2 miles of it toward the middle, -- and, as others have told me, at his own Option. Even one of our inhabitants told me that he had been requested by this Sir Dupuy -- and, since he was with the sisters, by those sisters -- to take up his residence there. I have been told, besides, that Sir Daillibour [D'Ailleboust] has retained a mile of it; I do not know whether this is from this Sir Dupuy.

4. Finally, provisions Cannot be taken to that place except in the spring.

It would be necessary, therefore, to ascertain from Sir Dupuy and Sir Daillibourg their claims, and to be assured by the lords of the country, and by their neighbors, that they will not place anyone there without binding him not to trade in Liquor, -- or, rather, that the prohibition obtained from the Count for la prairie be universal for all the posts where the Indians may dwell among us. I believe that if this prohibition be obtained for this place, it could be easily extended by the King over all our missions.

Sir le Moyne owns 10 miles above the Lachine Rapids, and he is making clearings at the mouth of the Riviere du Loup, which is 5 miles from the Rapids. It is, therefore, probable that the river is the middle of his Grant, and that one of its Extremities reaches To ours, near this sault; and consequently, that lower down there will be someone who will take up his quarters there, to sell liquors and to secure Lachine Rapids. The upper part of the Isles de la paix, and the southern shore toward the lake of the Two mountains, is good land; besides, it is on the way in ascending the river. There would be more advantages there for a settlement of Indians, the country being extensive, the lake long and wide, and good for fishing, and the route much frequented by the Iroquois and others. Besides, all the nearer country is either taken, or is poor; and it is a prey to the traders, above whom we would be.

To say a word of my Voyage, I departed from here Monday, the 24th of September, with Sir le moyne and Piere gagnie, the best Canoemen in this area. I reached Montreal about noon, and in the evening the house of Sir de la Chesnaye. He told me that he desired that we should live there; and that he wished only to be left the rest of his Days to cultivate his Garden, from which he gave us various seeds. About 9 or ten o'clock, we went up the Riviere des Prairies, and Encamped above the third rapid. Before going on, it must be observed:

1. That Isle Jesus has its length to the south-south-west, and the lower point faces the north-northeast.

2. That we left Isle aux Vaches, ascended the 1st rapid, which is about 2 miles from the lower point of the shore of Montreal, and then coasted along Isle Jesus.

3. That we did not visit the west-north-west Shore of Isle Jesus, as there is a rapid there of 7 miles, and little water; and that, besides, we visited the upper end, from where, descending by the river Jesus, one finds only bad country, all flooded, and dotted with a thousand Islands.

4. In the midst of the first rapid There is a long round rock, level with the water, and dangerous, especially when the waters are highest.

5. From this first rapid, the land is poor For more than 2 miles.

6. On the Side of Montreal, from the point To the place where the 1st rapid is, There are many settlements.

7. 2 miles above this first rapid is found a large bay, which seems to be nearly 2 miles in extent, and to have good land. It is terminated by a Slope, which begins at a point that is a mass of immense and beautiful Rocks, Extending into the water.

This Slope bears a beautiful pine forest, which appears far off; and the Cedars are large and numerous, all along these shores. The Slope has many coves, Bordered by Pebbles and stones, -- which even pave the Channel, where are seen many Long, flat stones. We passed the second rapid, near Isle Jesus; and the third near a little Islet, where the force of the current is, which gives considerable trouble to those who are dragging canoes, although they cling to this Islet. The 3rd rapid is 2 miles above the 2nd. Beyond this, there is a region of rather gloomy, poor, and stony land, Extending 4 miles, or more. There are a few little coves, surrounded by good Land; then one finds a large bay which, with the Shore of Montreal, represents, as it were, a trefoil or a goose's foot. The lower part is good and beautiful, and the land excellent. It is terminated by an Island which appears to be 640 yards or more long, and one or two wide, of tolerably good soil; this, being near Isle Jesus, outside of the great channel, ought to belong to Isle Jesus.

We Coasted along it, near Isle Jesus; there was a sort of little rapid, which one could easily cross on foot to go to this Island. Afterward, the Channel of the river is spacious, the air fine, and a beautiful Island appears off the shore of Montreal. Beyond, one enters another large bay, where we found some Algonquins Encamped, who shared with us their game; this served us during the rest of our Journey, furnishing us with Beaver for Friday. This great channel is terminated by a strait, which conceals another great channel, or bay; the bay receives the waters from a country quite far up. We visited the country; the land is stony, but has many walnut-trees, beeches, aspens, and red maples, which are numerous along all these Shores.

Then follows a wide channel for more than a mile, then a great rapid in a broad space in the river, which there forms a vast basin, made by the bays in the two Shores; and this seems to be sprinkled with Islands in the far distance. Above the basin, the Shore of Montreal forms a great bend, where the channel of the river turns toward the east.

We passed the rapids near Montreal, where I disembarked and passed those rapids. Then, seeing the basin end in a large Island, we crossed the Channel and this basin, so not to leave the Shore of Isle Jesus, and to see if there was any passage between this Island and the Shore. The narrow space made us Think that this Island was still a part of Isle de Jesus, the channel being farther back, and still interspersed with other Islands. After these Islands, the two channels meeting form another sort of basin, toward the end of Isle Jesus. The 4th rapid does not seem far Distant from the fifth, which is almost at the end of the channel of the Riviere des Prairies, being more than 4 miles. We passed the 5th rapid near Isle Jesus. Then we went up into the entrance to the lake of the two Mountains; these heights are seen at a distance, ending the channel of our River, but they are Separated from it by a space of more than 20 miles. That made us Judge that we were at the end of Isle Jesus, the extremity of which faces the lake of the two Mountains, which opens there and seems parallel with the Corner of Montreal; this begins, opposite the entrance to the Riviere des Prairies, another Shore which extends to the south-southwest and faces the width of the lake of the two Mountains. We Encamped at the point of Isle Jesus, in an Algonquin Camp that we found there. We had dined in the place where we visited the land, in a corner of that bay where there seemed to be a discharge of water. We slept at the extremity of Isle Jesus.

On Thursday, the 27th, a drizzling rain fell all night and continued nearly all Day, which delayed us. But having a little Intermission, about two o'clock in the afternoon, I hurried to visit the other Side of the point of Isle Jesus. We passed a violent rapid which flows between some Islands and The western Shore of Isle Jesus. We found rocky soil; and farther down, the land was inundated, and mingled with Islands, which are called "the thousand Islands." Night and the rain compelled us to return, and to encamp at the place from where we had come. Early Friday morning we passed the lake of the 2 mountains and entered Lake Ontario. I said mass near the point of the bay of Isle Perrot, where Sir Perrot's house is Built. This point is in Lake Ontario, opposite some Islets, one of which is called Isle aux Chevres, on account of the goats which have been put there, and which we saw browsing. I said mass upon the natural white marble of this point, and there we had a good meal. Then we descended the river, and passed Lachine Rapids after sunset, and in great darkness, so we might be here for Saturday, st. Michael's Day.

Dalmas

NEW FRANCE, DURING THE YEARS 1673 AND 1674; SENT BY THE REVEREND FATHER CLAUDE DABLON, SUPERIOR-GENERAL OF THOSE MISSIONS, TO THE REVEREND FATHER ETIENNE DE CHAMPS, PROVINCIAL OF THE JESUITS IN THE PROVINCE OF FRANCE.

THE HURON MISSION OF NOTRE DAME DE FOY, NOW CALLED THE MISSION OF NOTRE DAME DE LAURETTE.

As this mission increases daily, -- either through the recruits that come to us from the Iroquois country, or through God's blessing upon the Huron families in multiplying them, -- we have been obliged to remove our Indians from Notre Dame de Foye, where they were in need of land and wood, to place them 4 miles farther from Quebec. We have given the name of Lorette to their new village, because of the chapel we have built there on the model and under the name of the Holy House of Loretto.

As this new establishment was begun about the end of 1673, we will consider this Mission from that time to the beginning of 1675. We will first mention what happened at the same time in both these villages; and afterward relate the most important events that occurred at Notre Dame de Foye, where our Indians were still compelled to go, to sow their fields and gather their crops. Finally, we shall briefly indicate what has happened at our new Lorette.

THE HURON MISSION CONSIDERED EITHER AT NOTRE DAME DE FOYE OR AT NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE.

THIS Mission already contained over two hundred and ten Christians when Father Chaumonot and Father Bouvart, who had charge of it, had in the space of fifteen months baptized fifty-two persons there, namely: twenty-seven children, and twenty-five adults.

As these neophytes are mostly Iroquois, the charity displayed by our Hurons, poor as they are, in clothing, lodging, feeding, and even adopting them, is all the more heroic, since they have been most cruelly treated by that nation. Those who still bear on their bodies the marks of the blows given by their former enemies have been the most charitable toward these. Witness Pierre Andahiacon, who, although he had several of his fingers eaten by the Iroquois, still adopted one of that nation, and his wife and two children; all these he lodged and fed for five or six months and gave to them a large moose-skin and a fine robe of beaver-skins.

The charity of our Hurons has been no less liberal toward the French of this country. As corn was dear this year, they have given over a hundred bushels of it to the poor French. Francois Hotachetak distinguished himself in this work of mercy; and Helene Andotrahan even surpassed him, by giving them her last chest of corn.

THE HURON MISSION AT NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE.

OUR Indians, being under the necessity, as we have seen, of moving their village, found no other place more suitable on all our lands than at 3 miles from Notre Dame de Foye, and 7 miles from Quebec. The purity of the air, the level surface of the land, and the goodness and convenience of the water-supply, render it one of the most agreeable dwelling-places in this country. As early as the summer of 1673, while we were having made, 22 or 25 miles from there, the bricks with which the chapel was to be built, our Indians hastily erected twelve or thirteen cabins, in which to pass the winter at that place.

As our Hurons had not yet any chapel in their new village, where they had gone on the 27th of December, 1673, Father Chaumonot publicly asked whether someone would not lend half his cabin for a chapel, in which an altar might be erected. Immediately, Francois Athoricher and his sister, the good Marie Ouendraka, came to urge us to take all of their cabin, saying that God certainly deserved to have an entire lodging for himself.

Their offer was accepted, and for ten months, and more, we said Mass in their cabin, and performed all our duties in comfort there. For themselves they built, in close proximity, a wretched bark hut, in which all of their family lodged, suffering great inconvenience from cold and from smoke.

Being desirous of soon seeing their church completed, they willingly contributed their labor when asked to help the workmen; and despite their poverty, on their return from hunting, they gave a present of eighteen moose-skins to the Blessed Virgin. But we preferred to exchange these for garments, which we procured for them, to help to clothe them. We did the same in regard to two other skins, which they had given to show their joy because we taught their children to serve at mass, and to purchase for them gowns and surplices; we preferred to contribute to this expense from our own pockets.

Our new Loretto, as well as the old one, is forty feet long by twenty wide, and twenty-five feet high. The walls are broken by three doors, a chimney, and two windows. Above the door in the lower gable, a steeple has been built, and in the wall on the right side of the altar, a cupboard has been placed; and because we possess none of the real pieces of earthenware that were used by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we have at least supplied their place, by making others exactly like them. They have been touched to and placed in the "holy bowls" that were found, during the past century, in the ceiling of the sacred house of Loretto, -- which was removed, in case it might catch fire through the great number of lamps that continually burn in the holy chapel. Owing to our poverty, there is no reason to fear a similar accident for our new Loretto, so we have boldly made a wooden ceiling, like the former one of the true Loretto. As for the small recess behind the altar, the gratings, and other things, we have also attempted to represent them as well as we could.

THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS DURING THE YEARS 1673 AND 1674. OF THE MOHAWK MISSION.

THE Mohawks, who, among all the Iroquois, have most cruelly waged war against the French, have also been those who, among these Indian nations, have embraced the Christian religion in greatest numbers, and with the most fervor. Besides the fact that their villages have dwindled away to an extraordinary degree through the departure of their people, -- who have gone to La Prairie, Quebec or to Notre Dame de Foye, to live there as true Christians, -- many of those who have remained in their own country are either preparing for baptism, or, having already received it, thoroughly fulfill all the obligations that it entails. Father Bruyas, who has charge of this Mission, has been compelled to ask for assistance; for he writes us that, if things continue as they have, he alone will not suffice for confirming these new Christians in the faith.

The conversion and baptism of one of the elders, one of the most notable men of that nation, named Assendase, has contributed to furnish him all these occupations. This man, aged about sixty-five years, has always been esteemed in his country, on account of his intelligence and his experience in affairs. On the day following his baptism, Assendase gave a public feast, at which he declared to all the guests that he had renounced dreams and the other superstitious customs; and he asserted that he would never again be present at the meetings over which he was accustomed to preside when dreams were discussed. He has so faithfully kept this promise, and practiced all the Christian exercises, that he is the model for all the Christians. Animated by holy rivalry, he proposes to equal, if not surpass, Garacontie in fidelity; and by his example to bring Prayer into credit at the Mohawk nation, as that excellent Christian has done at Onondaga.

The conversion of this elder has caused a great stir, and has produced a deep impression on the minds of the others, so that Father Bruyas finds himself requested daily to baptize children and even adults; but he has deemed advisable to grant this favor to a small number only. There is reason to hope that this willingness will extend to all, at least to the majority of the Indians of Mohawk. For some time, the Father has daily received new insults from those who will not be converted, and an elder reproached him publicly with destroying their country, because he destroyed dreams and superstitions; and he threatened that, if the Father did not leave the village where he then was, he would have him expelled from the entire country.

THE ONEIDA MISSION. LETTER FROM FATHER MILLET TO REVEREND FATHER DABLON.

Reverend Father,

Since the time when I wrote to you last year, I have baptized forty-five persons, -- among others, sixteen adults, and as many children, with the rites of the Church; while the others, children or adults, were baptized while ill. This is more than I had hoped for, in view of the efforts of the Dutch against us; since they have recaptured Manhattan and Fort Orange (Albany), and driven out from there the English.

The most notable captain of this village, who had been appointed to Kingston, Ontario, spoke very well on his return: and he told all that had passed between the Iroquois and the Governor. Besides, he stated publicly that he would favor Christianity in the future, and would persuade the Oneidas, as far as lay in his power, to embrace the Faith. At the beginning of Advent, I persuaded him, and another elder who is baptized, to gather the people of the village together for the instruction that I give in public every Sunday. Thus they both came to ascertain the hour when I should be in the chapel; and then they went around the fort, calling out, each on his own side: "Go, my nephews, go at once to the black Gowns." After my instruction, one of these elders usually added a short urging to support what I had said.

THE ECLIPSE OF THE MOON ON THE 21ST OF JANUARY, 1674.

FOR a long time previously, I had talked to our Oneidas about this eclipse; and, at the beginning of the new moon, I had challenged the elders and, in particular, some tricksters who claim to foretell events, to say in how many days it would occur. They all hung their heads, and were compelled to confess their ignorance. "But," I said, "are these persons, who say that they come from the sky, ignorant of what happens up there? Cannot these professional diviners even predict a thing that is revealed in nature? Are these men -- who know fabulous stories so well, who relate such extraordinary things about the sun and the moon, and offer them tobacco to obtain success in war and in hunting -- not aware when one or the other is to be eclipsed?" The more I pressed them, the more they were abashed.

"Is it the moon that is just beginning that is to be eclipsed?" they asked me.

"Yes," I replied, "it is this moon; the only question is to know when the eclipse will occur. Take courage, consult among yourselves, and let us see for a moment how accurate your art is in predicting future events."

The poor people admitted to me that it was beyond their knowledge, and asked me to go and notify them at the time of the eclipse. After this statement of their ignorance had been several times reiterated, I publicly announced on Sunday that the eclipse would take place on the following night; and that, if they awoke, they must remember to look. Fortunately, the sky was clear; and as soon as I noticed that the eclipse was beginning, I went to the orator of the country, and to some others among the most notable men; they arose and, coming quickly out of their cabins, saw that the eclipse was already perceptible. Immediately, they announced the event, within and without the fort. I warned them that it would not remain as it was; that it would increase a great deal more, and that barely one-twelfth of the moon would remain visible. They asked me whether it would not reappear again, for these simple people thought that it was almost lost. "It will reappear entirely," I said, "and then it will be at such a spot in the sky, for it continues to advance; and just as you now see it gradually growing smaller, so will you see it grow larger in the same proportion."

Everything happened as I had announced, and they admitted that we knew things better than they. I derived great benefit from this, in instructing them and undeceiving them about their myths and superstitions. Such perceptible things have a much greater effect on their rude minds than would all the reasoning that could be brought to bear upon them.

SEVERAL EMBASSIES FROM THE OTHER IROQUOIS TO ONEIDA,

To maintain peace among themselves, and make amends for faults committed by individuals, the Iroquois nations have instituted certain embassies which they reciprocally send one another. In these they exhibit their fine wampum collars, with the utmost magnificence in their power; and their captains attempt to display their eloquence, -- both in relating their fables, their genealogies, and their stories; and in suitably urging the elders and warriors, according to the requirements of current affairs.

In each family there are a certain number of men and women of note, who represent the nobles of the country. They are called Agoianderes, and they provide the wampum beads and the collars. When it is intended to send an embassy to other nations, the families first meet, each in private, and collect all the wampum beads that they can give; then each family displays to the others what its richest members have supplied. Then the oldest or the most eloquent person of the family delivers a speech, -- either standing erect, or, more frequently, walking about. At times, he speaks in mournful tones, drawling out his words: at others, in a sharp tone calculated to produce emotion; sometimes in a joyful voice, intermingled with songs, which the other elders repeat in harmony. At the conclusion, he shows all these collars as so many deceased persons, formerly people of note, who come back to life to urge all present to preserve the country for which they, of old, gave up their lives and shed their blood. The whole concludes with a feast and the mutual exchange of presents. The elders of the other families thank him who has spoken; and on the following day, they do the same as he has done, each in turn. After each family has displayed its collars and delivered its speech, they all assemble on a specified day; and hanging up their collars in order, each family on its own side, they tell one another who have given these collars, "Such a person," they say, "has given this one, made of so many thousand beads; another has given these two, these three; still another, these four collars."

Finally, they put all these collars together, and hand them over to the elders, who remain the masters of that. The council is then held, to consider how many shall be carried to each nation to which an embassy is to be sent, and what affairs shall be negotiated by the deputies. Some days before the departure of the ambassadors, they send a present of wampum beads, to ask that a mat be prepared on which they may sit and lie, and to give notice of the date of their departure or arrival.

