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Missionary Labors

Fathers Marquette, Menard and Allouez,

IN THE

LAKE SUPERIOR REGION.

Rev. CHRYSOSTOM VERWYST, 0. S. P.,

Bayfield, Wis.

Missionary Labors

Fathers Marquette, Menard and Allouez,

LAKE SUPERIOR REGION.

Rev. CHRYSOSTOM VERWYST, 0. S. R,

-7^ _ o ^ Bayfield, Wis.

HOFFMANN BROTHERS,

Publishers,
MILWAUKEE: CHICAGO:

413 East Water Street. 207 Wabash Avenue.

1886.

I" /O^o

Cuwm itermto^tt $Mpevlortim.

Entered according' to Act of Congress, in the year 1886,

By Rkv. Chrysostom Vkkwvst, (). S. F.,

in the oflaee of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

'"'i

L>^

PREFACE.

fHE writing of this little work has been a labor of love to
the author. About a year ago his attention was drawn
to the labors of Fathers Allouez and Marquette in the
vicinity of Ashland and Bayfield. Then came the question:
Where are we to look for the site of their church in this
neighborhood? Popular opinion pointed out La Pointe on
Madeline Island as the place where the old Jesuit church once
stood. Having written, however, to a Very Rev. Friend,
whose name elsewhere occurs in this little volume, in regard
to this matter, he soon ascertained from the citations given
from the "'Jesuit Relations" of 1667-71, that we must not
look for the site of said church on Madelaine Island, but on
the mainland, at the head of Chagaouamigong (Chequame-
gon) Bay. The reading of these citations awakened in the
writer a desire to learn more of the history of said mission,
and he accordingly expressed a wish to that effect to the
Very Rev. Gentleman above referred to, who kindly sent him
the " Relations " and many other works containing much
valuable information in regard to the history of the early
missionaries of the Lake Superior region. These sources
of information the writer has used in the compilation of the
little work he now offers to the public. He is fully aware of
its great imperfection. The care of an extensive mission
made it impossible to bestow that care and study upon the
work, which it deserves. Still, he has honestly endeavored
to do his best to give the reader a reliable and full account
of the labors and trials of the three most prominent Jesuit
Fathers that worked in the missionary field of northern Wis-
consin. We mean Father Menard, who arrived in the Lake
Superior country in 1660; Father Allouez, who came to
Chagaouamigong in 1665, and Father Marquette, who labored

here from 1669-71. We have endeavored to give facts and
dates as truthfully and reliably as could be ascertained, for
the reader wants history, not romance. If there is anything
the writer detests it is the superficial, romancing style of
historical writing so common nowadays in magazines, news-
papers, and books of travel. They are generally a mixture
of true and error, written by men gifted with a certain amount
of superficial knowledge, but to whom truth is a matter of
only secondary importance, their main aim being to appear
cute and smart and to write sensational stuff, so as to find
ready sale for their crude productions. We see enough of
that romancing style of writing history in the newspaper ac-
counts of the La Pointe church and the early Jesuit mission
in this vicinity. We have endeavored to avoid their ways,
seeking but the plain truth in all things. At the bottom of
the respective page we always give the author's name, with
the number of the page, so that the reader can verify our
statements. However, we do not claim infallibility. To err
is human, and in spite of all our endeavors we may have
made occasionally a mistake, for which we ask the reader's
indulgence. In the preparation of this work we have re-
ceived valuable assistance from the Very Rev. Friend above
spoken of, and others who sent us historical documents; to
all and everyone of whom we hereby tender our sincere
thanks. We have added some "Historical and biographical
notes," as also a short dissertation on some peculiarities of
the Chippewa language, which we hope may be of interest
to the reader. Whatever will be realized from the sale of
this little book will be applied for the benefit of the Indian
mission. Should this little work contribute ever so little
towards promoting respect for the memory of the pious and
zealous missionaries spoken of in its pages, the writer will
consider himself abundantly repaid for all the labor bestowed
upon it.

Bayfiei^d, Wis., July 14, 1886.

I N DEX.

Page
I. Father Menard, the pioneer missionary of Lake
Superior; his labors, trial and hardships among
the Hurons and Iroquois ; his journey to St.

Theresa (Keweenaw) Bay 9

II. Father Menard's labors at St. Theresa Bay 18

III. Continuation of Father Menard's labors and suffer-

ings at St. Theresa Bay ; his death at the head-
waters of Black River 24

IV. Great earthquake in Canada and its prodigious

effects 32

V. Journal of the voyage of Father Claude Allouez to

the land of the Outaouacs (Ottawas) 36

VI. On the arrival of the missionary and his stay at the
Bay of the Holy f J host, called Chagaouamigong

(Chequamegon) 44

VII. General council of the tribes of the Outaouac

country 46

VIII. On the false gods and superstitious customs of the'

Indians of that country 48

IX. Account of the mission of the Holy Ghost at Lake

Tracy (Lake Superior) ,52

X. On the mission of the Tionnontateheronnons (Hu-
rons of Tionnontate or Tobacco Nation) -55

XI. On the mission of the Outaouacs, Kiskakoumac

and Outaouasinagouc. 57

XII. On the mission of the Pouteouatamiouec (Potta-

watami ) 59

XIII. On the mission of the Ousakiouek (Sacs) and Outa-

gamiouek (Foxes) 64

XIV. On the mission of the lllimouec or Alimouec (Illi-

nois). 66

XV. On the mission of the Nadouessiouek (Sioux) 68

XVI. On the mission of the Kilistinonp (Crees) and that

of the Outchibouec (Chippewas) 69

XVII. On the mission of the Nipissirinieiis (Nipissings),
and of the voyage of Father Allouez ti« Luke
Alimibegong (Nepigon) 7]

XVIII. Father Allouez goes to Quebec. He returns to the

Outaouacs 73

XIX. On the mission of the Holy Ghost among the Outa-
ouacs 75

XX. On the mission of LaPointe du Saint Esi)rit in tlie

country of the Algonquin Outaouacs 77

XXI. On the mission among the Outaouacs and es-
pecially of the mission Saiilt SLe. Marie 83

XXII. On the nature and peculiaiities of the Sault and of

the tribes who are in the liabit of going there. . . 84

XXIII. On the mission of the Holy Ghost at the Point of

Chagaouamigong (Chequamegon) in Lake Tracy
or Superior 88

XXIV. On the mines of copper founsl at Lake Superior. ... 89
XXV. Of the tribes connected with the mission of the

Holy Ghost at 1 he Point, called Chagaouamigong 94

XXVI. Letter of Father Marquette to the Rev. Father

Superior of the mission 96

•XXVII. Necessary explanation in order to get a correct

idea of the Outaouac missions 105

XXVIII. The formal taking possession of the entire Ou-
taouac country in the name of the king of Fi ance 109

XXIX. The mission of the Holy Ghost at the extremity of
Lake Superior abandoned ; Father Marquette

goes to Missilimackinac (Mackinaw) 113

XXX. Father Marquette at St. Ignace 114

XXXI. Subsequent career of Father Marquette; he dis-
covers and explores the Mississippi ; returns to
the Bay of the Puants (Green Bay) 116

XXXII. Last voyage of Father Marquette. He founds the
mission of the Immaculate Conception among
the Illinois and dies on his way back to Mack-
inaw , , , 128

VJI

XXXIII. Discovery of Father Marquette's grave at Point St.
Ignace, Mich. Letter of Very Rev. Father E.
Jacker to the writer, giving a full account of
said discovery made by him 186

XXX 1\\ lie-establishment of the mission of the Holy Ghost
under the patronage of St. Joseph, by Father
Baraga ; his successors ; present state of the
mission ; conclusion 143

APPEJ^DIX.

I. Biographical and historical notes 153

II. Indian customs of Lake Superior country 193

III. Some peculiarities of the Chippewa language 246

lY. Comparison of the Chippewa with the languages,

ancient and modern, of the Old World 253

V. Chronological Table 258

CHAPTER I.

Father Menard, the Pioneer Missionary of Lake Su-
perior; HIS LABORS, TRIALS AND HARDSHIPS AMONG THE

HuRONs AND Iroquois; his journey to St. Theresa
(Keweenaw) Bay.

Towards the end of March, 1640, three vessels bound for
Quebec left the harbor of Dieppe, France, and casting anchor
within sight of the town, they awaited a favorable breeze for
their westerly voyage. A terrible storm, however, broke
out, which lasted from the 26th of March to the 28th of
April. " I do not know," said Father Menard, who was
aboard the flagship of the flotilla, the ' Esperance,' "I do
not know whether the evil spirits foresaw some great good
to be effected by our passage, but apparently they were
determined to sink us in the very roadstead. They stirred
up the whole ocean; they unchained the winds and excited
tempests so frightful and continuous, that they came near
destroying us within sight of Dieppe." On board the same
vessel were another Jesuit Father and two lay -brothers, two
Sisters of Mercy and two Ursuline Nuns, all of them deter-
mined to devote the rest of their lives to the service of the
Catholic colonists and the pagan Indians of Canada, or, as it
was then called, New France.

After a pleasant voyage of two months, they reached
Tadoussac, June 1st, and in a few days later Quebec, which
was then but a poor fort with a few log houses. In 1608,
one year after the building ot Jamestown, Virginia, Cham plain
built the first log cabin in Quebec. In 1629 it was burnt by
a French party in the service of the English, but three years
later, when Canada was restored to the French, it was rebuilt
and from that time became the center whence Missionaries
were sent in all directions.

About a year after his arrival. Father Menard was sent to
the Hurons. This tribe occupied a small strip of territory

on the southeastern shore of Georgian Bay and were theii
a large and prosperous tribe, numbering at least 30,000 souls,
living in some twent}^ large settlements. Their deadly foes
were the Iroquois, or Five Nations of New York, with whom
they were continually in war and by whom they were well
nigh exterminated in 1648-49^ A small party, numbering
about 600, after many wanderings through the wilds of Michi-
gan and Wisconsin, came to reside on the shores of Cha-
gaouamigong* Bay and the Apostles Islands, where Father
Allouez found them in 1665.

To give an idea of Father Menard's voyage to his Huron
Mission, we will give the description given by another Mis-
sionary: "Of two difficulties regularly met with, the first
is that of rapids and portages; for these abound in every
river throughout those regions. When a person approaches
such cataracts or rapids, he has to step ashore and carry on
his back, through forests or over high, vexatious rocks, not
only his baggage, but also the canoe. This is not accom-
plished without much labor; for there are portages of one,
two and three leagues, each of them, besides, requiring sev-
eral journeys, if one has ever so small a number of pack-
ages. At some places, where the rapids are not less swift than
at the portages, but of easier access, the Indians, plunging
into the water, drag their canoes and conduct them with their
hands with utmost difficulty and danger; for sometimes they
are up to their necks in the current, so that they have to let
go their hold upon their canoes and save themselves as best
they can from the rapidity of the water, that snatches the
canoe out of their hands and carries it off I have com-
puted the number of portages and find that we carried thirty-
five times and dragged at least fifty times. The second
ordinary difficulty concerns food. A person is often obliged
to fast, especially if he happens to lose the places where he
stowed away provisions on his down-river course. Even

1. See " Histoi'ica) and biographical notes," where a short sketch of the
rise and downfall of the Huron mission is given.

2. Chagaouamigong, pronounced Sha-ga-wa-mi-gong. To pronounce In-
dian words, observe that

a is pronounced lilce a in father, far.

e is pronounced like a in way, say.

i is pronounced like ee in feel, seen.

o is pronounced like o in own, sown.

ou is pronounced like oo in foot, fool.

French ch is pronounced like sh in she, show.

kw is pi'onouoced like q. iu queen.

when he finds them, his appetite remains none the less keen
for having regaled himself with their contents, for the usual
repast is only a little corn, broken between two stones and
sometimes simply taken in fresh water, which is insipid food.
Sometimes he has fish, but this is mere chance, unless he hap-
pen to pass some tribe from whom he can buy it. Add to this
that a person must sleep on the bare ground, perhaps on a
hard rock — that he has to breathe an air infected by the
smell of labor-worn savages, to walk in the water, through
morasses and amidst the darkness and embarrassment of
forests, where the stings of innumerable little flies and mos-
quitoes molest him not a little."

Indian missionary life two hundred years ago was indeed
hard. The pagan Indian treated the poor, defenseless mis-
sionary with inhuman brutality, made him the butt of his
coarse raillery and contempt. The missionary was com-
pletely at the mercy of the savage Indian, and many a
Father, after years of untold hardships and sufferings, was
burnt at the stake or tomahawked. Wisconsin soil has been
watered with the blood of two, perhaps three, of such apos-
tolic men\ Nothing but long continued proofs of disinter-
ested zeal, sincerity of intention and purity of life, and the
constant exhibition of heaven-born charity, imperturbable
peace of mind and evangelical meekness, joined with fearless
courage and apostolical freedom of speech, could at length
dispel the darkness of the Indian mind — such as measured
the merit of a man by the breadth of his shoulders and the
number of scalps hung up in his wigwam. A most cowardly
fear of supernatural evil influences, going side by side with
savage prowess and contempt of danger in war, and studi-
ously kept alive by crafty medicine-men, was not a less
powerful obstacle against the reception of Christianity. To
ward off those evil influences, the minutest attention to num-
berless superstitious practices was considered indispensable,
and those. refusing to participate in the national demon wor-
ship were, as in the days of the Caesars, held as declared
enemies of their own kith and kin and of the whole tribe.
Adding the fact that polygamy was almost universally prac-
ticed, at least among the tribes of Lake Superior, among the
Foxes, Ottawas, Pottawatamis, and other tribes of Wiscon-

1. See "Hist, and biog-. notes," for a short dissertation on the three mar-
tyred missionaries of Wisconsin.

sin and Michigan, it is no wonder that such peoj^le turned a
deaf ear to the teachers of a religion which condemned and
forbade their national custom. Besides, their mode of liv-
ing, huddled together in small wigwams, almost necessarily-
engendered lewdness and licentiousness. Moreover, their
limited range of thought made their daily conversation gen-
erally turn upon topics of low, animal gratifications, which
poisoned the minds and hearts of the young. Living free
and untrammelled by the laws and customs of civilized and
Christian life, they felt all restraint irksome and hence dis-
liked a religion that bound them down to the observance of
certain laws and duties wholly at variance with their pagan
modes of life. Finally, their defective mental capacity pre-
vented them from understanding and appreciating the innate
beauty of virtue, religion, and of pure, spiritual, heavenly
joys. The only thing that could make any impression on
their dark, pagan minds, was the threat, constantly held be-
fore them by the missionary, of frightful, endless torments
in the fire of hell. This and this alone could prevail on them
to give up their superstitious and animal mode of life and
embrace Christianity with its enlightening, soul-purifying
and heavenward elevating doctrines. Even then their child-
ish ficklemindedness made the early missionaries very slow
and cautious in admitting them to Baptism Hence their
first Baptisms were generally those of little children, as yet
uncontaminated by vice, and the dying, whom they carefully
prepared for that holy Sacrament. But let us return to
Father Menard and his fellow-laborers among the Hurons.

After years < if patient labor among that tribe, their per-
severance was at last rewarded by an abundant harvest.
There was a reasonable hope that soon the whole tribe would
be converted, but Iroquois incursions in 1648 and 1649 broke
up the missions. Fifteen towns were abandoned, some of the
Fathers, as for instance Brebeuf and Lallemant^, were tortured
and burnt at the stake. The people who had escaped death or
captivity, fled in every direction, some to the kindred Tionon-
tates, Attiwarandonk and Fries, whilst others sought refuge
among their Algonquin friends on Lake Huron and Superior.

Up to that time Father Menard had been employed
partly in the Huron mission, partly among the Algonquin

1. See "His. and biog-. notes" for a detailed account of the glorious
martyrdom of these two Fathers.

tribes, especially the Mpissing and Atontrates. After the
ruin of the Huron missions he labored chiefly in the Indian
and French settlements at Three Rivers. Seven years later
an extremely hazardous mission was started among the Iro-
quois, who feigned a desire for peace and Menard was one of
the Fathers sent there. He reached the south shore of Lake
Ontario in July, 1656, and before the end of the year he col-
lected around him on Lake Cayuga, a small flock of Chris-
tians, consisting chiefly of Huron captives. His gentle ways
and almost motherly kindness made him greatly beloved by
the numerous prisoners of war, swept together from among
a score of different Indian tribes and kept as slaves in the
Iroquois country. Misfortune had softened their hearts and
made them accessible to the tidings of salvation. Even the
fierce Iroquois felt the mild but potent influence of this holy
missionary's zeal and many of them were baptized. In a
short time he converted and baptized there some four hundred
Indians. A letter of his written about a year after the open-
ing of the Cayuga mission reveals to us his ardent and fear-
less zeal. He writes:^

" T praise God that your Reverence still takes an interest
in our affairs; but I am a little suprised to hear you speak
in a tone different from that to which we were accustomed.
How long ago is it since you wrote we had nothing to fear,
that God continued sending you wherewith to support us
in this remote corner of the world ? How is it that you now
complain of our too great expenses ? We are in a place
where the cost of living is very much greater than among
the Hurons, and where we have no assistance to expect from
the country itself, among false traitors, who ill-treat us by
right of prescription. There is a crowd of captives here,
gathered from all sides, who after all are capable of being
made children of God. Of these I alone have since last year
baptized more than four hundred. We walk with our heads
lifted up in the midst of dangers, through insults, hootings,
calumnies, tomahawks and knives, with which they often enough
run after us, to put us to death. Almost daily we are on the
eve of being massacred, "as dying and behold we live."
And you tell us that you are no more able to support this
mission. I prefer, my Rev. Father, to stand by the last words

1. "Relation" of 1657. p. 56. We cite from the Quebec edition of 1858,
"which is a i-eprint of the edition of Sebastian Cramoisy, Paris, 1657-1673.

of your letter, where you remark that after all, if we do our
part well, God will do His as far as will be needed. Yes, as-
suredly, He will succor us, if we seek but His glory, if we
expose our lives to have His blood applied to those poor,
abandoned souls. This very thing all our Fathers here are
doing with incredible trouble and labor. Should God, who
led us into this land of barbarians, allow us to be slaughtered,
praise be to Him for ever ! Jesus, His Gospel, the salvation
of those poor souls, these are the inducements that retain us
here and make us tarry, as it were, in the midst of flames.
Men burnt and devoured are sights to which our eyes are accustomed.
Pray you to God, that He may make Christians of those
cannibals, and that He may strengthen us more and more;
and we, we shall beg Him to move the hearts of those who
love Him, so that they may enable you to assist us." Thus*
wrote this saintly man to his Superior in Quebec.

The time for the spiritual regeneration of the Iroquois Na-
tion had not yet come. The tomahawk, treacherously buried
for a while, to draw a number of Huron fugitives and of
French laymen, as well as priests, into the country, was
raised again in the spring of 1658. Only stratagem and secret
flight, most skillfully planned and luckily accomplished,
could save the lives of fifty-three Frenchmen, by the council
of the headmen condemned to death in the heart of the Iro-
quois country. With a bleeding heart Father Menard left
with the rest in the silence of the night. Far sooner would
he have stayed with his neophytes, and, if necessary, have
suffered death at his post. He felt as if his heart had been
torn out of his body, or as a mother violently torn away from
her children; but obedience called him away, and so he de-
parted with the rest. Two years later we see him go to the
Lake Superior country, where he perished in the wilds of
Wisconsin, trying to bring the consolations of religion to a
few starving Hurons at the headwaters of Black River.

The first attempt to carry the gospel to Lake Superior
country was made in 1642 by Raymbault and Jogues^. They
reached Sault Ste. Marie and were well received by the two
thousand Indians assembled there. But obedience compelled
them to rtturn to the lower missions, where their services
were deemed indisper sable. Again in 1656, Fathers Garreau

1. See "Hist, and biog-. notes" for a detailed account of his labors, suf-
ferings and death.

and Gabriel Drouillettes embarked with an Ottawa party, but
having fallen into an Iroquois ambush, between Three Rivers
and Montreal, Garreau was mortally wounded b}^ a Mohawk
ball ;ind Drouillettes abandoned by the Ottawas in their pre-
cipitate flight.

In 1660 another Ottawa flotilla of sixty canoes arrived at
Three Rivers. Two Fathers attempted to accompany them
on tlieir return voyage. One of them, however, only suc-
ceeded, namely. Father Menard. The ather Father was un-
ceremoniously set ashore at Montreal. Before starting from
Three Rivers, Father Menard penned, in the dead hour of
night, the following lines to a reverend friend:

"My Rev. Father, — The Peace of Christ !

I write to you probably the last word and I desire it to be
the seal of our friendship until eternity. Love him, whom
the Lord Jesus does not disdain to love, although the greatest
sinner; for he loves him with whom he deigns to share his
cross. May your friendship, my good Father, be useful to
me in the desirable fruits of your holy sacrifices. In three or
four months you may put me in the memento of the dead,
considering the manner of living of these people, and my age
and weak constitution. Notwithstanding all this, I have
felt such a powerful attraction and have seen so little of nature
in this undertaking, that I could not doubt but that I would
have had eternal remorse, had I missed this opportunity.

" We were taken a little by surprise, so that we are unable
to provide ourselves with clothing and other necessary things.
But He who feeds the little birds and clothes the lilies of the
fields, will take care of his servants. Should we happen to
die of misery, that would be for us a great happiness. I am
overwhelmed with business. All I can do is to recommend
our voyage to your holy Sacrifices, and to embrace you with
the same heart as I hope to do in eternity.

My Rev. Father — Your very humble and affectionate
servant of Jesus Christ, R. Menard.

Three Rivers, this 27th day of August, at 2 o'clock after
midnight, 1660."^

The Ottawa flotilla, and with it Father Menard, left Three
Rivers on the 28th of August. How he fared on his voyage
to Lake Superior is best learned from a letter which he wrote

1. "Relation" of 1660, p. 30.

from Keweenaw Bay, Mich., to his superior in Quebec, a few
months before his death in the wild woods of Wisconsin. He
writes as follows:^

" Our journey has been a happy one for our Frenchmen,
who all arrived in good health, about the middle of October,
not, however, without having suffered much and run great
risks from high seas on the lakes; from rapids and cataracts
frightful to behold, which we had to pass over on a frail piece
of bark; from starvation, our almost constant companion,
and from the Iroquois arms that were turned against us. Be-
tween Three Rivers and Montreal we happily met his Lord-
ship, the Bishop of Petrea (Laval, first Bishop of Quebec),
who spoke words to me which deeply entered my heart and
will be a subject of consolation to me in any adverse accidents
that may befall me. 'Father,' he said, 'every consideration
seems to demand your staying here; but God, who is stronger
than all, wants you in those parts.' 0 ! how I blessed God
since that meeting, and how sweetly have those words, spoken
by so holy a prelate, come home to me in the worst of my
sufferings, misery and abandonment ! God wants me in
those parts ! How often have I revolved those words in my
mind amidst the torrent's roar and in the solitude of our
great forests !

" The Indians, who granted me a j)assage, with the assur-
ance of fair treatment, considering my age (he was then fifty-
six years old) and infirmities, have after all not spared me.
They required me to carry on my shoulders very heavy packs
every time, or nearly so, when we had to make a portage,
and although my paddle, wielded by hands as feeble as mine,
did but little service towards hastening the journey, they
would not allow it to be idle" (They did not even allow him
time to say his office and threw his breviary into the water;
luckily he found another copy, stowed away at his sudden
departure in one of the packages. Perhaps they shared the
superstitious fear of the pagan Hurons, who considered the
mysterious procedure of passing the eyes over curiously
dotted paper as a mighfy charm for their destruction.)

The Father continues: " Once they obliged me to disem-
bark on a very bad spot. To overtake them I had to make
my way over frightful rocks and precipices. So much was

1. "Relation" of 1664, p. 3.

the country intersected with ravines and so steep were the
mountains, that I thought I should never extricate myself.
Hastening my steps, for fear of being left behind, I hurt my
foot and leg. They remained swollen and annoyed me very
much for the rest of the journey, especially when the water
commenced to become cold, we being obliged to remain bare-
foot and ready to jump into the water, in order to lighten
the canoe, whenever they judged it proper. Add to this,
that those people observe no regularity in their meals, eating
everything at once and making no provision for the morrow.
As for their camping, no attention is paid to their own or
their guest's comfort, but only to the security of the canoes
and to the facility for embarkment and disembarkment. As
for rest, they generally sleep on uneven, rocky ground,
on which they spread a few branches, if at hand.

" We have everyone of us kept fast, and that a rigorous one,
having to content ourselves with small fruits, which are ot
rare occurrence, and such as nowhere else are eaten. Happy
those who find a certain kind of moss (tripe de ruche) which
grows on rocks and of which they make a black broth. As
for moose-skins, those who had some left, ate them stealthily.
Everything seems palatable, when a person is hungry.

" But the worst was to come. Having after such hard-
ships entered Lake Superior, there, in place of finding the
promised rest and provisions, our canoe was smashed by a
falling tree and that so coujpletely, that no hope of repairing
it was left. Everyone abandoned us and we were left — three
Indians and myself — without food and canoe. In that state
we remainid six days, living on filthy offal, which, to keep ofi"
starvation, we had to scratch up with our nails around an
old abandoned lodge. To make soup we pounded the bones
that lay about. We picked up earth saturated with the
blood of animals that had been killed there ; in a word, we
made food of everything. One of us was continually on the
lookout at the shore, to implore the mercy of those that
passed by, and we wrested from them a few slices of dried
meat, which saved us from death. At last some, more com-
passionate, took us up and brought us to our rallying point,
destined for our wintering. This is a large bay^ on the south
shore of Lake Superior (Keweenaw Bay), where I arrived on

1. See "Hist, and biog-. notes" for a short dissertation on St. Theresa Bay
and the site of Father Menard's mission.

St. Theresa's day (Oct. 15th, 1660) and here I had the con-
solation of saying Mass, which repaid me with usury for all
my past hardships. Here also I opened a "flying church"
of Christian Indians, occasional visitors from the neighbor-
hood of our French settlements (on the St. Lawrence) and of
such others as the mercy of God has gathered in from this,
place."

CHAPTER II.

Fatheh Menard's Labors at St. Theresa Bay.

The Father writes: ^" One of my first visits was to a miser-
able hut under a large rotten tree, which served it as a shelter
on the one side and as a support to some spruce branches to
keep off the wind. I entered on the other side, crawling on
my belly, and found there a treasure: it was a woman aban-
doned by her husband and daughter, who had left to her two
little children in a dying condition; one of them was about
two years old, the other three. I spoke to this poor, afflicted
creature, and she listened to me with pleasure. "My brother,"'
said she to me, " I know well enough that my people disap-
prove of your discourses, but, as for me, I relish them very
much; what you tell me is full of consolation." Then she
drew forth from under the tree a piece of dried fish, which
she took, so to say, from her own mouth to pay me for my
visit. I thanked her and made use of this favorable occasion
to assure myself of the salvation of those two children by
conferring on them holy Baptism.