As soon as the news reaches a village, the old people assemble; the young men, for their part, go to hunt; and everyone contributes the best that he has for feeding the ambassadors.

When they have arrived within a musket-shot from the palisade, a fire is lighted, as a sign of peace, at the spot where the elders of the village are going to wait for them; and after smoking and receiving the Indian compliments that they pay one another, they are led to the cabin set apart for them. They all march gravely and in file. One of the most notable men walks at the head, and pronounces a long string of words which have been handed down to them by tradition, and which are repeated by the others after him. The ambassador who is to be the spokesman comes last of all, singing in a rather agreeable tone; he continues his song until he has entered his cabin, around which he also walks five or six times, still singing; then he sits down, last of all.

There, the pledges of friendship are renewed, and presents are given to dispel fatigue; to wipe away tears; to remove scales from their eyes, so that they may more easily see one another; and finally, to open their throats and give freer passage to their voices. These presents are followed by food served to the ambassadors, by way of refreshment. Then they are asked for news concerning their nation, and they reply by recitals that sometimes last nearly all night. On the following day they rest, and on the third they deliver their speech, display the collars, and make known the object of the embassy. A reply is given to them on the following day, after a public dance around the collars. The whole concludes with a feast and with mutual thanks.

Pierre Millet

THE MISSION OF SAINT JEAN BAPTISTE AT ONONDAGA.

THE Church of Onondaga: has been diminished this year by the death of some Christians, and by the departure of many others, who have left their own country -- that is to say the abode of drunkenness, of superstition, and of debauchery -- to go and dwell at La Prairie, Quebec, and swell the number of those who live there as true Christians.

THE DEPARTURE OF SOME CHRISTIANS OF ONONDAGA FOR LA PRAIRIE, QUEBEC.

AN Iroquois woman, a relative of Garacontie, who was baptized with the usual rites, together with her three daughters, two of whom are adults, said goodbye to our village some days ago, after dividing the little she owned among her relatives and friends, taking only a rush mat. Then, loaded with some provisions and preceded by her children, she happily abandoned this Babylon to go and dwell at La Prairie, Quebec. She was attracted there by her eldest son, who is only a Christian trainee; this man, while hunting in that vicinity, went to visit some of his relatives there. He was so charmed with the happy condition of his countrymen in the Mission of Saint Xavier des Pres that he decided to settle among them; and he urged his mother and sisters to do likewise. One of his aunts and his uncle also followed him with the same intention.

Garacontie continues to support Christianity by his words and example and he does not deviate from that noble spirit with which he has always declared himself in favor of the faith. He has given fresh proofs of it this year. While the festival of dreams was being celebrated here, he persistently refused to give his tobacco-pouch, which is quite handsomely embroidered, to a dreamer, who had to endure the shame of being refused. That seldom happens; for such is the deference paid to dreams that everything asked for by the dreamer is given to him. This action is a sequel of the first public declaration made by him, four years ago, that he had renounced all the superstitions of the country on becoming a Christian.

But here is another and no less solemn declaration of his faith, made by Garacontie in the presence of all the Iroquois. Last winter, he was appointed with the most notable men of the village as an ambassador of the Onondagas, to bear their gifts to the four other Iroquois nations. When he came to relate the genealogy and origin of the Iroquois, the description of which is only a long fable, he always protested that what he was about to say was merely a formula which is usually followed on such occasions, but that it was not true; in fact, that all he would relate about the creation of the world was simply a story, and that Jesus was the sole Master of our lives.

THE BAPTISM OF SOME CHILDREN.

WERE we not convinced by experience that it is dangerous to administer baptism to little children who are not sick, we would baptize a large number of them, with their parents' consent; but we do not venture to risk administering the sacrament, in case they might, later on, profane it by the unbelief in which they usually live when they grow older.

It is difficult to baptize them without medicines. These serve to deceive the fathers, mothers, and other relatives, -- many of whom still have an aversion to baptism, as if it hurried the death of those who receive it. Having been called upon to give some relief to a child, whom all the tricksters and physicians of the village had attempted to cure, a single one of my medicines had more effect than all the trickeries and remedies the Indians had produced in six months. This gave me easy access to the cabin of the sick child. The tricksters pretended that they brought out of the child's body the teeth of bears and dogs, of pigs and deer, human hairs, and similar things which they call okis, -- that is to say, spells or little demons, -- therefore abusing the credulity of the simpleminded.

My remedy was more effective; it brought out a great many worms, which were certainly demons different from theirs. This relieved the little patient, who would be cured, they said, because the black Gown did not baptize him. Such was the Indians' conviction, and it was based on the fact that all the children borne by the mother of the patient, and who had been baptized, had died after baptism.

Consequently, I was watched closely when I went to visit the sick child, and I was not allowed to sit close beside him, as I previously did. Such was their distrust that I was made to sit on the other side of the fire in the cabin, so that I only went there at nightfall, -- to baptize the dying child without the knowledge of his parents, who watched me too closely during the day. But all my efforts were for a long time in vain. Finally, on learning that the child was ill, I concealed a small sponge in my hand, and went at night to visit him for the last time. They told me of his dangerous condition; I at once arose and said: "I can tell at once, by touching his temples, whether he will die soon." And, without waiting for an answer, I passed my hand under the blanket that hid the little patient, and baptized him.

THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AT CAYUGA.

Five adults who were baptized all died after baptism. Three were Susquehannocks captured in war; Father de Carheil had time to instruct them before they were burned. Several from the same country, who had escaped after a captivity of some months, had told them of the charity that the black Gowns had for them as well as for the Iroquois. They had related the kindness shown them by the Fathers, and the trouble taken by the Fathers to assist them in every imaginable way. This report had disposed them to greater docility than had yet been met with in the other captives. One of them even thanked the Father in his death-song for the aid given him, saying that he knew that he loved them, and that the French nation was not among the number of their enemies.

THE MISSIONS OF SAINT MICHEL AND SAINT JACQUES (GANONDAGAN) AMONG THE SENECAS.

IF the Indians of the village of Saint Michel had detached themselves from the superstitions of the country as thoroughly as they have preserved themselves from the vice of drunkenness, we would have no trouble in making true Christians of them. Most of them ask Father Garnier for baptism, and he is obliged to refuse them, because they will not renounce some dances and other superstitious ceremonies which they use as remedies in their illnesses. Two things render follies of this kind more difficult to cast off: the first is the false hope of recovering health by this means; the second is the profit that many of them derive from it.

Of all the means that God most employs in these three villages of Saint Michel, Saint Jacques (Ganondagan), and la Conception, which belong to the nation of the Senecas, what most effectively converts the Indians is misery and abandonment. None are better disposed to listen to the instructions than poor slaves, or other persons deprived of all aid and abandoned by everyone.

THE MISSION OF LA CONCEPTION AT SENECA.

FATHER Raffeix, who has charge of this mission, writes of it as follows:

"The great number of superstitions that have gathered here with the tribes who have come here for refuge, after the destruction of their own country, is a considerable impediment to the propagation of the Gospel. The remoteness of the French, among whom the Senecas seldom go, makes the teachings of our Faith seem strange to them, because they have hardly ever seen anyone who believed and practiced these teachings. Besides, profligacy and the corruption of morals, which frequently cause all the vices to be publicly upheld and praised, contribute to make them lead the life of beasts, and render them insensible to everything regarding salvation. Not that many of them do not possess a good character, or that the majority of them are not much less subject to their passions than are Europeans. But, in the reign of corrupt nature, they allow themselves to be swayed by evil example. Few adults would die without baptism, if one find them alone to instruct them; the shame, however, of passing for believers before those who are not, is a great obstacle to their conversion. For this reason, I was able, this year, to baptize only ten adults, who all died after receiving that grace. Many who pray when alone in the chapel, would be ashamed to do so before those who pray not."

MISSION TO THE IROQUOIS OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER, AT LA PRAIRIE, QUEBEC, DURING THE YEARS 1673 AND 1674.

THIS Mission is placed among the number of the Iroquois Missions, although it is not established in the Iroquois country, but because they who compose it are mainly Iroquois.

Drunkenness, which has wrought such havoc in the other Missions, has not yet found entrance here; and those who were addicted to it in their own country conceive such an aversion to it from the moment when they embrace the Faith that they resist with incredible constancy the tremendous inclination that compels all Indians to it. It was surprising to see over a hundred Iroquois -- who, a few years previously, were addicted to liquor to the extent of committing great excesses; and who found themselves last winter surrounded by drunkards, and by the French, who, in order more readily to persuade them to drink, offered them brandy in exchange for their furs -- remain firm against all these attacks for four or five months, although they were then far from their missionaries.

Three only allowed themselves to be overcome by the pleadings of the French; but on their return, the elders attempted to make them atone for this sin by advising them to give a present to the Church. Matters would not have remained there, and they would have been expelled, had they not been married to three of the best Christian women of the village.

They also have a great horror of impurity. A woman had made a clandestine appointment with a man who, like her, was a recent arrival and a pagan. Father Fremin, the director of this Mission, heard of it, and prevented the interview from taking place; but the good Christians of the village, and especially the relatives of the woman, were not content with this; they notified her that she was to return from where she had come, and this was carried out on the next day.

A Christian woman, different from that pagan one, had received a garment from a man without imagining that his intentions were evil; but, as soon as she perceived his immoral plan, she at once brought the garment to Father Fremin, and asked him to give it to some poor person.

MISSIONS TO THE OTTAWA COUNTRY OF THE MISSION OF SAULT STE. MARIE

WE are sufficiently informed as to how universal is the travel to this mission of the nations, who come in summer-time to take the whitefish which abound in the rapids of Sault Ste. Marie, where lake superior discharges its waters. It is this great crowd of peoples that has compelled us to establish ourselves in this place, so we can more conveniently Instruct them; and to build there a 2nd Chapel, yet more beautiful than the first, which was burned down in 1671. This one was also Consumed by a second fire, -- much worse, by far, than the first, as it resulted from one of the most tragic occurrences that had ever been witnessed in this country.

This accident had most deplorable results, For it was preceded by an act of treachery that broke up a peace, almost Concluded, which was about to open the door of the gospel to the great nation of the Sioux; and it spread terror throughout that country by the massacre of more than 230 persons, and by the Fear of a bloody war, which must follow so dire a tragedy. It occurred in the following manner, in the spring of 1674.

MASSACRE OF THE TEN AMBASSADORS OF THE SIOUX, AND TWENTY OTHER INDIANS, PERPETRATED IN THE HOUSE OF SAULT STE. MARIE.

THE Sioux, a nation exceedingly numerous and warlike, were the common enemies of all the Indians Included under the name of Ottawa, or upper Algonquins. They even pushed forward their arms vigorously toward the north; and making war on the Crees who dwell there, rendered themselves everywhere terrible by their daring, their numbers, and their skill in Battle, -- in which they use, among other weapons, Knives of stone. Of these, they always carry two, one attached to the belt, the other suspended by the hair. However, a band of warriors from Sault Ste. Marie, having surprised them in their own country and taken eighty of them prisoners, compelled them to sue for peace. For this purpose, they sent, to Sault Ste. Marie, ten of the most daring among them, to negotiate it. They were received with Joy, as soon as the object of their coming was understood.

It was the Crees alone, who had lately arrived, -- save some others named Mississaugas, -- who not only expressed their dissatisfaction in the matter, but decided to prevent the peace from being Concluded. They even decided to massacre the ten ambassadors -- a proceeding which made it necessary that the ambassadors, to ensure their safety, should be placed in the French house, which had been built for the Convenience of the missionaries. Father gabriel Druillettes took advantage of that opportunity to instruct them in our mysteries. They listened with so much docility that, when the instruction was over, they all knelt down, and, Joining their hands, invoked Jesus, the lord of life, of whom we had just been speaking to them.

Meanwhile, the Indians assembled at the French house -- part of them to Conclude the peace with the Sioux, others to obstruct it. Everything imaginable was done to prevent those who went in from carrying arms; but, as the crowd was great, 5 or 6 Slipped in without having their Knives taken from them. It was one of These armed ones, a Cree by nation, who Began all the disturbance that ensued. Approaching a Sioux, knife in hand, he said to him, "you are Afraid," -- threatening at the same time to strike him. The Sioux, undismayed, replied to him in an arrogant tone, "If you think that I tremble, strike straight at the Heart." Then, feeling himself struck, he cried out to Those of his nation, "They are killing us, my brothers." At these words, the men, powerful and of commanding stature, arose and struck with their Knives at all the assembled Indians, without making any distinction between Crees and Ojibwes, believing that they had all equally Conspired in the plan to assassinate them. It was not difficult for them to accomplish a great Carnage in a short time, when we consider that they found that multitude unarmed, and not expecting an attack of that kind.

The Cree who had begun the quarrel was among the first to be stabbed; and he, with several others, fell dead on the spot. Afterward, the Sioux posted themselves at the door of the house, to guard it, and to stab those who would have taken to flight; but, seeing that many had already escaped and gone in search of arms, they closed the door against these, resolved to defend themselves to the last breath. In fact, they Stationed themselves at the windows; and as they had found some guns, with gunpowder and ball, they used these to disperse their enemies, whose desire it was to burn them by setting fire to the Place where they were confined. They killed, in this way, some of those who ventured too close; but in spite of their efforts, some others came close to the house. These men, having piled up against it some straw and some birchbark Canoes, set fire to them, which at once placed them in danger of being Consumed in the flames. It was this that drove them to give a last proof of their Courage. All ten sallied forth, their arms in their hands, and with an incredible quickness threw themselves into a Cabin made of stakes, which was nearby; in this they defended themselves, and slayed while gunpowder and ball lasted them.

When at last these failed them, they were laid low by the great number of Indians who were firing upon them; and they, with two women who had accompanied them, were all slain on the spot. A third woman was spared, because they perceived that she was only their slave, and was an Algonquin by nation. All the time while this tumult and massacre were going on, the fire which the Indians had kindled at the missionaries' house was steadily increasing; and in spite of all that could be done, it soon Consumed the whole structure, which was only wooden, and Placed the new Chapel, not far away, in great jeopardy of being also burned. Our people did so well, however, that they saved it.

It was a horrible spectacle to see so many dead, and so much blood Shed in so small a space, and horrible to hear the Cries of those who warmed to the Battle, and the groans of the wounded amid the Tumult of an exasperated rabble that scarcely noticed what it did. Our Indians bewailed forty of their number, dead or wounded, among whom were some of the leading and most notable men; while the missionaries, on their Side, had great cause for affliction in losing so soon the hope of going to preach the gospel to the Sioux, which the peace, about to be concluded with them, had inspired. In addition, they saw themselves abandoned by the Indians of the country, who -- in the Fear that the Sioux would suspect what had happened to them and be prompted to take vengeance for their deaths -- all withdrew, and left them exposed to the fury of the enemy.

And so, besides the danger of being massacred, in which they are every day, -- not only at Sault Ste. Marie, but in every other place where they set up their mission -- The progress which the gospel was beginning to make has been seriously arrested.

THE MISSION OF SAINT FRANCOIS XAVIER.

THE church that we have in this Mission summons from a great distance the Indians who dwell beyond the Mississippi, to come and live among the Mascoutens; it calls the Illinois from a still greater distance to come and settle in their former country, near the lake that bears their name, six days' journey from the Mascoutens.

"Those who are called Kaskaskias have already been here for a year or two, as they had promised Father Dablon when I was his companion in the Mission to the Miamis.

"The other Illinois, called Peorias, are gradually coming here to settle, in the conviction that the house of God will protect them, and keep them safer than they formerly were.

"I have already visited the Kaskaskias, and have baptized many of their children; I have borne the first words of the Faith to the Peorias, Who dwell among the Miamis, and they have listened to me with much docility. They have even begun to pray, and have promised me to come and dwell nearer to us to have the advantage of being instructed at leisure.

"The Indians of this country show sufficiently that, even if they do not all pray, they at least esteem Prayer. They are far from having an aversion to it, or from dreading it as a dangerous thing, as all the other Indians of this New France did when we began preaching the Gospel to them. Sometimes, even, in their councils, they address their speeches to this house of God, and speak to it as to an animate being. When they pass by here, they throw tobacco all around the church, which is a kind of devotion to their divinity; and when they enter it, they think that they never can do enough to honor the true God. They also come sometimes and offer presents, to ask God to have pity upon their deceased relatives. The Potawatomis came here bringing theirs, to ask pardon from God because, when a cross that we had planted near their village had fallen down, it was burned by one among them who did not know its value.

"Later, I learned that the Miami captain who had been my host was dying. I had deferred his baptism, although he seemed to be very well disposed; but it was difficult for him in his capacity Of captain to dispense, through politeness, with certain superstitions popular among their warriors. I went to his cabin, but he was not there; and while he was coming to me to be baptized, he died on the way."

THE MISSION OF THE MENOMINEES, NEAR GREEN BAY. LETTER FROM FATHER LOUIS ANDRE

I shall begin with the Menominees, because among the Indians of these countries they have shown the most affection for Christianity, especially after an unexpected blessing in connection with their fishing.

When I arrived among them at the end of April, 1673, I gathered all the most notable persons, to inform them of my intention in visiting them. I also asked them what was meant by a picture of the sun that one of them had painted upon a piece of board. This picture was tied to the end of a pole, which was also painted in the brightest colors; and on this pole, at the height of a man, was suspended a sheaf of small cedar sticks, cut so as to serve as floats for the nets that are used in catching sturgeon, like the pieces of cork that are fastened to all kinds of nets in France. I therefore asked for what purpose they had set up this sort of votive offering. They replied that it was a sacrifice. -- or rather, to use the proper expression in their language, "an urging" -- which they had made to the sun, to ask it to have pity upon them.

As they believed that the sun was the master of life and of fishing, the dispenser of all things, they asked it to send the sturgeon into their river, and to make their fishing prosperous. They added that they had long been expecting the sturgeon in their river and feared that they would not come to it. In fact, they had reason to fear this, for the sturgeon had already entered the Pechetik river and that of Oukatoum, which are farther from the lake than is the river of the Menominees. After disabusing them of the idea which they had of the sun, and explaining to them the principal points of our Faith, I asked them whether they would consent to my removing the picture of the sun, and replacing it by the image of Jesus crucified. They replied, all together and repeatedly, that they consented; and that they believed that God was the master of all things. It was already late when they gave me this assurance of their good will; this did not prevent me from taking advantage of their favorable state of mind, and I put my crucifix in the place of the picture of the sun.