" Some time after I returned to this good creature and
found her full of determination to serve God, and, in fact,
from that day she began to come to prayers night and morning
and that so steadily that she did not fail even once, no mat-
ter what work or occupation she might have on hand to
make her living. The younger of the two children did not
delay long to give to heaven the first fruits of this mission,
having gone there after practicing, child as he was, some ex-
ercise of Christianity during the short time that he outlived
his Baptism; for, having noticed that his grandmother prayed

1, "Relation" of 1664, p. 3 et seg.

to God before eating, he began himself to put his little hand'
to his forehead to make the sign of the cross before eating
and drinkipg, which practice he kept up until the last, a very-
rare thing for an Indian child not yet two years old.

*' The second person who seems to have been predestined
for Paradise, is a young man of about thirty years, who was
a subject of wonder to our Indians since a long time by
reason of a resoluteness unknown among them, which made
him resist all temptations of the spirit of impurity which
are here as frequent as anywhere else in the world. He-
spoke to me several times during our voyage, and showed a-
great desire to become a Christian. But when I learned
that he was not married, I persuaded myself that he was
more deeply plunged in sin than those who are married. I
found out here that he had always conducted himself very
properly and that no one had ever been able to draw out of
his mouth a single impure word. He was one of the first
who came to find me as soon as I had withdrawn to a little
hermitage, a poor cabin made of fir-tree branches laid upon
one another, not so much to defend me from the rigors of
the season as to set my imagination aright and to make me
believe that I was under cover. This young man having
entered there, I asked him, after several pleasant conversations,
how it was that he was not married, and whether he meant
in real earnest to remain in that state. " My Father," said
he, T '^m resolved not to live after the way of our people,
nor to unite myself to a woman, who abandons herself to
vice as all others of this country do. If I do not find an in-
nocent and chaste woman, I will never take any, and I am
satisfied to remain with my brother for the rest of my life.
For the rest, if you should notice that I act otherwise than I
am telling you, you may exclude me from prayer " (from
becoming a Christian). This firm resoluteness, joined with
the urgent request he made to be admitted among the-
Christians, obliged me to grant him holy Baptism, at which
I gave him the name of Louis. Afterwards I have noticed
that God has taken possession of his heart, as he showed on
all occasions. Once this winter a very impure feast was got
up by order of the medicine-men, in order to banish a
desperate sickness. Louis was begged and most pressingly
urged to be present, to fill the number appointed for that in-
famous ceremony. He refused, and as all his relatives urged

him and quarreled with him to prevail on him to go there,
he arose, and going out of one door of the wigwam, he re-
mained somewhere for a time to pray, then entering again
by another door, he was made the laughing stock ot all and
incurred the indignation of his relatives. As he is v.nique in
his way of living, he has to put up with a thousand little
af!ronts from all quarters, to which, thanks be to God, he
has already grown accustomed, repaying with a smile all the
railleries heaped upon him, without shrinking or relaxing in
a single point from the duties of a good Christian. Bar-
barism here has never witnessed courage of such a stamp.

"The third chosen soul found is the eldest sister of our
Louis: a poor widow burdened with five children, a peace-
able woman, busy all day long with her household affairs.
She biought to me the oldest of her children, a girl sixteen
years of age, to be instructed in order, as she said, that God
might have compassion on her daughter and restore her to
health, which she had lost since some months. The child
had a continual cough, which choked her voice and de-
prived her of speech. I made her pray to God, and then
had her bled, which rfstored her voice. After this the
mother came to offer me all her children for instruction,
God disposing all for the salvation of his elect. I put their
piety to a good trial, and finding them resolute and well pre-
pared for Baptism. I conferred it at the same time upon the
motlier and her children, who henceforth are very grateful to
God for the grace which they have received, and they have
beim very good to me, having contributed a great deal
towards my support by their charitable donations.

" The fourth whom God has given me, is a poor, old man,
who was extremely sick at Three Rivers last year, and whom
I could not get to talk to on account of the medicine-men,
who were continually about him. This good man, in regard
to whom God has his designs, was not then yet ripe for
heaven. The misfortune that happened to him on his
voyage has humbled him very much, for a squall of wind
having overtaken him on Lake Superior, in saving his life,
he lost all he had collected at Three Rivers. As old age and
poverty are in great contempt with the Indians, he saw him-
self obliged to withdraw to our cabin, where, at first having
rallied at our mysteries, God inspii'ed me so well when re-
buking his audacity and speaking to his heart that, giving

place to grace and the Holy Grhost, he came to see me the
next day, in order to ask to be allowed to pray to God (to
become a Christian) Since then he has practiced prayer so
openly, fervently and resolutely, that I could not refuse him
holy Baptism. He continues to render himself worthy of
this favor, making public profession before his countrymen,
who are all pagans, of being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

"As to the other Christians who compose this church, they
are few in number, but chosen, and they give me much satis-
faction. I did not like to admit a great number, contenting
myself with such as I judged would persevere in the faith
during my absence ; for I do not know what will become of
me, nor to which side I will go. However, I should have to
do great violence to myself if I had to come down from the
cross which God has prepared for me in this extremity of the
world in my old days. Not a single pulsation of my heart is
for returning to Three Rivers. I do not know of what nature
are the nails, which hold me attached to this holy wood ; but
the mere thought that anybody should come to detach me
from it makes me shudder, and very often I start up out of my
sleep with the thought that there is no Outaouak for me and
that my sins put me back to the same place, whence the mercy
of my God has drawn me by a singular favor. I can say with
truth that i have more consolation here in one day, notwith-
standing hunger, cold, and other almost inexplicable hard-
ships, than I have had in alf my life, whatever place in the
world I have been. T have often heard Father DanieP and
Father Charles Gamier say that the more they saw themselves
abandoned and deprived of human consolations, the more
God took possession of their heart and made them experience
how much His holy grace is superior to all imaginable sweet-
ness found among creatures. The consolation which it pleased
God to give me here has caused me to avow this secret and
made me value the good there is in finding myself here alone
among our savages, five hundred leagues from our French
settlements."

These are the last words with which the Father concludes
his (two) letters, which he thus dates: 'Among the Outaouak
at St. Theresa Bay, one hundred leagues above the Sault, in

1. See " Hist, and Biog. Notes" for a description of, the glorious martyr-
.dom of both these Fathers.

Lake Superior, the 1st day of March, and the second of July,
1661.'

Whilst sojourning at St. Theresa (Keweenaw Bay) he heard
the Indians frequently converse about four powerful tribes,
living at a distance of two or three hundred leagues. They
probably meant the Sioux, who are divided into several
branches, possibly also the Illinois to the south. The country
to be traveled is described as "an almost continual series of
swamps, in which soundings had to be taken, lest one might
get himself inextricably engulfed. Moreover, a full supply
of provisions had to be carried along, for the traveler, winding
his way through dense swarms of mosquitoes, could not find
anywhere in those dismal regions means of living,"

Towards those distant pagan tribes the heart of the mis-
sionary was yearning, and however doubtful the prospect of
reaching them appeared, he already began to lay aside, what-
, ever he could spare of his scant}' fare.

" It is my hope," so he writes himself, " to die on the way.
But, having pushed so far, and being full of health, I shall
do what is possible to reach them. I hope I shall be able to
throw myself among some Indians, who intend to make that
journey. God will dispose of us according to his good pleas-
ure for his greater glory, either for death or life. It will be a
great mercy on the part of our loving God, if He calls me to
Himself in so good a place." With these prophetic words
Father Menard concludes his last letter, dated from St. The-
resa Bay, July 2d, 1661.

In the next chapter we shall give the account of his suffer-
ings and labors at said bay, and of his last journey to the
headwaters of Black River in Wisconsin, where he ended his
apostolic career, either by starvation, or what is very prob-
, able, by the tomahawk of some roving Indian.

The reader will excuse us for making here a slight digres-
, sion. It is stated above that in August, 1660, an Ottawa flotilla
of sixty canoes with 300 men arrived at Three Rivers. This
flotilla was conducted by two adventurous Frenchmen,^ in all
probability, the first white men who navigated Lake Superior, and
PERHAPS also the first, who gazed on the limpid waters oj' the Upper
Mississippi.

1 See "Hisioi-ical and Biographical Notes" for a detailed account of these
two men's sojourn on the shores of Lalje Superior, and their travels among
the Indian tribes of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Jerome Lallemant, then Superior of the Jesuits in Canada
and author of the " Relation" of 1660, writes as follows :

" Hardly at home in Quebec (from Tadoussac) I found two
Frenchmen just arrived Irom those upper countries with three
hundred Algonquins, in sixty canoes laden with furs This
is what they have seen with their own eyes, and what affords
nis an idea of the state of the western Algonquins, having thus
]far spoken of those in the north.

" They have spent the winter on the shores of Lake Supe-
:rior, and were happy enough to baptize two hundred Jittle
.children of the Algonquin tribe, where they were first living.
'Those children suffered from disease and starvation ; forty of
-them have gone straight to heaven, as they died shortly after
Baptism.

" In the course of the winter our two Frenchmen made
several excursions among the neighboring nations. Among
other things they found, at six days' journey from Lake
Superior towards the south-west, a people composed of the
remnants of the Petuns, a Huron tribe, who had been forced
by the Iroquois to leave their home and penetrate so far into
the woods that they could not be discovered by their
enemies. These poor people, wandering on their flight
through great and unknown forests, over mountains and
rocks, happily struck a fine river, great, broad, deep, and
comparable, they say, to our great St. Lawrence (the Missis-
sippi). Up the shores of that river they found the great
nation of the Abimiwec (a misprint for Aliniouek, Illinois)
who received them well. This nation is composed of sixty
towns, which confirms the knowledge we already had of
thousands of people that fill those westerly countries.

" But to return to our Frenchmen. Proceeding on their

roundabout maich, they were much surprised when, on

visiting the Nad wechiwea (Nadouessioux, Sioux),, they saw

vwomen disfigured by having their nose cut oft as far as the

bridge, so that in this part of the face they resembled a

. death's head. Besides, on the top of their head a round

piece of scalp was torn off. Having asked for the reason of

such bad treatment, they learned, with wonder, it was the

law of the country that inflicted this penalty on all adulterous

wives, in order that they might bear the punishment and

,. shame of their sin on their very countenance.

" Our Frenchmen visited the forty towns, which form that

nation, in five of which they counted as many as 5,000 men.
But we must take leave of this people, though quite un-
ceremoniously, in order to enter upon the grounds ot another
warlike nation, which, with its bows and arrows, has made
itself as formidable among the Upper Algonquins as the
Iroquois are among the Lower, whence they are called
Bwalak\ that is: warriors. As timber is scarce and of small
growth in their country, nature has informed them how to
make fire with mineral coal and to cover their huts. Some,
more industrious, make themselves dwellings of clay, in a
manner as swallows build their nests ; and beneath those
hides and under that mud they would sleep as quietly as the
great ones of the world under their golden ceilings, was it
not for the fear of the Iroquois, who, in search of them,
travel over a distance of 500 and 600 leagues."

CHAPTER III.

Continuation of Father Menard's Labors and Sufferings
AT St. Theresa Bay; His Death at the Headwaters
of Black River.

We shall give the particulars of Father Menard's journey
to the Hurons, on Black River, Wisconsin, and his death, as
we find them in the " Relation " of 1663.

"We are going to behold a poor missionary, worn out by
apostolic labors, in which his hairs have grown white, loaded
with years and infirmities, exhausted by a rough and painful
journey, horrible-looking from sweat and blood, dying en-
tirely alone in the depths of the forests, five hundred leagues
from Quebec, abandoned as a prey to carnivorous animals, to
starvation and all miseries, and who, according to his wishes
and even according to his prophecy, imitates in his death the
abandonment of St. Francis Xavier, whose zeal he has per-
fectly imitated during life. We mean Father Menard, who
for more than twenty years has labored in these rough mis-
sions, where finally, having got lost in the woods whilst run-
ning after the lost sheep, he has happily ended his apostolate
by the loss of his strength, health, and life. It was not the

1. "Relation" of 1660, pp. 13, 13.

will of Heaven that any one of us should receive his last
sighs; it is only the forest that are the depositaries thereof, or
some cavity in a rock, into which, perhaps, he betook him-
self; these are the only witnesses of the last outpourings of
love, which this heart all inflamed sent forth to Heaven with
his soul, at a time wh^^n he was actually running to the con-
quest of souls.

This is the little we have learned concerning his death,
from a letter from Montreal, under date of the 26th of July,
1663. "Yesterday the good God brought us thirty-five
canoes of Outaouak, with whom seven of the nine Frenchmen
returned. The other two, who are Father Rene Menard and
his faithful companion, Jean Guerin, have gone elsewhere to
meet sooner than the others at the sure harbor of our com-
mon fatherland. It is two years since the Father died and
six months or thereabouts, since the death of Jean Guerin."

The poor Father and the eight Frenchmen, his companions,
started from Three Rivers, on the 28th of August, 1660, with
the Outaouak. They arrived in the Outaouak country on
the 15th of October, day of St. Theresa. On their way they
sufifered inexplicable hardships, bad treatment from the
Indian boatmen, inhuman wretches, and an extreme want of
all things to live on, so much so that the Father could scarcely
stand up, being moreover of a feeble constitution and broken
down by hardships. But, as a person may yet go very far
after being tired, so he had sufficient strength to get to the
wigwams of his hosts. One named LeBrochet, chief of that
family, a proud and very wicked man, who had four or five
wives, treated the Father very badly. Finally, he obliged
him to leave him and to make for himself a hut of fir-tree
branches. 0 God! what a dwelling during the rigors of win-
ter, which are almost insupportable in those countries. The
nourishment was not any better. Most of the time their
whole repast consisted of a small fish boiled in mere water,
and that had to suffice for four or five at a time. Moreover,
this puny fish itself was an alms, which the Indians gave to
some one among them who waited on the beach for the
return of the (Indian) fishermen's canoes, the same as poor
beggars await alms at a church-door. A certain moss, which
grows on rocks, often served them to make a good meal!
They would put a handful of this moss into their kettle,
which would thicken the water a little, forming thereon a

kind of scum or foam, like that of snails, which nourished
more their imagination than their body ! The remains of
fish (head, entrails), which are carefully preserved whilst fish
are found in abundance, served also when hard up to tease
their hunger. Even pulverized bones these starving men would
utilize for nourishment. Many kinds of wood furnished
them with food. The bark of oak, birch, white-wood and of
other trees were boiled and pulverized and then put into the
water in which a fish had been boiled, or they were mixed
with fish-oil, and this served as an excellent ragout ! They
ate acorns with more relish and pleasure than people in
Europe eat chestnuts, and yet they did not get their fill. In
this manner they struggled through the first winter. As to
the spring and summer, they got along better, on account of
a little game they hunted. They killed, from time to time,
some ducks, wild geese or pigeons, which afforded them de-
lightful banquets. Raspberries and other little berries served
them as grand delicacies. Neither corn nor bread are known
in that country.

But if those poor Frenchmen were destitute of nearly all
that might recreate the body, they were recompensed with
the consolations of heavenly grace. As long as the Father
was alive, they had holy mass every day, and they confessed
and received holy communion every week.

As to the death of the Father, this is what I have learned
concerning it. During the winter, which he spent with the
Outaouak, he started a church among those savages, a very
small one indeed, but very precious, for it cost him much
sweat and many tears. Hence it seemed to be composed of
only predestined souls, the greatest part of whom were dying
infants, whom he was obliged to baptize stealthily, for their
parents used to conceal them when he would enter their wig-
wams, having the old erroneous notion of the Hurons, that
Baptism caused their death.

Among the adults he found two old men whom grace had
prepared for Christianity, the one by a mortal sickness, which
robbed him of the life of the body shortly after he had
received that of the soul. He expired after having made
public profession of the faith and preach by his example to
his relatives, who, by mocking him and his prayers, afforded
him an occasion of giving proof of a very strong though
newly rooted piety.

The other old man was enlightened by his blindness. Per-
haps he would have never perceived the splendors of faith,
had his eyes been opened to earthly objects. But Grod, who
draws light from darkness and who delights to let us see,
from time to time, traces of His Providence, arranged every-
thing so well for this poor, blind man, that the Father came
just in time to enlighten him and to open heaven to him
when apparently he had already one foot in hell. He died
some time after Baptism, blessing God for the graces He had
bestowed upon him at the end of his days, which he had so
little merited during the long course of his life, having almost
attained his hundredth year.

There were also some women who added to this solitary
church. Among them was a widow, who in baptism re-
ceived the name of Ann, and who was looked upon as a saint
by those people, although they do not know what sanctity is.
Since the Father prepared her for the most Holy Sacrament
of the Altar, she no longer knows what a barbarous life is,
though living among a lot of barbarians. She says her
prayers all alone on her knees, whilst all the family are
carrying on improper discourse. She continues in this holy
exercise of devotion to the admiration of our Frenchmen,
who saw her during the years following her conversion just
as fervent as the first day. By an example hitherto un-
known among people entirely given up to impurity, she of
her own account has consecrated the rest of her widowhood
to chastity and that in the midst of continual abominations,
with which those infamous wretches boast, of incessantly
polluting themselves.

These are the fruits of Father Menard's labors. They are
very trifling in appearance, but very great in reality, as it re-
quires great courage, great zeal and a great heart to suffer
hardships so great in going so far for apparently so little,
though indeed, that cannot be called little which involves
the question of saving even a soul, for which the son of God
did not spare his sweat and blood of infinite value.

Excepting these elect the Father found nothing but oppo-
sition to the faith amongst the rest of those barbarians, on ac-
count of their great brutality and infamous polygamy. The
little hope he had of converting these people, plunged in all
sorts of vices, made him resolve to undertake a new journey
of one hundred leagues, in order to instruct a tribe of poor

Hurons, whom the Iroquois had caused to fly to that end of
the world.

Among those Hurons there were a great many old
Christians who asked most urgently for the Father. They
promised that at his arrival at their place, the rest of their
countrymen would embrace the faith. But before starting
for that distant country, the Father begged three young
Frenchmen of his flock to go ahead to reconnoitre. They
were to make presents to the head men of the tribe and assure
them on his part, that he would go and instruct them as soon
as they would send some guides to conduct him to their
place.

After undergoing many hardships, the three young French-
men arrived at the village of this poor agonizing tribe. En-
tering their wigwams, they found but living skeletons, so
feeble that they could scarcely stir and stand on their feet.
Hence they did not think it advisable to give them the
presents which they had brought along from the Father, see-
ing no appearance of a possibility for him to go and hunt
them up so soon, without exposing himself to die of starva-
tion with them in a few days, as they were unable to do any-
thing for themselves and as it was a long time yet before they
could harvest their Indian-corn, of which they had planted
some small patches. So they soon transacted their business
with those poor, famished people and took leave of them,
assuring them that the Father was not to blame for their not
getting instructed.

They set out on their way to return, which was a great
deal harder, being obliged to go up the river in returning,
whereas they had gone down stream when going to the Huron
village. If they had not been young and fit for hardships,
they would never have returned. A good Huron, who meant
to accompany them, was obliged to turn back for fear of
dying of hunger on the way. In addition to their suffer-
ings, the canoe in which they had come was stolen from
them. Had they not formerly learned to make canoes, a la
Iroquois, when they were with us among that tribe, they
would have perished. These Iroquois canoes are easily made
of thick bark, at almost all seasons of the year. Having,
therefore, finished a canoe in one day, they embarked to-
wards the end of May (1661). Some turtles, which they
found on the shores of lakes and rivers, with some pickerel

which they caught with a fishing-line, served them for
nourishment during the fifteen days it took them to return
to the place whence they had started.

They explained to the Father how little appearance of hope
there was that a poor, old, decrepit, feeble man, like him,
destitute of provisions as he was, should undertake such a
voyage. But they might well parade before his eyes the
difficulties of the way, by land and by water, the number of
rapids and waterfalls, the long portages, the precipices to be
passed, the rocks over which one must drag himself, the dry
and sterile lands where nothing could be found to eat; all
this did not frighten him; he had but one answer to give to
these good children of his: "God calls me, I must go there,
should it even cost my life. St. Francis Xavier, said he to
them, who seemed so necessary to the world for the conver-
sion of souls, died well in trying to enter China. And I,
who am good for nothing, should I, for fear of dying on the
way, refuse to obey the voice of my God, who calls me to
the succor of poor christians and catechumens deprived of a
pastor since so long a time ? No, no, I do not want to let
souls perish, under pretext of preserving the bodily life of a
puny man, such as I am. What! must God be served and
our neighbor helped only then when there is nothing to
suffer and no risk of one's life ? This is the most beautiful
occasion to show to angels and men that I love my Creator
more than the life I have from Him, and would you wish me
to let it escape ? Would we ever have been redeemed had
not our dear Master preferred to sacrifice His life in obedience
to His Father for our salvation?"

Thus the resolution was taken to go and seek those lost
sheep. Some Hurons, who had come to traffic with the Outa-
ouak, offered themselves to the Father to act as guides. He
felt happy at meeting with them. He gave them some lug-
gage to carry and chose one of the Frenchmen to accompany
him. All the provisions he took along were a bag of dried
sturgeon and a little smoked meat, which he had long ago
saved for this intended journey.

His last adieu to the other Frenchmen whom he was leav-
ing, was in these prophetic words: "Adieu, my dear children,"
said he, embracing them tenderly, " I bid you the great adieu
for this world, for you will not see me again. I pray the
Divine Goodness, that we may be reunited in heaven."

So he set out on his journey the 13th of July, 1661, mne
months after his arrival in the Outaouak country. But the
poor Hurons though they had little to carry, soon lost cour-
age, their strength failed through want of nourishment. They
abandoned the Father, telling him they were going in haste
to their village to inform the headmen that he was on the
way coming, and thus induce them to send some strong young
men to get him. About fifteen days the Father stopped near
a lake expecting help. As provisions were failing, he deter-
mined to betake himself on the way with his (French) com-
panion, having a small canoe, which he had found in the
brush.

They embarked with their little baggage. Alas ! who could
describe the hardships which that poor, extenuated body of
his endured, during the course of that voyage, from hunger,
heat, fatigue, and at the portages, where he was obliged to
shoulder both canoe and" packs, without having any other
consolation than that of every day celebrating holy Mass.

Finally, about the 10th of August, the poor Father, whilst
following his companion, went astray, mistaking some trees
or rocks for others. At the end of a portage, made in order
to get by a rather difficult cataract, or rapids, his companion
looked back to see whether he could descry the Father com-
ing. He seeks for him, calls him, shoots ofl his gun as many
as live times, to bring him back to the right way, but all in
vain. This made him determine to go as quickly as possible
to the Huron village, which he judged to be near by, in order
to hire help, at whatever cost it might be, to go and search
for the Father. But unluckily he himself lost his way and
went beyond the village without noticing it. He had better
luck, however, when getting lost, for he met an Indian who '
led him back and brought him to the village ; but he did not
arrive there till two days after the Father had gone astray.
And then, what can a poor man do, who does not know a
single word of the Huron language ? Still, as charity and
necessity are eloquent enough, he gave them to understand
by his gestures and tears, that the Father had lost his way.
He promised a young man various French articles to prevail
upon him to go and search for the Father. At first he made
a show of being willing to do so, and actually started.
Scarcely was he gone two hours, however, when he returned,
shouting, '' To arms ! to arms ! I am just after meeting with

the enemy !" At this uproar the compassion they had con-
ceived for the Father vanished and, with it, the will to go
and seek for him.

And thus behold the priest left, abandoned — but in the
hands of divine providence. God, no doubt, gave him the
courage to suffer with constancy, in that extremity, the depri-
vation of all human succour when tormented by the stings of
mosquitoes, which are exceedingly numerous in those parts,
and so intolerable, that the three Frenchmen who had made
the voyage (to the Huron village) declare that there was no
other way of protecting themselves from their bites than to
run incessantly, and it was even necessary that two of them
should chase away those little beasts, whilst the third was
taking a drink. Thus the poor Father, stretched o\it on the
ground or on some rock, remained exposed to their stings
and endured this cruel torment as long as life held out.
Hunger and other miseries completed his sufferings and
caused this happy soul to leave its body, in order to go and
enjoy the fruit of so many hardships endured for the con-
version of savages.

As to his body, the Frenchman, who accompanied him,
did all he could with the Indians to get them to go and search
for it, but in vain. Neither the precise time nor the day of
his death can be ascertained. The companion of his voyage
thinks he died about the day of the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin (Aug. 15th, 1661), for he says the Father still
had a piece of smoked meat about the size of a man's hand,
which might have been able to sustain him for two or
three days. Some time afterwards an Indian found the
Father's bag, but he would not admit that he found
his body, for fear he might be accused of having killed
him, which is probably but too true, since those savages do
not hesitate to cut a man's throat when they meet him alone
in the woods, in hopes of capturing some booty. As a mat-
ter of fact, moreover, some articles belonging to his vestment-
box were seen in a certain wigwam.^

Father Menard has the immortal glory of being the first
priest that ever said Mass on Wisconsin soil, between the 1st
and 10th of August, 1661.^

1. "Relation" of 1663, pp. 17-22.

3. See "Hist, and biog:. notes" on the locality, where Father Menard per-
ished.

32
CHAPTER IV.

Great Earthquake in Canada and its Prodigious Effects/

" On the 5th of February, 1663, at half past five in the
evening, a great roaring noise was heard at the same time
throughout the whole extent of Canada. This noise, which
sounded as if fire had broken out, made everybody run out of
doors to escape such an unexpected conflagration. But, in-
stead of seeing smoke and flames, all were much surprised to
see the walls of their houses rocking and the stones stirring,
as if they had become detached. Roofs appeared to bend
down on one side and then on the other; bells rang of them-
selves; beams, rafters and boards cracked; the earth bounded,
causing the stakes of the palisades to dance in a manner that
would appear incredible, had we not seen it ourselves in
several places.

Everybody ran out of doors, animals fled,' children were
crying in the streets, men and women, seized with terror,
knew not whither to flee for refuge, imagining every moment
they would be buried under the ruin of their houses, or in-
gulfed in some abyss that was opening under their feet. Some,
casting themselves on their knees in the snow, cried for
mercy, others passed the rest of the night in prayer — for the
earthquake continued with a certain motion like that of a
ship at sea, so much so, that some felt a rising in their
stomach as if they were sea-sick. The tumult was still far
greater in the forests. It seemed as if the trees were at war,
striking against each other. Not only their branches, but
even, one would have said, their trunks detached themselves
from their places, to jump upon one another with a fracas
and a tumbling-over that made the Indians say the woods
were drunk.

Even the mountains seemed to be at war with one another.
Some of them detached themselves from their base and threw
themselves upon the others, leaving a vast abyss at the place
in which they had previously stood. At times they would
sink the trees with which they were covered, deep into the
ground up to their tops; others again they would bury,
branches downward, which then occupied the former place

1. "Relation" of 1663, pp. 3-5. See uole on earthquake.

of the roots; thus they left nothing but a forest of trunks over-
turned.

Whilst this general subversion was being enacted on the
land, the ice (on the river St. Lawrence) which was from five
to six feet thick, broke up, going to pieces. In several places
openings were made in the ice and thick fumes of smoke rose
on high, or jets of mud and sand shot up high into the air;
our springs ceased to run or had but water impregnated with
sulphur; rivers disappeared or became wholly putrid, the
water of some of them became yellow, others red. Our great
river St. Lawrence looked altogether whitish as far as towards
Tadoussac, a very astonishing prodigy to those who know
what a great quantity of water this great river has below the
island of Orleans and, consequently, how much matter it must
take to whiten it.

The air was no more exempt from alterations than the
waters and the land, for, besides the crackling noise that al-
ways preceded and accompanied the earthquake, fiery
spectres and phantoms were seen carrying torches in their
hands. Pikes and lances of fire were seen flying through the
air and lighted fire-brands gliding over the houses, without
doing any other harm than causing great fright wherever they
appeared. People even heard plaintive and languishing
voices lamenting, as it were, during the stillness of the night,
and, what is very rare, sea-hogs uttering loud cries in front
of Three Rivers, making the air resound with their pitiable
bellowing, be it that they were real sea-hogs, or, as some
think, sea-cows. A thing so extraordinary could not pro-
ceed from an ordinary cause.

They write from Montreal, that during the earthquake the
palisades or stakes of enclosures were seen to jump, as if
they were dancing. Of two doors of one and the same room,
the one closed and the other opened of itself. Chimneys and
house-tops bent like the branches of a tree agitated by the
wind. When a person lifted up his foot to walk, he felt the
ground following it, raising itself just as the foot was raised
and sometimes striking against the sole of the foot rather
roughly. They mention other things of the same kind very
astonishing.

This is what they write from Three Rivers: The first shock
and the most violent of all, commenced with a roaring noise
like thunder. The houses had the same motion that the tops

of trees have during a storm, accompanied with a peculiar
noise, which made people think that fire was crackling in the
loft overhead.

The first shock lasted fully half an hour, though its greatest
force held out, properly speaking, scarcely a quarter of an
hour. Everyone imagined that the earth was about to open.
For the rest, we have noticed that though this earthquake is,
so to say, incessant, it is not equally great at all times. Some-
times it resembles the motion of a large vessel riding gently
at anchor, which motion produces a certain dizziness of head;
at other times the motion is irregular and precipitated by
several sudden jerks, sometimes very violent, then again more
moderate. The most ordinary motion consists of a slight
trembling, which makes itself felt when no noise is heard and
one is reposing.

According to the report of several of our French and Indian
eye-witnesses, far up our river — " Three Rivers" — five or six
leagues from here, both sides, which were of a prodigious
height, have been levelled, being lifted from their base and
upset, so as to be on a level with the water. Both those
mountains with all their forests have been toppled over into
the bed of the river and formed there a mighty dam, which
obliged the river to change its bed and to overflow large
flats, newly formed, carrying along in its course all this
crumbled earth and mingling it, little by little, with the
waters of the river, which are still on that account so thick
and rily, that they cause all the water of the great St. Law-
rence to change color. Judge how much soil it must take
every day to continue for almost three months to redden
the water, which is always full of mud.

New lakes are seen where there were none before. Cer-
tain mountains are no longer visible, as they have been swal-
lowed up. Several water-falls have been leveled, and some
rivers have disappeared. The earth has split in many places
and opened precipices, the bottom of which cannot be found.
Finally, there is such confusion of woods overturned and en-
gulfed, that a person can see at present fields of more than a
thousand arpents all razed and looking as if they had been lately
ploughed, where shortly before there was nothing but forests.

We are informed from the direction of Tadoussac, that the
force of the earthquake there was no less violent than elsewhere;
that a rain of ashes was seen, which crossed over the river as

a great storm would have done, and that, wpre a person to
traverse that part ot the country from Cape Tourmente till
there, he' would see prodigious effects of the earthquake.
Towards the Bay, called St. Paul, there was a small mountain
situated near the river-bank, a quarter of a league or there-
about in circumference. This mountain was swallowed up
and, as if it had only made a plunge, it came up again from
the bottom of the water, to change itself into an islet and to
make a place that heretofore had been quite surrounded by
cliffs, a safe harbor against all kinds of wind. Farther down,
towards Pointe-aux-Alouettes, an entire forest had detached
itself from the mainland and slided into the river, exhibiting
the spectacle of large, green trees, which have started to grow
in the water.

For the rest, three circumstances have rendered this earth-
quake very remarkable. First, the time it lasted , for it con-
tinued till the month of August, that is to say, more than six
months. The shocks, it is true, were not always equally
violent. In some localities, towards the mountains back of
us, the scintillation and trembling were continual for a long
time. In other places, for instance, towards Tadoussac, the
shocks occurred generally twice or three times a day, with
violent jerks. We have remarked that on high ground the
agitation was less than on the low lands.

The second circumstance regards the extent of this earth-
quake, which we believe to have been all over New France,
for we learn that it made itself felt from Isle Percee and Gas-
pee, which are situated at the mouth of our river (St. Law-
rence) till beyond Montreal, as also in New England, Acadia
and other far distant localities, so that, to our knowledge, the
earthquake having occurred throughout a territory of two
hundred leagues in length and one hundred in width, there
were twenty thousand leagues of country, which shook all at
the same time, on the same day and at the same moment.

The third circumstance in regard to this earthquake is the
particular protection of God over our habitations ; for we see
near us great openings (in the earth) that have been made
and a prodigious extent of country entirely lost, without our
losing a child or even a hair of our heads. We see ourselves
surrounded with subversion and ruin, and, at the same time,
have had only some chimneys demolished, whilst mountains
around us have been swallowed up.

Narrative of the Mission of the Holy Ghost
among the Outaouacs at Lake Tracy,
formerly called Lake Superior.'"

CHAPTER V.

Journal of the Voyage of Father Claude Allouez to
THE Land of the Outaouacs." (Ottawas).^

" It is two years and more since Father Claude Allouez
started this large and laborious mission, for which he traveled
in the whole of his voyage nearly two thousand leagues
through those vast forests, suffering hunger, nakedness, ship-
wrecks, fatigues day and night, and the persecutions of the
idolaters. But he had also the consolation of carrying the
torch of faith to more than twenty different pagan tribes.

We can obtain n® better knowledge of the fruits of his
labors than that which we gather from the journal he was
obliged to write.

The narration will be diversified by the description of the
places and lakes through which he traveled, the customs and
superstitions of the tribes he visited and various extra-
ordinary incidents deserving mention.

" On the eighth of August, of the year 1665, I embarked
at Three Rivers with six Frenchmen, in company with more
than four hundred Indians of different tribes, who were re-
turning to their country, having got through with the little
traffic for which they had come.

The devil formed all opposition imaginable to our voyage,
making use of the false prejudice these Indians have, namely,
that Baptism caiijses death to their children.^ One of their
leading men declared to me his will and that of his people,
in arrogant terms and with threats of abandoning me on some

1. "Relation" of 1667, pp. 4-34.

3. Pronounced Oo-tab-wauk.

3. As the early Jesuit Fathers realized the absolute necessity of Baptism
for salvation, they most eag-erly soug-ht to confer that Sacrament upon the
dying- children of Fag-an parents. Seeing- that their children generally died
after Baptism, the natives in their ig-norance and superstition attributed their
death to Baptism, which they reg-arded as an evil charm for the destruction
of their offspring.

desolate island, if I dared to follow them any further. We
had then advanced to the River Desprairies,^ when the canoe
which had carried me, having been broken, made me appre-
hend the misfortune with which they threatened me. We
worked promptly at repairing our little boat, and, although
the Indians did not put themselves to any trouble, neither
to help us nor to wait for us, we used diligence so great that
we caught up to them at the Long-Sault, two or three days
after our departure.

But our canoe, after having once been broken, could not
long be of use to us, and our Frenchmen, who were very tired,
already despaired of being able to keep up with the Indians,
all accustomed to these great labors. This made me take
the resolution of assembling them all, in order to persuade
them to receive us separately into their canoes, showing them
ours in so bad a condition, that it would hereafter be useless
to us. They consented, and the Hurons promised, though
with great reluctance, to take me aboard.

The next day, therefore, having betaken myself to the
edge of the water, they gave me a good reception at first and
requested me to wait a moment, whilst they were preparing
for embarking. Having waited, and then stepped into the
water, to get into their canoe, they pushed me back, saying
they had no place for me, and immediately they began to
row strongly, leaving me alone without the appearance of
any human help. I prayed to God to pardon them, but my
prayer was not heard, for they afterwards suffered shipwreck,
and the Divine Majesty made use of this abandonment by
men to preserve my life.

Seeing myself all alone, abandoned in a strange land, for
the whole flotilla was already far away, I had recourse to the
Blessed Virgin Mary in whose honor we had made a novena,
which procured us from this Mother of Mercy daily, visible
protection. Whilst I was praying I perceived, contrary to
all hope, some canoes, in which there were three of our
Frenchmen. I hailed them, and haAdng taken again our old
canoe, we went to work and paddled with all our strength to
overtake the flotilla; but we had lost sight of it since a long
time, and we did no know where to go, it being very difficult
to find a small turn which had to be taken to get to the por-

1. Ottawa River, so called because a Frenchman with the name of Des
Prairies was drowned in said river.

38 •

tage of Sault aux Chats (it is thus they call this place). We
would have been lost had we missed this turn, but it pleased
God, through the intercession of the Holy Virgin, to conduct
us directly and almost without thinking of it, to this portage,
where, having yet perceived but two can(5es of the Indians, I
jumped into the water and made them (i. e. his French com-
panions) go by land to the other side of the portage, where
I found six canoes. ''What!" said I to them, "Is it thus
you abandon the French ? Do you not know that I hold in
my hands the word of Onnontio ^ and that i must speak, on
his part, to all your nations by the presents which he has
given me in charge?" These words obliged them to help us,
so that we joined the main part of the flotilla about noon.

Having disembarked, I thought it my duty in this ex-
tremity to employ the most efficacious means for the glory
of God. I spoke to them all and threatened them with the
disgrace they would incur from Monsieur de Tracy, whose
word I carried. The fear of disobliging so great an Onnontio
induced one ot the foremost among them to act as spokes-
man, and he harangued me strongly for a long time, in order
to persuade me to return. The malignant spirit made use
of the weakness of this malcontent, to preclude the passage
of the Gospel. The rest were of no better intention, so that
our Frenchmen, having found an easy chance to embark, no
one was willing to take charge of me, all of them saying I
had neither the skill to paddle nor the strength to carry
package.

In this abandonment, I retired into the woods and, having
thanked God that He had made me feel of what little account
I am, I avowed myself before His Divine Majesty but a use-
less burden on earth. My prayer being ended, I returned to
the edge of the water, where I found the mind of the Indian
who had repelled me with so great contempt, entirely changed;
for, of his own accord, he invited me to get into his canoe,
which I did very promptly, for fear he might change his mind.

No sooner had I embarked than he put a paddle into my
hund, exhorting me to paddle, and telling me that was a great
work, worthy of a chief. I willingly took the paddle and,
offering to God this labor in satisfaction for my sins and for
the conversion of those poor Indians, I imagined myself a male-

1. Onnontio, the Indian name g'iven to the French Governors of Canada.

factor, condemned to the galleys, and, although I was wholly
tired out, God gave me so much strength as was necessary to
paddle all day and often a good part of the night. This, however,
did not prevent my being made ordinarily the object of their
contempt and raillery; for however hard I tried, I did noth-
ing in comparison to them, who were large of body, robust,
and made just for such labors. The little account they made
of me, was the cause of their stealing my clothes from me,
and I had great trouble to keep my hat, the rim of which
appeared to them very good to protect themselves from the
excessive heat of the sun. At night my pilot took a blanket
that I had and used it for a pillow, obliging me to pass the
night without any other covering than the foliage of some tree.

When, in addition to these hardships hunger comes, it is a
very severe suffering, which soon taught me to take liking to
most bitter routs and rotten meat. It pleased God to make me
endure the greatest hunger on Fridays, for which I most gladly
thank Him.

I had to innure myself to eat a certain moss which grows
on rocks. It is a kind of leaf in the shape of a shell, which
is always covered with caterpillars and spiders. When boiled,
it makes an insipid, black, and sticky broth, which serves
rather to keep death away than to impart life.

On a certain morning a deer was found, dead since four or
or five days; it was a lucky acquisition for poor famished
beings. I was offered some, and, although the bad smell hin-
dered some of them from eating it, hunger made me take my
share ; but I had, in consequence an offensive odor in my
mouth until the next day.

In addition to all these miseries we met with at the rapids,
I used to carry packs as large as possible for my strength ;
but I often succumbed, and this gave our Indians occasion to
laugh at me. They used to make fun of me, saying a child
ought to be called, to carry both me and my baggage. Our
good God did not altogether abandon me on these occasions ;
for often He would move some one of them to compassion, who
would, without saying anything, take my box of vestments
from me or some other pack that I was carrying, and thus aid
me to make my way with greater ease.

It sometimes happened that, after having carried baggage
and paddled all day and even two or three hours of the night,
we lay down on the ground or on some rock, without supper;

to begin the same labors next day. Divine Providence, how-
ever, everywhere mingled a little sweetness and cnnsolation
with our fatigues.

We had endured these hardships about fifteen days, and had
passed Lake Nipissirinien,^ when on coursing down a small
river, we heard lamentable cries and songs of death. We
steered towards the place whence those cries proceeded, and
saw eight young Indians of the Ottaouac tribe horribly burned
by a sad accident, a spark of fire having unluckily fallen into
a keg of powder. Four of them, especially, were scorched all
over and in danger of death. I consoled them and prepared
them for Baptism, which I would have imparted had I had
time enough to see them sufficiently prepared ; for, notwith-
standing this misfortune, we had to keep on walking to get to
the entry of the Lake of the Hurons (Lake Huron), which
was the general rendez-vous of all those travelers.

On the twenty-fourth of this month (August) they met there
to the number of one hundred canoes, and it was then they
attended to the healing of the poor men who had been burnt,
employing for this purpose all their superstitious remedies.

I plainly perceived this the following night by the song- of
certain jugglers (medicine-men) resounding on the air, and a
thousand other ridiculous ceremonies of which they made use.
Others made a kind of sacrifice to the sun, thus to obtain the
cure of those sick men; for ten or twelve of them having seated
themselves in a circle, as if to hold a council, on the point of
a rocky islet, they lighted a small fire, and as the smoke of this
fire ascended on high, they sent up with it confused cries,
which ended in a harangue, which the eldest and foremost
amongst them addressed to the sun.

I could not bear the invocation of their imaginary gods in
my presence, although I saw myself entirely at the mercy of
all those people. I remained in doubt for some time whether
it would be more proper for me quietly to withdraw, or to
oppose their superstitious practices. The remainder of my
journey depended upon them ; if I irritate them, thought I,
the devil will make use of their anger to shut against me the
entrance into their country and hinder their conversion.
Besides, I had already noticed how little efiectmy words had

1. LakeNipissinp:. The Ottawas call all small inland lakes, "nibish," hence
"Nipisslng-" a corrupt form of ' nibishlng"; "irini" stands for the Chippewa
word "inini" man; the whole means "Lake Nipissing people."

on their minds, and I knew that opposition would exasperate
them still more. Notwithstanding all these reasons, I be-
lieved that God required this little service of me. I, therefore,
proceeded to the place of this performance, leaving the success
of my undertaking to his Divine Providence. I attacked the
foremost of the medicine-men and, after a long disputation
between us, God deigned to touch the heart of the sick man.
He promised me not to tolerate any superstitious perform-
ances in order to be healed, and, calling upon God in a short
prayer, he invoked Him as the author of life and death.

This victory should not be considered a slight one, being
gained, as it was, over the demon within his empire, where
for so many ages he had been obeyed and adored by those
people. This he resented shortly afterwards and sent us the
medicine-man, who yelled like a mad-man outside of our
cabin and seemed anxious to vent his rage upon our French-
men. I prayed to our Lord, that his vengeance might not
fall upon anyone else except myself, and my prayer was not
in vain. We lost nothing except our canoe, which this
wretch broke into pieces.

I was grieved at the same time to learn the death of one
of those poor burnt men, without having been able to assist
him. Nevertheless, I hope God has been merciful to him,
on account of the acts of faith and contrition and several
other prayers, which I taught him to say the first time I saw
him, which was also the last.

Towards the beginning of September, after having coasted
along the shores of the Lake of the Hurons, we arrived at
the Sault. It is thus they call half a league of rapids in a
beautiful river which connects two great lakes, namely that
of the Hurons and Lake Superior.

It is a fine river, as well on account of the islets, with
which it is studded, as also on account of the fishery and
chase which are very abundant there. We went to sleep on
one of those islets, where our Indians thought they would
find something with which to prepare supper immediately
after their arrival; for, when landing, they put the kettle on
the fire, expecting to see their canoe loaded with fish as soon
as they would cast their nets into the water. But God
wished to punish their presumption, postponing till the next
day to feed those famished men.

It was thus on the second of September, after having
passed the Sault, which is not a fall of water but only a very
strong current, hindered in its course by a number of rocks
in the bed of the river, that we entered Lake Superior, which
will bear hereafter the name of Monsieur de Tracy, m
acknowledgment of the obligations which the people of
these countries owe him.

The shape of this lake is almost like that of a bow, the
shores on the south side forming a great curve, and those of
the north almost a straight line. The fishing is very plenti-
ful in this lake, the fish excellent, and the water so clear and
pure that one can see in as much as six fathoms of water
what is at the bottom.

The Indians venerate this lake as a divinity and ofler it
sacrifice, be it on account of its great size, as it is two hundred
leagues long and eighty in breadth at its widest part, or on
account of its value, furnishing, as it does, the fish that sup-
ports those people in place of the chase, which is scarce in
the surrounding country.

At the bottom of the water pieces of pure copper are often
found, some weighing as much as twenty pounds. Several
times I have seen such in the hands of the Indians. As they
are superstitious, they keep these pieces of copper as so
many divinities, or as presents made them by the gods who
are at the bottom of the water, in order to procure them
good luck. For this reason they keep these pieces of copper,
wrapped up in cloth or buckskin, among their most precious
goods. There are some who have kept such pieces of copper
more than fifty years, others have them in their families
from times immemorial^ and cherish them as household
gods.

For some time a large rock, as it were, wholly of copper,
has been seen, the point of which projected out of the water,
giving occasion to those passing by to cut ofi" pieces of the
ore. When I passed the place, however, nothing more was
seen ot it. I think the storms, which here are very frequent
and similar to those on the ocean, have covered the rock
with sand. Our Indians wished to make me believe it was

1. See "Hist, and biog'. notes," where it is related that an Indian chief of
La Poiute ha.i stich a piece of copper, which had been kept in his family over
thi-ee centuries.

a divinity which had disappeared for some reason they did
not tell.

For the rest, this lake is the resort of twelve or fifteen
different Indian tribes, some coming from the North, others
from the South, and still others from the West; and all be-
take themselves either to such places along the shore most
suitable for fishing, or to the islands, which are very numer-
ous in all quarters of this lake. The design these people
have in coming here, is partly to make a living by fishing,
partly to carry on their little traffic with one another when
they meet. But God's design was to facilitate the announce-
ment of the gospel to these wandering tribes, as will ap-
pear in the course of this journal.

Having then entered Lake Tracy (Superior), we were en-
gaged the whole month of September in coasting along the
south shore. I had the consolation of saying holy Mass, as
I now found myself alone with our Frenchmen, what I had
not been able to do since my departure from Three Rivers.

Having thus consecrated these forests by this holy action,
to complete my joy God led me to the edge of the water,
there to meet with two sick children whom they were taking
on board to proceed toward the inland with them. I was
strongly moved interiorly to baptize them, and, having taken
all necessary precautions, I did so, as I saw they were in
danger of dying during the winter. I made nothing more of
all past hardships and welcomed starvation, which always
followed closely on our heels, as we had nothing to eat, ex-
cept what our fishermen, who were not always lucky, could
furnish us from day to day.

We afterwards passed the bay called by the aged, vener-
able Father Menard, Saint Theresa Bay. There it is that
this generous missionary spent the winter, laboring with the
same zeal which afterwards caused him to give his life in run-
ning after souls. Near by I found some remains of his labors.
They were two Christian women, who had always kept the
faith and who shone like two stars in this night of paganism.
I had them pray to God after refreshing in them the memory
of our mysteries.

The devil, who is without doubt very jealous of this glory
rendered to God in this empire of his, did all he could to
prevent me fropa coming here. Not having been able to
succeed, he managed to get some manuscripts I carried along,

which were of value to me for instructing those pagans. I
had enclosed them in a small box, along with some medi-
cines for the sick. The malignant spirit, foreseeing that such
would be of great service to me for the salvation of the In-
dians, made some efforts to cause me to lose this box; for once
it fell overboard into the seething waters of a certain cataract;
another time it had been left at the lower end of a portage; it
passed into different hands seven or eight times. Finally it
came to the possession of the sorcerer, whom I had rebuked
at the entrance of the lake of the Hurons. Having opened
it, he took what suited him, and then abandoned it, leaving
it open to the rain and to those passing by . God deigned to
put to shame the malignant spirit and to make use of the
greatest medicine-man of these regions, a man of six wives
and of a most dissolute life, to restore this box to me. He
handed it to me, when I no longer thought of it, telling me
that the theriac and other medicines, as also some pictures
which were in the box, were so many Manitous or devils, who
would kill him, if he should dare to touch them. I after-
wards found, by experience, how much these writings, in
the language of the country, served me for their conversion.

CHAPTER VI.

On the Arrival of th'-' Missionary and his Stay at the
Bay of the Holy Ghost, called Chagaouamigong.

After having traveled one hundred and eighty leagues on
the south shore of Lake Tracy, during which our Saviour
often deigned to try our patience by storms, hunger, daily
and nightly fatigues, toe finally, on the first day of October, 1665,
arrived at Chagaouamigong, for which place we had sighed so
long. It is a beautiful bay,^ at the head of which is situated the
large village of the Indians, who there cultivate fields of In-
dian corn, and do not lead a wandering life. There are at
this place men bearing arms who number about eight hun-
dred ; but these are gathered together from seven different

bes, and live in peaceable community.

1. S'.e "Hist.; and biog. notes" in regard to the s
chapel, on La Pointe du Saint Esprit.

This great number of people induced us to prefer this place to
all others for our ordinary abode, in order to attend more conven-
iently to the instruction of these heathens, to put up a Chapel there
and commence the functions of Christianity.

At first we could only put ourselves under a roof of bark
(live in a wigwam made of bark) where we were so often
visited by these people, of whom the greater part had never
seen a European, that we were overrun by them. The
instructions which I gave them were continually interrupted
by people going and coming, which made me resolve to go
and see them myself in their respective wigwams, where I
talked to them about God more at ease, and instructed them
more leisurely in all the mysteries of our faith.

Whilst I was attending to these holy works, a young Indian,
one of those who had been burnt by the explosion of the keg
of powder, as related above, came to see me and asked to
become a Christian, assuring me that he in real earnest wished
to be baptized. He related something that happened to him,
of which people may think as they like. "I had no sooner
obeyed you," said he to me, "sending away the sorcerer, who
wanted to cure me with his jugglery, than I saw Him who
made all things, of whom you spoke to me, and He said to
me in a voice which I heard distinctly: "You will not die of
the burning, because you have listened to the Black Gown."
Scarcely had He finished speaking than I felt myself wonder-
fully strengthened and I had great confidence that I would
be restored, which you now see in fact, as I am perfectly
healed." I have good hopes that He who has effected the
healing of the body will not abandon that of the soul. I
am the more confident of this, because this Indian came to
seek me of his own accord, in order to learn prayers and to
receive the necessary instructions.

Not long afterwards I know we sent to heaven a child, still
in its swaddling clothes, that died two days after I had given
it holy Baptism. Saint Francis, whose name it bore, no
doubt, presented this innocent soul to God, as the first fruit of
this mission.

I do not know what will be the lot of another child I
baptized immediately after its birth. Its father, who was of
the Outaouac tribe, summoned me as soon as it was born,
and even came to tell me himself that I should baptize it as
soon as possible, in order to make it live long. Wonderful

thing in these Indians, who heretofore believed that baptism
caused death to their children, and now they are under the
impression that it is necessary to them, in order to procure
them a long life. This gives me more access to these child-
ren, who often come to me in crowds, to satisfy their curiositj''
in looking at the stranger, but much more so to receive with-
out thinking of it, the first seeds of the gospel, which will
yield fruit in due time in these young plants.

CHAPTER VII.

General Council of the Tribes op the Outaouac Country.

The Father having arrived in the country of the Outaouacs^
found them disturbed by the fear of a new war which they
were about to wage with the Nadouessi (Sioux), a warlike
tribe who in their battles use no other arms than the bow
and war-club.

A party of young warriors were already being formed under
the leadership of a cert'un chief, who, having been offended,
did not take into consideration whether the revenge he was
eager to take, might not cause the ruin of all the villages of
his country.

In order to prevent these misfortunes, the old men of the
tribe, convened a general council often or twelve of the neigh-
boring tribes, all of whom had something at stake in this war,
in order to arrest the tomahawk of these rash men by means
of the presents they would make them in so good a company.

The Father was also invited for this purpose, and he went
at the same time to speak to all those tribes in the name of
Monsieur de Tracy, whose three words he carried, with three
presents, the interpreters of said words ^

This whole great assembly having given him leave to ad-
dress them, he said "My brethren, the business that brought
me into your country is very important and deserves that you
listen to my words with extraordinary attention. It concerns
iiothing less than the preservation of your whole country and
the destruction of all your enemies." At these words the

1 See "Hist, and Biog-. notes" for an account of the three presents sent by
the French governor to the Upper Algonquin tribes, and their meaning.

Father having found them very much disposed to listen to
him attentively, he told them about the war which Monsieur
de Tracy had undertaken against the Iroquois, how he was
going to bring them back to their duty by the force of the
king's arms and thus t© render commercial intercourse secure
between us and them (i. e. between the French and Lake Supe-
rior tribes), and to clear all the highways to the French set-
tlements of those river- pirates, forcing them either to accept a
general peace or, otherwise, see themselves totally destroyed.
And it was here the Father took occasion to speak of the piety
of his Majesty, who wished that God should be known through-
out all his dominions, and who did not like people under his
sway, who were not obedient to the Creator of the Universe.
He then explained to them the principal articles of our faith
and spoke to them strongly on all the mysteries of our relig-
ion, in a word he preached Jesus Christ to all those tribes.

It is, no doubt, a great consolation to a poor missionary,
when, having traveled five hundred leagues amid fatigues,
dangers, hunger, and all kinds of miseries, he sees himself
listened to by so many different tribes, announcing the Gos-
pel to them and dispensing the words of salvation, of which
they have never heard before.

These are the seeds which for some time remain in the
ground and do not yield fruit immediately. It is necessary
to go and gather them in the wigwams, in the forests and
on the lakes, and that is what the Father did, who was found
everywhere, in their cabins, at their embarkings, on their
voyages; and everywhere he found children to baptize, sick
to prepare for the Sacraments, old Christians to confess, and
Pagans to instruct.

One day revolving in his mind the obstacles to the faith,
considering the condition and depraved customs of all those
tribes, the Father felt himself moved interiorly during the
holy sacrifice of the mass, to ask of God, through the inter-
cession of St. Andrew, whose feast the church was celebrating
that day (Nov. 30) that his Divine Majesty would deign to
make known to him the day for establishing the Kingdom of
Jesus Christ in these countries in place of paganism; and
from that day God gave him to understand the great ob-
stacles he would meet with, so as to steel him more and more
against those difficulties, as will become sufficiently clear in
the following chapter.

48
CHAPTER VIII.

On the False Gods and Supertitious Customs of the
Indians op that Country.^

This is what Father Allouez relates in regard to the cus-
toms of the Outaouacs and other tribes, which customs he
has studied very carefully, not relying upon the accounts
given him by others, but having seen himself and noticed
all that he left in writing.