On the following morning, sturgeon entered the river in such abundance that these poor people were delighted, and all said to me: "Now we see that the Spirit who has made all is the one who feeds us. Take courage; teach us to pray, so that we may never feel hunger." After that, their confidence in Prayer and their desire to learn it made them so docile and so attentive to me that I was astonished; and although I called only the children to me to pray, the adults themselves listened to us attentively, and repeated in a low tone what we said aloud, while either praying or singing.

But it was chiefly in the evening, when neither the men nor the women were any longer engaged in fishing, that we gathered greater numbers together to pray in the chapel. All the elders, except three, came there. Several women were diligent in their attendance, a thing that I had not yet observed. The French who were with me could not sufficiently admire such fervor in new Christian trainees. I had ample evidence of it in their docility in removing the black from their faces and in breaking their superstitious fast. Even the warriors obeyed me in this, and only few of them blackened themselves and fasted to dream of the Sioux, their enemy. Even those who had done so removed the black from their faces when I declared to them that God was opposed to their superstitious dreams; and before setting out for war, they offered no feast to the devil, nor did they dream any dreams, according to their ancient custom.

The chief trickster of this nation showed that he took pleasure in my instructions. This man had an exceedingly great confidence in thunder as a powerful divinity; and far from hiding when he heard it rumble, he did all that he could to meet it. One day, when it rained, I had an opportunity of witnessing his madness; he ran about in the woods, entirely naked, crying aloud and invoking the thunder by his songs. On seeing him, one would have taken him for a demon, so strange were the movements of his body. He acted to lead to the belief that he was seized with an extraordinary enthusiasm, of which the thunder-god was the author. He also wished it to be believed that he had a familiar demon, who imparted to him, a great power for curing the sick. I scolded him for his folly, and I told him that he had reason to fear in case God, who uses lightning as a hunter does his gun, should discharge it at him, and make him die instantly. He promised me that he would no longer invoke the thunder; and in fact, a few days afterward, although it rained and thundered, I did not hear him cry out or sing as he was accustomed to do.

THE MISSION OF OUASSATINOUN. FATHER ANDRE CONTINUES HIS RECITAL

I HAVE been three times at this Mission, and have baptized about forty persons in it. I found strong inclinations to the Faith among these peoples, who bear the name of Ouassatinoun; but these sentiments bore fruit more especially after the departure of the young men for war.

When the young men returned from war, I found them more docile than they had previously been. Their impiety as well as their cowardice had contributed to this change. Before going to war they had held several feasts in honor of the devil, and had used the wood of the cross to kindle their fires. But these impious men, to the number of two hundred and forty, had not even enough courage to attack the enemies whom they had gone to seek; and they came back as fugitives, without daring to look at a single one. On their return, I paid them a compliment that was not agreeable to them. "It is all over," I said; "there are no more Sioux; you have killed them all, so great was the courage with which the devil inspired you, as a reward for your feasts and for the wood of the cross that you burned." As I continued to insult them, one of them said to me: "Be silent, you do anger me," and I replied to him in a firmer tone than his: "Be silent yourselves, you who hate Prayer and who fear death. I fear you not at all; I fear but Him who has made all; he it is who gives me courage and makes me despise you. Kill me, if you will; I will be glad, for I shall go to heaven."

Those among them who were the hardest to influence, and the most obstinate, came to me before leaving for their winter quarters, and asked me so earnestly to make them pray that I could not resist.

As the Indians of Ouassatinoun had all left to go to the extreme end of cape Illinois, I finished my last Mission at this place. If I had had anyone who would have attempted to guide me, I would have followed them, and therefore have had an opportunity to instruct the Illinois, the Potawatomis, the Sauks, the Nassauaketon Ottawa, and a part of the Ottawas. Some other Indians, called Menominees, had promised me to winter on the shore of Lake Michigan, if I would assure them that I would go there also; but, as I was unable to give them this assurance, they had all dispersed when I arrived there.

I was without any Indians for a month and a half, shut in and besieged by the ice; for, as early as the 16th of November, the river of the Menominees was completely frozen over for the remainder of the winter. I would, however, have started to go elsewhere, had I not fallen ill. I was therefore compelled to remain at the same spot; and I was in great need of patience to enable me to endure the cold and illness, and to fortify me against dread of the Sioux. But, in the midst of my troubles, I have consoled myself by the expectation that many Indians will arrive, who are to come to the shore of Lake Michigan about the end of January.

THE TADOUSSAC MISSION.

We present here the journal of Father de Crepieul's journey and labors among the Papinachois Innu, the Mistassini Innu, and other tribes.

FATHER DE CREPIEUL'S JOURNAL.

ON the 23rd of September, 1673, after journeying 175 or 200 miles in a canoe, and having encountered various dangers and endured much bad weather in a rather inclement season, sleeping in the sand or on a rock, I reached Quebec. From there I set out, a few days afterward, to go to the Papinachois Innu, from there to Chicoutimi, and afterward to Lac Saint-Jean, where I was to pass a third winter with a band of Indians.

On the day of my departure, the 4th of October, we were surprised by a violent gale which endangered our lives, and, by breaking one of the cables of our barque, compelled us to put back. Three days afterward, a favorable wind carried us a long distance on our voyage, and brought us at the end of two days to the Jeremie islets. There I found five cabins of Papinachois Innu, who awaited us, and I instructed them for six or seven days.

On the 21st of October, we weighed anchor with a favorable wind, and sailed in the direction of the Saguenay; but, being surprised by darkness, and the wind rising, we were in danger of shipwreck; for the barque was tossed about, and filled with water. It was even a marvel that we did not run aground; for the wind compelled us so violently, although we had no sail set, that about midnight we were close to the land. This storm lasted ten whole hours, during which we expected to be wrecked at any moment. But at last God gave us calm weather again, and enabled us to reach Chicoutimi. I found there two hundred Indians waiting for me; I instructed them for ten days. I also buried the son of the chief of Tadoussac, who in his last moments displayed Christian resignation.

On the 2nd of November, the barque set sail for Quebec, and left me alone with my beloved Indians, who prepared to go to their winter quarters, each band to their own district. In the evening, I started together with six canoes of Indians, with whom I spent the night near the rapid of the large river that flows from Lac Saint-Jean, and falls into the noble Saguenay river. On the following day, we had to carry our canoe and all our effects for 5 miles, with much fatigue -- walking sometimes in mud, and sometimes in snow. While we were marching, I observed the disastrous effects of the great earthquake of 1663. I also met four families of Naskapi Innu, whom I instructed. At the end of our road, I came upon a great rapid, and the fine river of the Papinachois Innu. Two days afterward, these four families whom we had met joined us; and all together we entered the woods, to seek our food, and to meet a great number of Indians who were to come down in the spring.

After successfully passing seven rapids, the ice began to block our way, and this compelled us to stop upon a mountain. We built two cabins, to contain thirty-four persons; I instructed them daily, while waiting until the snow was deep enough to allow us to walk on snowshoes. In remembrance of our passage here, I erected a cross in this vast solitude.

On the 19th of November, we went a long 2 miles from there, to encamp in a place where game is plentiful; but there the lack of water, -- for melted snow hardly quenches thirst, -- and the smoke, which was annoying, tried our patience. We did not leave this place until the 6th of December, because the first frosts were later than usual. We celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception, -- occupying ourselves with chanting hymns in the Indian tongue. About this time, there was a noticeable earthquake near us. I had still further opportunity, during our journey, to observe the extraordinary ravages of the terrible earthquake that took place some years ago in these wild regions. There is also seen the recent traces which cruel fires have left in these vast forests. The Indians say that they have spread over more than 500 miles.

On the 18th, we journeyed through a fine level country, intersected by rivers and lakes, and chose a spot for building our cabin. We were so harassed by the smoke that, to escape from it, I was often obliged to expose myself to a cold and freezing wind. The wind blew so violently for seven or eight days that we feared it might at any moment carry away our bark cabin, or uproot trees which would have crushed us in their fall.

We passed the night and festival of Christmas in our wretched bark cabin; and we celebrated the feast, if not with splendor, at least with great signs of love.

On the 4th of January, 1674, we started from this place, after leaving a fine cross there, to go and erect one in another place, where we arrived fatigued. We had much to suffer from almost continual bad weather, cold, and smoke.

On the 13th of January, some Indians arrived, and informed us where I could find Father Albanel, who was on his way to the Northern bay. I wished to go and see him.

I set out, therefore, on the 16th of January, with an Algonquin captain and two Frenchmen. We walked 12 long miles on snowshoes -- with much trouble, because the snow was soft and made our snowshoes heavy. At the end of 12 miles, we found ourselves on a lake 10 or 12 miles long, all frozen over, on which the wind caused great quantities of snow to drift, -- obscuring the air, and preventing us from seeing where we were going. After walking another 4 miles, with great difficulty, our strength began to fail us. The wind, cold, and snow were so intolerable that they compelled us to retrace our steps a little, to cut some branches of fir which might, in default of bark, serve to build a cabin.

After this, we tried to light a fire, but were unable to do so. We were therefore reduced to a most pitiful condition. The cold was beginning to seize us to an extraordinary degree, the darkness was great, and the wind blew fearfully. In order to keep ourselves from dying from cold, we resumed our march on the lake, in spite of our fatigue, -- in the obscurity of the night, without knowing where we were going. We were always impeded by the wind and snow; but, after walking 4 miles, we had to succumb, in spite of ourselves, and stop where we were. The danger we ran of dying from cold caused me to remember the charitable Father de Noue, who on a similar occasion was found dead in the snow, kneeling and with clasped hands. This thought roused me. The French who were with us cut some fir-branches, which they laid on the snow, and we threw ourselves down on them, after taking for our meal a little theriac and seven or eight raisins that we happened to have with us. Fatigue caused us to fall into a slumber, which the wind, the cold, and the snow did not allow us long to enjoy; we therefore remained awake during the rest of the night.

On the following morning, two Frenchmen from Father Albanel's cabin arrived, and kindled a great fire on the snow. One of them went for some water, to quench our excessive thirst. Then we resumed our journey on the same lake, and at last, in spite of the wind and snow drifting in our faces, we reached the spot where Father Albanel was. I found with him four cabins of Indians, whom I instructed. A serious injury, caused by the fall of a heavy load upon his loins, prevented him from moving, and still more from performing a missionary's duties.

Two days afterward, I returned to my own cabin, about 25 miles from there. I then proceeded to two cabins of Naskapi Innu Indians, at a distance of about 10 miles. After remaining two days with them, I returned to my cabin to prepare for my journey to the Mistassini Innu and Papinachois Innu.

On the 2nd of February, I once more met Father Albanel.

On the 6th, I left him, and went with the Indians who accompanied me to encamp near a fine river. There we remained some days in peace, until Father Albanel sent a Frenchman to warn me that fear reigned everywhere; that the Iroquois were believed to be on the war-path; that they had surprised a band of our Indians at lake Kenogami; and that the Naskapi Innu and other tribes were gathering in a fortified enclosure for shelter and defense. This bad news compelled me to go to them, to confess and encourage them, because Father Albanel was still crippled by his injury. I set out, accompanied by one Frenchman. We walked 50 miles in the woods, with incredible difficulty, and in continual dread of being set upon by the Iroquois. On the way, we came upon a great number of cabins abandoned through fear.

On the 3rd of March, we reached the spot where the Indians had fortified themselves; there were at least eighty determined men. They were delighted to see us. I consoled them to the best of my ability, and confessed them. Meanwhile, one of their chiefs had gone with three young men to reconnoiter the enemy; while awaiting their return, we passed four nights in dread, and, during the first two, we slept in their fort and upon the snow.

On the 5th, those who had gone to reconnoiter came back and somewhat reassured us. They told us that the massacre that had caused the general panic had not taken place so close to us, but at Lac Saint-Jean; and that the Indians dwelling on its shores were going to fortify themselves, and gather in great numbers to attack the Iroquois the following spring. This news, which quieted us, enabled me to return to my first cabin. I had been there a few days when five Indians, sent by the chief of the Mistassini Innu, came to notify me on his behalf to go and instruct him. He had especially assigned them to help me as much as they could, so as to smooth the difficulties and shorten the length of the journey that must be performed to reach him.

I set out with them on the 26th of March. We had to walk in water half-way up to our thighs, and with great difficulty. We set up our cabin on the top of a hill that borders the river called Emenipemagau (Shipshaw River), on account of its rapidity and of several islets in it. It is wide and deep, and exceedingly well stocked with fish. It flows toward the northwest, where, losing a little of its width, it takes the name of "river of the Papinachois Innu."

We journeyed fully two days to find the waterfall that breaks the river's course. This was not done without great fatigue, because we had to walk continually on the ice, which was smooth and slippery. At last, we reached the fine river of Mauchautraganich. I found many Indians there, who received me with all the evidences of joy that their minds could suggest. They spared neither feasts, nor dances, nor songs, and continually came to visit me -- so much that I found these poor people fully disposed to receive my instructions. I set to work to instruct them, in private and in public, during six or seven weeks, which seemed to me short. I baptized one hundred and two, both children and adults -- and, among others, two of their chiefs.

Four old men, whom I had deferred baptizing for a year, were among those who received me in this village. They stated in a public speech how happy they esteemed themselves; and they invited me to instruct them more fully, and to come back to see them again, which I promised to do.

Among these Indians, several who had come from the Northern bay were surprised at seeing Frenchmen come from so great a distance, and were delighted to hear the talks that I addressed to them upon religion. They all promised to come, in the following spring, to the place where they should learn that I was holding my Mission, to be instructed more at leisure than they could then be. They also added that they would attempt to bring a large number of their countrymen with them.

Meanwhile, a portion of the Mistassini Innu left shortly afterward for Quebec, to present their respects to Sir de Frontenac, the governor of Canada. They also intended to ask his protection against the Iroquois; and to assure him that they took him for their father, and that they would continue to love Prayer, for which they knew he was so zealous. I embarked with them.

During our journey we were nearly all sick, and four or five of the older ones died. These good Indians had never seen any other missionaries before they saw me; and as they were converted on receiving the first instructions, it was God's will to therefore reward their promptness in obeying grace, by granting them the favor of dying shortly after their baptism. I was somewhat weakened by the hunger that I had endured on various occasions, and by the fatigues caused me by so many arduous journeys; but God gave me still sufficient strength to carry out the rest of my undertaking.

We left on the 6th of May, and made three long portages before reaching the river of the Mistassini Innu and that of the Papinachois Innu. Bad weather, rain, and mosquitoes annoyed us. I still visited some poor sick persons, and four large cabins that I found on the banks of the Manaouni, a river abundantly stocked with fish, which yielded a great many pike of extraordinary size. After remaining some days near the great and deep lake Echitagameth, I continued my journey, accompanied by twenty canoes of Indians. We successfully passed twelve rapids, where the stream was so low that we had to get into the water to drag our canoes ourselves, which could not be done without much difficulty.

On the 24th of May, we arrived at Chicoutimi; there I found some Frenchmen and a great many Indians.

On the 31st, I left Chicoutimi, accompanied by only twelve canoes. We reached Quebec a few days afterward; and the Indians whom I had brought with me proceeded at once to pay their respects to the count de Frontenac. He received them with great kindness, and urged them to continue to live as true Christians.

THE MISSION OF SEPT ILES.

UNDER the name of Sept Iles is comprised a region on the North shore, more than 250 miles away from Quebec, as one descends the Saint Lawrence River. There may be seen seven islands, which are composed only of rocks, -- sterile, and having but stunted shrubs for covering. The largest of the islands is less than 5 miles in circumference; and that nearest to the land is only a good 2 miles away. They are, however, quite noted, on account of the concourse of Indians, who, after hunting in the forests on the mainland, resort from time to time to a river quite near these islands, to trade with the French who are drawn there by commerce.

That region is properly the country of the tribes whom we call Miamis; their language takes its origin from that of the Tadoussac Innu, although it has many more words and a greater range of idioms. Those Indians are naturally good, and pliable.

They are not far from the Eskimo; their neighbors among those tribes toward the south are not so fierce as are the hordes of those who dwell farther north. These northern Eskimo, we have been assured, destroyed last year a vessel which had come from Europe, with all its crew, to avenge the deaths of some of their tribesmen; these had been slain by some of the ship's people, in a quarrel that arose while they were trading together.

All the coast of this sea is frightful to see; there are only rocks piled together, encumbered with low thickets and a dense growth of stunted trees. Our Indians could not hunt there, if they were not entirely clad in skins instead of our stuffs, which would be quickly torn to pieces.

These rocky lands are intersected by numerous rivers; some of these, of considerable volume, discharge their waters into the sea, and at their mouths form spacious harbors for the reception of barques.

Game is abundant in this area, but it comprises only sea-birds; their flesh is disagreeable to the palate, for it has an oily flavor that is unbearable. In that vicinity could be carried on an extensive fishery of salmon, codfish, seals, -- and even whales, which are found in abundance and of great size, -- in a fine and large bay, in which they could easily be taken. These two kinds of fish, whales and seals, could supply a great commerce in oil, if it were undertaken in the right way.

As the Indians of that coast are friendly and desirous of being instructed, Father Louis Nicolas, about the end of spring, made the beginning of that Mission. It is, correctly speaking, only an attempt; for the Father went mainly to ascertain how he ought to go to work, to labor efficaciously for the salvation of those peoples.

He baptized some children there, and performed the duties of a missionary toward the others, during the short time that he spent there.

The scurvy, which severely tried the French who wintered in that country, and even caused two of them to die, has compelled them, and the missionary also, to leave it as soon as possible. But he promised the Indians that next spring he would return to them, so he could fully instruct them.

If one could push farther into those northern regions, one would find still other nations -- more untamed than are these, as well as the other Indian peoples of this new world.

MEMORANDUM FOR A MISSIONARY WHO WILL GO TO THE 7 ISLANDS, WHICH THE INDIANS CALL MANISOUNAGOUCH, OR, PROPERLY, MANSOUNOK. 1673

HE will Find there next spring, at various times, about 150 persons, both adults and children, He will probably see all these -- and perhaps others, who will come from the Interior or from the shores of the sea. From above, he can have only the Papinachois Innu; from below, the Oumamiwek Innu, who are a nation of Eskimo, and even the Eskimo may come. All these nations speak nearly the same tongue. The foundation of their language is Innu; it is different from that of the people who come to Tadoussac and Chicoutimi and to Pigwagami. To understand them correctly, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of Innu.