"There is here," says he, "a false and abominable religion,
similar in many things to that of some ancient pagans. The
Indians here do not acknowledge any Sovereign Master of
Heaven and Earth. They believe that there are many mani-
tous, some of whom are beneficent, as the sun, the moon, the
lake, the rivers and woods ; others malevolent, as for instance
snakes, the dragon, cold, storms, and in general all that
appears to them useful or injurious they call a manitou and
they render to such objects the worship and veneration which
we give to the true God alone.

They invoke them when they go to hunt, to fish, to war or
on a voyage. They offer them sacrifices with ceremonies
only used by such as offer sacrifice.

An old man from amongst the foremost of the village per-
forms the functions of a pagan priest. He begins with a
studied harangue which he addresses to the sun, if the sacri-
fice is offered in its honor, and they get up a feast at which
all has to be consumed by the guests. This is accordingly
something like a holocaust. He loudly declares that he re-
turns thanks to that luminary for giving him light, luckily
to slay some animal. He implores it and exhorts it for the
sake of this feast, to continue its loving care for his family.
During this invocation all the guests eat until the last bit is
consumed, after which, a man appointed for that particular
office, takes a cake of tobacco, breaks it in two and throws it
into the fire. All present raise a great outcry, whilst the to-
bacco is being consumed by the fire and the smoke going up,
and with these clamors the whole sacrifice ends.

"I have seen an idol," says the Father, "set up in the mid-
dle of a village, to which, among other presents, they offered

1. See " Hist, and Biog', notes," where the reader will find an article on
Indian superstitions, war-dance a:id relig-ion, taken from Perrot's "Memoire."

ten dogs in sacrifice, that this false god might vouchsafe to
banish elsewhere a malady which was depopulating the vil-
lage. All of them went there daily to make their offerings
to this idol according to their needs."

Besides these public sacrifices, they have private and
domestic ones; for in their wigwams they often throw some
tobacco into the fire, with a kind of exterior offering which
they make to their false gods.

During storms and tempests they sacrifice a dog to the
lake, which they throw into its waters, saying : ' Here is some-
thing to pacify thee; be still !' In dangerous places on rivers
they strive to propitiate the eddies and falls by offering them
presents. So much are they persuaded that they really
honor their pretended divinities by this exterior worship,
that those amongst them who have been converted and bap-
tized, make use of these same ceremonies in worshipping the
true God until they are disabused of their error.

For the rest, as these people are dull, they do not acknowl-
edge any deity purely spiritual. They believe that the sun
is a man and the moon is his wife; that snow and ice are also
human beings, who go away in spring and come back again
in winter; that the devil dwells in snakes, dragons, and other
monsters; that crows, hawks and some other birds are mani-
tous and talk as well as we do, pretending there are some
Indians who understand their language just as some of them
understand a little French.

Moreover, they believe that the souls of the departed
govern the fishes in the lake, and hence, at all times, they
have believed in the immortality of the soul, even holding
the doctrine of metempsychosis, that is, the transmigration
of the souls of deceased fishes, for they believe that they again
pass into the bodies of other fishes. For this reason they
never throw the remains of fish they have eaten into the fire,
for fear of displeasing the shades of those fishes, so that they
might not come into their nets any more.

They entertain a particular veneration for a certain imag-
inary animal, which they have never seen except in dreams.
They call it Missibizi, and consider it a great manitou, to
which they offer sacrifice to obtain good luck, when they go
fishing for sturgeon.

Moreover, they say the little pieces of copper-ore which
they find at the bottom of the lake, or in the rivers that

empty into the lake, they are the riches of the gods who
dwell in the bowels of the earth.

" I have learned," says the Father who found out all these
follies, " that the Iliniouek, the Outagami and other Indians
towards the south, believe that there is a great and excellent
manitou, master of all the rest, who made heaven and earth
and who resides in the east, towards the country of the
French."

The source of their religion is libertinism, and all their
superstitious sacrifices generally end in feasts of debauchery^
improper dances,- and infamous concubinage. The men em-
ploy all their zeal in having many wives and exchanging
them whenever it suits them; the women, in leaving their
husbands, and the girls, in living dissolutely -

They shrink not from suffering much on account of those
foolish divinities, for they fast in their honor to ascertain the
issue of affairs. " I have seen some of them," says the Father^
" with compassion, who, designing to go to war or to hunt,
spend eight days in succession hardly partaking of any food^
and that with such fixed determination, that they would not
desist untJl seeing in a dream what they so much desired, as,
a herd of moose, or a band of Iroquois put to flight, or some-
thing similar. This is not very hard for a poor feilow with
empty brains, wholly exhausted by fasting, and who thinks
of nothing else all day long but what he wants to dream
about.

Let us say something about the medical art as practiced in
this country. Their knowledge of medical science consists
in ascertaining the cause of sickness and applying the remedy.

They think the ordinary cause of sickness comes from hav-
ing failed to make a feast after a lucky fishing or hunting, for
the sun, which likes feasts, gets angry at the person who has
failed in his duty and makes him sick. Besides this general
cause of sickness there are certain particular ones, namely,
certain little manitous, malevolent by nature, who manage to
get in of themselves, or who by some enemy are put into
those parts of the body which are sick the most. Thus, for
instance, if a person feels a headache, a pain in his arms or
in his stomach, it is a manitou, they say, that has got into
those parts of the body, and he will not cease to torment the
sick man, until some one has either pulled him out or
banished him.

Hence the ordinary remedy is to call the medicine-man,
who comes in company with some old men with whom he
holds a kind of consultation as to the malady that afflicts
the sick man. Then he casts himself upon the part affected,
and applies his mouth, pretending to suck from it a little
stone, or the end of a string, or something else, which he had
beforehand concealed in his mouth, and, showing it to the
sick man, he says: "Here is the manitou that has been
causing you pain ! See, your are now cured ! There is noth-
ing to be done but to get up a feast."

The devil, who is eager to torment these poor, blind people
even in this world, has inspired them with another remedy
in which they have great confidence, which is to take the
patient by his arms and make him walk, with naked feet,
over the burning coals of the wigwam. If he happens
to be too weak to walk, four or five men bear him up and
make him walk slowly over the fire. This often causes a
greater evil to cure a minor one, or it causes them not to feel
the lighter one, the smart of the burning caused by walking
on the lighted coals, rendering them insensible to other infirm-
ities or troubles.

After all, the most common remedy, as it is the most profit-
able to the doctor, or medicine-man, is to get up a feast in
honor of the sun. believing that this luminary, being fond of
liberality, will be appeased by a magnificent repast, and will
look upon the sick man with a gracious eye to restore him
to health.

All this shows how far these poor people are from the king-
dom of God. But He who can touch hearts as hard as stone,
can make them children of Abraham and vessels of election.
He can cause Christianity to be born in the bosom of idolatry,
and with the light of faith, enlighten even savages jjlunged in
the darkness of error and in an ocean of debauchery. This
will be known from the account of the missions the Father
established in that remote end of the world during the first
two years he dwelt there.

52
CHAPTER IX.

Account of the Mission of the Holy Ghost at Lake Tracy.

After a hard and disagreeable voyage of five hundred
leagues, during which miseries of all kinds were met with,
the Father, having gone towards the extremity of the great
lake, there found an opportunity to exercise the zeal which
had enabled him to endure so many hardships in founding
the missions, of which we are about to speak. Let us begin
with that of the Holy Ghost, which is the place where he
resided. This is what he says of it:

"This section of the lake shore, where we have settled down,
is between two large villages and is, as it were, the centre of all
the . tribes of these countries, because the fishing here is very
good, which is the principal source of support to these people.

We have erected here a small bark chapel, wherein my
whole occupation consists in receiving the Christian Algon-
quins and Hurons, instructing them, baptizing and catechiz-
ing their children; admitting pagans who, attracted by the
novelty of the thing, assemble here from all parts of the
country, speaking to them in public and in private, combat-
ting their idolatry, making them see into the truths of our
faith, and thus suffering no one to depart from me without
having first sowed some seeds of the Gospel into his soul.

God gave me the grace to make myself understood by
more than ten different tribes, but I confess it is necessary
to beg Him for patience, even before daylight, in order to
suffer joyfully the contempt, raillery, importunity and arro-
gance of these savages.^

Another occupation I have in my Chapel is to baptize sick
children, which the Pagans themselves bring to me, in order
to get medicine from me, and since I see that God restores
these innocent little children to health after Baptism, I am in
hopes He intends to make them, as it were, the foundation
of his church in these quarters.

I have hung different pictures in the chapel, for instance,
of Hell and the General Judgment, which supply me with

1. The Father uses the present tense frequently and the adverb here, in
these articles, showing' that the notes, which he copied into his journal, were
written on the shoi-es of Chequamegon Bay.

subjects for instruction very suitable to the capacity of my
hearers. In this manner I have no difficulty afterwards to
make them attentive, to make them chant the ^'Our Father^'' and
" Hnil Mary,'''' in their language, and to take the lead in the
prayers I have them say after each instruction. All this
attracts so great a number of Indians to instruction, that
from morning till night I see myself happily obliged to do
nothing else.

God gives his blessing to these beginnings. Sins of im-
purity are less frequent now among the young. Girls, who
previously did not blush at the most shameless actions, are re-
served in their behavior and observe the modesty so becom-
ing to, their sex.

I know many of them, who, when solicited to sins against
purity, boldly answer that they pray to God, that is to say,
are Christians, and that the Black Gown forbids them these
debaucheries.

A young girl of ten or twelve years came to me one day,
to ask to become a Christian. " My little sister," said I to
her, "you do not deserve it. You know very well what was
said of you some months ago." "It is true," she answered,
" I was foolish at that time and did not know that what I
was doing was bad, but since you told us so, and I began to
pray, I have not done it any more."

The first days of 1666 were employed in presenting New
Year gifts to the Infant Jesus, which, no doubt, were very
pleasing. This present consisted of several children, whom
their mothers, receiving a very extraordinary inspiration
from God, brought to me to have them baptized. So this
small congregation was increasing little by little. Seeing they
were already imbued with our mysteries, I judged it time to
transfer our little chapel to the large village, three-fourths of
a league distant from our dwelling-place, and composed of
from forty-five to fifty large wigwams of all tribes, where
there are as many as two thousand souls. ^

It was just at the time of their greatest debaucheries, and I
can say, in general, that I saw in this Babylon the perfect
picture of libertinism. I did not omit laboring here the same
way as in our first place of abode and with the same success.
But the malignant spirit, being envious of the good which

1. The writer is of the opinion that this large village of 2,000 souls was on
the southeast end of Chequamegon Bay, between Fish Creek and Ashland.

the grace of God eflfected here, caused diabolical juggleries to
be performed every day right near our chapel for the healing
of a sick woman. These juggleries consisted of nothing else
than superstitious dances, hideous masquerades, horrible
clamors and a thousand buffooneries. I did not fail to go and
see her every day, and, in order to attract her by kindness
I made her a present of some grapes. At last the sorcerers
having declared that her soul had departed and that they
had no hopes of her getting better, I went to see her next day
and told her that this was not true, and that I even hoped she
would be cured, provided she would believe in Jesus Christ.
But I could not make any impression on her mind. Hence
I determined to speak to the sorcerer himself who attended
her. He was so surprised to see me at his place, that he
seemed wholly dumfounded. I showed him the follies of his
art and that he contributed more to the death of his patients
than to prolonging their- lives. In reply he threatened to
make me feel their effect by certain death. A little after,
having begun his j ugglery , he kept at it for three hours. From
time to time he would cry out in the midst of his ceremonies
the Black Gown would die of their effects ; but through
divine grace, all was in vain. God even knew how to draw
good from evil; for the medicine-man, having himself sent
two of his children to have them baptized, they received by
means of the sacred waters of Baptism, at one and the same
time, the cure of both soul and body.

The next day I visited another celebrated sorcerer, a man
who had six wives and who lived in such disorder as may be
imagined in company of this kind. I found in his wigwam a
small army of children. I sought to acquit myself of the
duties of my ministry, but in vain. This is the first time I
saw Christianity mocked in these quarters, especially in what
concerns the resurrection of the dead and the fire of hell. I
left with this reflection : " Ibant Apostoli gaudentes a con-
spectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Jesu
contumeliam pati."^'

The insults I received in that wigwam soon became known
outside and were the cause of others treating me with the
same insolent affronts. Already they had broken away a part
of the bark, that is of the walls of our church; already they

1 "The Apostles went rejoicing- from the sig^ht of the council, because they
had been judged worthy to suller insult for the name of Jesus."

had commenced to rob me of all that I had; the young
assembled more and more and became the more insulting; and
the word of Grod was listened to only with scorn and derision.
This obliged me to abandon this post, in order to return to our
ordinary dwelling-place, having this consolation when leaving;
them, that Jesus Christ had been preached and the faith
announced both publicly as also to each Indian individually,
for besides those who filled our chapel from morning till
night, the others who stayed at home in their wigwams, were
instructed by such as had heard me.

I have heard them myself in the evening, after all had
retired, repeat understandingly, in the tone of a chief, the
whole instruction I had given them during the day. They
admit indeed, what I taught them is very reasonable, but
libertinism over-rules reason, and if grace be not very power-
ful, all our instructions have but little effect.

One of them having come to see me, in order to be instructed,
at the first word I said to him concerning the two wives he
had, said to me : " My brother, you are speaking to me of a
very difficult affair ; it is enough that my children pray to
God, i. e. become Christians, instruct them."

After I had left that place of abomination, God led me about
two leagues away from the site of our dwelling, where I found
three adults, who were sick, and whom I baptized after suffi-
cient instruction. Two of them died after Baptism. The
secrets of God are wonderful, and I could relate several
instances of the same kind, which show His loving Providence
for the elect.

CHAPTER X.

On the Mission of the Tignnontateheronnons.
The Tionnontateheronnons^ of to-day are the same people,
who were formerly called the "Hurons of the Tobacco Tribe."
They were obliged, like other tribes, to leave their country to
flee from the Iroquois, and to withdraw towards the end of
this large lake, where distance and lack of game served them
as protection against their enemies.

1 Pronouuced Tee-on-non-tah-tay-heron-nons, Hurons of the " Tobacco
Nation." See "Hist, and Biog. Notes" In regard to that tribe. They seem to
have dwelt on the southwest end of Chequamegon Bay, between the liead of
the bay and Washburn.

Formerly they formed a part of the flourishing church of
the Hurons and they had the aged Father Garnier for their
Pastor, who so courageously gave his life for his dear flock;
hence they cherish a particular veneration for his memory.

Since their expulsion from their own country, they have
not been trained in the exercise of the Christian religion ;
hence they are Christians rather by condition (having been
baptized in their native country) than by profession. They
glory in that beautiful name; but the intercourse they have had
with pagans for so long a time, has almost effaced from their
minds every vestige of religion and caused them to resume
many of their ancient customs. They have their village pretty
near our place of abode, which makes it possible for me to
attend to this mission with greater assiduity than the others
farther away.

I have, therefore, endeavored to restore this mission to its
former state, by preaching the word of God and by the adminis-
tration of the sacraments. The very first winter I passed with
them, I conferred Baptism on one hundred children and,
subsequently on others during the first two years that I
attended them. The adults approached the sacrament of Pen-
ance, assisted at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, said prayers
both in public and in private, — in a word, they practiced their
relioion as if they had been very well instructed. It was not
difficult for me to reestablish piety in their hearts and
reawaken the good sentiments they used to have for the faith.

Of the children baptized, God only deigned to take two
that flew away to heaven after their Baptism. As to the adults,
there are three for whose salvation it seems God sent me here.

The first was an old man, an Ousaki (Sac) by birth, for-
merly an eminent man amongst those of his tribe and who
had always been esteemed by the Hurons, by whom he had
been taken captive in war. A few days after my arrival in
this country, I learned that he was sick about four leagues
distant. I went to him, instructed and baptized him, and
three hours afterwards he died, leaving me all possible indi-
cations that God had bestowed mercy on him.

If my voyage from Quebec had had no other fruit than the
salvation of this poor old man, I would consider all my steps
but too well recompensed, since the Son of God shed even
the last drop of His blood for him.

The second person, of whom I have to speak, is a woman
very far advanced in age. She was detained about two leagues
from our dwelling-place, by a dangerous sickness, caused
by a bag of powder accidentally taking fire in her wigwam.
Father Gamier^ had promised her baptism more than fifteen
years ago, which he was ready to confer when he was killed
by the Iroquois. This good Father did not forget his prom-
ise. Like a good Shepherd, he procured by his intercession
that I should be here before she died. I went to see her the
day of All Saints (Nov. 1st), and, having refresiied her mem-
ory on all our mysteries, I found that the seeds of the word
of God, sowed in her soul so many years ago, had produced
fruit, which only awaited the waters of Baptism to come
to maturity. Having well prepared her, I conferred this
Sacrament upon her, and that very night she resigned her
soul to her Creator.

The third person is a young girl, fourteen years of age, who
diligently attended all the catechetical instructions I gave,
and joined in the prayers which I had them say, of which
she had learned a good many by heart. She fell sick. Her
mother who was not a Christian, called the sorcerers and had
them perform all the follies of their infamous trade. I heard
about it, went to seek the girl and made her a proposal of
Baptism. She was overjoyed to receive it; after which, child
though she was, she opposed all the juggleries they tried
to perform around her, saying by her Baptism she had
renounced all those superstitions; and in this generous com-
bat she died, praying to God until she breathed her last sigh.

CHAPTER XI.

On the Mission the Outaoua^cs,^ Kiskakoumac and Outa-
ouasinagouc.

I here join these tribes because they have one and the
same language, which is the Algonquin ; and compose one
and the same village, which is opposite that of the Tionnonta-
teheronnons, between which two villages we reside.

1 See " His. and Biog. Notes," where the martyrdom of this saintly priest
is described.

2 See " Hist, and Biog. Notes." Outaouasinagoue pron. Oo-tah-wah-sin-
ah-gook. Their village was probably located at the southeast corner of Che-
quamagon Bay.

The Outaouacs claim that the great river (the St.Lawrence)
belongs to them, and that no tribe may navigate it without
their consent. For this reason all of those who go to traffic
with the French, although of very different tribes, bear the
general name of Outaouacs, under whose auspices they make
their voyage.

The ancient abode of the Outaouacs was a certain tract on
the lake of the Hurons, whence the fear of the Iroquois drove
them, and towards this their native country tend all their
desires.

These people have very little inclination to the faith, because
they are most strongly addicted to idolatry, to superstitious
practices, to fables, polygamy, instability of marriages, and
to every kind of libertinism which causes them to smother all
natural feelings of shame. All these obstacles did not, how-
ever, prevent me from preaching the name of Jesus Christ and
announcing the Gospel in all their wigwams and in our chapel,
which is filled from morning till night. Here I give them
continual instructions on our mysteries and on the command-
ments of God.

The first winter I spent with them, I already had the con-
solation of baptizing about eighty children, some of them
boys and girls from eight to ten years, who by their assiduity
in coming to prayers had rendered themselves worthy of this
happiness. What contributes much to the baptism of these
children, now very common, is that these sacred waters not
only do not cause death, as they formerly supposed, but, on
the contrary, give health to the sick and restore the dying to
life. As a matter of fact, God has taken to himself but six
of all the children baptized, and left the others to serve as a
foundation to this new church.

As to the adults, I did not think it proper to baptize many
of them, because their superstition, so deeply rooted in their
minds, opposed a powerful barrier to their conversion.
Among the four whom I judged to be well prepared for this
sacrament. Divine providence manifested itself plainly in the
case of one poor sick man, who lived two leagues from our
dwelling place. I did not know he was sick, nevertheless I
felt myself interiorly urged to go and see him, notwithstand-
ing the little strength and health I had. I went as far as a
hamlet a good league distant from us, where I found nobody
sick, but where I was informed of another hamlet farther

distant. Notwithstanding my weakness I thought God
required me to go there. I proceeded thither with a great deal
of sufifering and found this dying Indian, who only awaited
baptism, which I gave him after the necessary prepara-
tion. Happily he had heard the instructions I gave during
the winter, when he came to our chapel with others, and by
his diligent attendance rendered himself deserving of this
mercy of God.

During the summer of this same year I was occupied,
especially, in assisting the sick of this mission. I baptized
three whom I found in danger, two of whom died in the pro-
fession of Christianity. God conducted me to some of the
wigwams just in time to confer baptism on eleven sick chil-
dren, who had not as yet the use of reason, of whom five
went to enjoy God in Heaven. Of seventeen other children
whom I baptized during autumn and the following winter,
only one died, going to Heaven almost at the same time that
a good old blind man expired, three days after his baptism.

CHAPTER XII.

On the Mission of the Pouteouatamiouec.

The Pouteouatami^ are a tribe who speak Algonquin, but
very much harder to be understood than the Outaouacs.
Their country is at the lake of the lUimouec (Illinois, Lake
Michigan). It is a large lake, which, as yet, is not well
known by us, adjoining the lake of the Hurons and that of
the Puants (Green Bay) between the east and south. They
are a war-like people, hunters and fishermen. Their country
is very good for Indian corn, fields of which they cultivate
and thither they willingly retire, in order to escape famine,
so common in this country. They are extremely idolatrous,
attached to ridiculous fables, and fond of polygamy. We
have seen them here to the number of three hundred men,
bearing arms. Of all the tribes with whom I have had to deal
in these regions, they are the most docile and the most
friendly towards the French. Their women and daughters

1 Pronounced Poo-tay-wau-tah-mee. See "Hist, and Biog. Notes," where
the reader will find a short sketch of that tribe. They are now mostly settled
in Kansas and Ind. Terr, and a few in Wisconsin and Michigan.

are more reserved in their disposition than those of other-
tribes. They have some refinement of manners and show it
towards strangers, a rare thing amongst our Indians. Hav-
ing once gone to see one of their aged men (probably an old
chief) he looked at my shoes, made according to the French
mode. Impelled by curiosity, he asked me to take them off
and let him examine them at his ease. When he handed
them back to me he would not suffer me to put them on my-
self, but I was obliged to accept this service from him. He
wished even to tie my shoe-strings, with the same tokens of
respect that servants show to their masters. "See," said he
"it is thus we serve those whom we honor."

Another time, having gone to see him, he rose from his
seat to offer it to me with the same ceremonies that polite-
ness demands from gentlemen.

I have publicly announced the faith to them at the gen-
eral assembly spoken of above, which was held a few days
after my arrival, and privately in their wigwams during the
month I stayed with them here, and then during the whole
autumn and winter following, in which time I baptized
thirty -four of their children, nearly all in their cradle. For
the consolation of this mission T must say the first one of
these tribes to take possession of Heaven in the name of all its-
countrymen was a Pouteouatami child that I baptized shortly
after my arrival here, immediately before its death.

During the same winter I received five adults into the
church. The first was an old man of about one hundred
years, whom the Indians looked upon as a kind of divinity.
He used to fast twenty days in succession and had visions
of God, that is to say, according to these people, of Him who
made the earth. He fell sick, however, and was nursed by
his two daughters with an assiduity and love beyond the
comprehension of the Indians. Among other services they
rendered him, they would repeat to him in the evening the
instructions they had heard during the day at our chapel.
God deigned to make use of their filial love for the conver-
sion of their father. When I went to see him I found him
acquainted with our mysteries and the Holy Ghost working
in his heart by the ministry of his daughters, he vehe-
mently begged to be made a Christian. This I granted him
by conferring Baptism without delay, seeing him in danger
of death. Thenceforth he would not have any juggleries

practiced about him for his cure, nor would he hear any
other conversation than that which concerned the salvation
of his soul. Once when I admonished him often to pray to
God, "Know," said he, "my brother, I continually throw
tobacco into the fire, saying : ' Thou who hast made Heaven
and earth, this I do to honor Thee.' " I contented myself
with making him understand that it was not necessary to
honor God in such a way, but only by speaking to Him with
mouth and heart. Afterwards, the time having come when
the Indians require that one do their wishes by a ceremony
very much resembling the Bacchanalia or the carnival, our
good old man made them search throughout all the wig-
wams for a piece of blue stuff, wishing for that because it
was the color of Heaven, "towards which," he said, " I de-
•sire always to direct my heart and my thoughts." I never
saw an Indian who was more willing to pray to God.
Among other prayers he repeated the following with extra-
ordinary fervor : " My Father, who art in heaven ; my
Father, may thy name be sanctified." These words con-
tained more sweetness for him than those I suggested — "Our
Father, who art in Heaven." Seeing himself one day so far
advanced in age, he exclaimed of himself in the sentiment
of St. Augustine: "Too late have I known Thee, 0 my God;
too late have I loved Thee !" I doubt not that his death,
which soon followed, was precious in the eyes of God, who
had suffered him to remain in idolatry for so many years,
Teserving but a few days for him to end his life in this Chris-
tian manner

I must not omit mentioning something rather surprising.
The day after his death his relatives, contrary to all the cus-
toms of this country, burned his body and wholl}^ reduced
it to ashes. The cause of this was a fable, here regarded as
a fact. They maintain that the father of this old man was a
hare that during the winter walks on the snow, and, conse-
quently, the snow, the hare and the old man are from the
same village, that is to say, relatives. They add that the
hare once said to his wife he did not like their children to
•dwell in the bowels of the earth, because that was not suit-
able to their condition as relatives of the snow, whose coun-
try is on high towards heaven ; and should it ever happen
that they were put under ground, after death, he would pray
to his relative, the snow, to fall in such quantity and stay

so long that there would be no spring, in order thus to pun-
ish the people for their fault. In confirination of this yarn
they add that three years ago the brother of our good old
man died at the beginning of winter, and, having been buried
as usual, the snow was so plentiful and the winter so long^
that people despaired of seeing the spring in season. Great
numbers were dying of hunger, yet no help could be
obtained for this public calamity. Hereupon the leading
men assembled, held several councils, but all in vain; the
snow kept on all the time. Finally one of the assembly said
he remembered the threats above-mentioned, and immedi-
ately they set about disinterring the body. Having burned
it, the snowing ceased at once and spring approached. Who
would think people could believe things so ridiculous, and
yet these Indians regard them as incontrovertible facts.

Our good old man is not the only one of his house to whom
God showed mercy. His two daughters, who were instru-
mental in the cause of his salvation, were, no doubt, drawn
to Heaven by his prayers. One of them having been seized
with an illness that lasted five days, God so directed my
steps that I came to her assistance just in time to promote
her eternal happiness, having been unable to go to her place
until the evening before her death. I had sufficient time to
prepare her for holy Baptism, which she received and then
departed to enjoy with her good father the glory she had
been the means of procuring him. The other dayghter has
survived both her father and sister, and she seems to have
inherited their piety. I found this woman so intelligent, so
modest, and so well disposed toward the faith, that I did not
hesitate to receive her into the church by imparting the
sacraments. All the family of this happy neophyte, which
is numerous, possess this goodness of disposition, which
seems natural to them. They all have a tender affection for
me, and showing me the greatest respect, call me their uncle.
I hope God will be merciful to them all, for I see they are
inclined to religion beyond the generality of Indians.