Those whom I saw, to the number of 26, during the 3 days that I spent in their country, appeared to me good and quite pliable. They wish to pray, and complain that, at the most, they only see the Fathers for 2 or 3 nights.

Those who are farther down than the 7 Islands are less sociable, for they have Never associated with the French or Europeans. They have, however, gentle natures. Despite this, they destroyed a European ship; and that because of a quarrel after drinking, and the defeat of some of their people, whom the Europeans had first attacked and killed.

The entire sea-coast is of frightful aspect. There is not even the space of a drying-ground of Soil; it is all rocks, covered with small trees of spruce and Fir, -- save the little Birch, not one beautiful tree. There is no end to game, all marine birds, -- which, to speak Frankly, stink of oil.

There are Many small rivers, and some large ones where there are Beautiful harbors, into which the little ships enter with considerable difficulty when the winds are not favorable. All along the coast, seals are to be seen, upon which the Indians live during the entire summer.

The French can make a great deal of oil from the seals that the Indians kill, and from the codfish that they themselves will catch in abundance in a large Bay on this side of the 7 islands, opposite the river St. Eustache and a little beyond Kawi, which is the end of the bay in returning to Quebec. In this Bay, there is a great abundance of Whales, large and small. If the French could find the secret of catching these, they could furnish oil, and therefore carry on a Fine trade with Europe.

A missionary would Easily obtain Opportunity to instruct the Indians of all these coasts, if the French conducted fisheries there, especially for Whales, or else for seals, -- or, at least, for salmon, which abound here in various rivers, especially in what the Indians call Chimanibit, which is opposite the 7 islands. There is nothing for the French or for a missionary to do in the winter, because the Indians go about in too small bands, and do not have Much hunting. Besides, the woods are hard to pass through, on account of the density of the trees, although these are small; all French clothes are torn in them. On this account, the Indians will wear nothing but skins, because, the forests being dense, the hunters, in less than a Day, tear all the stuffs that the French Sell them.

Louis Nicolas.

LETTER OF FATHER CLAUDE DABLON, SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS OF CANADA AND RECTOR OF QUEBEC, TO REVEREND FATHER PINETTE, PROVINCIAL OF FRANCE. QUEBEC, THE 24TH OF OCTOBER, 1674.

Reverend Father,

To begin at the North, you know that Father Charles Albanel started a year ago on a second voyage to the Northern sea, to minister to many Christians whom he baptized there, and to increase their number. He wintered on the road at a place over 250 miles from here, but with great suffering. For, in addition to famine and the other hardships which usually accompany such winterings, -- after having consumed all the provisions that he had brought, making use of them to win and to retain his Indians; after having slept for a long while on the ground without being able to stir, owing to an unfortunate fall, -- he was abandoned by the Indians who were to guide, and by the French who were to accompany him. Despite all this, when he learned that the English also had proceeded by sea to the place where he was going; that they had fortified themselves there, and threatened to kill him if he ventured there, -- despite all this, that noble missionary, who is over sixty years of age and is quite worn out by his former labors -- and by the fatigues of his last voyage -- continued his journey.

After the successful attempts made, two years ago, by Father Albanel to secure easier access to the Northern sea, fresh enterprises were expected on our part for the discovery of the Southern sea. This was done this year by Father Marquette, who, after extending his journey to the 33rd degree of latitude, came back safely last spring. He regards it as certain that, after descending for several days the great river that he discovered, he arrived in Florida; and that, if he had continued to descend 100 or 125 miles farther, he would have reached the gulf of Mexico.

Since his return, that Father has remained in the country of the Ottawas that he may be fully prepared to establish Missions among the Illinois, the nearest and the most docile of the tribes that he has discovered. Should he not return to them this year, it will be because we must not abandon those whom we have begun to instruct.

Our other missionaries among the Ottawas labor holily and usefully, each in his Mission. Within a year, they have baptized more than five hundred infidels; and this summer, Father Bailloquet alone baptized in two months a hundred children and some adults, fully one-half of whom are sure of paradise. He gathered this harvest while the Indians with whom he was were gathering that of certain small blue fruits, on which they and the Father lived during those two months.

We have among the Ottawas three residences, or three permanent dwellings, where we regularly live, and to which the Fathers who labor in those Missions repair from time to time, to take breath for a while. The first is situated at the end of Green Bay, and is called the Mission of Saint Francois Xavier. To this house are attached: Father Allouez, Father Marquette, and Father Louis Andre. This year, Father Silvy was sent to their assistance, with one of our lay Brothers, who was to take charge of that house as regards worldly matters. The Fathers hardly ever remain there, for they are all engaged in the Missions, to which they devote all their time.

The second house is near lake Huron, at the place where the Mission of Saint Ignace is situated, where Hurons and Algonquins are gathered together. Father Philippe Pierson has charge of the former.

The third house is that of Sault Ste. Marie, where Father Henri Nouvel, the superior of all these Missions, habitually resides. Father Gabriel Druillettes also resides there; his great age and his infirmities do not diminish his fervor. Father Bailloquet also proceeds there, from time to time; but, as a rule, he lives with the Algonquins of lakes Huron and Nipissing. He it is who lived for two months this summer, with more than a thousand Indians, on small fruits here called blueberries, which grow only on rocks or in rocky soil. We have also at Saint Marie one of our lay Brothers; he has worldly charge of that house, which was burned a second time because of a bloody affray, in which over forty Indians cruelly slaughtered one another. It is a wonder that two of our Jesuits, who were there, were not included in that butchery.

We now cast our eyes upon the East, -- I mean Acadia, where Father Jean Pierron spent the winter. He did so, to assist the French, whose spiritual welfare had long been neglected; but still more to ascertain whether it would be possible to establish Missions for the Indians there. While wintering there, he took a favorable opportunity, and went through all of New England, Maryland, and Virginia, where he found nothing but desolation and abomination among the heretics, who will not even baptize the children, and still less the adults. He saw persons 30 and 40 years old, and even as many as ten and twelve persons in a single house, who had not received baptism. He had some conferences with the ministers of Boston (the capital of New England), where he was esteemed, and where he is still spoken of with honor. Although he was disguised, it was still suspected that he was a Jesuit, owing to the unusual knowledge that he displayed. For that reason, he was cited before the Parliament, but he did not appear before it.

In Maryland, he found two of our Fathers and a Brother, who are English, the Fathers being dressed like gentlemen, and the Brother like a farmer; in fact, he has charge of a farm, which serves to support the two missionaries. They labor successfully for the reduction of the heretics of the country, where there are many Catholics, among others the governor. As these two Fathers alone do not suffice, Father Pierron cheerfully offers to go and assist them, and at the same time to establish a Mission among the neighboring Indians, with whose language he is familiar. But there are many obstacles to this project, which seems impossible to execute because it is a Mission belonging to our English Fathers, who should themselves ask for Father Pierron's aid; because it is within another Jesuit order, and the Father does not wish to leave that of France; and finally, because a considerable sum is needed to commence and carry out the project. Meanwhile, Father Pierron has returned to the Mission among the Iroquois. Since we are speaking of the Iroquois, you will be glad to hear a word about the missionaries of that country.

Father Jacques Bruyas, the superior, usually resides at Mohawk, where he has had much to suffer from the Dutch, who are the neighbors of that village. He has even been compelled to hide, to save himself from the evil plans which those heretics have toward him. However, it seems that this opposition has served but to touch still more deeply the hearts of the Indians, who are being converted in greater numbers than ever; and the most notable man among them was recently baptized, and publicly renounced his superstitions.

In the nearest village, Oneida, dwells Father Millet; the Indians of that village, who were the most arrogant and the most averse to the Faith, have become the most pliable, and all ask to become Christians.

Then comes the village of Onondaga whose apostle is Father Jean de Lamberville.

Farther on is the village of Cayuga, where Father de Carheil resides. He does not find that the Indians respond to his efforts; but I think that he exacts too much virtue from them at the beginning.

Fathers Garnier and Raffeix, in the villages of the Senecas, are the farthest from us, and who also seem to be as remote from the Faith. Father Pierron has gone to join them, to take charge of a large village for which we have until now been unable to provide. I must here mention in confidence something about that Father. Before leaving us to return among the Iroquois, -- for whom he has a great natural repugnance, which he bravely overcomes, -- he came to me and asked for permission to make two vows: the first, ever to comply unquestioningly with the orders of his superiors, and never propose anything contrary to them; the second, to bind himself never to return to France, or to secure that privilege in any way. I would not permit the former, but I allowed the latter. He afterward thanked me for firmly adhering to my intention of sending him among the Iroquois, because in that I had acted against his own feelings.

I must not forget to say something about the Tadoussac mission in which Father de Crepieul labors summer and winter. He came here on last Assumption day, for he preferred to postpone it until then, rather than lose the opportunity of wintering among his beloved Indians. He falls ill when I recall him here to rest for a little while; and no sooner has he returned to the labors of his mission, than he is restored to health. He asked me to allow him to go himself this year to tribes distant from here, named Mistassini Innu. He is preparing for this at present; and as he is also asked for by two other tribes, he will go and instruct them during the summer.

We have two other Churches near us. One is that of La Prairie, Quebec, near Montreal; the fervor, piety, and other Christian virtues of the inhabitants are the admiration of both French and Indians. In fact, they are ably governed by Father Jacques Fremin.

The other Church is that of the Hurons near Quebec, under the direction of Father Chaumonot. We are finishing the construction of a Church for these good Hurons, under the name of Notre Dame de Lorette. It is exactly the same as that in Italy, and will become a place of great devotion in the country; in fact, the people already come to it on pilgrimages from all parts, and they are delighted to see the holy chimney, the window through which the angel entered, the Virgin's cupboards, and all that is to be seen in the holy house of Our Lady of Loretto in Italy.

Claude Dablon

YEAR 1675
THE FIRST VOYAGE MADE BY FATHER MARQUETTE TOWARD NEW MEXICO, AND HOW THE IDEA OF THAT WAS CONCEIVED. 1675.

In 1673, The Count De Frontenac, Our Governor, and Sir Talon, then Our Intendant, Recognizing The Importance of this discovery, -- either that they might seek a passage from here to the sea of China, by the river that discharges into the Vermilion Sea, or Gulf of California; or because they desired to verify what has been said concerning the 2 Kingdoms of Theguaio And Quiuira (New Mexico and Texas?), which Border on Canada, and in which numerous gold mines are reported to exist, -- these Gentlemen appointed for This undertaking Sir Joliet; and they were well pleased that Father Marquette should be of the group.

They were not mistaken in the choice that they made of Sir Joliet, For he is a young man, born in this country, who possesses all the qualifications for such an undertaking. He has experience and Knows the Languages spoken in the Country of the Ottawas, where he has passed several years. He possesses Tact and prudence, which are the chief qualities necessary for the success of a voyage as dangerous as it is difficult. Finally, he has the Courage to dread nothing where everything is to be Feared.

Consequently, he has fulfilled all The expectations of him; and if, after having passed through a thousand dangers, he had not unfortunately been wrecked in the harbor, his Canoe having overturned below Lachine Rapids, near Montreal, -- where he lost both his men and his papers, and from where he escaped only by a sort of Miracle, -- nothing would have been left to be desired in the success of his Voyage.

DEPARTURE OF FATHER JACQUES MARQUETTE FOR THE DISCOVERY OF THE GREAT RIVER CALLED BY THE INDIANS MISSISSIPPI, WHICH LEADS TO NEW MEXICO.

THE feast of The IMMACULATE CONCEPTION of the BLESSED VIRGIN -- whom I have always Invoked since I have been in this country of the Ottawas, to be able to visit the Nations who dwell along the Mississippi River -- was the Day on which Sir Joliet arrived with orders from the Count de frontenac, Our Governor, and Sir Talon, Our Intendant, to accomplish This discovery with me. I was delighted at This good news, especially since the Illinois had urgently requested me, when I was at the point of st. Esprit, to come to Their country.

We were not long in preparing all our Equipment, although we were about to Begin a voyage, the duration of which we could not foresee. Indian Corn, with some smoked meat, constituted all our provisions; with these we Embarked -- Sir Joliet and myself, with 5 men -- in 2 Bark Canoes.

On The 17th day of May, 1673, we started from the Mission of st. Ignace at Mackinac, where I Then was. The Joy that we felt at being selected for This Expedition rendered the labor of paddling from morning to night agreeable to us. And because We were going to seek Unknown countries, We took every precaution in our power, so that, if our Undertaking were hazardous, it should not be foolhardy. And so we obtained all the Information that we could from the Indians who had frequented those regions; and we even traced out from their reports a Map of the whole of that New country; on it we indicated the rivers which we were to navigate, the names of the peoples and of the places through which we were to pass, the Course of the great River, and the direction we were to follow when we reached it.

Above all, I promised the Blessed Virgin that if she allowed us to discover the great River, I would give it The Name of the Conception, and that I would also make the first Mission that I should establish among Those New peoples, bear the same name. This I have done, among the Illinois.

THE FATHER VISITS, IN PASSING, THE TRIBES OF THE WILD RICE (MENOMINEE). WHAT THAT WILD RICE IS. HE ENTERS GREEN BAY; SOME DETAILS ABOUT THAT BAY. HE ARRIVES AMONG THE MASCOUTEN.

WITH all these precautions, we plied our paddles on a portion of Lake Huron, on That of Lake Michigan and on Green Bay.

The first Nation that we came to was That of the Menominees. I entered Their river, to go and visit these peoples to whom we have preached The Gospel for several years, -- in consequence of which, there are several good Christians among Them. The wild rice (Menominees), whose name they bear because it is found in their country, is a sort of grass, which grows naturally in the small Rivers with muddy bottoms, and in Swampy Places. It resembles the wild rice that Grow amid our wheat. The ears grow upon hollow stems, jointed at Intervals; they emerge from the Water about June, and continue growing until they rise About two feet above it. The grain is not larger than That of our oats, but it is twice as long, and The meal is more abundant. The Indians Gather and prepare it for food as Follows. In September, which is the suitable time for The harvest, they go in Canoes through These fields of wild rice; they shake its Ears into the Canoe, on both sides, as they pass through. The grain falls out easily, if it be ripe, and they obtain their supply In a short time. But, to clean it from the straw, and to remove it from a husk in which it is Enclosed, they dry it in the smoke, upon a wooden grating, under which they maintain a slow fire for some Days. When The oats are thoroughly dry, they put them in a skin made into a bag, thrust It into a hole dug in the ground for This purpose, and tread it with their feet -- so long and so vigorously that The grain separates from the straw, and is easily winnowed. After this, they pound it to reduce it to flour, -- or even, without pounding it, they Boil it in water, and season it with fat. Cooked in This fashion, The wild rice have almost as delicate a taste as rice has when no better seasoning is added.

I told these Menominees of My plan to go and discover Those Remote nations, to Teach them the Mysteries of Our Holy Religion. They were surprised to hear it, and did their best to dissuade me. They told me that I would meet Nations who never show mercy to Strangers, but Break Their heads without any cause; and that war was kindled Between Various peoples who dwelt upon our Route, which Exposed us to the further manifest danger of being killed by the bands of Warriors who are ever in the Field. They also said that the great River was dangerous, when one does not know the difficult Places; that it was full of horrible monsters, which devoured men and Canoes Together; that there was even a demon, who was heard from a great distance, who barred the way, and swallowed up all who ventured to approach him; Finally that the Heat was so excessive In those countries that it would Inevitably Cause Our death.

I thanked them for the good advice that they gave me, but told them that I could not follow it, because the salvation of souls was at stake, for which I would be delighted to give my life; that I scoffed at the alleged demon; that we would easily defend ourselves against those marine monsters; and that We would be on our guard to avoid the other dangers with which they threatened us. After making them pray, and giving them some Instruction, I separated from them. Embarking then in our Canoes, We arrived shortly afterward at the bottom of Green Bay, where our Fathers labor successfully for the Conversion of these peoples, over two thousand of whom they have baptized while they have been there.

This bay (Green Bay) bears a Name which has a meaning not so offensive in the language of the Indians; For they call it la Bay salle ("salt bay") rather than Bay des Puans ("stinkard bay"), -- although, with Them this is almost the same and this is also The name which they give to the Sea. This led us to make careful researches to ascertain whether there were not some salt-Water springs in this area, As there are among the Iroquois, but we found none. We conclude, therefore, that This name has been given to it on account of the quantity of mire and Mud which is seen there, from where noisome vapors Constantly arise, Causing the loudest and most Continual Thunder that I have ever heard.

The Bay is about 75 miles in length and 20 miles in width at its Mouth; it narrows gradually to the bottom, where it is easy to observe a tide which has its regular ebb and flow, almost Like That of the Sea. This is not the place to inquire whether these are real tides; whether they are Due to the wind, or to some other cause; whether there are winds, The precursors of the Moon and attached to her suite, which consequently agitate the lake and give it an apparent ebb and flow whenever the Moon ascends above the horizon. What I can Positively state is that when the water is Calm, it is easy to observe it rising and falling according to the Course of the moon; although I do not deny that This movement may be Caused by Remote Winds, which, pressing on the middle of the lake, cause the edges to Rise and fall in the manner which is visible to our eyes.

We left This bay to enter the river that discharges into it; it is beautiful at its Mouth, and flows gently; it is full Of Canadian geese, Ducks, Teal, and other birds, attracted there by the wild rice, of which they are fond. But, after ascending the river a short distance, it becomes difficult of passage, on account of both the Currents and the sharp Rocks, which Cut the Canoes and the feet of Those who have to drag them, especially when the Waters are low. Still, we successfully passed Those rapids; and on approaching Mascouten, the fire Nation, I had the Curiosity to drink the mineral Waters of the River that is not Far from That village.