Among the wonderful things wrought by God in this mis-
sion, we can also state what occurred regarding another
family of this tribe. A young man, in whose canoe I had
embarked when coming to this country, toward the end of
winter was seized with a contagious disease then prevailing.
I tried to show him as much charity as he had done me evil

on the way. Being a man of some note, no kind of jugglery
was spared to cure him. They went so far with these per-
formances, that at last they came to tell me two dog-teeth
had been extracted out of his body! "That is not the cause
of his illness," said I to them, "but the corrupt blood in his
body;" for I believed he had the pleurisy. I went to work^
however, to instruct him in good earnest, and the next day
finding him well disposed, I baptized him, giving him the
name of Ignatius, in hopes this great saint would put to
shame the malignant spirit and the medicine-nw^n. In fact
I had him bled, and, showing the blood to the medicine-
man, who was present, I said to him: "See what is killing
this man; you ought to have drawn all this corrupt blood
from him by your grimaces and not your pretended dog-
teeth." But the medicine-man having noticed the allevia-
tion which the bleeding had given the patient, wished to
claim the glory of his cure for himself. He accordingly
made him take a kind of medicine, which had such an un-
happy effect, that the sufferer remained as if dead for three
hours. His death was, therefore, publicly announced
throughout the village and the medicine-man, very much
alarmed on account of this accident, confessed he had killed
the poor man, and begged me not to abandon him. In fact
he was not abandoned by his patron, St. Ignatius, who restored
him to life in order to confound the superstitions of these
pagans.

Before this young man recovered, his sister was taken
down with the same malady. We had more access to her
for performing our holy functions, on account of the fortunate
occurrence regarding her brother. I had a good opportunity
to prepare her for baptism, and, besides this grace, the blessed-
virgin, whose name she bore, obtained the recovery of her
health.

Scarcely was she out of danger when the prevailing dis-
ease also seized their cousin in the same wigwam. He
appeared to me to be more dangerously ill than the two
others had been. Hence, I hastened to baptize him, after
imparting the necessary instructions. The effects of this
sacrament had already improved his condition, when his
father concluded to make a feast, or rather to offer a sacrifice
in honor of the sun, in order to obtain the recovery of his
son. I surprised them in the midst of the ceremony, and^

64 '

embracing my sick neophyte, to make him understand that
God alone is master of life and death, he repented immedi-
ately and rendered satisfaction to God by the sacrament of
Penance. Then addressing his father and all the medicine-
men, I said to them: "Now I despair of the health of this sick
man, since you have had recourse to others than to Him
who holds life and death in his hands. You have killed this
poor sick man by your impious performances. I no longer
entertain any hopes of his recovery." In fact, he died some-
time after, and I hojae God accepted his temporal death as
a penance for his sin, so as not to deprive him of eternal life,
which, we may trust, he obtained through the intercession
of St. Joseph, whose name he bore.

The gain is more secure on the part of the children, seven-
teen of whom I baptized toward the close of this mission,
which I was obliged to end on account of the departure of
these people, who having reaped their Indian-corn, retired to
their country. On leaving they invited me most urgently to
come to their place in the following spring. May God be for-
ever glorified by these poor people, who, at length, have
recognized Him, they who from old did not know any divin-
ity greater than the sun.

CHAPTER XIII.

On the Mission of the Ousakiouek and Outagamiouek.

I here subjoin these two tribes successively, because they
mingle with the preceding, being allied to them, and, besides,
they have the same language, which is the' Algonguin, al-
though very different in many idiomatic expressions which
makes it hard for one to understand them. Still, after some
efforts, they understand me at present and I them sufficiently
to instruct them.

The country of the Outagarai^ is southward toward the
lake of the lUimouec (Illinois, Lake Michig an). They are a

1 Pronounced Oo-tah-g-an-mee. The reader will And a short dissertation
on this once most powerful tribe of Wisconsin in "Hist, and biog. notes." For
thirty years nearly all the Outagami (Fox) tribe have lived in Tama County,
Iowa, and in 1883, 368 was the estimate population. Tn the Indian territory a
census of mixed Sacs and Foxes was made in 1883, and 43" was the number.—
("Minn. Hist. Coll. vol. v. p. 33.")

populous tribe, about one thousand men carrying arms,
hunters and warriors. They have fields of Indian-corn and
reside in a country well adapted for hunting lynx, deer, moose
and beaver. They are not in the habit of using canoes, but
generally travel by land, carrying their baggage and their
game on their shoulders. These peo'ple are as much addicted
to idolatry as other tribes. Having one day entered the
wigwam of an Outagami, I found his father and mother
-dangerously sick, and, having told him that a bleeding would
<;ure them, this poor man took some tobacco, reduced to
powder, and threw it all over my garment, saying: "Thou
Art a manitou; take courage, restore these sick people to
health; I offer thee a sacrifice of this tobacco." "What are
you doing my brother," I said to him, "I am nothing. He
who has made all thing is the master of our lives; I am only
his servant." "Well, then," he answered, strewing tobacco
■on the ground and lifting up his eyes, "it is to Thee, who
hast made heaven and earth, that I offer this tobacco; give
health to these sick."

These people are not far from the knowledge of the Crea-
tor, for they are the same that told me, as related above, that
in their country they acknowledged a great manitou, who
made heaven and earth and who dwelt toward the country
■of the French. It is said of them and of the Ousaki, that
when they find a man wandering about, lost and at their
mercy, they kill him, especially if he be a Frenchman, whose
beard they cannot endure. This kind of cruelty renders
them less docile and less disposed for the gospel than the
Pouteouatami. Nevertheless I have not failed to announce
the gospel to one hundred and twenty persons, who spent a
-«ummer here. I did not find any one among them suffi-
ciently disposed for baptism. I conferred it upon five of their
:sick children, however, who afterwards recovered their health.

As to the Ousaki^ they above all others may be called sav-
ages. They are very numerous, but wandering about in the
woods without any fixed abode. I have seen about two hun-
dred of them and announced the faith to them. I baptized
eighteen of their children, to whom the sacred waters were
:salutary both for body and soul.

1 Pronounced Oo-sau-kee, Sacs. It seems they were a very barbarous and
-cruel race. It was probably by a Sac Indian that Father Menard was killed.
See "Hist, and Biog. Notes." They were allies of the Foxes aod enemies of
■the French.

66
CHAPTER XIV.

On the Mission of the Illi.viouec or Alimouec.

The Illimouec^ speak Algonquin, but very different from
that of all the other (Algonquin) tribes. I understood them
but very little, having little conversation with them.. They
do not dwell in these quarters. Their country is more than
sixty leagues distant southward, beyond a large river, which
empties, as far as 1 am able to conjecture, into the ocean, towards-
Virginia.'^ These people are hunters and are war-like. They
use the bow and arrow, seldom a gun and never a canoe.
They were once a populous tribe, distributed in ten large vil-
lages, but at present the}^ are reduced to two. The continual
wars, on the one side with the Nadouessi, on the other with
the Iroquois have almost exterminated them.

They acknowledge several manitous to whom they offer
sacrifice and practice a kind of dance, quite peculiar to them-
selves. They call it "The dance of the filling of the pipe"
(Calumet dance), which they perform in this manner: Orna-
menting a large pipe with plumes of feathers, they place it
in the middle of the chosen spot, with a certain kind of ven-
eration. One of the company arises and begins to dance,
xthen yields his place to a second, he to a third, and so on, in
single succession. One would take this dance for an imita-
tion of a ballet, danced to the notes of a drum. The dancer
goes through a sham battle, at the same time keeping tim&
to the notes of the drum in the various positions of the body,.
He prepares his weapons, takes off his clothes, runs about in
search of the enemy, he discovers him, withdraws, then
approaches; now he sounds the war-whoop, kills the enemy,
tears off his scalp and returns, chanting the song of victory.
All this proceeds with astonishing precision, promptitude
and agility. After all have thus danced around the pipe, it
is presented to the foremost man of the assembly to smoke,
then to another, and so on successively until all have had the-
honor. This ceremony has the same signification as when at-

1 Pronounced ll-lee-moo-ek. the Illinois, some of whom came all the way to
Chequamejron Bay to trade with the French and Indians. A hand ot that tribe
resided on the Upper Fox river, not far from the site of Portage City. See
"Hist, and Biog-. Notes.''

'Z Father Allouez means the Mississippi, the course of which river was at
that time unknown, hence Marquette's voyage in 1673.

a social gathering in France all drink successively out of one
and the same glass. The pipe, moreover, is left in the hands
of the chief of the tribe, as a sacred deposit and an assured
guarantee of the peace and union which shall always exist
between them as long as this pipe — the calumet of peace —
remains in his possession.

Among all the manitous to whom they offer sacrifice,
special worship is paid to one particular manitou more ex-
cellent, they say, than all the rest, because it is he who made
all things. They have an intense desire to see this greatest
of all manitous, and hence they observe long fasts, hoping
to obtain by this means, that God will show himself to them
during their sleep. If it happen that they see him (as they
imagine) they consider themselves lucky, and promise them-
selves a long life.

All these tribes of the South have this same desire to see
God, which is doubtless of great advantage to promote their
conversion, for all that remains to be done is to instruct them,
as to the manner in which we are to serve him, in order to
see him and be happy.

I have here announced the name of Jesus Christ to eighty
persons of this tribe, and they have carried and published
it to all the country of the South, with applause, so that I
can say on this mission I have worked the least and pro-
duced the greatest effect. These pagans honor our Lord,.
whose picture I gave them, in their own peculiar way. Having:
exposed the sacred image in the most conspicuous place,,
they prepare a great feast, and the master of this banquet,,
addressing the image, says: "It is in thy honor, 0 God-
man, that we make this feast; it is to Thee we offer these
viands."

Among these people, it appears to me, there is the most,
beautiful field for the Gospel. If I had had leisure and con-
venience, I would have gone to their place of abode, to see,,
with my own eyes, all the good that is told of them.

I find those with whom I have had intercourse, to be
affable and humane. It is said, when they meet a stranger,
they raise a cry of joy, caress him, and render him every
proof of friendship of which they are capable. I have bap-
tized but one infant of this tribe. The seeds of faith that I
have sown in their souls will yield fruits when it shall please
the Master of the vineyard to gather them. Their country

is hot and they raise corn twice a year. There are rattle-
snakes there, which are often the cause of death, as these
people do not know of any antidote. They have a high
estimate of medicines, offering them sacrifices, as to great
manitous. They have no forests in their country, but very
large prairies on which wild cattle, deer, bears and other ani-
mals feed in great numbers.

CHAPTER XV.

On the Mission of the Nadouessiouek.^

They are people living westward from these quarters,
towards the large river called Messipi. They are about forty
or fifty leagues distant in a prairie-country abounding in all
kinds of game. They have fields in which they do not plant
Indian corn, but tobacco only. Providence has supplied them
with a kind of marsh rye (wild rice) which th^ go and
gather towards the end of summer in certain small lakes,
where it grows abundantly. They know so well how to
prepare it, that it is very agreeable to the taste and very
nourishing. They offered me some, when I was at the
extremity of Lake Tracy, where I saw them. They do not
use guns, but only the bow and arrow with which they shoot
very dexterously. Their cabins are not covered with bark,
but with deer-skins, well-dressed, and sewed so nicely that
the cold cannot penetrate. These people, above all others are
■savage and ferocious. They appear dunifounded in our pres-
■eftce, like statues. They do not cease to be warlike, having
waged war with their neighbors, by whom they are very
much feared. They speak an altogether strange language.
The Indians here do not understand them ; hence 1 was
obliged to sj^eak to them by an interpreter, who, being a pagan,
did not do what I would have wished (that is, he did not
interpret well what the Father said.) I have not failed to
take from the devil one innocent soul of that country.
It was a little child that went to paradise shortly after I
baptized it. "^ so^is ortio usque ad occasum laudahile nomen
Domini.'" God will give us an opportunity to announce

1 See "Hist, and Biog. Notes," where the reader will find an account of
this most warlike tribe, "The Iroquois of the West."

his name in that country, when it shall please his -Divine
Majesty to show mercy to those people; they are almost at
the end of the earth so to speak. Farther on, towards sun-
set, there are other tribes called Karesi, beyond whose coun-
try, they say, the land comes to an end, and nothing is seen
but a large lake, the waters of which are stinking; it is thu&
they speak of the sea.

Between north and west there is a tribe that eat raw meat^
contenting themselves with holding it to the fire in their
hands. Beyond the country of this people lies the sea of the
north. Moreover in that direction are the Kilistinons, whose
rivers empty into the Bay of Hudson. We have knowledge,,
besides, of the Indians who inhabit the regions of the south
as far as the sea. So there remains only a small tract of land,,
and only a few tribes, to whom the gospel has not been
announced, as yet, if we can believe what the Indians have
told us several times in regard to these matters.

CHAPTER XVI.

On the Mission of the Kilistinons^ and that of Outchi-

BOUEC.^

The Kilistinons have their more ordinary place of abode
in the vicinity of the Sea of the North. They navigate a river
that empties into a large bay, which we suppose very proba-
bly to be that marked on the map with the name of Hudson;
for those that I have seen from that country have told me
they have knowledge of a ship, and an old man amongst oth-
ers, told me he had seen it himself at the entrance of the river
of the Assinipoualac,^ a tribe allied with the Kilistinons,
whose country is still more towards the north.

He told me, besides, that he had seen a house that Europeans
had built on the mainland of boards and pieces of wood; that

1 Kilistinons, sometimes also called Kenisteno, are Indians in British
America, now generally called Crees. See " Hist, and Biog-. Notes."

3 Pronounced Oo-chee-boo-ek— Chippewas. They were once a large and
warlike tribe, the deadly foes of the Sioux and Foxes, but always friendly to
the French, who freely intermarried with them; hence the many half-breeds
with French names. See " Hist, etc."

3 The Assineboines, from "Assin," a stone— and " Boines" or "Eboines"
a corruption of " Bwan"— Sioux.

■they held books in their hands, such as the one he saw me
have, when telling me this. He spoke to me of another
tribe, adjoining that of the Assinipoualac, who eat people,
and live only on raw meat, but they themselves are eaten by
bears of a horrible size, all red, which have prodigiously long
■claws; it is considered probable they are lions.

As to the Kilistinons, they appear to me extremely docile
and of a good, kind disposition, not common among these
savages. They are more nomadic than all the other tribes.
They have no fixed abode, no (cultivated) fields nor villages.
They only live of hunting aod a little oats (wild rice) which
they gather in swampy places. They are'worshippers of the
sun, to which they generally offer sacrifice, attaching a dog
to the top of a pole, which they leave hanging there until
he rots.

They speak almost the same language as the tribe formerly
called Poissons-blanc — White Fish — and the Indians of Ta-
doussac. God gave me the grace to understand them and to
be sufficiently understood by them for their instruction. They
had never heard of the faith, and the novelty of the thing
as also their docility of mind caused them to listen to me
with very great attention. They have promised me to
worship only Him who is the Creator of the sun and of the
world. The wandering life they lead made me postpone the
baptism of those whom I saw (otherwise) very well disposed
and I only conferred this sacrement upon a little girl lately
born.

I hope this mission will some day produce fruit in pro-
portion to the labor which will be bestowed upon it, when
our fathers will go and winter with them, as they do at
Quebec with the Indians of Tadoussac. They invited me to
do so, but I cannot devote myself entirely to one tribe and
deprive so many others of the assistance I owe them, as they
are nearest this place and best prepared for the gospel.

On the mission of the Outchibouec — the French call them
"Saulteurs," because their country is the "Sault," by which
Lake Tracy (Superior) empties into the Lake of the Hurons.
They speak the ordinary Algonquin and are easily under-
stood. I have preached the faith to them, on difierent occa-
sions, when I met with them, but especially at the extremity
of our great lake, where I stopped with them a whole month,
during which I instructed them in all our mysteries and

baptized twenty of their children, as also one sick adult, who
-died the day after his baptism, carrying to heaven the first
fruits of his nation.

CHAPTER XVII.

'On the Mission of the Nipissirin'iens and op the Voyage
OP Father Allouez to Lake Alimibegong (Nepigon) .

The Nipissiriniens were formerly instructed by our fathers,
"who dwelt in the country of the Hurons. These poor peo-
ple, of whom great numbers were Christians, have been
compelled on account of the incursions of the Iroquois to
flee as far as Lake Alimibegong, which is but fifty or sixty
leagues fron the Sea of the North (Hudson Bay).

For almost twenty years they have not seen a pastor, nor
heard speak of God. I thought I owed a part of my labors
to this old mission, trusting that a voyage I would make to
their new home, would be followed by the blessings of heaven.

On the I6th day of May of this year, 1667, I embarked
in a canoe with two Indians, Avho were to serve me as guides
during the whole of this voyage. Having met on our way
some forty Indians from the Bay of the North, I imparted
to them the first tidings of the faith, for which they thanked
me with some show of politeness.

Continuing our voyage, on the 17th we crossed over a part
•of our great lake^ (Superior) paddling for twelve hours with-
out intermission. God assisted me very sensibly; for there
being but three in our canoe, I had to paddle with all my
strength, together with the Indians, in order not to lose any
time of the calm, without which we would be in great danger,
being all of us tired out with the exertion and hunger. Not-
withstanding all this, we lay down to sleep without supper,
«,nd the next day we contented ourselves with a meagre re-
past of Indian-corn and water; for the wind and rain pre-
vented our Indians from casting their nets.

1 Pather Allouez left his mission at the head of Chequames'on Bay on the
16th of May, and on the 17th crossed the lake, probably starting from Sand
Island. As it took them twelve hours hard paddling to reach the North Shore,
we may safely conclude that the lake must be some forty miles wide where
they crossed; a risky undertaking in a frail birch bark canoe!

On the 19th, the fine weather being inviting, we made-
eighteen leagues, rowing from day-break until after sun-
down without stopping or disembarking.

On the 20th, having found nothing in our nets, we con-
tinued our way, grinding some grains of dry corn with our
teeth. The next day (21st) God refreshed us with two small
fishes, which gave us a little life. The benediction of heaven
was multiplied the following day (22d), for our Indians took
such a lucky draught of sturgeon, that they were obliged to
leave some of them on the beach.

On the 23d, coasting along the shores of this great lake, on
the north side we proceeded from island to island, for these
are very numerous. There is one of them at least twenty
leagues long, where pieces of ore are found, considered by
the French to be true red copper, they having tested its
quality.

After traveling a long distance on the lake (from ]6th-25th
of May), we finally left it on the 25th of this month of May^
and entered a river full of rapids and falls, so, very numer-
ous that even our Indians could not proceed any farther.
Having learned that Lake Alimibegong was still frozen, they
willingly took a rest of two days, to which they were com-
pelled by necessity.

While we were advancing toward our destination, we from
time to time met Nipissirinien Indians, who had strayed
away from the place of their habitation, to seek a living in
the woods. Having assembled quite a numl5er of them for
the feast of Pentecost, I prepared them, by a long instruction^
to understand the holy sacrifice of the mass which I cele-
brated in a chapel constructed of green boughs. They heard
it with as great piety and gravity as our Indians of Quebec
do in our chapel at Sillery. This gave me the sweetest re-
freshment I had during this voyage, and consoled me
abundantly for all past hardships.

I must here relate a remarkable thing, that happened not
long ago. Two women, a mother and her daughter, after be-
ing instructed in the faith, have always had recourse to God
and have continually received extraordinary help from Him»
Recently they again experienced that God never abandons
those who confide in Him. They had been captured by the
Iroquois and had luckily escaped the fire and cruelties of
those savages. But shortly afterwards they fell into their

hands a second time, so that no hope of further escape could
be entertained. However, seeing themselves alone one day,
with a single Iroquois Indian who had remained to guard
them, whilst the others were gone to hunt, the daughter said
to her mother: "Now is the time to rid ourselves of this
guard and flee." So she asked the Iroquois for a knife to
work at a beaver-skin which she had been ordered to dress.
Hereupon having implored the help of Heaven, she plunged
the knife into the bosom of the Iroquois, and her mother
struck him on the head with a stick of wood. Leaving him
a corpse, according to all appearance, they took some pro-
visions and hastened on their way to their own country,
which they finally reached in safety.

We were six days traveling from island to island, seeking
for a passage, and, finally, after many turns, we arrived at
the village of the iSTipissiriniens on the 3d of June, It is
chiefly inhabited by idolatrous Indians and some Christians
of former time. Amongst others, I found twenty persons
who made public profession of Christianity. I was not in
want of employment among both the one and the other
party, during the fifteen days that we stayed with them, and
I labored as much as my health, ruined by the hardships of
the voyage, allowed me. I found more opposition there to
baptizing their children than anywhere else; but the more
opposition the devil makes, the more should we try to con-
found him. I think he does not at all like to see me making
this last voyage, which is about rive hundred leagues, going
and returning, including the turns out of the way , which we
were obliged to make.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Father Allouez Goes to Quebec — He Returns to the
outaouacs.

During the two years that Father Allouez has dwelt with
the Outaouacs, he has become acquainted with the customs
of all the tribes he has seen, and has carefully studied the
means to facilitate their conversion. There is work there for
a good number of missionaries, but nothing to support them.
The Indians live part of the year on the bark of trees,

another part on ground fish-bones, and the rest of the time
on fish or Indian-corn, sometimes having only a little of the
one or the other, at other times enough. The Father has
learned from experience that even a brazen constitution could
not hold out amid continual labors and hardships so great,
with nourishment so very scanty; therefore he considers it
necessary to have at those places men ot courage and piety,
to work for the support of the missionaries, either by culti-
vating the land, or by industrious fishing and hunting.
They are to build dwelling-houses and erect chapels, in order
to astonish those Indians who have never seen anything
more beautiful than their bark wigwams.

With this view the Father determined to go to Quebec
himself in order to promote the execution of these designs.

He arrived there on the 3d day of August of this year,
1667. Having stopped there only two days, he arranged
matters with diligence so great that he was ready to depart
from Montreal with twenty canoes of Indians, with whom he
had come, and who awaited him at that island with great
impatience.

His attendance consisted of seven persons, namely, him-
self and Father Louis Nicolas, to labor conjointly for the
conversion of these people, and one of our brothers, together
with four men to work for the support of the missionaries.
But God willed not the success of this undertaking; for,
when about to embark, the Indians were in such ill humor
that only the fathers and one of their men could find place
in their canoes. But so unprovided are they with provisions,
clothes and all the other necessaries of life, which indeed they
had in readiness, but which could not be taken on board,
that there is good reason to doubt whether they can reach the
country to which they are bound, or whether, after arriving
there, they can subsist long.

75
CHAPTER XIX.

*0n the Mission op the Holy Ghost Amongst the Ou-

TAOUACS.

" It is not necessary to repeat the enumeration of all the
"missionary stations dependant upon this mission, of each
•one of which was spoken of in the last "Relation."^ Suffice
•it to say that labors, famine, want of all things, bad treat-
ment on the part of the savages, ridicule from the idolators
— such are the most precious lot of those missions.

Since these people, for the greater part, have never had an)'-
•intercourse with Europeans, it is difficult to imagine the
-excess of insolence to which their barbarism impels them, and
the patience one must be armed with to bear such treatment.

It is necessary to deal with twenty or thirty tribes, differ-
ing in language, manners, and policy. All must be endured
from their bad humor and brutality, in order to gain them
by sweetness and affection. It is necessary in a measure to
make oneself an Indian with those Indians : to subsist some-
times on a kind of moss which grows on rocks, at other times
■on pulverized fish bones which take the place of flour — occa-
•sionally on nothing at all, passing three or four days without eat-
ing, like the Indians themselves, whose stomachs are accus-
tomed to such hardships of starvation ; but they, without
incommoding themselves, can eat enough in one day for
■ eight, when they have an abundance of game or fish. Fathers
'Claude Allouez and Louis Nicolas have passed through these
trials, and if penaiice and mortification contribute much to-
wards the conversion of souls, they assuredly lead a life more
; austere than that ot the greatest penitents of Thebaide, and
yet do not cease to devote themselves indefatigably to their
apostolic functions — to baptize children, instruct adults, con-
sole the sick and prepare them for heaven, to overthrow
idolatry and make the sound of their word heard in this
extreme end of the world.

Father Marquette* has gone to render assistance, together
with Brother Louis le Boeme, and we hope the sweat of these

1 Relation of 1668, pp. 31, 32.

3 Marquette went as f ai' as Sault Ste. Marie in 1668 and took charge of the
Indians assembled there until late in the summer of the foilowing: year. He
arrived at the head of Chequamegoa Bay Sept. 13th, 1669. See a short sketch
<ot his life in " Hist, and Bios. Notes."

generous missionaries bedewing those lands will render them
fertile for heaven. They have baptized within a year eighty
children, of whom many are in paradise. It is this that
assuages all their sufferings and fortifies them to undergo all
the labors of that mission.

Providence, moreover, permits them to taste sweet conso-
lation when Indians get sick unto death, whom they then
prepare for eternal life.

This is what haj^pened in the person of one of the fore-
most men of those peoj)le, who, having been baptized several
years ago, had no fixed dwelling place, but leading a nomadic
life, roamed throughout those great forests from end to end,,
over five or six hundred leagues of country. Nevertheless
God so well directed the last year of his life that, contrary to
his custom, he resolved to spend the winter near the resi-
dence of Father Allouez, no doubt through a presentiment of
his happiness, in order to be assisted in his last sickness by
this good Father, who did not fail to attend this poor old
man. When he was at the point of death, he prepared a
farewell feast for a great assembly which had been convoked
for that purpose from different tribes. This was done to keep
up a custom of theirs, of which he made good use in the
interests of faith. He addressed this multitude in a dying
voice it is true, but in the tone of a chief and in energetic
words, declaring that he had long lived a Christian, and, in;
dying a Christian, he felt assured of gaining the eternal happi-
ness promised to all believers ; but that they who were not
willing to hear the word of God would be tormented by
demons after death more cruelly, beyond comparison, than
an Iroquois is tortured who has fallen into their hands; that
for the rest, he died willingly in the hope of paradise, and
admonished them, if they were wise, to defer no longer to
follow his example. After these words, dictated by the love
he had for his countrymen, he thought in good earnest of
himself, and, having confessed as often as four times, he gave
up his soul, leaving us every reason to believe that God had
shown him mercy.

Other examples of a similar nature might be related to
show the ways of divine Providence for the salvation of His
elect. For us it remains , to cooperate faithfully Avith this
great work and to go in search of those straying sheep, how-
ever far away they may happen to be and whatever trouble-

it may cost us; too happy shall we be to consume our lives
in this good work.

Some of these tribes, it is true, have appeared at our set-
tlements (on the St. Lawrence) this summer (of 1668) to the
number of more than six hundred, but this was like a mere
streak of lightning, to carry on their little trafSc with our
French people, and such a time is not suitable to instruct
them. It is necessary therefore to follow them to their homes
and accommodate oneself to their ways, however ridiculous
they may seem, in order to draw them to our way of think-
ing and acting. And as God made himself man in order, as
it were, to make gods of men, so a missionary does not fear
to make himself, so to say, an Indian with the Indians, in
order to make them Christians : ^'Omnibus omnia f actus srmi."
"I have become all to all."

CHAPTER XX.

On the Mission of La Pointe du Saint Esprit in the Country
OF the Algonquin Outaouacs.

"^The mission of the Outaouacs is at present one of the
most beautiful of New France. The want of all things, the
brutal character of the Indians there, its remoteness of three
or four hundred leagues, the number of tribes there, and the
promise recently made to Father Allouez, that a whole tribe
wo aid embrace the Christian faith, after holding a general
council; all those things awaken a most ardent desire for that
mission in the hearts of all our missionaries.

Father Allouez having come down to Quebec this year^
(1669) in order to hand over to Monsieur de Courcelles the
captive Iroquois, whom of his own accord he had redeemed
from the Outaouacs, and to ask assistance from our Fathers,
the lot happily fell upon Father Claude Dablon, who has
been sent to be the Superior of all those upper missions, and
this, notwithstanding the great amount of good he effected
here and the pressing need they had of his services.

1 Relation of 1668 p. 17-20, See "Hist, and biog. notes" for short notice on
Father Claude Dablon.

2 After this second voyage of Father Allouez to Quebec, in 1669, he did not
return to his mission at the head of Chequamegon Bay, but, after arriving at
Sault Ste Marie, he remained there till Nov. bd, when he departed for the Bay
<of the Puants (Green Bay), where he arrived on the 2d of Dec. 1669.

The first settlement to be met with, of those upper tribes,,
who are almost all Algonquins, is the Sault, more than two
hundred leagues from Quebec. It is there our missionaries
have fixed their abode, it being the most convenient place
for their Apostolic labors, as the other tribes are in the habit
of going there, for several years since, in order thence to pro-
ceed to Montreal or Quebec, to trade. The missionaries
have located at the foot of the rapids of the river on the
south side, about the 46th degree of latitude. It is a good
thing the cold is not as great there as here, although we are^
almost in the same degree of latitude.

Another place, one hundred and fifty leagues from the
Sault, which has been particularly chosea for preaching the
gospel, is called La Pointe du Saint Esprit. The occasion of
establishing that mission was the Iroquois war, which drove
the greater part of the Indians of the upper country from
their native land and induced them to assemble there. Father
Allouez found this great number of tribes in one village, and
he took advantage of this flight which had brought together
so many people and which divine Providence had thus ar-
ranged for him, to announce our mysteries to these tribes,
and thus justify the divine word; there being no place so
remote in this New World, wherein this Father has not tried
to make the gospel heard.

God has found some elect amongst every tribe during the
time in which the fear of the Iroquois kept them assembled
there (at La Pointe du Saint Esprit). But, finally, the danger
having passed, each tribe returned to its country; some to
the Bay of the Puants (Green Bay), others to the Sault,
where our missionaries have determined henceforth to make
their headquarters. The rest have remained at La Pointe du
Saint Esprit. It is designed to build three Churches in these
three principal jalaces of this extreme end of the world. Two
in fact, are alread}^ erected, namely, the one at La Pointe du
S'aint Esprit and the other at the Sault. Father Allouez is
preparing himself to go to the Bay of the Puants on his re-
turn from Quebec, there to establish the third Church.

Never did the gospel have a more beautiful opening in
that country and nothing is wanting there at present, except
laborers; for the harvest is as abundant as it can be. The-
Iroquois tribe, to whom three of their captive countrymen
have been restored and to whom the rest are also to be sur-

rendered, will be very glad to keep peace "with the Outa-
ouacs, as they are at war with the Mohikans^ and Andastogues.
They even write to us from Montreal that the Onnontague-
ronnons will next spring go to the Sault, as embassadors, to
confirm the peace by presents. Thus the way will be open
to French commerce and gospel-laborers. Still, those people
being of a very changeable mind, we have always reason to
fear that peace will not be of long duration.

As La Pointe du Saint Esprit has until now (1669)
been the seat of all those upper missions, I am about to
speak of the progress of the Gospel and the establishment of
the kingdom of God in that place. I must not omit, how-
ever, to speak at the same time, of the great obstacles that
are encountered there.

The dissimulation, which is natural to those Indians, and
a certain deferential disposition, with which children in that
country are brought up, induce them to approve (apparently)
of all that is said to them, and prevents them from ever con-
tradicting the sentiments of others, even when they know
that- the statements made to them are false. To this dis-
simulation must be added obstinacy in adhering to their
own ideas and desires. This obliges our Fathers not to
receive adults for baptism very readily, who, moreover^
have been raised in idolatry and libertinism.

"But, finally, God gave me to understand, after many
trials," says Father Allouez in his journal and in one of his
letters, written from the Sault on the 6th of .June, 1669, ''that
it has pleased his Divine Majesty to show mercy to a par-
ticular tribe, the whole of which is desirous to embrace the
Christian faith. This tribe, called Queues Coupees (or Kis-
kakong), is one of the most populous — a peaceable tribe, an
enemy of war. Otherwise, these people are so inclined to
raillery, however, that they have hitherto ridiculed our faith,
as if it were mere children's play. They received their first
knowledge of the Gospel at the great Lake Huron, their real
country, at the time our Fathers were there. They were sub-
sequently instructed in their present place of abode (Lake
Superior country) by the aged Father Menard; and these

1 Mohikan, Mohegan. Chippewa "Ma-in-gan" Wolf, one of the "Six Nations"
of New York, so called because the wolf was their totem, as the bear was
that of the Mohawks. The Stockbridg-e Indians of Wisconsin claim to be de-
scendants of the ancient Mohikans, or Mo-he-kun-nucks.

instructions were finally continued by Father AUouez during
the two or three years that he dwelt with them (at La
Pointe du Saint Esprit). They did not, however, embrace
the faith until last summer, when the sachems of the tribe
harangued in its favor in their wigwams and at their councils
and feasts.

" It is this," says Father Allouez, "that obliged me to pass
the winter with them at La Pointe du Saint Esprit, in order
to instruct them. In the beginning, having been called to
one of their councils, I acquainted them with the news 'that
two Frenchmen had just brought me, telling them that, after
all, I saw myself obliged to leave them and go to the Sault,
because during the three years I had been with them, they
would not embrace our holy faith, there being only children
and some women who were Christians. I declared, besides,
that I would leave the place at this very hour, and would
shake the dust off my shoes. In fact, I took off my shoes
and did so in their presence, to show them that I was about
to leave them altogether, not wishing to carry anything of
theirs with me, not even the dust that sticks to my shoes. I
informed them, moreover, that the Indians at the Sault had
called me, wishing to become Christians, and that I was
going to them, in order to instruct them ; but if they in some
years did not become Christians, I would treat those at the
Sault in the same manner.

During the whole of this discourse I read in their coun-
tenances the fear I had awakened in their hearts. Leaving
them to deliberate, I withdrew immediately, resolved on go-
ing to the Sault. But an accident having detained me
through a special providence of God, I soon witnessed the
change effected in them, a change which can only be attrib-
uted to an extraordinary stroke of grace. With unanimous
consent they abolished polygamy, as also the sacrifices they
had been in the habit of offering to their manitous, refusing,
moreover, to attend any of the superstitious performances
practiced by the other tribes in the neighborhood. In a
word they showed a fervor similar to that of the primitive
Christians and a very great assiduity in all the duties of true
believers. They have all come to live near our chapel, in
order to make it easier for their wives and children to attend
the instructions given them, and not to lose a day without
going to the church to pray to God.

This, in general, is the state of the mission of La Pointe du
'Saint Esprit. I shall now relate in detail some of the most
remarkable conversions. An old man, who died on Christ-
mas-day, after having been prepared for death, will make the
beginning.

The Indians told Father Allouez that, after his baptism,
this old man had a vision of two roads, one of which led up-
wards, the other downwards. He had taken the one leading
upwards, as he told them himself, but he had great trouble
to follow it, as it was very narrow and rugged. The down-
ward road, he said, was very wide and beaten, the same as a
'trail going from one Indian village to another.

I cannot in silence pass over the baptism of the first adult
•of that tribe. As he was their chief, a man of intelligence
and fit for Christianity, he was the first one to harangue in
favor of the Christian religion publicly, saying the mysteries
preached to them were true, and that he, for one, had resolved
to obey the Father. His name was Kekakoung. This holy
liberty of speech in favor of the faith has stirred up all of
them, and moved them to receive the Gospel.

A certain man of sixty years did not have much difficulty
in becoming a Christian. He told Father Allouez that during
all his life he had recognized a great manitou who in himself
■contained heaven and earth ; that he had always invoked
Him in all his sacrifices, and that in pressing necessities he
had received help from Him. He received the name of Jo-
seph in baptism.

The example of another old man confirms the same thing.
With deep sentiments of gratitude towards this sovereign
manitou who preserved him, he relates that, when leaving
their country, these Indians were obliged to flee on the ice of
the great lake of the Hurons in order to escape the Iroquois
and starvation, which followed them everywhere. They had
no provisions and only nourished their families with fish,
which they speared every day under the ice. Now, it hap-
pened that sixty of their people, wandering about on the ice
seeking for something to eat, were carried away on a large
field of ice which had become detached by the violence of.
the wind. More than one-half of them died of hunger or
-cold, but this old man was preserved on his cake of floating
ice for a«space of thirty days, and finally he managed to get
on another field of ice, and thence to reach land, being unable

sufficiently to thank that manitou more powerful than fam-
ine, cold, ice, winds and tempests, to whom he had addressed
his prayers.

When he heard God spoken of for the first time, he recog--
nized at once that that was the powerful manitou who had
preserved him, and he determined henceforth to ohey him
in all things.

Finally, Father Allouez relates in his journal, that another
man of the same age could not contain his astonishment that
he had lived so long without the knowledge of the true God.
Oftentimes when being instructed, he would say: "Is it pos-
sible that we old men, who have a little understanding, have
so long been so blind as to take for divinities such things as
every day serve for our use ? '' One hundred persons of this
tribe, partly adults, partly children, have already received
baptism. As to the Hurons, who had fled to this country (La
Pointe du Saint Esprit), thirty-eight have been baptized. It is
calculated, moreover, that there are more than one hundred
persons of the other tribes to whom baptism has been given.

A woman forty-four years of age, showing great constancy
and a singular love for our holy faith, has finally received
baptism. The continual occasion of sin to which she was
exposed, and the persecutions she sufiered on account of her
beauty, made us at first fear to give her baptism; but her
generous behavior (under these trials) merited this grace,,
for her. She, moreover, declares publicly that she will never
marry. She was confirmed in this resolution by what she
had once heard from Father Allouez concerning the virgin-
ity of the Blessed Virgin, as also the vow of chastity that
women in religious orders make. She has returned to her
country with this holy thought in her mind, where she will
have the Holy Ghost for her sole director, until it shall
please God to send there some missionary.

Father Marquette writes to us from the Sault that the har-
vest there is very abundant, and that it only depends upon
the missionaries to baptize all that are there, to the number
of two thousand. But thus far they have not ventured to-
trust those people, since they are too complaisant of dispo-
sition, so that there is reason to fear that they might continue
their ordinary superstitious practices even after baptism. The-
missionaries apply themselves, above all, to instruct thevcu.
and to baptize the dying, who are a more secure harvest.

83
CHAPTER XXI.

On the Mission Among the Outaouacs and Especially
OF the Mission Sault Sainte Marie.

We^ call those tribes Upper Algonquins to distinguish
them from the Lower Algonquins, who are found farther
south, in the neighborhood of Tadoussac and Quebec.

They are commonly called Outaouacs, because of the thirty
different tribes that are found in those countries, the first
that came down to our French settlements were the Outa-
ouacs, whose name, since that time, has remained common
to all the others.

As we have a large number of different tribes to attend,
scattered over a large tract of country, we have divided them
into three principal missions, each of which are subdivided
into several particular missionary stations, according to the
diversity of language and tribe, all of which are connected
with these three principal missions.

The first of these missions, which is the central for the
others, is called Sainte Marie du Sault, located at the foot of
the rapids which receive their waters from Lake Tracy, or
Superior, and discharge them into Lake Huron.

The second mission, which is the furthest distant, is that
of the Holy Ghost, towards the extremity of said Lake
Superior, in a place which the Indians call La Pointe de
Chagaouamigong .

The third bears the name of St. Francis Xavier,^ at the
head of the Bay called that of the Puants, which is only
separated by a tongue of land from Lake Superior.

When speaking of each of these three missions in par-
ticular we shall take occasion to say something about the
peculiarities and curiosities to be met with in the places at.
which they are established.

1 Relation of 1670, pp. 78, 80.

2 See "Hist, and Biog. Notes" for a short sketch of the Green Bay Mission-

84
CHAPTER XXII.

'On the Nature and Peculiarities op the Sault and op
THE Tribes who are in the habit op going there.

What is commonly called the Sault is not, properly speak-
ing, a Sault, or a very high fall of water, but a very strong
•current of the waters of Lake Superior, which are arrested in
their onward course, through the channel, by a great number
of rocks (in the bed of the river) opposing their passage and
forming a dangerous cataract of half a league, all of these
waters flowing down and precipitating themselves upon one
another and upon the large rocks, which obstruct the whole
river.

Three leagues below Lake Superior and twelve leagues
above the Lake of the Hurons ; all this space forms a beau-
tiful river, intersected with several islands, which divide the
river and enlarge it in some places beyond sight. It flows
very gently nearly everywhere, the only place hard to get
over being the Sault.

At the lower end of these rapids, and even amongst the
eddies, a great fishery is carried on, from spring till winter,
of a species of fish which is generally only found in Lakes
Superior and Huron. They call them in their language,
Atticameg and we, in ours, white fish, because this fish is
truly very white and, moreover, very excellent. Henee it
forms almost exclusively the food of the greater part of those
tribes.

Dexterity and strength are necessary for this kind of fish-
-ery ; for tbose who catch them must stand up in a bark canoe
and there, among the rapids, push down a pole to the bottom
of the water, to the end of which a net is attached in the
shape of a pocket, into which the fish are made to enter. The
fish must be discovered by eye-sight, when they are gliding
among the stones in the bed of the river. Having discovered
them, the fisherman has to pursue them and, having forced
them to enter the net, with great effort lifts them into the
canoe. This performance is repeated at each draught, until
he has secured a load, six or seven large fishes being taken
each time.

Not everybody is fit for this kind of fishing, and occasion-
ally there are some, who by the efforts they are obliged to
make, upset the canoe, not having sufficient dexterity and
experience.

It is this convenience of having fish in such abundance,
as only to go and haul them out, that attracts the neighbor-
ing tribes hither during the summer, who, being nomadic,
without fields and without corn, and living mostly on fish,,
here find what they want. At the same time the mission-
aries make use of the opportunity thus offered, to instruct
and train them in the Christian religion, during their sojourn
in this place.

This has induced us to establish a permanent mission
here which we call Sainte Marie du Sault,^ and which is the
central to the others, as we here find ourselves surrounded
by different tribes, of whom the following belong here, com-
ing here, as they do, to live on fish :

The first, and at the same time, the native inhabitants of
this place are the people that call themselves Patouiting-
wach Irini (Bawiting dajiinini — " a man of Bawiting ")•
The French call them Saulteurs, because they dwell at the
Sault as in their own country, the other tribes only living
there, as it were, by permission. They number no more
than one hundred and fifty souls, but they are consol-
idated with three other tribes, numbering more than five
hundred and fifty persons, to whom they have made a
cession as it were, of the rights of their native country;
hence these three tribes reside there permanently, except
during the time in which they go hunting. Those called
Noquets" go hunting on the south side of Lake Superior,
where they originally belonged. The Outchibous^ and the
Marameg* hunt on the north side of the same lake, which
country they look upon as their own.

1 This mission was located at the foot of the rapids, nine miles below the
mouth of Lake Superioi-, on the American side of the river. The church and
mission house were destroyed by fire Jan. 37th, 1671 — the work, it seems, of a
Pagan incendiary. Soon a far more beautiful chapel was erected.

3 Noquets, from no-ka. "The No-ka or Bear family are more numerous
than any of the other clans of the Ojibways, forming fully one-sixth of the en-
tire tribe." (Wm. W. Warren, in Minn. Hist. Col. vol. v. pp. 49.)

3 Outchibous, called also Outchibouec, now the generic name of the whole
Chippewa nation.

4 Marameg, the French of Ma-nam-aig, "catfish," who have the catfish for
their totem. They ai-e a subdivision of the great A-waus-e clan, to which
fully one-ninth of the Chipewa nation belongs.

Besides these four, there are seven other tribes dependant
•on this mission. Those called Achiligouiane,^ Amicou-
res,* and the Mississague^ fish here (at the Sault), but go
hunting on the islands and in the country around Lake
Huron. They number more than four hundred souls.

Two other tribes to the number of five hundred souls,
altogether nomadic, without any fixed dwelling place, go
toward the northern country, to hunt during winter, and
come here to fish during summer.

There are still six other tribes, who are either people of
the Sea of the North, as for instance, the Guilistinons* and
.the Ouenibigong,^ or such as are roaming about in the
neighborhood of this same Sea of the North, the greater part
of whom having been driven from their country by famine,
come here, from time to time, to enjoy the abundance of
fish found here.

Two reasons, among others, have made us resolve to un-
dertake a voyage as far as to this Sea of the North. The
first is to see in what manner we can promote the conver-
sion of those tribes, notwithstanding the great obstacles to
this work, considering their mode of living, roaming about
as they do, continually through gloomy forests, and assem-
bling but rarely for some fair or feast, according to their
custom.

The second reason for this voyage is to examine, at length,
this Sea of the North, of which so much has been said and
which thus far has not been discovered overland.

The motives for seeking to make this discovery are, in the
first place, to ascertain whether this sea is the bay to which
Hudson penetrated in the year 1612, or some other, by com-
paring the longitude and latitude of that place with those of
this sea, and then to find out which part of the sea of the
North is nearest to us. Secondly, in order to know whether
there be any communication from Quebec to this sea by

1 Achiligouiane— of this Indian tribe the writer has been unable to learn
anything.

2 Amiooures, from "Amik" a beaver. They claimed to be descendants of
the great beaver— Manitou; hence the beaver is their totem.

3 Mississague— of whom the writer has not been able to learn anything.

4 Guilistinons, the same who are called elsewhere Kilistinons, now Crees.
See "Hist, andbiog. notes."

5 Oueniblgong, French form of Winibigog, fi-om "winibi," dirty water.
They probably reside in the vicinity of Lake Winnepeg.

:navigating along the northern shores, as has heen tried some
years ago. This depends upon the situation of said bay,
which we have here behind us towards the North, for if said
sea of the North should prove to be that of Hudson, or some
other farther toward the West, an easy commercial inter-
course cannot be expected, since a point would have to be
doubled which extends to more than sixty-three degrees of
north latitude. Thirdly, to arrive at a certainty regarding
strong conjectures long entertained, that the sea of Japan
could be reached by that route, for what has been remarked
in some of the previous Relations concerning this matter has
^Deen confirmed more and more by the report of the Indians
and by the conclusions we have drawn, namely, that at some
days' journey from the mission of St. Francis Xavier, which
is at the Bay of the Puants, there is a large river a league or
more in width (Mississippi), which takes its rise somewhere
in the north and flows in a southerly direction, and that
60 far, that the Indians who have navigated said river while
seeking for enemies to fight, were unable after a great many
days to discover its mouth, which must be toward the sea
of Florida or that of California. Below a large tribe will be
spoken of, residing in the direction of that river, as also of the
voyage we hope to make this year, to carry the faith there,
and at the same time to take cognizance of those new countries.
Besides, we are assured by the report of a great many Indi-
ans, whose statements agree very well, that at two hundred
leagues from the mission of the Holy Ghost, amongst the
Outaouacs, towards the West is situated the sea of the West^,
•to which one descends by another large river, found at eight
days' journey from said mission. These rivers go and come
far back into the interior — it is thus the Indians express
themselves when speaking of the tide of the sea. One of
'them declares that he has there seen four ships with sails.

After these two seas, that of the South and that of the
West, there only remains that of the north, so as to be sur-
rounded by such on all sides, which being well discovered
the following advantages may be derived, namely : that it is
not impossible to pass from the sea of the North to that of

1 ^he compiler of this "Eelation, " who seems to have been Father Dab-
Ion, probably means by the "Sea of the West" the Pacific ocean and the river
leading to it the Columbia. He is, of course, mistaken in his estimate of the
•distance to said " Sea of the West."

the South or to that of the West; that, as said sea of the^
West cannot be any other than that of Japf.n, the passage to-
this sea might be facilitated, as well as commerce.

CHAPTER XXIII.

On the Mission of the Holy Ghost at Point Ghagaoua-
MiGONG IN Lake Tracy, or Superior.

(On the peculiarities and curiosities of Lake Superior, and,,
in the first place, of the different kinds of fish with which
it abounds.)

This lake has almost the shape of a bow strung, being
more than one hundred and eighty leagues in length, of
which the South shore is, as it were, the string; and it seems
as though the arrow were the large tongue of land that
extends from the said south shore towards the middle of
the lake, more than eighty leagues.^

The northern shore is frightful, on account of a series of
rocks which form the end of the prodigious mountain chain
which, beginning beyond Cape de Tourmente below Quebec,
and extending till here through a space of more than six
hundred leagues in length, finally terminates at the extrem-
ity of this lake.

The lake, nearly all over, is open and free from islands,
which are generally only found towards the north shore.
This large open space gives room to winds that agitate this
lake with as much violence as the ocean.

It abounds mostly all over with such a quantity of stur-
geon, white- fish, trout, carp and herring, that a single fisher-
man will catch in one night twenty large sturgeon or one
hundred and fifty white fish or eight hundred herring in one
net. These herrings are a good deal like sea herrings in
shape and size, but they have not quite so good a flavor. It
is necessary often to expose oneself to danger in fishing here,
which, in certain localities, can only be carried ©n at large,
in dangerous places, subject to storms and at night-time
before moon- rise. In fact two Frenchmen were drowned last

1 He means Keweenaw Point.

fall, having been overtaken by a squall of wind which they
could not avoid.

In a river called Nantounagan, which is on the south side
of the lake, there is a very great fishery of sturgeon, day and
night, from spring till autumn, and it is there the Indians ga
to procure their supply of provisions. Opposite this river,,
on the north shore they have a similar fishery in a small bay,
where a single net will, in one night, take thirty or forty stur-
geon. This abundance of sturgeon is also found in a river at
the extremity of the lake. Along the north shore another river
is met with which is called Black Sturgeon River, from the
sturgeon that are caught there. They are not as good as-
other sturgeon, but starving voyagers find them excellent.

At La Pointe du Saint Esprit Chagaouamigong, where the
Outaouacs and Hurons reside, there is a great fishery, at all
times of the year, for white fish, trout and herrings. This
"manna" begins in November and lasts till after the ice
has formed ; and the colder it is, the more fish are caught.
Herring are found all along the south shore of the lake, from
spring till the end of the month of August. It were necessary
to enumerate all the bays and rivers of this lake, if desirous
to tell of all the fisheries carried on there. It is thus that
Providence has supplied these poor people, who, through
want of game and corn, live, for the greatest-part, only on fish.

CHAPTER XXIV.

On the Mines or Copper, which are Pound at Lake
Superior.

Until now it was supposed these mines were only to be
found on one or two islands. After making more exact
researches, however, we have learned from the Indians certain
secrets which they were unwilling to reveal. It required
cuteness to draw such information from them, and to distin-
guish between the true and the false.

We do not, however, guarantee all we are about to say, upon
their simple word, until we can speak with more assurance,
when we shall have gone to those places ourselves, a thing

1 Ontonagon, from onagan, "dish;" nind onagan, "my dish."

we hope to do this summer, when, at the same time, we go to
seek for the lost sheep roaming about throughout all sections
of this great lake country.

Entering Lake Superior by its mouth, which empties at
the Sault, the first place that presents itself in which copper
is found in abundance, is an island forty or fifty leagues dis-
tant, situated towards the north shore opposite a place called
Missipicouating.^

The Indians say it is a floating island, which is sometimes
near, sometimes far away, according to the direction in which
the winds move, propelling it from one side to another. They
relate also that long ago four Indians met there accidentally,
having been lost in the fog, with which this island is mostly
always surrounded.

It was at a time, when they did not as yet carry on any
commerce with the French, nor use kettles or hatchets. Ac-
cordingly when they wanted to prepare themselves a meal
thev took stones which they found on the beach, put them
into the fire and made them red-hot. These heated stones
they then put into a small vessel made of bark, so as to
make the water boil with which it was filled and in which
they boiled their meat. When they selecteHl the stones, they
found that nearly all of them were pieces of copper. These
they used, and, having taken their repast, they intended to
embark as soon as possible, fearing the lynx and hares, which
in that place are as large as dogs, and which were beginning
to eat their provisions, yes, even their canoes.

Before starting they loaded themselves with a quantity of
those stones, large and .small, and even some plates of cop-
per. But they had not gone very far from the shore, when
a powerful voice made itself heard, saying in great anger:
"Who are those thieves that are carrying away the cradles
and toys of my children?" By the cradles were meant the
plates of copper; for among thg Indians cradles are only
composed of a few pieces of material fastened together, on
which their children repose. The little pieces of cojjper

1 Michipicoten, also Cariboo Island. George Francis Thomas (Legends of
the Laud of the Lakes, p. 81 says: "Alexander Henry, who visited Cariboo
fsland in his search after silver and copper, in 17tJ5, says it was called by the
Indians, 'The Isle of the Yellow Sands,' and that a myriad of hawks encom-
passed the island, one of which was so bold as to pluck his cap from his head.
He found native copper iu the form of animals, leaves etc., having- been fash-
ioned thus by the hands of prehistoric man. He also found a number of cari-
bous, the American reindeer, upon the island."

they were taking away, were the toys of Indian children,
who play with little stones.

This voice astonished them very much, not knowing
whence it came. Some said it was thunder, as storms are
frequent there. Others maintained it was a certain manitou
whom they call Missibizi, who among those tribes is consid-
, ered as the god of the waters, the same as Neptune among
the ancients. Others, finally, claimed that the voice come
from the Memogovissiouis. These are mermaids, something
like the fabulous Tritons or Sirens, who always live in the
water, their hair hanging down to the waist. One of our
Indians told us he had seen one of them in the water, as he
imagined.

However that may be, this astonishing voice so frightened
our Indians, that one of the four died before reaching land;
soon after a second one was taken away then the third; so
only one remained who, having returned to his country, re-
lated all that had happened and died very soon afterwards.

The Indians, timorous and superstitious as all of them are,
never after that dared to go to that island, for fear of dying
there, as they believe there are certain manitous there who
kill all those that venture to land. And, in fact, since the
memory of man, no one has ever been known to put his
foot on said land, or even to sail by there, although the
island appears plainly enough to view, and one can even
distinguish the trees of another island called Achemikouan.

There is something true and something false in this story.
What appears most probable, is that those four men were
poisoned by the water which was made to boil by means of
heating pieces of copper, which lumps of copper through
the violence of the heat communicated their poison to the
water ; for we know from experience that copper, when put
into the fire for the first time, exhales dense, noxious
vapors that whitens chimneys. It is not, however, a poison
immediately active, but such as might more speedily take
efi'ect in some than in others, as was the case with those men
of whom we are speaking. Already feeling the sickening
efiects of the verdigris in the water in which they had boiled
their meat, they may have easily imagined to hear that
voice, or, perhaps, they heard some echo, which is commonly
the case among the rocks with which this island is lined.

Perhaps this fable was invented afterwards, not knowing
to what to ascribe the death ot those Indians. And when
they say it is a floating island, it is probable that the vapors
which often hover over it, rarifying or condensing in the rays
of the sun, make the island sometimes appear very near and
at others farther off.