I also took time to look for a medicinal plant, which an Indian, who knows its secret, showed to Father Allouez with many Ceremonies. Its root is employed to Counteract snake-bites, a poison which is common in these countries. It is pungent, and tastes like powder when crushed with the teeth; it must be chewed and placed upon the bite inflicted by the snake. The reptile has so great a horror of it that it even flees from a Person who has rubbed himself with it. The plant bears several stalks, a foot high, with rather long leaves; and a white flower, which resembles The wallflower. I put some in my Canoe, to examine it at leisure while we continued to advance toward Mascouten, where we arrived on The 7th of June.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VILLAGE OF MASCOUTEN; WHAT PASSED THERE BETWEEN THE FATHER AND THE INDIANS. THE FRENCH BEGIN TO ENTER A NEW AND UNKNOWN COUNTRY, AND ARRIVE AT MISSISSIPPI.

HERE we are at Mascouten. This Word may, in Algonquin, mean "the fire Nation," -- which is the name given to this tribe. Here is the limit of the discoveries which the French have made, For they have not yet gone any farther.

This Village Consists of three Nations who have gathered there -- Miamis, Mascoutens, and Kickapoos. The Miamis are the most civil, the most liberal, and the most shapely. They wear two long locks over their ears, which give them a pleasing appearance. They are regarded as warriors, and rarely undertake expeditions without being successful. They are docile, and listen quietly to What is said to Them; and they appeared so eager to Hear Father Allouez when he Instructed them that they gave Him little rest, even during the night.

The Mascoutens and Kickapoos are ruder, and seem peasants in Comparison with the others.

As Bark for making Cabins is scarce in this country, They use Rushes; these serve Them for making walls and Roofs, but do not afford them much protection against the winds, and still less against the rains when they fall abundantly. The Advantage of Cabins of this kind is that they make packages of Them, and easily transport them wherever they wish, while they are hunting.

When I visited them, I was Consoled at seeing a handsome Cross erected in the middle of the village, and adorned with many white skins, red Belts, and bows and arrows, which these good people had offered to the great Manitou (This is the name which they give to God). They did this to thank him for having had pity On Them during The winter, by giving Them an abundance of game When they Most dreaded famine.

I took pleasure in observing the location of this village. It is beautiful and pleasing; For, from an Eminence upon which it is placed, one sees on every side prairies, extending farther than the eye can see, interspersed with groves or with lofty trees. The soil is fertile, and yields much Indian corn. The Indians gather quantities of plums and grapes, with which much wine could be made, if desired.

No sooner had we arrived than we, Sir Joliet and I, assembled the elders together; and he told them that he was sent by our Governor to discover New countries, while I was sent by God to Illumine them with the light of the holy Gospel. He told them that The sovereign Master of our lives wished to be known by all the Nations; and that in obeying his will I feared not the death to which I exposed myself in voyages so perilous. He informed them that we needed two guides to show us the way; and We gave them a present, by it asking them to grant us the guides. To this they Civilly consented; and they also spoke to us by means of a present, consisting of a Mat to serve us as a bed during all of our voyage.

On the following day, the tenth of June, two Miamis, who were given us as guides, embarked with us, in the sight of a great crowd, who could not sufficiently express their astonishment at the sight of seven Frenchmen, alone and in two Canoes, daring to undertake so extraordinary and so hazardous an Expedition.

We knew that, at 7 miles from Mascouten, was a River which discharged into the Mississippi. We knew also that the direction we were to follow to reach it was west-southwesterly. But the road is broken by so many swamps and small lakes that it is easy to lose one's way, especially since the River leading there is so full of wild rice that it is difficult to find the Channel. For this reason we needed our two guides, who safely Conducted us to a portage of 2,200 yards, and helped us to transport our Canoes to enter That river; after which they returned home, leaving us alone in this Unknown country.

Thus we left the Waters flowing to Quebec, 1000 or 1250 miles from here, to float on Those that would from then on Take us through strange lands. After mutually encouraging one another, we entered our Canoes.

The River on which we embarked is called the Wisconsin River. It is wide; it has a sandy bottom, which forms various shoals that render its navigation difficult. It is full of Islands Covered with Vines. On the banks one sees fertile land, diversified with woods, prairies, and Hills. There are oak, Walnut, and basswood trees; and another kind, whose branches are armed with long thorns. We saw there neither feathered game nor fish, but many deer, and a large number of cattle. Our Route lay to the southwest, and, after navigating about 75 miles, we saw a spot presenting all the appearances of an iron mine; and one of our group who had formerly seen such mines, assures us that The One which We found is good and rich. It is Covered with three feet of good soil, and is quite near a chain of rocks, the base of which is covered by fine trees. After proceeding 100 miles on This same route, we arrived at the mouth of our River; and at 42 and a half degrees Of latitude, We safely entered the Mississippi on The 17th of June, with a Joy that I cannot Express.

THE GREAT RIVER CALLED MISSISSIPPI; ITS MOST NOTABLE FEATURES; OF VARIOUS ANIMALS, AND ESPECIALLY THE PISIKIOUS OR BISON, THEIR SHAPE AND NATURE; OF THE FIRST VILLAGES OF THE ILLINOIS, WHERE THE FRENCH ARRIVED

HERE we are, on this so renowned River, all of whose peculiar features I have attempted to note carefully. The Mississippi River takes its rise in various lakes in the country of the Northern nations. It is narrow at the place where the Wisconsin River empties; its Current, which flows southward, is slow and gentle. To the right is a large Chain of high Mountains, and to the left are beautiful lands; in various Places, the stream is Divided by Islands. On sounding, we found twenty yards of Water. Its Width is unequal; sometimes it is 2 miles, and sometimes it narrows to 200 yards.

We gently followed its Course, which runs toward the south and southeast, as far as the 42nd degree of Latitude. Here we plainly saw that its aspect was completely changed. There are hardly any woods or mountains; The Islands are more beautiful, and are Covered with finer trees. We saw only deer and cattle, Canadian geese, and Swans without wings, because they drop Their plumage in This country. From time to time, we came upon monstrous fish, one of which struck our Canoe with such violence that I Thought that it was a great tree, about to break the Canoe to pieces. On another occasion, we saw on The water a monster with the head of a tiger, a sharp nose Like That of a wildcat, with whiskers and straight, Erect ears; The head was gray and The Neck quite black; but We saw no more creatures of this sort. When we cast our nets into the water, we caught Sturgeon, and a extraordinary Kind of fish. It resembles the trout, with This difference, that its mouth is larger. Near its nose -- which is smaller, as are also the eyes -- is a large Bone shaped Like a woman's busk, three fingers wide and 18 inches long, at the end of which is a disk as Wide As one's hand. This frequently causes it to fall backward when it leaps out of the water.

When we reached the parallel of 41 degrees 28 minutes, following The same direction, we found that Turkeys had taken the place of game; and the pisikious (bison), or wild cattle, that of the other animals. We call them "wild cattle," because they are similar to our domestic cattle. They are not longer, but are nearly twice as large, and more Corpulent. When Our people killed one, three persons had much difficulty in moving it. The head is large; The forehead is flat, and a foot and a half Wide between the Horns, which are exactly like Those of our oxen, but black and much larger. Under the Neck They have a Sort of large dewlap, which hangs down; and on The back is a rather high hump. all of the head, The Neck, and a portion of the Shoulders, are Covered with a thick Mane Like That of horses; It forms a crest a foot long, which makes them hideous, and, falling over their eyes, Prevents them from seeing what is before Them. The remainder of the Body is covered with a heavy coat of curly hair, almost Like That of our sheep, but much stronger and Thicker. It falls off in Summer, and The skin becomes as soft As Velvet. At that season, the Indians Use the hides for making fine Robes, which they paint in various Colors. The flesh and the fat of the bison are Excellent, and constitute the best dish at feasts.

Besides, the bison are fierce; not a year passes without their killing some Indians. When attacked, they catch a man on their Horns, if they can, toss Him in the air, and then throw him on the ground, after which they trample him under foot, and kill him. If a person fire at Them from a distance, with either a bow or a gun, he must, immediately after the Shot, throw himself down and hide in the grass; For if they see Him who has fired, they Run at him, and attack him. As their legs are thick and rather Short, they do not run fast, except when angry. They are scattered about the prairie in herds; I have seen one of 400.

We continued to advance, but, As we did not know where we were going, -- for we had proceeded over 250 miles without discovering anything except animals and birds, -- we kept well on our guard. On this account, we make only a small fire on land, toward evening, to cook our meals; and after supper, we remove Ourselves as far from it as possible, and pass the night in our Canoes, which we anchor in the river at some distance from the shore. This does not prevent us from always posting one of the group as a sentinel, for fear of a surprise. Proceeding still in a southerly and south-southwesterly direction, we find ourselves at the parallel of 41 degrees, and as low as 40 degrees and some minutes, -- partly southeast and partly southwest, -- after having advanced over 150 miles since We Entered the River, without discovering anything.

Finally, on the 25th of June, we perceived on the water's edge some tracks of men, and a narrow and somewhat beaten path leading to a fine prairie. We stopped to Examine it; and thinking that it was a road which Led to some village of Indians, We decided to go and reconnoiter it. We therefore left our two Canoes under the guard of our people, strictly charging Them not to allow themselves to be surprised, after which Sir Joliet and I undertook this investigation -- a rather hazardous one for two men who exposed themselves, alone, to the mercy of a barbarous and Unknown people. We silently followed The narrow path, and, after walking About 5 miles, We discovered a village on the bank of a river, and two others on a Hill distant about a mile from the first.

Then we Heartily commended ourselves to God, and, after imploring his aid, we went farther without being perceived, and approached so near that we could even hear the Indians talking. We therefore Decided that it was time to reveal ourselves. This We did by Shouting with all Our energy, and stopped, without advancing any farther. On hearing the shout, the Indians quickly emerged from their Cabins, And having probably recognized us as Frenchmen, especially when they saw a black gown, -- or, at least, having no cause for distrust, as we were only two men, and had given them notice of our arrival, -- they appointed four old men to come and speak to us. Two of these bore tobacco-pipes, finely ornamented and Adorned with various feathers. They walked slowly, and raised their pipes toward the sun, seemingly offering them to it to smoke, -- without, however, saying a word. They spent a rather long time in covering the short distance between their village and us. Finally, when they had drawn near, they stopped to Consider us attentively. I was reassured when I observed these Ceremonies, which with them are performed only among friends; and much more so when I saw them clad in Cloth, for I judged that they were our allies. I therefore spoke to them first, and asked them who they were. They replied that they were Illinois; and as a token of peace, they offered us their pipes to smoke. They afterward invited us to enter their Village, where all the people impatiently awaited us.

These pipes for smoking tobacco are called in this country Calumets. This word has come so much into use that, to be understood, I shall be compelled to use it, as I shall often have to mention these pipes.

HOW THE ILLINOIS RECEIVED THE FATHER IN THEIR VILLAGE.

AT the Door of the Cabin in which we were to be received was an old man, who awaited us in a rather surprising attitude, which constitutes a part of the Ceremony that they observe when they receive Strangers. This man stood erect, and stark naked, with his hands extended and lifted toward the sun, as if he wished to protect himself from its rays, which still shone upon his face through his fingers. When we came near him, he paid us This Compliment: "How beautiful the sun is, O Frenchman, when you come to visit us! All our village awaits you, and you will enter all our Cabins in peace." Having said this, he made us enter his own, in which were a crowd of people; they devoured us with their eyes, but observed profound silence. We could, however, hear these words, which were spoken to us from time to time in a low voice: "How good it is that you should visit us."

After We had taken our places, the usual Civility of the country was paid to us, which consisted in offering us the Calumet (tobacco pipe). This must not be refused, unless one wishes to be considered an Enemy, or at least uncivil; it suffices that one make a pretense of smoking. While all the elders smoked after us, to do us honor, we received an invitation on behalf of the great Captain of all the Illinois to proceed to his Village where he wished to hold a Council with us. We went there in a large Company, For all these people, who had never seen any Frenchmen among Them, could not cease looking at us. They Lay on The grass along the road; they preceded us, and then retraced their steps to come and see us Again. All this was done noiselessly, and with marks of great respect for us.

When we reached the Village of the great Captain, We saw him at the entrance of his Cabin, between two old men, -- all three erect and naked, and holding their Calumet (tobacco pipe) turned toward the sun. He addressed us, congratulating us upon our arrival. He afterward offered us his Calumet, and made us smoke while we entered his Cabin, where we received all their usual kind Attentions.

Seeing all assembled and silent, I spoke to them by four presents that I gave them. By the first, I told them that we were journeying peacefully to visit the nations dwelling on the River as far as the Sea. By the second, I announced to them that God had pity on Them, as, after they had so long been ignorant of him, he wished to make himself Known to all the peoples; that I was Sent by him for that purpose; and that it was for Them to acknowledge and obey him. By the third, I said that the great Captain of the French informed them that he it was who restored peace everywhere; and that he had subdued The Iroquois. Finally, by the fourth, we asked them to give us all The Information that they had about the Sea, and about the Nations through Whom we must pass to reach it.

When I had finished my speech, the Captain arose, and, resting His hand upon the head of a little Slave whom he wished to give us, he spoke therefore: "I thank you, Black Gown, and you, O Frenchman," speaking to Sir Joliet, "for having taken so much trouble to come to visit us. Never has the earth been so beautiful, or the sun so Bright, as today; Never has our river been so Calm, or so clear of rocks, which your canoes have Removed in passing: never has our tobacco tasted so good, or our corn appeared so fine, as We now see Them. Here is my son, whom I give you to Show you my Heart. I beg you to have pity on me, and on all my Nation. It is you who know the great Spirit who has made us all. It is you who speaks To Him, and who hear his word. Beg Him to give; me life and health, and to come and dwell with us to make us Know him." Having said this, he placed the little Slave near us, and gave us a second present, consisting of a mysterious Calumet (tobacco pipe), upon which they place more value than upon a Slave. By this gift, he expressed to us The esteem that he had for our Governor, from the account which we had given of him; and by a third, he asked us on behalf of all his Nation not to go farther, on account of the great dangers to which we Exposed ourselves.

I replied that I Feared not death. This is what these poor people cannot Understand.

The Council was followed by a great feast, Consisting of four dishes, which had to be partaken of in accordance with all their fashions. The first course was a great wooden platter full of sagamite, -- that is, meal of Indian corn boiled in water, and seasoned with fat. The Master of Ceremonies filled a Spoon with sagamite three or 4 times, and put it to my mouth As if I were a little Child. He did The same to Sir Joliet. As a second course, he caused a second platter to be brought, on which were three fish. He took some pieces of them, removed the bones, and, after blowing upon them to cool Them, he put them in our mouths As one would give food to a bird. For the third course, they brought a large dog that had just been killed; but, when they learned that we did not eat this meat, they removed it from before us. Finally, the 4th course was a piece of bison, The fattest morsels of which were placed in our mouths.

After this feast, we had to go to visit the whole village, which Consists of fully 300 Cabins. While we walked through the Streets, an orator Continually spoke to oblige all the people to come to see us without Annoying us. Everywhere we were presented with Belts, garters, and other articles made of the hair of bears and cattle, dyed red, Yellow, and gray. These are all the rarities they possess. As they are of no great Value, we did not burden ourselves with Them.

We Slept in the Captain's Cabin, and on the following day we took Leave of him, promising to pass again by his village, within four moons. He Conducted us to our Canoes, with nearly 600 persons who witnessed our Embarkation, giving us every possible sign of the joy that Our visit had caused them. I promised, on bidding them goodbye, that I would come the following year, and reside with Them to instruct them. But, before quitting the Illinois country, it is proper that I should relate what I observed of their Customs and practices.

THE CHARACTER OF THE ILLINOIS; OF THEIR HABITS AND CUSTOMS; AND THE ESTEEM THAT THEY HAVE FOR THE CALUMET, OR TOBACCO-PIPE, AND THE DANCE THEY PERFORM IN ITS HONOR.

WHEN one speaks the word "Illinois," it is as if one said in their language, "the men," -- As if the other Indians were looked upon by them merely as animals. It must also be admitted that they have an air of humanity which we have not observed in the other nations that we have seen upon our route.

They are divided into many villages, some of which are quite distant from that of which we speak, which is called Peoria. This causes some difference in their language, which, on the whole, resembles Algonquin, so that we easily understood each other. They are of a gentle disposition; we Experienced this in the reception which they gave us. They have several wives, of whom they are Extremely jealous; they watch them closely, and Cut off Their noses or ears when they misbehave. I saw several women who bore the marks of their misconduct. Their Bodies are shapely; they are active and skillful with bows and arrows. They also use guns, which they buy from our Indian allies who Trade with our French. They use them especially to inspire, through their noise and smoke, terror in their Enemies; their Enemies do not use guns, and have never seen any, since they live too Far toward the West. They are warlike, and make themselves dreaded by the Distant tribes to the south and west, where they go to procure Slaves; these they barter, selling them at a high price to other Nations, in exchange for other Wares. Those Distant Indians against whom they war have no Knowledge of Europeans; neither do they know anything of iron, or of Copper, and they have only stone Knives.

When the Illinois depart to go to war, the whole village must be notified by a loud Shout, which is uttered at the doors of their Cabins, the night and The Morning before their departure. The Captains are distinguished from the warriors by wearing red Scarfs. These are made, with considerable Skill, from the Hair of bears and bison. They paint their faces with red ocher, great quantities of which are found at a distance of some days' journey from the village. They live by hunting, game being plentiful in that country, and on Indian corn, of which they always have a good crop; consequently, they have never suffered from famine. They also sow beans and melons, which are Excellent, especially those that have red seeds. Their Squashes are not the best; they dry them in the sun, to eat them during The winter and the spring. Their Cabins are large, and are Roofed and floored with mats made of Rushes. They make all Their utensils of wood, and Their Ladles out of the heads of cattle, whose Skulls they know so well how to prepare that they use these ladles with ease for eating their sagamite.

They are liberal in cases of illness, and Think that the effect of the medicines administered to them is in proportion to the presents given to the physician. Their garments consist only of skins; the women are always clad modestly, while the men do not take the trouble to Cover themselves. I do not know through what superstition some Illinois, as well as some Sioux, while still young, assume the garb of women, and retain it throughout their lives. There is some mystery in this, For they never marry and glory in demeaning themselves to do everything that the women do. They go to war, however, but can use only clubs, and not bows and arrows, which are the weapons proper to men. They are present at all the trickeries, and at the solemn dances in honor of the Calumet (tobacco pipe); at these they sing, but must not dance. They are summoned to the Councils, and nothing can be decided without their advice. Finally, through their profession of leading an Extraordinary life, they pass for Manitous, -- that is, for Spirits, -- or persons of Consequence.

There is nothing more respected among them than the Calumet (tobacco pipe). Less honor is paid to the Crowns and scepters of Kings than the Indians give to this. It seems to be the God of peace and of war, the Arbiter of life and of death. It has but to be carried upon one's person, and displayed, to enable one to walk safely through the midst of Enemies -- who, in the hottest of the Fight, lay down Their arms when it is shown. For That reason, the Illinois gave me one, to serve as a safeguard among all the Nations through whom I had to pass during my voyage. There is a Calumet for peace, and one for war, which are distinguished solely by the Color of the feathers with which they are adorned; Red is a sign of war. They also use it to put an end to Their disputes, to strengthen Their alliances, and to speak to Strangers.

It is fashioned from a red stone, polished like marble, and bored so that one end serves as a receptacle for the tobacco, while the other fits into the stem; this is a stick two feet long, as thick as an ordinary cane, and bored through the middle. It is ornamented with the heads and necks of various birds, whose plumage is beautiful. To these they also add large feathers, -- red, green, and other colors, -- with which the whole is adorned. They have a great regard for it, because they look upon it as the calumet of the Sun; and they offer it to the Sun to smoke when they wish to obtain a calm, or rain, or fine weather.

They hesitate to bathe themselves at the beginning of Summer, or to eat fresh fruit, until after they have performed the dance, which they do as follows:

The Calumet (tobacco pipe) dance, which is famous among these peoples, is performed solely for important reasons; sometimes to strengthen peace, or to unite themselves for some great war; at other times, for public rejoicing. Sometimes they therefore do honor to a Nation who are invited to be present; sometimes it is danced at the reception of some important person, as if they wished to give him the diversion of a Ball or a Comedy. In Winter, the ceremony takes place in a Cabin; in Summer, in the open fields. When the spot is selected, it is completely surrounded by trees, so that all may sit in the shade afforded by their leaves, to be protected from the heat of the Sun. A large mat of rushes, painted in various colors, is spread in the middle of the place, and serves as a carpet upon which to place with honor the God of the person who gives the Dance; for each has his own god, which they call their Manitou. This is a serpent, a bird, or other similar thing, of which they have dreamed while sleeping, and in which they place all their confidence for the success of their war, their fishing, and their hunting. Near this Manitou, and at its right, is placed the Calumet in honor of which the feast is given; and all around it a sort of trophy is made, and the weapons used by the warriors of those Nations are spread, namely: clubs, war-hatchets, bows, quivers, and arrows.

Everything being therefore arranged, and the hour of the Dance drawing near, those who have been appointed to sing take the most honorable place under the branches; these are the men and women who are gifted with the best voices, and who sing together in perfect harmony.

Afterward, all come to take their seats in a circle under the branches; but each one, on arriving, must salute the Manitou. This he does by inhaling the smoke, and blowing it from his mouth upon the Manitou, as if he were offering to it incense. Everyone, at the outset, takes the Calumet (tobacco pipe) in a respectful manner, and, supporting it with both hands, causes it to dance in cadence, keeping good time with the air of the songs. He makes it execute many differing figures; sometimes he shows it to the whole assembly, turning himself from one side to the other. After that, he who is to begin the Dance appears in the middle of the assembly, and at once continues this. Sometimes he offers it to the sun, as if he wished the sun to smoke it; sometimes he inclines it toward the earth; again, he makes it spread its wings, as if about to fly; at other times, he puts it near the mouths of those present, so they may smoke. The whole is done in cadence; and this is the first Scene of the Ballet.

The second consists of a Combat carried on to the sound of a kind of drum, which succeeds the songs, or even unites with them, harmonizing very well together. The Dancer makes a sign to some warrior to come to take the arms which lie upon the mat, and invites him to fight to the sound of the drums. The warrior approaches, takes up the bow and arrows, and the war-hatchet, and begins the duel with the other, whose sole defense is the Calumet (tobacco pipe).

This spectacle is pleasing, especially since all is done in cadence; for one attacks, the other defends himself; one strikes blows, the other parries them; one takes to flight, the other pursues; and then he who was fleeing faces about, and causes his adversary to flee. This is done so well -- with slow and measured steps, and to the rhythmic sound of the voices and drums -- that it might pass for a fine opening of a Ballet in France. The third Scene consists of a lofty speech, delivered by him who holds the Calumet (tobacco pipe); for, when the Combat is ended without bloodshed, he recounts the battles at which he has been present, the victories that he has won, the names of the Nations, the places, and the Captives whom he has made. And, to reward him, he who presides at the Dance makes him a present of a fine robe of Beaver-skins, or some other article. Then, having received it, he hands the Calumet to another, him to a third, and so on with all the others, until everyone has done his duty; then the President presents the Calumet itself to the Nation that has been invited to the Ceremony, as a token of the everlasting peace that is to exist between the two peoples.

Here is one of the Songs that they are in the habit of singing. They give it a certain turn which cannot be sufficiently expressed by Note, but which still constitutes all its grace: "Ninahani, ninahani, ninahani, nani ongo."

DEPARTURE OF THE FATHER FROM THE ILLINOIS; OF THE PAINTED MONSTERS WHICH HE SAW UPON THE GREAT RIVER MISSISSIPPI; OF THE RIVER MISSOURI. CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE.

WE take leave of our Illinois at the end of June, about three o'clock in the afternoon. We embark in the sight of all the people, who admire our little Canoes, for they have never seen any like them.

We descend, following the current of the river called Missouri, which discharges into the Mississippi, flowing from the Northwest. I shall have something important to say about it, when I shall have related all that I observed along this river.

While passing near the rather high rocks that line the river, I noticed a simple which seemed to me Extraordinary. The root is like small turnips fastened together by little filaments, which taste like carrots. From this root springs a leaf as wide As one's hand, and half a finger thick, with spots. From the middle of this leaf spring other leaves, resembling the sconces used for candles in our halls; and each leaf bears Five or six yellow flowers shaped like little Bells.

We found quantities of mulberries, as large as Those of France; and a small fruit which we at first took for olives, but which tasted like oranges; and another fruit as large As a hen's egg. We cut it in halves, and two divisions appeared, in each of which 8 to 10 fruits were encased; these are shaped like almonds, and are good when ripe. Still, The tree that bears them has a bad odor, and its leaves resemble Those of the walnut-tree. In These prairies there is also a fruit similar to Hazelnuts, but more delicate; The leaves are large, and grow from a stalk at the end of which is a head similar to That of a sunflower, in which all its Nuts are regularly arranged. These are good, both Cooked and Raw.

While Skirting some rocks, which by Their height and Length inspired awe, We saw upon one of them two painted monsters which at first made Us afraid, and upon Which the boldest Indians dare not Long rest their eyes. They are as large As a calf; they have Horns on their heads Like those of deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard Like a tiger's, a face somewhat like a man's, a body Covered with scales, and so Long A tail that it winds all around the Body, passing above the head and going back between the legs, ending in a Fish's tail. Green, red, and black are the three Colors composing the Picture. Besides, these 2 monsters are so well painted that we cannot believe that any Indian is their author; for good painters in France would find it difficult to paint so well, -- and they are so high up on the rock that it is difficult to reach that place Conveniently to paint them. Here is approximately The shape of these monsters, As we have faithfully Copied It.

While conversing about these monsters, sailing quietly in clear and calm Water, we heard the noise of a rapid, into which we were about to run. I have seen nothing more dreadful. An accumulation of large and entire trees, branches, and floating islands, was issuing from The mouth of the Missouri River, with such impetuosity that we could not without great danger risk passing through it. So great was the agitation that the water was muddy, and could not become clear. Missouri is a river of Considerable size, coming from the Northwest, from a great Distance; and it discharges into the Mississippi. There are many Villages of Indians along this river, and I hope by its means to discover the Vermilion Sea or Gulf of California.

Judging from The Direction of the course of the Mississippi, if it Continues the same way, we think that it discharges into the Gulf of Mexico. It would be a great advantage to find the river Leading to the southern sea, toward California; and this is what I hope to do by means of the Missouri, according to the reports made to me by the Indians. From them I have learned that, by ascending this river for 5 or 6 Days, one reaches a fine prairie, 50 or 75 miles Long. This must be crossed in a Northwesterly direction, and it terminates at another small river, -- on which one may embark, for it is not difficult to transport Canoes through so fine a country as that prairie. This 2nd River Flows toward The southwest for 25 or 37 miles, after which it enters a Lake, small and deep, the source of another deep river, which flows toward the West, where it falls into The sea. I have hardly any doubt that it is The Gulf of California, and I do not despair of discovering It some day.

THE NEW COUNTRIES DISCOVERED BY THE FATHER. VARIOUS DETAILS. MEETING WITH SOME INDIANS. FIRST NEWS OF THE SEA AND OF EUROPEANS. GREAT DANGER AVOIDED BY MEANS OF THE CALUMET (TOBACCO PIPE).

AFTER proceeding about 50 miles straight to the south, and a little less to the southeast, we found ourselves at a river called ouaboukigou (Ohio River), The mouth of which is at the 36th degree of latitude.

Before reaching it, we passed by a Place that is dreaded by the Indians, because they believe that a manitou is there, -- that is, a demon, -- that devours travelers; and The Indians, who wished to divert us from our undertaking, warned us against it. This is the demon: there is a small cove, surrounded by rocks 20 feet high, into which The whole Current of the river rushes; and being pushed back against the waters following It, and checked by an Island nearby, the Current is Compelled to pass through a narrow Channel. This is not done without a violent Struggle between all these waters, which force one another back, or without a great din, which inspires terror in the Indians, who fear everything.

But this did not prevent us from passing, and arriving at the Ohio River. This river flows from the lands of the East, where dwell the people called Shawnees in so great numbers that in one district there are as many as 23 villages, and 15 in another, quite near one another. They are not warlike, and are the nations whom the Iroquois go so far to seek, and war against without any reason: and, because these poor people cannot defend themselves, they allow themselves to be captured and taken Like flocks of sheep; and innocent though they are, they still sometimes experience The barbarity of the Iroquois, who cruelly burn Them.

A short distance above the river are cliffs, on which our Frenchmen noticed an iron mine, which they consider rich. There are several veins of ore, and a bed a foot thick, and one sees large masses of it united with Pebbles. A sticky earth is found there, of three different colors -- purple, violet, and Red. The water in which the sticky earth is washed assumes a bloody tinge. There is also heavy, red sand. I placed some on a paddle, which was dyed with its color -- so deeply that The water could not wash it away during the 15 days while I used it for paddling.

Here we Began to see Canes, or large reeds, which grow on the bank of the river; their color is a pleasing green; all the nodes are marked by a Crown of Long, narrow, and pointed leaves. They are high, and grow so thickly that The bison have some difficulty in forcing their way through them.

Until now, we had not suffered any inconvenience from mosquitoes; but we were entering into their home. This is what the Indians of this area do to protect themselves against them. They build a scaffolding, the floor of which consists only of poles, so that it is open to the air so the smoke of the fire made underneath may pass through, and drive away those little creatures, which cannot endure it; the Indians lie down upon the poles, over which bark is spread to keep off rain. These scaffoldings also serve them as protection against The excessive and Unbearable heat of this country; for they lie in the shade, on the floor below, and therefore protect themselves against the sun's rays, enjoying the cool breeze that circulates freely through the scaffolding.

With the same object, we were compelled to build a sort of cabin on The water, with our sails as a protection against the mosquitoes and the rays of the sun. While drifting down with The current, in this condition, we perceived on land some Indians armed with guns, who awaited us. I at once offered them my plumed calumet (tobacco pipe), while our Frenchmen prepared for defense, but delayed firing, so The Indians would be the first to discharge their guns. I spoke to them in Huron, but they answered me by a word which seemed to me a declaration of war against us. However, they were as frightened as we were; and what we took for a signal for battle was an Invitation that they gave us to draw near, so they could give us food. We therefore landed, and entered their Cabins, where they offered us meat from bison and bear's grease, with white plums, which are good. They have guns, hatchets, hoes, Knives, beads, and flasks of double glass, in which they put Their gunpowder.

They wear Their hair long, and tattoo their bodies after the Iroquois fashion. The women wear head-dresses and garments like those of the Huron women. They assured us that we were no more than ten days' journey from The sea; that they bought cloth and all other goods from the Europeans who lived to The east, that these Europeans had rosaries and pictures; that they played upon Instruments; that some of them looked Like me, and had been received by these Indians kindly. Still, I saw none who seemed to have received any instruction in the faith; I gave Them as much as I could, with some medals.

This news animated our courage, and made us paddle with Fresh enthusiasm. We therefore push forward, and no longer see so many prairies, because both shores of The river are bordered with lofty trees. The cottonwood, elm, and basswood trees there are admirable for Their height and thickness. The great numbers of bison, which we heard bellowing, lead us to believe that The prairies are near. We also saw Quail on the water's edge. We killed a little parroquet, one half of whose head was red, The other half and The Neck yellow, and The whole body green.

We had gone down to near the 33rd degree of latitude, having proceeded nearly all the time in a southerly direction, when we perceived a village on The water's edge called Mitchigamea. We heard from afar The Indians who were inciting one another to the Fray by their Continual yells. They were armed with bows, arrows, hatchets, clubs, and shields. They prepared to attack us, on both land and water; part of them embarked in great wooden canoes -- some to ascend, others to descend the river, to Intercept us and surround us on all sides. Those who were on land came and went, as if to commence The attack. In fact, some Young men threw themselves into The water, to come and seize my Canoe; but the current compelled Them to return to land. One of them then hurled his club, which passed over without striking us. In vain I showed The calumet (tobacco pipe), and made them signs that we were not coming to war against them.

The alarm continued, and they were already preparing to pierce us with arrows from all sides, when God suddenly touched the hearts of the old men, who were standing at the water's edge. This probably happened through the sight of our Calumet, which they had not clearly distinguished from afar; but as I did not cease displaying it, they were influenced by it, and checked the enthusiasm of their Young men. Two of these elders even, -- after casting into our canoe, as if at our feet, Their bows and quivers, to reassure us -- entered the canoe, and made us approach the shore, on which we landed, with fear on our part. At first, we had to speak by signs, because none of them understood the six languages which I spoke. At last, we found an old man who could speak a little Illinois.

We informed them, by our presents, that we were going to the sea. They understood well what we wished to say to Them, but I do not know whether they understood what I told them about God. We obtained no other answer than that we would learn all that we desired at another large village, called Arkansas, which was only 20 or 25 miles lower down. They offered us sagamite and fish, and we passed The night among them, with some anxiety.

RECEPTION GIVEN TO THE FRENCH IN THE LAST VILLAGE WHICH THEY SAW. THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THOSE INDIANS. REASONS FOR NOT GOING FARTHER.

WE embarked early on the following day, with our interpreter; a canoe containing ten Indians went a short distance ahead of us. When we arrived within a mile of the Arkansas, we saw two canoes coming to meet us. He who commanded stood upright, holding in his hand The calumet (tobacco pipe), with Which he made various signs, according to the custom of the country. He joined us, singing agreeably, and gave us tobacco to smoke; after that, he offered us sagamite, and bread made of Indian corn, of which we ate a little. He then preceded us, after making us a sign to follow Him slowly.

A place had been prepared for us under The scaffolding of the chief of the warriors; it was clean, and carpeted with fine rush mats. Upon These we were made to sit, having around us the elders, who were nearest to us; after them, The warriors; and finally, all The common people in a crowd. We fortunately found there a Young man who understood Illinois much better than did The Interpreter whom we had brought from Mitchigamea. Through him, I spoke at first to the whole assembly by The usual presents. They admired what I said to Them about God.

We afterward asked them what they knew about the sea. They replied that we were only ten days' journey from it -- we could have covered the distance in 5 days; that they were not acquainted with The Nations who dwelt There, because Their enemies prevented Them from Trading with those Europeans; that the hatchets, Knives, and beads that we saw were sold to Them partly by Nations from The east, and partly by an Illinois village situated at four days' journey from their village westward. They also told us that the Indians with guns whom we had met were Their Enemies, who barred Their way to the sea, and prevented Them from becoming acquainted with the Europeans, and from carrying on any trade with them; that, besides, we exposed ourselves to great dangers by going farther, on account of the continual forays of their enemies along the river, -- because, as they had guns and were warlike, it was dangerous to proceed down the river, which they constantly occupy.

During this conversation, food was continually brought to us in large wooden platters, consisting sometimes of sagamite, sometimes of whole corn, sometimes of a piece of dog's flesh. The entire day was spent in feasting. These people are obliging and liberal with what they have; but they are wretchedly provided with food, for they dare not go and hunt bison, on account of Their Enemies. They have an abundance of Indian corn, which they sow at all seasons. We saw some that was ripe, some that had only sprouted, and some again in the Milk, so that they sow it three times a year. They cook it in great earthen jars, which are very well made. They have also plates of baked earth which they use in various ways. The men go naked, and wear Their hair short; they pierce their noses, from which, as well as from Their ears, hang beads.

The women are clad in wretched skins; they knot Their hair in two tresses which they throw behind their ears, and have no ornaments with which to adorn themselves. Their feasts are given without any ceremony. They offer the Guests large dishes, from which all eat at discretion and offer what is left to one another. Their language is exceedingly difficult, and I could succeed in pronouncing only a few words despite all my efforts. Their Cabins, which are made of bark, are Long and Wide; they sleep at the two ends, which are raised two feet above the ground. They keep Their corn in large baskets made of Canes, or in gourds as large as half-barrels. They know nothing of the Beaver. Their wealth consists in the skins of bison. They never see snow in their country, and recognize The winter only through The rains, which there fall more frequently than in summer. We ate no other fruit there than watermelons. If they knew how to till their soil, they would have fruits of all kinds.

In the evening, the elders held a secret council, in regard to the plan entertained by some to break our heads and rob us; but the Chief put a stop to all these plots. After sending for us, he danced the calumet (tobacco pipe) before us, in the manner I have already described, as a token of our safety; to relieve us of all fear, he made me a present of it.