What is certain, is that, according to the common belief of
the Indians, there is a great abundance of copper on this
island, but that no one has the courage to go there. It is
there we hope to begin the discoveries, which we intend to
make this summer.

Proceeding further (westward along the northern shor^)
to the place called : La Grand Anse, an island is met with three
leagues from the mainland, which is renowned for the metal
found there and also for the name Thunder, which it bears,
because it is said it always thunders there.

But still further westward, along the same northern shore,
is found an island most famous for copper, called Minong.^
It is there, as the Indians have told many persons, that cop-
per is to be found in great quantity, and in many places.
This island is large, twenty -five leagues long, seven leagues
from the mainland and more than sixty leagues from the
(west) end of the lake. Almost everywhere on the shores of
this island pieces of copper may be seen among the stones at
the edge of the water, especially at the side opposite (Jacing
the south), but principally in a certain bay, toward the
end which faces the northeast from the side of the offing.
There are some very steep bluffs of potters' clay there, and
on the side of these perpendicular bluffs or hills are seen
several layers, or beds ot red copper, one above the other,
separated from one another, or divided by other layers of
earth or rock. Even in the water copper-sand, as it were
(pulverized copper ore), is seen, and a person may take up
grains with a spoon, some as large as an acorn, and others
smaller reduced to sand (pulverized by the action of the
water). This large island is almost entirely surrounded by
islets, said to be of copper. They are to be met with in dif-
ferent places, till to the mainland of the north (shore). One
of them is no farther away from Minong than two gun-shots.
This islet is situated between the middle of the main island

1 Minong, now called Isle Royal.

and that end which faces north-east. There is, besides, on
this north-east side, very far out in the lake, another island,
called Manitouminis, on account of the copper with which
it abounds and of which it is related that those who were there
formerly threw down stones upon the ground, making them
resound as brass generally does.

Advancing to the (west) end of the lake and returning (east-
ward) one day's journey along the south shore, there is seen
at the edge of the water a rock of copper^ weighing seven or
eight hundred pounds. It is so hard that a steel instrument
oan hardly penetrate it. When it is heated, however, it may
be cut like lead.

Further on this side, along the south shore is situated the
Pointe of Chagaouamigong, where we have established the
Mission of the Holy Ghost, of which we will speak hereafter.
Near this are islands,^ on the shores of which pieces of cop-
per-ore are found and even plates of the same material.

Last spring we bought of the Indians a flat pieoe of pure
copper, two feet square, which weighs more than one hundred
pounds. It is not believed, however, that (copper) mines
exist on the islands, but that all these nuggets of copper prob-
ably come from Minong or from other islands, where they
originated, being carried on floating cakes of ice or rolled
along on the bottom of the water by very impetuous winds,
especially from the north-east, which wind is extremely violent,
It is true that on the mainland,^ at the place where the
Outaouacs rais*^ Iiidi.in-corn, ab(5ut half a league from the
edge of the water, the women have sometimes found pieces
of oopper scattered here and there, weighing ten, twenty or
thirty pounds. It is when digging into the sand to conceal
their corn that they make these discoveries.

In going back still further towards the mouth of the lake,
following the south shore, twenty leagues from the place of
which we have just spoken (Chagaouamigong) one enters a
river called Nantounagan, where a blufi" is seen, from which
pieces of red copper fall into the water or on the land, where
they are easily found. Three years ago a massive piece (of

1 This large mass of copper was probably near the mouth of Iron River,
Bayfield Co.

3 The Apostles Islands.

3 This seems to have been at the southeast end of Chequamegon Bay,
l)etween Fish Creek and Ashland.

copper) of one hundred pounds weight was given us, which
was obtained in this same place and of which we cut off some
pieces and sent them to Quebec to Monsieur Talon.

All do not agree as to f^e precise locality where copper is
found (on Ontonagan River). Some would have it where the
river begins to retire; others say it is met with right near
the lake, when digging into the loamy ground. Some say
at the place where the river forks, and in a creek which if
more to the east, on this side of a point, one has to dig into
the rich soil, so as to find this copper and that pieces of this
metal are found scattered throughout the creek, which is in
the middle.

Coming on still further this way, there presents itself a
long point of land, which appears to us like an arrow. At
the end of this there is an islet which seems to be only six
feet square and which is said to be entirely of copper.

Finally, not to omit describing a single section of this great
lake, we ''re told in the interior, on the south side, mines of
this metal are found in different places.

All these items f-'f information and others which it is un-
necessary to describe more at length, merit indeed that an
exact research be made, and such we will try to undertake.
There are also indications of copper, to judge from the verdi-
gris, which they say runs down from the crevices of certain
rocks at the edge of the water, where even among the pebbles
some pieces are found, somewhat soft, of an agreeable green-
ish color. If God prospers us in our undertaking, we shall
speak of it next year with more certainty and knowledge.

CHAPTER XXV.

Of the Tribes Connected with the Mission of the Holy

G-HOST AT THE PoiNT CALLED GhAGAOUAMIGONG.

A person may count more than fitty villages, composed of
different tribes, either roaming about or having fixed abodes,,
who in some way depend on this mission, and to whom one
can announce the Gospel, be it by going to their country, or
at the time when they come to this section to trafi[ic.

The three tribes comprised under the name of Outaouacs,
of which one has embraced Christianity, and that of the

Hurons Etionnontatetieronnons, of whom there are about
fimhundred baptized^ inhabit this Point, subsisting on fish and
corn, and rarely on game. They compose more than fifteen
hundred souls.

The Illinois tribe, living southward, have five large villages,
one of which extends three leagues, the wigwams being in
a row. They number nearly two thousand souls, and come
here from time to time, in great numbers, as traders, to pro-
cure hatchets, guns, and other things they need. During the
time they stay here the missionaries sow in their hearts the
first seeds of the Gospel. Hereafter more will be said of these
people and of the desire t^^ey show to have one of our Fathers
instruct them, as also of the design Father Marquette has
formed of going to them next autumn.

Eight days' journey from here, westward, is the first of the
thirtv villages of the Nadouessi. The great war tliey wage
with our Hurons and some other tribes of this section of the
country, keeps them more reserved and obliges them not to
come here, except in small numbers, and, apparently, as an
embassy. More will be said of them below, when we shall
relate what said Father did to pacify them and preserve
them in peace.

Of all the tribes toward t^e north, there are three who
come here to traffic and \exy recently two hundred canoes of
them stayed here for some time.

Four other tribes of those who compose the mission of St.
Francis Xavier at the Bay of the Puants, have received the
first tincture of the faith during the time they resided here,
fleeing from the pursuit of the Iroquois.

Thus the mission finds itself surrounded nearly on all
sides with tribes, at whose conversion the missionary has
begun to labor, as we are about to see.

96
CHAPTER XXVI.

Letter of Father James Marquette to the Rev. Father
Superior of the Mission.^

My Reverend Father, Pax Christi: —

I am obliged to give Your Reverence an account of the
etate of the mission of the Holy Ghost among the Outa-
■ouaes, according to the order received from Your Reverence,
and lately again from Father Dablon, since my arrival here,
after one month's navigation in snow and ice, which closed
•our passage, and in almost continual danger of death.

Divine Providence having destined me to continue the
mission of the Holy Ghost, which Father Allouez had started,
and where he baptized the head men of the Kiskakonk tribe,
1 arrived there oa the thirteenth of September (1669). I
went to visit the Indians who were living in clearings divided
as it were, into five villages The Hurons, to the number of
from four to five hundred souls, are nearly all baptized, and
still always preserve a little Christianity. Some of the
principal men, assembled in council, were much pleased at
tirst to see me. I gave them to understand, however, that I
did not as yet know their latiguage perfectly, and that there
was no other Father to come here, partly becaase they were
all gone to the Iroqaois, and partly because Father Allouez,
who understood th«^m perfectly, did not wish to return here
^or this winter, on account of their not showing enough
attachment to religion (prayer). They admitted that they
well-deserved punishment and afterwards, during the winter
thev spoke of it and resolved to do better, which they in
reality have shown me by their conduct.

Those of the Keinouche^ tribe declare loudly that the
time is not yet come (to embrace the Christian religion).
Still there are two men formerly baptized, one of whom
somewhat advanced in years, is considered a wonder among

1 This letter of Father iMarquette was most probably written at Sault Ste.
Marie in the early part of spring, 1670. It seems he started from his mission
at the bead of Chequameg'on Bay in the latt^n- part of April or the beginning'
of May, when snow and ice are not a rare occurrence on Lake Superior. It
is difficult to determin J how long he stopped at the Sault and when he re-
turned to La Pointe du Saint Esprit.

3 Keinouche, French form Ke-no-sha, "pike," an Ottawa clan, whose totem
was the pike; hence Kenosha City, Wis.

the Indians, not having as yet, wished to get married. He
always persists in his resolution, no matter what may be
said to him on that account. He suffers great attacks, even
from his own relatives, but this has no more effect on him
than the loss of all his merchandise that he had brought
along with him last year from the French settlements. He
had not even as much left to himself as would cover him.
These are hard trials for Indians, the greater part of whom
seek nothing else than 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, extraor-
dinarily attached as they are to dreams, had concluded
that a certain number of young men should commit inde-
cencies with young girls, each of the latter chosing for this
purpose any young man she liked. This is never refused,
because they believe the life of men depends upon it. They
call this young Christian. A.t first he enters the wigwam,
and, seeing they are about to begin their orgies, he feigns to
be sick and immediately leaves. They go t<i call him back,
but he refuses to do anything of the kind. He confesses
with prudence as great as could be expected, and I wondered
that an Indian could live so innocentl}^ and everywhere de-
clare himself a Christian with so much courage. He still
has his mother, who is a good Christian, as are also some of
his sisters.

The Outaouacs are extraordinarily superstitious in their
feasts and juggleries and seem to harden themselves against
the instructions imparted to them. They are, however, well
satisfied to have their children baptized. God has this
winter permitted a woman to die in her sins. Her sickness
had been concealed from me, and I heard nothing ab'^ut it,
except by a report circulated aboat that she had requested a
very bad dance to be performed for her cure. I immediately
went into a wigwam, where all the head men were at a feast,
and among them some Christian Kiskakonk. I pointed out
to them the wickedness of that woman and of the medicine-
man (in getting up such an immodest dance). I instructed
them, speaking to all present, and God willed that an aged
Outaouac should take the word, saying my request should
be granted, no matter if the woman were to die. An aged
Christian also spoke, telling the tribe the debaucheries of the
joung people ought to be stopped, and that Christian girls

should never be allowed to be present at these dances. To
satisfy the woman the dance wa,^ changed into a child's play,
but this did not prevent her from d3'ing before day-break.

The extreme danger in which a young man lay sick, in-
duced the medicine-man to say he should invoke the devil
•by means of very extraordinary superstitious performances.
The Christians made no invocation whatever. Only the
medicine-man and the patient did so. The latter was made •
to walk over large fires which had been lighted in all the
wigwams. They say that he did not feel the heat of those
fires, although his body had been anointed with oil during
five or six days. Men, women, and children ran from wig-
wam to wigwam, proposing, as an enigma, anything they
had in their minds, and the one who guessed it was very
well satisfied to receive whatever he was looking for. I pre-
vented them from practicing the indecencies in which they
are in the habit of indulging at the end of all these deviltries.
I think they will not return to them again, as the sick man
died a short time after.

The Kiskakonk tribe, which for three years had refused to re-
ceive the Gospel announced to them by Father Allouez, finally
resolved, in the autumn of the year 1668 to obey God. This-
resolution was taken in a council and declared to the
Father, who was obliged to winter with them for the fourth
time, in order to instruct and baptize them. The headmen
of the tribe declare themselves Christians and in order to
attend to them, the Father having gone to another mission,
the charge of this one was given to me, of which I went to
take charge in the month of September of the year 1669.

All the Christians were in the fields at that time, harvesting
their Indian corn. They listened to me with pleasure, when
I told them I had come to La Pointe merely through consid-
eration for them and the Hurons, that they would never be
abandoned, would be cherished above all other tribes and
would henceforth form one nation with the French. I had
the consolation of seeing their love for religion, and how much
they appreciate their being Christians. I baptized the newly-
born children and visited the old men, all of whom I found
well disposed. The chief having allow^ed a dog to be attached
to a pole near his wigwam, which is a kind of sacrifice to the
sun, I told liim that was not right, and he immediately'
threw it down himself. A sick man who had been instructed,

but not yet baptized, begged me to grant him this grace, or to-
stay near him, because he did not wish to emploj^ the medi-
cine-man to get- cured, and feared the fire of hell. I prepared
him for Baptism. I was often in his wigwam and the joy
my visits occasioned partly restored him to health. He
thanked me for the care I had taken of him and shortly after,,
saying I had restored him to life, he made me a present of a
slave, who had been brought to him from the Illinois two or
three months before.

In the evening, being in the wigwam of a Christian, where
I used to sleep, I made him say some prayers to the guardian-
angel, and related some anecdotes to make him understand
the assistance the angels give us, especially when in danger of
offending God. He told me that he now knew the invisible
hand that struck him, when, after his Baptism he was on the
point of committing sin with a woman and, having heard a
voice that told him to remember he was a Christian, he
departed without committing this sin. Afterwards he often
spoke to me about the devotion to the guardian-angels and
conversed about it with other Indians.

Some of the young women baptized serve as an example
to all the rest, and are not ashamed to say they are Chris-
tians. Marriages^ amongst Indians are dissolved about as
easily as they are contracted, and it is no dishonor then to
marry some one else. Having learned that a certain young-
Christian woman' having been abandoned by her husband,
was in the same danger (of remarrying invalidly) on account
of her relatives, I went to see her and encouraged her to
behave in a Christian manner. She kept her word so well
that no one ever heard anything ill said of her. Her conduct
joined with the remonstrances I made to her husband, induced
him to take her back towards the close of the winter, and
she failed not to come immediately to the chapel, from
which she had previously been too far away. She opened
her conscience to me, and I wonder that a young woman
lived in such (an innocent) way.

The pagans make no feast without sacrifice, and we find it
difficult to prevent them. The Christians have now changed
this way of acting, and, to accomplish this more readily, I

1 See " Hist, and Biog. Notes," where the reader will find an article on
Indian Marriages by Nicholas Perrot, 1665-1701.

100

preserve a little of their custom and take from it what is
bad They have to make a speech at the beginning of the
feast ; so they call upon God, of whom they ask health and
what they need, declaring that for this purpose they fea,pt
the people. God has been pleased to keep all the Christians
in health except two children, whose sickness they sought to
hide from me, and for whom a medicine-man had performed
his deviltries. They died shortly after being baptized.

Having invited the Kiskakonk to come and winter near
the chapel, they left all the other tribes to dwell near us, in
order to be able to pray to God, receive instruction and get
their children baptized. They declare themselves Chris-
tians, and, for that reason, I used to address them in all the
councils and aflfairs of importance. In fact, it was enough
to let them know what I wanted, in order to obtain it, when
I addressed them in their quality as Christians ; they told
me, toOj it was on that account they obeyed me. They have
taken the foremost place among the other tribes, and, it may
be said, they govern three of them. It is a great consolation
to a missionary to see people so tractable in the midst of
barbarism, to live in so great peace with Indians, and
sometimes to pass whole days in instructing them and
making them pray to God, The rigor of the winter and the
bad weather did not prevent them from coming to the chapel.
There were some who did not miss a siagle day, and I
was busy receiving them from morning till night. Some I
prepared for baptism, others I instructed for confession and
still others I disabused of their reveries. The old men told
me the young had not much understanding as yet, and that
I should prevent their disorders. I often spoke to them
about their daughters, telling them they should not allow
young men to go and visit them at night. I knew, prop-
erly speaking, all that was going on amongst the two tribes
that were near us, but, concerning the rest, have only heard
reports. No one ever spoke to me of the Christian women
among them, and when I asked the opinion of some of the
ancients, they had nothing to answer me, excejjt that these
women prayed to God. I used to often s ek to impress this
point, well knowing all the solicitations Christian women
suffer every night, and what courage they need to resist
them. They have learned to be modest, and the French,
who saw them, well noticed they were not like the rest. It

101

is by their modesty that Christian women are distinguished.
One day, instructing the old men in my wigwam, speaking
to them about the creation of the world and other facts
related in the Old Testament, they told me what they for-
merly believed ; now they regard ihose things as fables.
They have some knowledge of the tower of Babel, saying
their ancestors used to relate that in olden times a large
house had been built, but that a great wind had thrown it
down. They despise all those petty gods which they had
before they were baptized. They often ridicule them and
wonder at themselves for having had so little understanding
as to offer sacrifices to those fabulous objects.

I baptized an adult after a long trial, and his assiduity at
prayer, his open-heartedness in relating his past life to me,
the promises he made me, especially not to go and visit
girls, the assurances they gave me of his good conduct, — all
this obliged me to grant him what he demanded (i. e., bap-
tism;. He has since continued in his good behavior, and
immediately after his return from the fishery he did not fail
to come to the chapel. After the Easter holidays the Indi-
ans separate, to hunt for a living. They promised me
always to remember their religion, and urgently requested
that one of our fathers might come and seek them in the
fall, when they would meet again. Their petition will be
granted, and if it please God to send us as a father, he will
take my place, whilst I, to execute the orders of the Father
Superior, shall go to begin the mission of the Illinois.

The Illinois are thirty days' journey by land from La
Pointe, the way being very difficult. They are south-west-
ward from La Pointe du Saint Esprit. One passes through
(the country inhabited by) the tribe of the Ketehigamins,^
who compose more than twenty large lodges, and live in the
interior. They seek to get acquainted with the French, in
hopes of procuring tomahawks, knives and other iron imple-
ments from them. So much do they fear them that they
took from the fire two Illinois, who, when tied to the stake,
said the French had declared they wished to have peace all
over the land. After that, the traveler passes through the
country of the Miamiouek (the Miami) and, traversing great

1 Ketehigamins, most probably an error of the copyist, should be Kltch-
igamins, " Large Lake People."

102

prairies, he arrives in the country of the Illinois, who are
principly gathered in two villages, which contain from eight
to nine thousand souls. These people are well enough dis-
posed for Christianity.

Since Father Allouez exhorted them at La Pointe to adore
one God alone, they have begun to abandon their false gods.
They adore the sun and thunder. Those whom I have seen
appear to be of a pretty good nature. They do not run
about at night as others do. A man boldly kills his wife if
he learns that slie is unfaithful. They are more reserved in
their sacrifices, and promise me to embrace Christianity and
to do all I will tell them, in their country. With this ob-
ject in view the Outaouacs have given me a young man
lately from the Illinois country, who has taught me the
first rudiments of tha,t language during the leisure time
afforded by the Indians of La Pointe in the winter. The
Illinois tongue is scarcely intelligible, although it has some-
thing of the Algonquin. Nevertheless, I hope with the
assurance of the grace of God, to understand and be under-
stood, if God in his goodness brings me to that country.

A person must not' hope to escape crosses in any of our
missions, and the best way to live contentedly under these-
crosses is not to fear them, and, when enjoying little ones, to
await from the goodness of God such as are far greater. The
Illinois wish for us, Indian-fashion, to share in their mise-
ries and to endure all that can be imagined from their bar-
barism. They are lost sheep that must be hunted up in the
under-brush and forests, especially as they cry so loud for
some one to go and draw them out of the jaws of the wolf;
such are the urgent requests they made me during winter.

The Illinois always travel by land. The}^ plant Indian-
corn, of which they have an abundance. They have pump-
kins as large as those of France, and plenty of grapes and
other fruit. In their country hunting for buffaloes, bears,
deer, turkeys, ducks, wild geese, pigeons, and cranes, is very
profitable. During a certain season of the year they leave
their village, all of theixi, to go in a body to the hunting-grounds,
thus the better to resist the enemies who come to attack them.
They be^eve, if I go there, I shall make peace everywhere;
that they will always stay in the same place, and only the
j,oung will go hunting.

103

When the Illinois come to La Pointe, they pass a large
river about a jeiigiie in width (Mississippi). It runs from
aiorth to south, and so far that the Illinois, who do not know
what a canoe is, have not heard of its mouth. They only
know that there are very large tribes further south than they,
:Some of whom raise two crops of Indian-corn in a year. East
or south-east from their country, a tribe, whom they call
Chaouanons,^ came to visit them last summer. The young
man who was given to me and who teaches me the (Illinois)
language, saw them. They were laden with glass-beads, which
shows they have iatercourse with Europeans. They had
traveled through a certain country for almost thirty days
before arriving at this place (the country of the Illinois). It
is hardly credible that this large river^ empties (into the sea)
at Virginia, and we rather believe it has its mouth in Califor-
nia. If the Indians who have promised to make me a canoe,
do not fail in their word, we shall travel on this river as far
as possible, with a. Frenchmen and the young man given to
me, who knows some of those languages and has an aptness
for learning others. We shall visit the tribes, who inhabit
those countries, in order to open the way to so many of our
Fathers who are awaiting this happiness since so long a time.
This discovery will give us a full knowledge of the sea, either
that of the south or that of the west.

At a distance of six or seven days' journey further down
than the Illinois, there is another large river, on which there
are prodigious tribes who use wooden canoes. We cannot
write anything else about them until next year, if God
vouchsafes to conduct us thither.

The Illinois are warriors. They make a number of their
enemies slaves, with whom they carry on traffic with the
Outaouacs, to get guns, powder, kettles, hatchets and knives
from them. They formerly had war with the Nadouessi and,
having made peace some years ago, I confirmed it, in order to
make it easier for them (the Illinois) to come to La Pointe,
where I go to await them in order to accompany them into
their country.

The Nadouessi, beyond La Pointe, who are the Iroquois of
this country , but less perfidious, and who never attack with-

1 Chaouanon, pronounced Shah-wah-non "southern people," the same
generally called Shawuees. They lived along the Ohio Kiver, and were a very
populous tribe, inoffensive and averse to war.

2 The Mississippi.

104

out provocation, are about westward from the Mission of the
Holy Ghost. They are a large tribe and one that has not
yet been visited, we being devoted to the conversion of the
Outaouacs. They fear the French, because they have brought
iron into the country. They have a language entirely differ-
ent from the Algonquin and Huron. There are a number of
villages but they extend to a very long distance. They have
most extraordinary ways of acting. They adore the calumet,
say not a word at their feasts, and when a stranger arrives,
they feed him with a wooden fork, as one would do a child.
All the tribes of the lake (Superior) make war upon them,
but with little succesi:. They have wild rice, use sujall canoes
and keep their word inviolably. I have sent them a present
by the interpreter, in order to tell them to recognize the French
wherever they might meet tliem; not to kill them nor the
Indians accompanying them ; that the Black-gown wishes to
go to the country of the Assinipouars and to that of the Kil-
istinaux ; that he has already been with the Outagamis, and
that he will start this fa,ll to go to the Illinois, requesting them
to leave the way to their country open. They have consented
to these demands ; as to my present, however, they said they
were waiting for all their people to return from the chase, and
that they would be at La Pointe this tall, to hold a council
with the Illinois and to speak with me. I would wish that
all the tribes had as much love for God as they have fear ot
the French ; Christianity would then soon flourish.

The Assinipouars, who have about the same language as
the Nadouessi, are westward from the Mission of the Holy
Ghost, at a lake fifteen or twenty days' journey distant, where
they gather wild rice and where the fishing is very good. I
heard there is a large river in their country, which leads to
the Sea of the West, and an Indian told me that being at the
mouth, he had seen Frenchmen there, and four large canoes
(vessels) with sails.

The Kilistinaux are a wandering people, and we do not as
yet know their rendez-vo.us. They are towards the north-
west from the Mission of the Holy Ghost, always in the woods
and have only their bow and arrow with which to make a
living. They came to the mission, where I was last fall, to
the number of two hundred canoes, to buy merchandise and
corn. They then went to the woods to stay there over winter.
I saw them again this spring at the lake-shore.

105
CHAPTER XXVII.

Necessary Explanation in Order to Get a Correct Idea
op the outaouac missions/

"It is good to give a general idea of these Outaouac coun-
tries, not only in order to know the places where the faith
has been announced by the establishment of missions, but
also because the king, having very recently^ taken possession
of these countries by a ceremony worthy of the oldest son
of the Church and of a most Christian ruler, has placed all
these tribes under the protection of the Cross before taking
them under his own protection. He did not wish to hoist
the insignia of royal power until he had first raised the
standard of Jesus Christ, as shall be stated in the narrative
of this act of taking possession.

Casting a glance on the topography of the lakes and lands,
on which the greater number of the tribes of these quarters
have settled, will give more insight into all these missions
than a long discourse on the subject.

First, look at the mission of Sainte Marie Du Sault, about
three leagues below the mouth of Lake Superior. It will be
seen situated on the bank of the river into which this great
lake empties, at a place called the Sault, which is very ad-
vantageous for apostolic functions, since it is the great ren-
dezvous of the main part of the Indians of these quarters,
and the almost ordinary route of all those who go down to
the French settlements. Hence it is in this place that the
assuming possession of all these countries in the name of His
Majesty took place, in presence of fourteen tribes, and with
their consent, they having gone there for this purpose.

Towards the other extremity of the same lake is found the
mission of the Holy Ghost, which is partly at a place called
The Point of Chagaouamigong, and partly on the neighboring
islands, lohere the Outaouacs and the Hurons^ of the Tionontate

1 Relation of 1671, pp. 24-36.

3 On the 14th of June, 1671. See next chapter.

3 It is, therefore, hig-hly probable that these two tribes spent a sfreat
part of the year on the islands, and especially on La Pointe Island, and that
both Fathers, Marquette and Allouez, said Mass and performed other func-
tions of the ministrj- there. As a large portion of the last named island had
been cleared and cultivated by the Chippewas prior to their dispersion, it is
natural to suppose that the Ottawas and Hurons occupied the lands thus
abandoned, the more so as. the fishery Avas most excellent all around the
Island.

106

betake themselves, according to the season, either to fish or to raise
Indian corn.

It will be easy to recognize the rivers and ways that lead
to the different tribes, either settled down or roving about in
the vicinity of this same lake, and who, in some way, are
dependent on this same mission of the Holy Ghost, on
account of the traffic that attracts them to the place where
our Indians dwell.

It is towards the south that the great river called Missis-
sippi runs, which must empty towards the Sea of Florida,
more than four hundred leagues from here, and of which
more will be said hereafter. Beyond the great river are sit-
uated eight villages of the Illinois, about one hundred
leagues from La Pointe du Saint Esprit. Forty or fifty
leagues from the same place, westward, is found the Na-
douessi tribe, very populous and warlike, who are considered
the Iroquois of these countries, warring single-handed with
all the other tribes here. Further on, another tribe of an
unknown language is met with, and after this is passed they
say the Sea of the West appears. Pushing on still towards
west-northwest, one sees a tribe called Assinipoualac,
composing one large village, or, according to others, thirty
small neighboring villages, somewhat near the Sea of the
North, at fifteen days' journey from the same mission of the
Holy Ghost.

Finally the Kilistinons are scattered all over the country
north of this lake, having no corn, nor fields, nor any settled
dwelling place, but incessantly roaming about in those great
forests to make a living by hunting, like some other tribes
of these quarters, who, on that account, are called North-
Land or North-Sea tribes.