Sir Joliet and I held another Council, to deliberate upon what we should do -- whether we should push on, or remain content with the discovery which we had made. After considering that we were not far from the gulf of Mexico, the basin of which is at the latitude of 31 degrees 60 minutes, while we were at 33 degrees 40 minutes, we judged that we could not be more than 2 or 3 days' journey from it; and that, beyond a doubt, the Mississippi river discharges into the florida gulf or Gulf of Mexico, and not to The east in Virginia, whose sea-coast is at 34 degrees latitude, -- which we had passed, without having reached the sea, -- or to the west in California, because in that case our route would have been to The west, or the west-southwest, but we had always continued It toward the south. We further considered that we exposed ourselves to the risk of losing the results of this voyage, of which we could give no information if we proceeded to fling ourselves into the hands of the Spaniards who would at least have detained us as captives.

Besides, we saw plainly that we were not in a condition to resist Indians allied to The Europeans, who were numerous, and expert in firing guns, and who continually infested the lower part of the river. And finally, we had obtained all the information in regard to this discovery. All these reasons persuaded us to decide upon Returning; this we announced to the Indians, and, after a day's rest, made our preparations for it.

RETURN OF THE FATHER AND OF THE FRENCH.

AFTER a month's Navigation, while descending Mississippi from the 42nd to the 34th degree, and beyond, and after preaching the Gospel as well as I could to the Nations that I met, we started on the 17th of July from the village of the Arkansas, to retrace our steps. We re-ascend the Mississippi, which gives us much trouble in breasting its Currents. We leave it, at about the 38th degree, to enter another river, which shortens our road and takes us with little effort to Lake Michigan.

We have seen nothing like this river that we enter, as regards its fertility of soil, its prairies and woods; its bison, elk, deer, wildcats, Canadian geese, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beaver. There are many small lakes and rivers. The river on which we sailed is wide, deep, and still, for 162 miles. In the spring and during part of The summer there is only one portage of a mile. We found on it a village of Illinois called Kaskaskia, consisting of 74 Cabins. They received us very well, and compelled me to promise that I would return to instruct them. One of the chiefs of this nation, with his young men, escorted us to Lake Michigan, from where, at last, at The 2nd of September, we reached Green Bay, from which we had started at the beginning of June.

UNFINISHED JOURNAL OF FATHER JACQUES MARQUETTE, ADDRESSED TO THE REVEREND FATHER CLAUDE DABLON, SUPERIOR OF THE MISSIONS. 1675.

Reverend Father,

Having been compelled to remain at st. Francois throughout the summer on account of an ailment, of which I was cured in september, I awaited there the return of our people from down below, to learn what I was to do with regard to my wintering. They brought me orders to proceed to the mission of la Conception among the Illinois.

After complying with your request for copies of my journal concerning the Mississippi River, I departed with Pierre Porteret and Jacque [blank space in manuscript], on the 25th of October, 1674, about noon. The wind compelled us to pass the night at the outlet of the River, where the Potawatomis were assembling; for the elders would not allow them to go in the direction of the Illinois, in case the young men, after collecting robes with the goods that they brought from below, and after hunting Beaver, might seek to go down in the spring; because they have reason to fear the Sioux.

On passing the village, we found only two cabins of Indians, who were going to spend the winter at la gasparde.

We learned that 5 canoes of Potawatomis, and 4 of Illinois, had started to go to the Kaskaskia.

We were delayed in the morning by rain; in the afternoon, we had fine, calm weather, so that at sturgeon bay we joined the Indians, who traveled ahead of us.

27. We reached the portage. A canoe that had gone ahead prevented us from killing any game. We began our portage and slept on the other shore, where the stormy weather gave us much trouble. Pierre did not arrive until an hour after dark, having lost his way on a path where he had never been. After the rain and thunder, snow fell.

28. Being compelled to change our camping-ground, we continue to carry our packs. The portage covers nearly 2 miles, and is difficult in many places. The Illinois assemble in the evening in our cabin, and ask us not to leave them, as we may need them, and they know the lake better than we do. We promise them this.

29. The Illinois women complete our portage in the morning. We are delayed by the wind. There are no animals.

30. We start, with tolerably fair weather, and sleep at a small river. The road by land from sturgeon bay is difficult. Last autumn, we were traveling not far from it when we entered the forest.

31. We came for the night to a river, from where one goes to the Potawatomis by a good road. Chachagwessiou, an Illinois esteemed among his nation, partly because he engages in the fur trade, arrived at night with a deer on his back, of which he gave us a share.

November

1. We travel all day in fine weather. We kill two cats, which are almost nothing but fat.

2. While I am ashore, walking on fine sand, -- the whole water's edge being covered with grass similar to what is hauled up by the nets at st. Ignace, -- I come to a river which I am unable to cross. Our people enter it, to take me on board; but we are unable to go out, on account of the waves. All the other canoes go on, excepting one, which came with us.

3. We are delayed. There seems to be an Island out in the lake, for the game go there at night.

4. We had considerable difficulty in getting out of the River at noon. We found the Indians in a river, where I seized the opportunity of instructing the Illinois, on account of a feast that nawaskingwe had just given to a wolfskin.

5. We performed a good day's journey, While the Indians were hunting, they discovered some tracks of men, and this compelled us to stay over on the following day.

6. We landed about 2 o'clock, because there was a good camping-ground. We were detained there for 5 days, on account of the great agitation of the lake, although without any wind; and afterward of the snow, which was melted on the following day by the sun, and a breeze from the lake.

9. After proceeding a sufficient distance, we camp at a favorable place, where we are detained 3 days. Pierre mends an Indian's gun. Snow falls at night, and thaws during the day.

15. We sleep near the bluffs, and are poorly sheltered. The Indians remain behind while we are delayed 2 days and a half by the wind. Pierre goes into the woods, and finds the prairie 50 miles from the portage. He also goes through a fine canal which is vaulted to the height of a man, in which there is water a foot deep.

20. After embarking at noon, we experienced some difficulty in reaching a river. Then the cold began, and more than a foot of snow covered the ground; it has remained ever since. We were delayed for 3 days, during which Pierre killed a deer, 3 Canadian geese, and 3 Turkeys, which were good. The others proceeded to the prairies. An Indian discovered some cabins, and came to get us. Jacques went there on the following day, with him; 2 hunters also came to see me. They were Mascoutens, to the number of 8 or 9 cabins, who had separated from the others to obtain food. With fatigues almost impossible to Frenchmen, they travel throughout the winter over bad roads, the land abounding in streams, small lakes, and swamps. Their cabins are wretched; and they eat or starve, according to the places where they happen to be. Being detained by the wind, we noticed that there were great shoals out in the lake, over which the waves broke continually. Here I had an attack of diarrhea.

23. We had some trouble in getting out of the river; then, after proceeding about 7 miles, we found the Indians, who had killed some cattle, and 3 Illinois who had come from the village. We were delayed there by a wind from the land, by heavy waves from the lake, and by cold.

December 1. We embarked, and were compelled to make for a point, so that we could land, on account of floating masses of ice.

3. We started with a favoring wind, and reached the river of the portage, which was frozen to the depth of half a foot; there was more snow there than elsewhere, as well as more tracks of animals and Turkeys. Navigation on the lake is fairly good from one portage to the other, for there is no crossing to be made, and one can land anywhere, unless one goes on when the waves are high and the wind is strong. The land bordering it is of no value, except on the prairies. There are 8 or 10 quite fine rivers. Deer-hunting is good, as one goes away from the Potawatomis.

4. As we began yesterday to haul our baggage to approach the portage, the Illinois who had left the Potawatomis arrived, with great difficulty. We were unable to celebrate holy mass, owing to the bad weather and cold. During our stay at the entrance of the river, Pierre and Jacques killed 3 cattle and 4 deer, one of which ran some distance with its heart split in two. We contented ourselves with killing 3 or 4 turkeys, out of many that came around our cabin because they were almost dying of hunger. Jacques brought in a partridge that he had killed, exactly like those of France except that it had two ruffs of 3 or 4 feathers as long as a finger, near the head, covering the 2 sides of the neck where there are no feathers.

12. Having encamped near the portage, 5 miles up the river, we decided to winter there, as it was impossible to go farther, since we were too much hindered and my ailment did not permit me to give myself much fatigue. Several Illinois passed yesterday, on their way to carry their furs to nawaskingwe. We gave them one of the cattle and one of the deer that Jacque had killed on the previous day. I do not think that I have ever seen any Indians more eager for French tobacco than they. They came and threw beaver-skins at our feet, to get some pieces of it; but we returned these, giving them some pipefuls Of the tobacco because we had not yet decided whether we would go farther.

14. Chachagwessiou and the other Illinois left us, to go and join their people and give them the goods that they had brought, to obtain their robes. In this they act like the traders, and give hardly any more than do the French. I instructed them before their departure, deferring the holding of a council until the spring, when I should be in their village. They traded us 3 fine robes of bison-skins for 18 inches of tobacco; these were useful to us during the winter. Being therefore rid of them, we said The mass of the Conception. After the 14th, my disease turned into dysentery.

15. Jacque arrived from the Illinois village, which is only 15 miles from here; there they were suffering from hunger, because the cold and snow prevented them from hunting. Some of them notified la Toupine and the surgeon that We were here. They had so frightened the Indians, believing that we would suffer from hunger if we remained here, that Jacque had much difficulty in preventing 15 young men from coming to carry away all our belongings.

As soon as the 2 Frenchmen learned that my illness prevented me from going to them, the surgeon came here with an Indian, to bring us some blueberries and corn. They are only 45 miles from here, in a fine place for hunting cattle, deer, and turkeys, which are excellent there. They had also collected provisions while waiting for us; and had told the Indians that their cabin belonged to the black gown; and they have done and said all that could be expected from them. After the surgeon had spent some time here, to perform his devotions, I sent Jacque with him to tell the Illinois near that place that my illness prevented me from going to see them; and that I would even have some difficulty in going there in the spring, if it continued.

January 1675.

16. Jacque returned with a sack of corn and other delicacies, which the French had given him for me. He also brought the tongues and flesh of two cattle, which an Indian and he had killed near here. But all the animals feel the bad weather.

24. 3 Illinois brought us, on behalf of the elders, 2 sacks of corn, some dried meat, pumpkins, and 12 beaver-skins: 1st, to make me a mat; 2nd, to ask me for gunpowder; 3rd, so we might not be hungry; 4th, to obtain a few goods.

I replied: 1st, that I had come to instruct them, by speaking to them of prayer, etc.; 2nd, that I would give them no gunpowder, because we sought to restore peace everywhere, and I did not wish them to begin war with the Miamis; 3rd, that we feared not hunger; 4th that I would encourage the French to bring them goods, and that they must reimburse those who were among them for the beads which they had taken as soon as the surgeon started to come here. As they had come a distance of 50 miles, I gave them, to reward them for their trouble and for what they had brought me, a hatchet, 2 knives, 3 clasp-knives, 20 yards of glass beads, and 2 double mirrors, telling them that I would attempt to go to the village for a few days only, if my illness continued. They told me to take courage, and to remain and die in their country; and that they had been informed that I would remain there for a long time.

26. Dysentery has left me, and I am beginning to feel much better, and to regain my strength. Out of a cabin of Illinois, who encamped near us for a month, a portion have again taken the road to the Potawatomis, and some are still on the lake-shore, where they wait until navigation is open. They bear letters for our Fathers.

February 9. We have had opportunity to observe the tides coming in from the lake, which rise and fall several times a day; and although there seems to be no shelter in the lake, we have seen the ice going against the wind. These tides made the water good or bad, because what flows from above comes from prairies and small streams. The deer, which are plentiful near the lake-shore, are so lean that we had to abandon some of those which we had killed.

20. We killed several partridges, only the males of which had ruffs on the neck, the females not having any. These partridges are good, but not like those of France.

March 23. The north wind delayed the thaw until the 25th of March, when it set in with a south wind. On the next day, game began to make its appearance. We killed 30 pigeons, which I found better than those down the great river; but they are smaller, both old and young. On the 28th, the ice broke up, and stopped above us. On the 29th, the waters rose so high that we had barely time to decamp, putting our goods in the trees, and trying to sleep on a hillock. The water gained on us nearly all night, but there was a slight freeze, and the water fell a little, while we were near our packages. The barrier has just broken, the ice has drifted away; and because the water is already rising, we are about to embark to continue our journey.

During our wintering, we have not lacked provisions, and have still remaining a large sack of corn, with some meat and fat. We were unable to keep Lent, except on Fridays and Saturdays.

30. We started yesterday and traveled 7 miles up the river without finding any portage. We hauled our goods probably about 30 yards. Besides this discharge, the river has another one by which we are to go down. Only the high lands are not flooded. At the place where we are, the water has risen more than 12 feet. This is where we began our portage 18 months Ago. Canadian geese and ducks pass continually; we contented ourselves with 7. The ice, which is still drifting down, keeps us here, as we do not know in what condition the lower part of the river is.

31. As I do not yet know whether I shall remain next summer in the village, on account of my diarrhea, we leave here part of our goods, those with which we can dispense, and especially a sack of corn. While a strong south wind delays us, we hope to go tomorrow to the place where the French are, at a distance of 37 miles from here.

April 1. Strong winds and the cold prevent us from proceeding. The two lakes over which we passed are full of bustards, geese, ducks, cranes, and other game unknown to us. The rapids are quite dangerous in some places. We have just met the surgeon, with an Indian who was going up with a canoe-load of furs; but, as the cold is too great for persons who have to drag their canoes in the water, he has made a cache of his beaver skins, and returns to the village tomorrow with us.

NEW FRANCE, DURING THE YEAR 1675.

MISSIONS TO THE OTTAWAS.

IN the country of the Ottawas, we have over twelve Missions, among them being three chief ones, each of which has a large and handsomely decorated chapel.

The first of these three Missions is Sault Ste. Marie, at the eastern end of lake superior; it is under the charge of Father Nouvel. He and Fathers Druillettes and Bailloquet work there, sometimes together and sometimes separately; for they have to devote their attention not only to the Algonquins of the Ojibwes, but also to those of Manitoulin Island, of Nipissing, and of Mississauga. These are three populous nations, with whom the Fathers go to spend the winter, one after another.

Within a year, they have baptized over 120 persons, despite all the opposition that the devil raises up against the Gospel by various superstitions -- to which these peoples are so attached that they have even dared, on several occasions, to lift their hatchets over the heads of the missionaries who opposed those diabolical practices.

The second mission is that of Saint Ignace, at Mackinac. This is an excellent fishing station situated exactly between lake Huron and Lake Michigan. At this point, the Petun Hurons and some Algonquin tribes have gathered together within a short time. A considerable number from both nations publicly profess the Faith: the Petun Hurons are under the direction of Father Pierson; the Algonquin tribes have Father Nouvel and Father Marquette for pastors.

The third Mission is that of Saint Francois Xavier, a short distance beyond Green Bay. It is a sort of center for a great many nations dwelling in its vicinity. Father Andre ministers to those who live on Green Bay; it consists of four or five hundred Christians.

Father Allouez has charge of the Meskwakis and Mascoutens, The cross that this missionary planted amid these villages is venerated there. The bark chapel which the Father has built in the village of the Mascoutens is filled several times every day. There are as many as twelve tribes, speaking three different languages, and comprising no less than twenty thousand people, gathered in this village alone. Father Silvy went there to help Father Allouez in his labors, to which he was no longer equal.

THE MISSION OF ST. JACQUES TO THE MASCOUTENS, AND OF ST. MARC TO THE MESKWAKI.

FATHER Claude Allouez relates what been Accomplished in these Missions.

"The Mission of St. Jacques to the Mascouten, Kickapoos, Miamis, and other tribes, is far less advanced than the other. I have only been able to attend it by these short visits, as I had no one to take me there at the proper time.

"The Mascoutens always cherish a great respect for the cross which is planted among them. The arm of this cross having been broken and thrown down in a heavy gale of Wind, they removed it, and housed it carefully, to return it to me. The Miamis hold their cross in no less respect. A young Frenchman who was trading with them, getting into a passion, drew his sword to avenge himself for a theft committed upon his goods. The Miami Captain, to appease him, showed him the cross, which is planted at the end of his cabin, and said to him: 'See the tree of the black Gown! He teaches us to pray and not to lose our temper.' The same captain, before he died, in April, -- after inquiring for the black Gown and being unable to see him, as he was dying more than 75 miles from the place where I was, -- requested that his bones might be brought to be buried near the cross on the spot where the black Gown had his chapel, -- which was carried out.

"There exists in this country a species of idolatry; for, besides the head of the bison, with its horns -- which they keep in their cabins to invoke to -- they possess bearskins, stripped from the head and not cut open in the middle. They leave on them the head, the eyes, and the snout, which they usually paint green. The head is raised on a pole in the middle of their cabin, the remainder of the skin hanging along the pole to the ground. They invoke it in their sicknesses, wars, and other necessities. This spring, I went to the cabin of a Kickapoo captain, -- where, having noticed one of these idols, I undeceived him so thoroughly that he promised me, as soon as his son should come, to make of this bearskin a dress for his children.

"This mission would require 2 missionaries on account of the 2 nations who dwell in it, who speak 2 different languages; and because of the multitude of people who are continually arriving to live there."

Let us see what father Allouez says of the few months which he spent with the Meskwakis in 1675:

"Since my last accounts of the past year, I have baptized at st. marc 52 persons, among whom are 12 adults.

"I was unable to go to this mission earlier than the autumn, after the Indians had left their village to go Hunting. I went in quest of them into the forest, along the rivers and ponds where they were Hunting Beaver and Deer. I experienced much consolation in all the Cabins that I encountered in the space of 100 miles. Everywhere they thanked me for going to see them.

"After the Meskwakis had finished their Hunting, they returned to their village, where I remained with them two months during the winter. I had many vices to Contend with, especially debauchery and superstitious Notions. These poor people are deserving of Compassion; For, as they are in Constant danger, -- of being taken and burned at a slow fire by their enemies; or of dying from hunger in their journeyings and when they are Hunting, -- they have a tradition which makes them Believe that, if they have some Vision, or rather some dream, they will be fortunate in Hunting and war; and that, should they fall into the hands of their enemies, they will escape from them. From there it comes that they cling to dreams and visions of These kinds as they would to life. Fathers and mothers bring up their children in This idea from their earliest years; and they accustom them to make long Fasts, so they can obtain visions, and may see or hear some spirit in their sleep. They do this with such austerity as to go 4 or 5 Days, and even longer, without eating or drinking anything.

I do not know whether the devil appears to them under the form of their pretended spirits, or whether their brains, weak from having been so long without food, make them Imagine some spirit; in any case, this superstition gives extreme trouble to the missionaries, and prevents them from baptizing most of these people, through the reasonable Fear in case there should be in It Something diabolical.

We had delayed to baptize a man here because it was with difficulty that he refrained from blackening his face, Which is indicative of the superstitious Fast, -- although he said, as an excuse, that he had no other Color with which to paint his face. One morning in his Cabin, he painted his face white; and addressing his own father, he said, 'I pay no attention to all these petty spirits whom you would have me seek. I will be obedient only to the black gown, who forbids me what you order me.' He came to me afterward, to ask for Baptism, which I granted for his perseverance.

"I had no trouble in introducing among them the fasts of the church, since it is so usual a Thing for them to Fast that whoever among them does not fast from time to time is looked upon as a wicked man. So I deemed it a duty to sanctify their superstitions, and to make of a Guilty fast a meritorious one.

"In January, I was going toward the little lake of st. Francois, 5 miles from here. I had intended going to a place in which I afterward learned that a Young Frenchman was at the point of death. But the news that was brought me, that the Meskwakis had returned from their hunting and that many of them were sick, made me retrace my steps. Meanwhile, the Young Frenchman died in the Cabin of an Indian, without Confession.

"After I had finished the mission to the Meskwakis, I learned that the Miami Captain who had once been my host was dying. I had Until then deferred his baptism, because, although he seemed sufficiently well disposed, he could not, on account of his rank as Captain, refrain from involving himself in the superstitions of the Young men. I went to his house, But he was not there; and while he was coming to seek me to be baptized, he died on the way without baptism. God refused me that one for whom I made the journey, but my trouble was not unprofitable; For, in place of this Captain, He granted me two other persons, whom I baptized before their deaths."

Father Jacques Marquette has begun a fourth Mission, that of the Illinois. These are the first tribes that he met on the journey which he made last year to discover the Southern sea. The Father went, last spring, to lay the foundations of that Mission; and on his return he gloriously ended his life in the midst of his labors, on the shores of Lake Michigan.

THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS.

THE Iroquois consist of five different nations, and are divided among eight villages of greater importance, in each of which we have a chapel. Father Bruyas has won to Jesus Christ a great many of the chief persons of Mohawk, the village of the nation nearest to the Dutch. Here is the information given by him in his last letters.

MISSION OF MOHAWK.

"I refer to what has been done by one Assendasse, who is regarded as being one of the most notable of his nation. After I had baptized him, he desired that all his family should receive baptism, as he had done. Afterward, when sickness and death attacked his household, he endured with constancy all the reproaches addressed to him by his relatives for that act, as if he had drawn down all these misfortunes upon himself by his baptism. Things came to such a pass that they almost made him the first martyr among the Iroquois.

"One of his relatives, who could not endure that he should be a Christian, having purposely become half intoxicated, threw himself upon him; he snatched away the rosary and the crucifix that Assendasse wore suspended from his neck, and threatened to kill him if he would not renounce all those things. 'Kill me,' he said, 'I shall be happy to die for so good a cause.' As he is esteemed in the village, his example has attracted a considerable number of his countrymen to the Faith. There have been only a few Sundays this winter on which I have not baptized a child or an adult.

"I attribute these conversions to the goodness of the Most Blessed Virgin, a statue of whom has been sent us. I can state that, since we have possessed it, the church of Mohawk has completely changed its appearance. The older Christians have resumed their former fervor, and the number of new ones increases daily. We displayed this precious statue, with all possible pomp, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, while the litanies were chanted in the Iroquois tongue. We uncovered it only on Saturday evening during the chanting of the same litanies: and throughout all of Sunday it remained exposed to the eyes of our Christians, who met three times that day for the purpose of reciting the rosary."

Father Jacques de Lamberville, who has charge of the Mission of Saint Pierre at Gandaouague, the second village of the Mohawk country, has sent to heaven many little children who died after baptism. This Church, although the smallest of all in these Missions, is behind none of them in fervor. If brandy were banished from this area, we would soon see all of that village become Christian.

MISSION OF ONEIDA.

THE second nation is that of the Oneidas, who have always been considered the most cruel of these Indians; but they are now so changed through Father Millet's care that from wolves they have become lambs.

Several captains and many elders have embraced the faith this year. Among others, one of the most notable men was publicly baptized with his wife, and married before the Church. He afterward received holy Communion, and became a missionary and preacher. During the winter hunt, his cabin was a chapel in the woods, in which he said prayers morning and evening, banishing all superstitions from it. And so fragrant were his virtues that he made even the infidels who hunted near him live like Christians. Upon his return from hunting, to avoid occasions for drunkenness, which are frequent at that time in the village, he moved 5 miles, and built a separate cabin, from where he fails not to come, every Saturday, to attend divine service on the following day. Several others among the notable men of this village are animated with the same fervor.

MISSION OF ONONDAGA.

FATHER Jean de Lamberville is at Onondaga; this is the village of the third nation, where Garacontie continues to give evidence of his firmness in the faith, and of his friendship for the French. The Father has acquired great influence by his skill in using various remedies. This gives him entrance to all the cabins and access to all the sick, so that few escape who are not baptized before they die. He has this year increased his church by seventy-two Christians, forty of whom died after baptism, as well as many adults; among these were some captives from Susquehannock, whom he baptized amid the fires in which they died.

MISSION OF CAYUGA.

FATHER de Carheil is not so fortunate in the midst of the fourth nation, that of the Cayugas; they became so arrogant and insolent that they quite roughly ill-treated him when they were intoxicated, and they even tore down a portion of his chapel. But these repulses have not made him lose courage; God has given him the consolation of having this year placed twenty-one children in heaven, and probably eleven adults also, who died after baptism.

MISSION AMONG THE IROQUOIS CALLED SENECAS.

FATHERS Pierron, Raffeix, and Garnier, who labor in three different villages, are compelled ever to bear their lives in their hands; for they are in almost continual danger of being murdered by those barbarians.

Since the Senecas have utterly defeated the Susquehannocks, their ancient and most formidable foes, their insolence knows no bounds; they talk of nothing but renewing the war against our allies, and even against the French, and of beginning by the destruction of Fort Frontenac. Not long ago, they had decided to break Father Garnier's head, by making him pass for a sorcerer. He who was to strike the blow was not only designated, but was also paid for it; and we would no longer have had that missionary, had not God preserved him by a special providence.

All these insolent acts do not prevent the Fathers from performing their duties with heads erect; or from teaching in the cabins and in their chapels, in which they have baptized over one hundred persons within a year; and they find that fifty, both children and adults, die each year after baptism.

Still, if those barbarians take up arms against us, as they threaten to do, our Missions are in great danger of being either ruined or at least interrupted while the war lasts.

MISSIONS IN THE NORTH, AMONG THE INNU, MISTASSINI INNU, PAPINACHOIS INNU, AT LAKE SAINT JOHN, AND ELSEWHERE.

WE cannot say anything about the Mission of Hudson bay. Father Albanel set out for that country over two years ago, and we have received no letter from him since his departure. The Indians there do not agree in their reports about him. Some assert that he is dead, and has probably been killed; others state that he has fallen into the hands of the English, who have sent him across the sea.

What we have positively learned is that he has had to endure enough labors and hardships to wear out the little strength remaining to him, and to gloriously end his life there.

The Missions of Tadoussac and Lac Saint-Jean, and among the Mistassini Innu and Papinachois Innu, have kept Father de Crepieul occupied for over a year, without discontinuing his wandering life in the woods with the Indians, among a thousand discomforts, both in summer and in winter. These labors and sufferings, which gave him no respite, have reduced him to such a condition that it has become necessary to make him take some rest after four arduous winterings. Meanwhile, Father Boucher has gone to take his place.

These wandering Christian communities live innocently while in the woods They have been increased during the year, not only by the baptism of fifty-five persons, but also by the influence given to them by several chiefs, from some new nations. Among others are some from the: Mistassini Innu, who, despite the diseases with which God has afflicted them since their baptism, have remained steadfast in the faith, have made a public, profession of it, and have died good Christians.

These Indians have a special veneration for the sacraments, and so great a desire to receive them that many have come expressly to the Father from distances of 25 and 50 miles, solely to confess themselves. One was brave enough, with that object, to undertake alone a long journey of 100 miles in a canoe, amid many dangers and fatigues. Another had no less trouble, and no less consolation when, after hauling his sick son over the snow for a distance of 62 miles in bad roads, he saw him die happily in the arms of the Father, as soon as the Father had administered the sacraments to him.

IROQUOIS MISSION OF ST. FRANCOIS XAVIER, AT LA PRAIRIE, QUEBEC, DURING THE YEAR 1675

These good Christians who dwell at La Prairie, Quebec are in the midst of fire without being burned: I mean that they are surrounded on all sides by the most scandalous drunkenness, to indulge in which they are requested; but they have made themselves remarked at Montreal and everywhere else, and there is no other way of distinguishing them than by saying that they are the people who do not drink, and who pray to God correctly.

We have changed here the ridiculous customs of the Iroquois respecting the effects of the dead, -- which were either buried with them, or devoted to superstitious purposes; these have been changed into better usage by distributing the effects in pious works and to the poor. This is done with special solemnity; for all the relatives and the most notable men assemble, as in a general council, to effect this distribution.

THE HURON MISSION AT NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE, DURING THE YEAR 1675.

THIS Mission, which formerly bore the name of Mission of Notre Dame de Foye, and which during two years has been called the Mission of Notre Dame de Lorette, -- on account of the change of village that had to be accomplished last year, -- now consists of about 300 people, both Huron and Iroquois. This number is small compared with that of the other Missions; but they are all chosen persons, who openly profess Christianity.

Father Vaillant, who has charge of this Mission with Father Chaumonot, obtained permission to bury in the cemetery of the Indians here the body of a poor French child, who was drowned in a little river that we call "the river of Lorette". He did so, in the manner in which we usually bury the poor French Christians. But, when they began to throw the earth directly upon the child, -- who was wrapped only in a shroud given through charity by an Indian woman, who had seen others buried, -- the Father perceived that all the Indians present at that burial were in consternation at the lack of respect shown to the little body. For, with regard to how we allow our Christian Indians to pay the last burial honors to one another, after removing from them all the superstitions which they had learned in paganism, we have left them the remainder.

Their custom is as follows: as soon as anyone dies, the captain utters a mournful cry through the village to give notice of it. The relatives of the deceased have no need to trouble themselves about anything, beyond weeping for their dead; because every family takes care that the body is shrouded, the grave dug, and the corpse borne to it and buried.

When the hour for the funeral has come, the clergy usually go to the cabin to get the body of the deceased, which is dressed in his finest garments, and generally covered over with a fine red blanket, quite new. After that, nothing is done beyond what is customary for the French, until the grave is reached. Upon arriving there, the family of the deceased, who until now have only had to weep, display all their wealth, from which they give various presents. This is done through the captain, who, after pronouncing a sort of funeral oration, which is usually rather short, offers the first present to the church, -- generally, a fine large wampum collar, -- so prayers may be said for the repose of the dead person's soul. Then he gives, out of all the dead man's effects, three or four presents to those who bury him; then some to the most intimate friends of the deceased. The last of all these presents is that given to the relatives of the deceased, by those who bury him.

Finally, the whole ceremony concludes by placing the body in the ground in the following manner. A wide grave is dug, 4 to 5 feet deep, capable of holding more than six bodies, but all lined with bark on the bottom and four sides. This forms a sort of cellar, in which they lay the body, and over which they place a large piece of bark in the shape of a tomb; it is supported by sticks placed crosswise over the excavation, so this bark will not sink into the tomb, and that it may hold up the earth that is to be thrown on it; the body therefore lies there as in a chamber without touching the earth at all. Finally, some days after the burial, when the tears of the relatives have been dried to some extent, they give a feast to bring the deceased back to life, -- that is, to give his name to another, whom they urge to imitate the dead man's good actions while taking his name.

At the beginning of Holy Week, Paule Gaiachinnon came to the Father, and said to him: "I observed, my Father, while we were in Quebec, that when they went to worship the cross on the great Friday, there was a plate near the crucifix and everyone gave a little present to our Lord. Why do we not do likewise here?" On Good Friday, the Father placed a plate near the crucifix, at the adoration of the cross, to satisfy the devotion of that good woman. She was the first to begin giving, by putting in it more than 400 wampum beads. All the others imitated her; and at the end, there were in the plate over 4,000, besides some tubular wampum beads and some pieces of silver. In the afternoon, all the elders assembled to confer together as to what they could do to acknowledge our Lord's goodness; and they presented to him two wampum collars, and placed them in the hands of Father Chaumonot, whom they summoned at the end of the council for that purpose.

These presents are all the more valuable this year, since the scarcity of food among them has been so great that they have been obliged to sell almost everything they had, to provide for their sustenance. In fact, the famine they endured was so extraordinary that fifteen days after the harvest was gathered in last year, there were not six families in the whole village who had any corn. Despite so universal a famine, God has still preserved them all. He has not permitted a single one of our village to die this year from either hunger or disease, with the exception of one poor wretch. And this divine goodness is all the more manifest since great numbers of Indians of the other nations have died this year from hunger; and among our Hurons this was formerly so common that when a similar famine afflicted them in their ancient country, they nearly all died. Our charity toward them, and the aid that we have received from some zealous persons for the good of our Mission, have prevented this misfortune, which would inevitably have happened had it not been for those donations.

THE CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME DE LORETTE IN CANADA: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEVOTION OF LORETTE. OCCASION AND MOTIVES FOR BUILDING THIS CHAPEL. 1675.

As there is in all New France no place more notable through the devotion of the French and the Indians than is Notre Dame de Lorette, we will here trace its beginnings, its progress, and its results.

Without explaining the desires which the Reverend Father Joseph Marie Chaumonot had conceived 37 years ago, at Loretto in Italy, for building in Canada a church upon the model and under the name of the holy house of the Virgin; I will first show the occasion and the motives which the Fathers of the Jesuits have had for building upon their lands a chapel representing that of Nazareth, now called that of Loretto.

As the Huron mission, which was at Notre Dame de Foy from the year 1669 until the year 1674, was increasing every day, -- either through the recruits who came to us from the Country of the Iroquois, or through the blessing which God gives to the Huron families to people them again, -- we have been obliged to seek for our Indians much more land and wood than they had so near to Quebec. After many searchings, they have not found a place more suitable than what we have allowed them, 7 miles from Quebec, on our estate of St. Michel, -- a place to which we have given the name of Lorette.

MEANS OF BUILDING THE NEW LORETTE.

At the beginning of 1674, our Indians had just arrived at the place destined to be the village of Lorette, where they began from that time to dwell. The Loretto of New France costs us some 2,500 gold coins.

As early as the beginning of 1673, the Hurons having accepted the lands that were presented to them, -- or rather, having themselves chosen them, -- we determined where the chapel and the village should be located. We had, at first, made choice of a high, level tract of land lying beyond the brook which supplies water for our Indians: and we had had felled there 25 acres of timber, and had a great cross planted in the middle, and had had built a house of planks to lodge the workmen and shelter the materials. But in spring, after the melting of the snows, as we perceived that this plateau is too difficult to access on account of the depth of the ditches which surround it, we chose quite near it, to the east, another level much more convenient and much more beautiful, -- from where there will be a view of Quebec, after some great trees which obstruct it have been cut down.

On that same side there is a beautiful river, into which flows a brook of excellent water, after having described a sort of crescent about the village. The elevation and the level character of the land, the purity of the air, and the convenience of the springs and other brooks which are near, make that place of residence one of the most pleasing in all this country.

The place being chosen, the plan of the village was almost immediately drawn up; and in that same summer some cabins were hastily built, in which the Indians came to dwell the following winter. But, the cabins proving to be too near one another, it was thought best to put them farther apart.

Therefore new outlines were drawn, toward the end of April, for the village of Lorette, by placing the chapel at the center of the quadrangle composing it. A width of 20 feet was given to each of the six cabins which are on the same line, along each of its four sides. Another space of 20 feet was assigned between every two cabins; and in the middle of each row there was also marked off a 20-foot road which ended directly at the Chapel.

PLAN OF THE CHAPEL AND VILLAGE OF LORETTE IN CANADA.

As we wished to build the chapel of bricks, and as no land suitable for making these had yet been discovered in the vicinity, we ordered 24 thousand at cote de Beaupre, between Chateau Richer and St. Anne. In the autumn of the same year, 1673, they were brought by water to Sillery, in Sir Basile's barque and sailboat. He would take nothing for boat-hire.

In the following winter, trains were used for conveying these same bricks from Sillery to Lorette. As there were not enough, in the spring of 1674 another 30 thousand were ordered to be made, a half mile from the chapel. The wood which was necessary for the floors, the framework, and the roof was obtained much nearer. The only exception was the shingles, some of which were made at cote de St. Michel; others, a mile from Lorette. As for the lime, it was brought from Quebec by train, at the same time as the bricks which were at Sillery.

THE INDIANS ESTABLISHED AT LORETTE.

WHILE all these preparations were going on, our Indians, having built some 12 or 13 cabins, came to lodge in them and settle at Lorette on the 28th of December, 1673. However, they returned to Notre Dame de Foy in the spring of 1674, to sow their fields there; and until after their harvest, they were somewhat divided as to their abode, being now at the old village and now at the new. As during all that time there was not yet a chapel built at Lorette, the Reverend Father Chaumonot first inquired who could lend half his cabin, so he could there make a chapel, and set up an altar. Immediately Francois Athorichez and Jacques Onouandousandik, with their sister-in-law, Marie Ouendraka, came to urge us to take their whole cabin, -- saying that God surely deserved to have a whole dwelling for himself alone. Their offer being accepted, we celebrated Mass there during ten months and more, and conveniently performed all our other duties. As for them, they put up nearby some wretched pieces of bark; and their whole family, which has appeared the most zealous for the establishment of Lorette, lodged underneath these, with much inconvenience from the cold and from smoke.

The cabins in which our Indians had lodged being too small, too near, and hastily built, they built for themselves more spaciously and with more order, in the summer of 1674. However, as some came back too late from the hunt to strip bark, there still remained nine cabins to build, to finish the square of the village of Lorette. We hope that this summer it will not only be completed, but even that they will begin to double the rows of cabins, on account of the persons who have already come to us from the country of the Iroquois, and those whom we are still expecting. We counted in this mission as many as two hundred Christians at the opening of the chapel, the construction of which we must now consider.