We might designate, en passant, all the places of this lake,
where copper is said to be found. Although until now
people have not a thorough knowledge of the place in which
it exists through want of exact research, still the plates and
lumps of this metal, which we have seen, and which weigh
each one to two hundred pounds — this large rock of copper
of from seven to eight hundred pounds, which all • tra,velers
see towards the head of the lake, — besides a great number of
pieces that are found on the beach in different places, — ^^all
this seems to allow of no doubt that- there are some choice
mines of copper not as yet discovered.

107

Having glanced all over this Lake Superior and the tribes
living in this vicinity, we can go down towards the lake of
the HuTons and notice there, almost in the middle (of said
lake, on the Manitoulin Island), the mission of St. Simon,
established on the islands that formerly had been the true
country of some Outaouac tribes, but which they were
obliged to abandon when the Iroquois desolated the Huron
country. Since the time, however, that the arms of the
king have compelled the Iroquois to live in peace with our
Algonquins, a part of the Outaouacs have returned to their
country, and we, at the same time, have chosen the site for
this mission, with which we connected the Mississagwe^
tribe, the Amicoues and their neighbors, to whom we have
annnounced the faith and of whom we have baptized a great
many children, as well as adults.

Towards the south and at the other side of the lake
(Huron) are the lands formerly inhabited by different tribes
of Hurons and Outaouacs, who had settled at some distance
from one another, as far as the famous island of Missili-
makinac. Near this island, as the place most renowned for
its abundance of fish, different tribes had formerly made
their abode. If they see that the peace (forced upon the
Iroquois by the victorious arms of France) is good and
strong, they declare they will return thither. For this rea-
son we have already , to some extent, laid the foundation
there of the mission of St. Ignace during the last winter we
spent there.

From there (Missilimackinac) you enter the lake called
Mitchiganons (Michigan), to which the Illinois have left
their name. After those people who had formerly dwelt
near the Sea of the West had been driven away by their
enemies, they came to seek refuge on the shores of this lake.
There the Iroquois dispossessed them ; so they finally
retired a seven-days' journey beyond the great river (Missis-
sippi). It will be seen hereafter that a part of this tribe
have begun to be enlightened by the light of faith which we
have brought to this, their dwelling-place.^

1 This mission was probably founded by Father Dablon in the winter of
1670-71.

3 In 1670 the Illinois were twice visited at their village on the Upper Fox
River, nine miles from Portag-e City ; the first time by Father Allouez on the
39th of April, and the second time by both Fathers Dablon and Allouez on the
15th of September. The main body of the Illinois, however, resided further
south, in Iowa and Illinois.

108

Finally, between this Lake of the Illinois and Lake Su-
perior a long bay is seen, called the Bay of the Puants (Green
Bay), at the head of which is the Mission of St. .Francis
Xavier. At the entrance of this bay the Huron Islands are
to be met with, so called because the Hurons, after the
desolation of their country, retired thither for some time.
On one of them, especially, are found certain kinds of emer-
alds like diamonds, some white, others green. Further on
still, northward, a rather small river can be seen, to which
the name of Copper River has been given, on account of a
mass of metal, weighing over two hundred pounds, which we
have seen there.

Going towards the head of said bay, the river of the
Oumaloumines is seen, which (word) means Wild Rice
tribe. This tribe is dependent upon the Mission of St.
Francis Xavier, as also that of the Pouteouatami, Ousaki
and other tribes, who, having been driven from their coun-
try, which are the lands of the south, near Missilimackinac,
have fled to the head of this bay. Beyond this bay, in the
interior, can be noticed the Fire tribe, or Mashkoutench,
with one of the Illinois tribes, called Lesoumarai, and the
Outagami. Of them more shall be said in detail, as well as
of all the rest that have been mentioned, the faith having
been announced to nearly all of them. Some of them have
embraced it, making public profession of Christianity ;
others have not as yet declared themselves, although .many
individuals have received holy baptism, and the most of
them the instructions necessary for receiving it.

The rest, finally, who are more distant towards the south
and westward, either begin to come to us — for the Illinois
have already arrived at this bay, or they are waiting till we
can push through to the place in which they reside. Of
this we shall treat more in detail when speaking of the
Missions in succession. Then we shall touch upon the more
rare and curious things to be found in those lands and the
tribes newly discovered."

109
CHAPTER XXVII.

The Formal Taking Possession of the Entire Outaouac
Country, in the name of the King of France.

" We^ do not claim to give a statement here of all that took
place at this ceremony, but will relate only what concerns
Christianity and the good of the missions, which will now
flourish more than ever, after that which took place to their
advantage, on this occasion.

Monsieur Talon, our Intendant, on his return from Portugal
and after his shipwreck, received orders from the king again
to pass over into this country. He was ordered by His
Majesty at the same time to labor strongly at the establish-
ment of Christianity by favoring our missions, and to make
known the name and power of our invincible monarch among
even the most unknown and distant tribes. This order, sup-
ported by the intentions of the minister, who is always
equally watchful to extend the glory of God and to procure
that of his king in every land, was executed as soon as
practicable. No sooner had Monsieur Talon landed than he
thought of the means to make it successful. Hence he chose
Sieur Lusson, whom he commissioned, in his place and in
the name of His Majesty, to take possession of the lands be-
tween the East and the West, from Montreal to the Sea of
the South, as much and as far as could be included in this
act of taking possession.

For this purpose, having wintered at the Lake of the
Hurons, he went to Sainte Marie of the Sault in the beginning
of May in this year, one thousand six hundred and seveniy-
one. He first convoked the tribes of the surrounding country
of more than a hundred leagues, who, in the person of their
ambassadors, met there to the number of fourteen tribes.^

1 "Relation" of 1671, pp. 36-38.

3 The Chippewas, according- to their traditional accounts, -went there
"headed by their chief Ke-che-ne-zuh-yauh, head chief of the great Ci-ane
family. Addressing- him. the Freach envoy said: "Every morning- you will
look towards the rising- of the sun and you shall see the fire of your French
father (king- of France) reflecting- towards you to warm you and your people.
If you ai e in trouble, you, the Crane, must arise in the skies and cry with your
'far sounding' voice and I will hear you. The fire of your French father shall
last forever and warm his children." At the end of this address a gold medal
shaped like a heart was placed on the breast of the chief and by this mark of
honor he was recognized as chief of the Lake Superior Ojibway?." (Wm. W.
Warren in Minn. Hist. Coll. vol. v, pp. 131-33.)

110

Having made the necessary arrangements so that all might
tend to the honor of France, he began the fourth (should be
14th) of June of the same year by an act the -most solemn,
that had ever taken place in those countries.

All the people being assembled for a grand public council,
and, having selected a rising piece of ground very proper for
his design, which hill overlooks the Chippewa village, he
caused a Cross to be erected there and then had the arms of
the king hoisted with all the magnificence he could devise..

The Cross was publicly blessed with all the ceremonies of
the church by the superior of those missions and, while lift-
ing it from the ground in order to plant it, the hymn "Vexilla.
Regis" was sung, which a good number of French, who were-
present on this occasion, entoned to the admiration of all the
Indians, there being mutual joy in the hearts of both classes
at the sight of this glorious standard of Jesus Christ, which
appeared only to be lifted up so high in order to rule over
the hearts of these poor people.

Then the escutcheon of France, having been attached to a
cedar-pole, was raised above the Cross, whilst the oration
"Exaudiat" was being sung, and they were praying at this
end of the world for the sacred person of His Majesty. After
this Monsieur de Saint Lusson observing all the formalities
generally observed on such occasions, took possession of
these countries, the air resounding with redoubled cries of
"Vive le Roy !" and the firing of guns, to the astonishment
of all those people, who had never before seen anything
similar.

After free scope had been given to this confused noise of
voices and guns, a great silence came upon the whole as-
sembly. Then Father Allouez commenced the eulogy of the
king, to make known to all those tribes who this monarch
was, whose arms they saw and to whose power they had this
day submitted themselves. Being well versed in their
language and ways, he knew so well how to accommodate
himself to their mental capacity, that he gave them such an
exalted idea of the greatness of our incomparable sovereign,
that they declared they had no word to express what they
thought of it.

The Father spoke as follows: " Behold, a noble affair pre-
sents itself to us, my brethren; grand and important is the
affair, which is the object of this council. Look up to the

Ill

Cross, elevated so high above your heads. To such it was
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having become man for
the love of man, allowed himself to be fastened and to die,
in order to render satisfaction to the eternal Father for our
sins. He is the master of our lives, of heaven and earth and
hell. It is of Him I always speak to you, and His name and
word I have carried into all these countries. But look, at
the same time, at this other pole, to which are attached the
arms of the great chief of France, whom we call the king. He
lives beyond the sea. He is the chjef of the greatest chiefs;
he has not his equal on earth. All the chiefs you have ever
seen or heard of are but children in comparison to him ; he
is like a great tree and they, they are only like small plants,
which are trampled under foot in walking. You know On-
nontio, the celebrated chief of Quebec, you know and ex-
perience how he is the terror of the Iroquois, and his mere
name makes them tremble, since he ravished their country
and carried fire into their villages- There are beyond the
sea ten thousand Onnontios like him, who are but the
soldiers of this grand chief, our great king, of whom I am
speaking. When he says the word, " I am going to war,"
every one obeys him and those ten thousand chiefs raise
companies each of one hundred soldiers, both on land and
sea. Some embark in ships, one to two hundred in number,
such as you have seen at Quebec. Your canoes carry four
or five men, or, at the highest, from ten to twelve. Our
French ships carry four, five hundred and even as many as a
thousand. Others go to war on land, but in numbers so
great, that, ranged in double file, they would reach from here
to Mississaquenk, although we count more than twenty
leagues till there. When he attacks, it is more terrible than
thunder; the earth trembles, the air and sea are on fire with
the discharge of his cannon. He has been seen in the midst
of his troops, covered all over with the blood of his enemies,
of whom so many have been put to the sword by him, that
he does not count the scalps, but only the streams of blood
which he has caused to flow. He carries ofi" so great a num-
ber of prisoners of war, that he makes no account of them ,
but lets them go wherever they like, to show that he does not
fear them. At present no one dares to make war on him ;
all those living beyond the sea have sued him for peace with
the greatest submission. From all parts of the world people

112

go to see him, to hear and admire him. It is he alone that
decides all the affairs of the world. What shall I say of his
riches? You esteem yourselves rich, when you have ten or
twelve sacks of corn, some hatchets, beads, kettles, or some
other things similar. He has more cities belonging to him
than there are men among you in all these countries in five
hundred leagues around. In each city there are stores in
which enough axes could be found to cut down all your
forests ; enough kettles to boil all your moose, and enough
glass beads to fill all your wigwams. His house is longer
than from here to the head of the SauLt, that is, more than
a half a league ; it is higher than the highest of your trees,
and it holds more families than the largest of your villages
can contain.^"

The Father added many other things of this kind, which
were listened to by these people with wonder, all being
astonished to learn that there was a man on earth so great,
so rich, and so powerful.

After this discourse Monsieur de Lusson spoke and declared
to them, after the manner of a warrior and in an eloquent
way, the objects for which he had convoked them, especially
that he was sent to take possession of this country, to re-
ceive them under the protection of this great king, whose
panegyric they had just heard, and to make only one land of
theirs and ours. The whole ceremony was concluded with a
beautiful bonfire, which was lighted at night, when the " Te
Deum " was sung to thank God, in the name of these poor
people, that they were henceforth to be the subjects of so
grand and powerful a "monarch."^

1 The ^ood Father indulged in hyperbolic lang-uage. to impress his
dusky hearers with a great idea of the grandeur of the "Gi-and Monarch,"
Lou is XIV.

2 See "Hist, and biog. notes" in regard to the most important actors
and witnesses of this great convocation.

113
CHAPTER XXIX.

The Mission of the Holy Ghost at the Extremity of Lake
Superior abandoned ; Father Marquette goes to

MiSSILIMACKINAC.

"^These quarters of the north have their Iroquois just as
well as those of the south. Such are certain tribes called
Nadouessi, who have rendered themselves formidable to all
their neighbors, because they are naturally warlike, and, al-
though they use only the bow anid arrow, they use them
with such skill and dexterity, that in a moment the air is
filled with them, especially when, like the Parthians, they
turn their face in flying, for then they are no less to be feared
when they flee than when they attack.

They dwell on the banks and in the vicinity of the great
river called Mississippi. They consist of no less than fifteen
villages, pretty well settled. Still they do not know how to
cultivate the land, so as to plant or raise anything. They
content themselves with a kind of marsh rye that we call
wild rice, which the prairies supply spontaneously. They
divide the ground whereon this wild rice grows, so that each
one can reap his own separately, without trespassing upon
his neighbor's patch.

They are located about sixty leagues from the end of Lake
Superior, towards sun-set, in the midst of the tribes of the
westj all hostile to them by a general league against the
common foe.

They speak a language altogether peculiar and entirely
difierent from that of the Algonquins and Hurons, whom
they surpass by far in generosity, often being satisfied with
the glory of having been victorious and sending the prisoners
back free, whom they had captured in battle, without doing
them any harm.

Our Outaouacs and Hurons of La Pointe du Saint Esprit
had until now preserved a kind of peace with them. Affairs
having become embroiled, however, last winter, so that some
murders were even committed on both sides, our Indians had
reason to fear that the storm might burst upon them. They

"Relation" of 1671, pp. 39, 40.

114

considered it safer to leave the place, which in fact they did
in the spring (of 1671) when they withdrew to the Lake of
the Hurons. The Outaouacs went to live on the Island of
Ekaentouton (Manitoulin) with those of their tribe, who last
year had gone there in advance and where we afterwards
established the mission of St. Simon. The Hurons settled
on the famous island of Missilimackinac, where we com-
menced last winter the mission of St. Ignace.

As in such like migrations people's minds are not calm
enough, Father Marquette, who had charge of this mission
of the Holy Ghost, had more to suffer than to do for the con-
version of those people. With the exception of some children
whom he baptized, the sick he consoled, and the instructions
he continued for those who make profession of Christianity,
he was unable to pay much attention to the conversion of
the rest. He was obliged like them to abandon this post, to
follow his flock, undergo the same hardships and encounter
the same dangers as they, to go to this country of Missili-
mackinac, where they had formerly dwelt. They have good
reason for preferring this locality to many others on account
of the advantages we have mentioned above, and also be-
cause the climate seems to be entirely different there from
that of the surrounding country ; for the winter is somewhat
short, not having began till long after Christmas and ended
towards the middle of March, when we saw spring return.

CHAPTER XXX.

Father Marquette at St. Ignace.

" The^ Hurons of the Tobacco tribe, called TionnontatCy
having been formerly driven from their country by the
Iroquois, fled to this island, named Missilimackinac, so
famous for its fishery. They could only stay a few years,
however, the very same enemies obliging them to leave this
very advantageous post. They withdrew, therefore, still
further to the islands which still bear their name, and are
located at the entrance of the Bay of the Puants. Not find-
ing themselves sufficiently safe, however, even there, they

1 Relation of 1672, pp. 33 and 36.

115

went far back into the woods, and from there finally chose
as their last dwelling-place the extremity of Lake Superior,
in a place called La Pointe du Saint Esprit. There they
were far enough aw ly from the Iroquois not to fear them,,
but they were too near the Nadouessi, who are, as it were,
the Iroquois of these quarters of the North, being the most
powerful and war-like people of this country.

Still all proceeded peaceably enough for several years
until the last (1671), when the Nadouessi having been irri-
tated by the Hurons and Outaouacs, war broke out between
them, and it began so furiously that several prisoners taken
on both sides were consigned to the flames.

The Nadouessi, however, did not wish to begin any act of
hostility until after they had returned to Father Marquette
some pictures of which he had made them a present, so as
to give them some idea of our religion and thus to instruct
them by the eye, as he was unable to do otherwise on ac-
count of their language, which is altogether different from
the Algonquin and Huron.

Enemies so formidable soon struck terror into the heart
of our Hurons and Outaouacs, who determined to abandon
La Pointe du Saint Esprit and all the fields they had so long
cultivated.

In their flight the Hurons, remembering the great advan-
tages they had formerly found at Missilimackinac, turned
their eyes thither, as to a place of refuge, which they actually
reached a year ago.

This place has all the advantages that can be desired by
Indians. Fish is abundant there at all seasons, the land is
productive, and the chase for bears, deer and lynx is carried
on with great success. Besides, it is the great rendezvous of
all the tribes who are going to or coming from the north or
south.

For this reason, foreseeing what since has actually taken
place, we erected a chapel there last year already, in order to
receive those passing by and to attend to the Hurons, who
have settled there.

Father Marquette, who has followed them from La Pointe
du Saint Esprit, still has charge of them. As he has not
given us any particular memoirs of what has taken place in
this Mission (of St. Ignace), all that can be said of it is that
this tribe, having been formerly raised in the Christian

116

religion prior to the destruction of the Huron nation, those
who have persevered in the faith are at present very fervent.
They fill the chapel every day— yes, even often during the
day do they visit it. They sing the praises of God with
a devotion which has thus been communicated, in a great
measure, to the French, who have witnessed it. Adults
have been baptized and old men set a good example to the
children to go to prayers diligently. In a word, they prac-
tice all the exercises of piety that can be expected of Chris-
tians formed over twenty years ago, although for the greatest
part of that time they were without a church and pastor,
having no other teacher than the Holy Ghost."

CHAPTER XXXI.

Subsequent Career of Father Marquette — He Discovers
AND Explores the Mississippi — Returns to the Bay
OF the Puants (Green Bay).

Father Marquette left I^a Pointe du Saint Esprit in the
spring of 1671. He did not reach Sault Ste. Marie in time for
the great gathering there on the 14th of June of that same
year, as his name is not to be seen on the document drawn
upon that occasion and signed by all the Fathers present.*
He found at Missilimackinac a chapel built the winter before
by 'Father Dablon. He also found there 380 Christian
Hurons and 60 Outaouac Sinagaux. The latter were as yet
pagans, but eager to embrace Christianity. They attended
prayer meetings regularlv and brought their children to
have them baptized. During the summer of 1671 Father
Marquette went to the Sault, in company with Father
Allouez. He was only absent two weeks, but so much were

1 We have compiled this narrative of Father Marquette's voyage of dis-
covery, his last ti-ip to the Illinois, aod his death on the east shore of Lake
Michigan, from the " Relations" as given in Shea's " Discovery and Explora-
tion of the Mississippi," which work, as well as all others of this gifted author,
we take great pleasure in recommending to our readers.

2 See "Hist, and biog. Notes " in regard to the signers of the " procez-
verbaux" drawn up at the formal taking possession of the Ottawa country,
in the name of the King of trance. Mai-quette did 7iot sign that document.
He probably left liis Mission at the head of Ashland Bay early in the spring
of 16T1, probably as soon as navigation opened on Lake Superior. No doubt
his people, dreading a Sioux massacre, left as soon as practicable.

117

his Indians attached to him that they counted the days a,nd
received him with every demonstration of joy at his return.

In 1672 Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, succeeded
M. de Courcelles as governor of Canada. As soon as he
arrived, M. Talon, the Intendant, laid before him the plan of
exploring the Mississippi River. For this great undertaking
they chose the Sieur Jolly et, wishing to have Father Mar-
quette accompany him. On the 8th of December, 1672,
feast of the Immaculate ConcejJtion, Jollyet arrived at St.
Ignace, Mackinaw, and told Father Marquette the joyful
news of their appointment to visit and explore the Missis-
sippi. The pious missionary was more than glad. For
years he had longed for an opportunity to visit the " Great
River." Ever since he had come to the Ottawa country he
had invoked Mary Immaculate to obtain the grace for him
to be able to visit the nations on the Mississippi. Now his
prayer was about to be be heard. He placed his intended
voyage under the special protection of the Immaculate
Mother of God, promising her that, should he be so happy
as to discover the great river, he would call it Conception
River and give the same name to the first Mission he would
found among the Illinois. Five Frenchmen volunteered to
share with Marquette and Jollyet the hardships and dangers
of so glorious an enterprise. The winter of 1672-3 was
spent in making the necessary preparations and collecting
information from the Indians. They drew up a map, on
which were marked the course of the rivers they were to
navigate, the names of the tribes and localities through
which they were to pass, the course of the great river, etc.
All their provisions consisted of some corn and smoked
meat. They had two small birch canoes, in which they
navigated all the way from Mackinaw to the mouth of the
Arkansas River and back, a distance of over 2,700 miles.

On the 17th of May, 1673, they started from Mackinaw.
On his way Father Marquette visited the Menominees on
Menominee River, This river forms the north-eastern boun-
dary line of Wisconsin. He there found some good Chris-
tians and told them he was on his way to explore the great
river. They were extremely surprised and tried all they
could to dissuade him from his undertaking.

They told him he would meet with savage tribes, who
showed no mercy to strangers, but would crush their skulls

118

without any reason whatever ; that war had broken out
between the tribes living along the proposed route, which
would leave them exposed to the danger of being killed by
some roving band ; besides, the great river was very danger-
ous to such as were unacquainted with the difficult places,
and was, moreover, full of horrible monsters that devoured
both man and boat ; that a demon, or manitou, obstructed
the passage and drowned all who dared to come near; finally,
that the heat was unsupportable, infallibly causing death.

Father Marquette thanked them for their advice, which,
however, he said he could not follow, as there was a question
.of saving immortal souls, for which he would gladly give up
his life. He made light of their pretended demon, and said
they would defend themselves against sea-monsters and
■guard against the other dangers, too, with which they had
threatened him. He then had prayers recited, gave them
some instruction and embarked with his companions. They
arrived safely at the Mission of St. Francis, at the head of
Green Bay, where they found more than 2,000 Indian con-
verts. They went up the Fox River, which was very diffi-
cult on account of the many rapids, strong current and rocks
in the bed of the river, which, being sharp, cut their feet
and injured their canoes, as they were obliged to drag them
up stream.

Passing through Lake Winnebago, they entered the Upper
Fox River and, on the 7th of June, arrived at the village of
the Mashkoutens. It was situated about two miles from the
river, on a rising piece of ground, which commanded a
beautiful view of the surrounding country. There were three
tribes at the village ; the Mashkoutens, the Miami, and the
Kikabous. The Miami are described by the Father as being
brave, intelligent, civil and docile. The other two were rude
and ignorant. He was agreeably surprised at seeing a large
cross erected in the midst of the village. It was ornamented
with all kinds of Indian presents in thanksgiving to the Great
Spirit for their lucky chase during the past winter.

The headmen of the village were convoked and Jollyet told
them he had been sent by the Governor of Canada to discover
new lands. Father Marquette said he had been sent on the
part of God, to enlighten them with the light of the Holy
Gospel. " The master of our lives," he said to them, "desires
to be known by all the nations. To obey His will, I fear not

119

death, to which I am exposing myself in makin» such a per-
ilous voyage." They then gave the Indians a present, asking
them for two guides to put them on the way. The Indians
answered them civilly, offered them a mat as a present, and
gave them two Miami guides, who went with them some ninie
miles, as far as the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin,
helped them to transport their baggage across this portage,
and then returned to their village.

Father Marquette and his companions knelt down and most
earnestly invoked the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, placing
themselves and the success of their enterprise under her pro-
tection. This they did every day during their journey. They
then encouraged one another, and embarked in their frail
birch canoes on the Meskonsing (Wisconsin), June the 10th.
Thirty leagues down the river they found indications of rich
iron- ore.

On the 17th of June, 1673, their canoes glided into the Mis-
sissippi, at about 42° 30' of latitude. Father Marquette's
heart felt an indescribable joy. What he had longed and
prayed for, during so many years, he now saw fulfilled. He
beheld the "Great River" of which he had heard so many
strange tales. Floating down the river, they found at 42°
the country level, and saw numerous deer, elks, wild geese,
swans, monstrous fish, one of which struck his little birch
canoe so rudely that he thought he had run against a snag.
At 41^ 26' he found turkeys and buflfaloes ; of the latter he
once saw a herd of four hundred. To guard against being
surprised by hostile Indians, they used only to make a small
fire towards night, to prepare their scanty meal, and then they
slept in their canoes, which they anchored out in the river,
far enough away from the shore.

They had traveled over one hundred leagues on the Wis-
consin and Mississippi without seeing a single human being.
Finally on the 25th of June, they discovered foot-prints on the
beach, a beaten path leading into a beautiful prairie country.
They stopped, examining the path, and concluded that it led
to some Indian village. Father Marquette and Jollyet fol-
lowed the path, leaving their companions at the river side,
cautioning them to be on their guard. No doubt their hearts
throbbed more violently, not knowing what reception awaited
them at the hands of a savage and unknown tribe. Silently
they walked on for about two leagues when they descried a

120

village^ on the banks of a river and two others half a league
farther away. They then recommended themselves most fer-
vently to God, imploring His divine help. They approached
so near the village without being observed, that they could
hear the Indians talking. They then stopped and hallooed
as loud as they could, to maketneir presence known. At this
cry the Indians ran out of their cabins. They probably
recognized them at once as Frenchmen, especially as they
noticed Father Marquette's cassock, and accordingly knew
him to be a Black-gown.

The Indians deputed four old men to go and speak to the
pale-faced strangers . Two of them carried pipes ornamented
with feathers. Walking very slowly they now and then
raised their pipes toward the sun, as if offering it to that
luminary to smoke, but said not a word. When near, they
stood still and regarded the two strange visitors from head to
foot. Father Marquette seeing by these ceremonies, that the
Indians regarded them with favor, and noticing moreover
that they had several articles of European manufacture, he
judged they were on friendly terms with the French. He
therefore broke silence, asking them who they were. They
said they were Illinois, and, offering them as a mark of friend-
ship the calumet, or pipe of peace, they invited them to their
village.

At the door of the cabin which they were to enter, stood an
old man, his hands open and stretched out tow^ards the sun,
as if to ward off his rays, which, nevertheless, passed between
his extended fingers and lit up his face. When the Father
and his companion approached, the old man addressed them
as follows : ^' How beautiful, 0 Frenchman, is the sun, when
thou comest to visit us ! AH our village awaits thee, and
thou shalt enter all our cabins in peace." He then led them
into his cabin, where a great crowd, as Father Marquette
graphically describes it, devoured them with their eyes. They
observed profound silence; hoAvever, occasionally these words
were heard, spoken in a low voice ; " How good it is, broth-
ers, that you visit us." They then offered their visitors the
pipe of peace to smoke which Father Marquette and his col-

1 This village, called by Marquette Pewarea (Peoria), was situated at the
mouth of Des Moines River, Iowa; further up the river were the Moingwena
or Moingonan, after whom the river was named.

121

league accepted, after which aU the headmen smoked in honor
of their guests.

Soon an invitation came from the head chief of the tribe to
visit his village, as he desired to hold a council with them.
On their way thither, the two were accompanied by the whole
village. The people who had never seen a Frenchman before,
could not satisfy themselves looking at the strangers. Some
would sit down on the grass along the path, where they were
to pass by, others would run ahead and then turn back to
meet them, thus to get a good look at them. But all this was
done noiselessly and in a most respectful manner.

When they arrived at the village of the great chief, they
saw him standing in front of his cabin in the midst of two old
men, with their calumet turned towards the sun. He bade
them welcome in a neat little speech and offered tbem his
pipe to smoke.

Seeing them all assembled and silent, Father Marquette spoke
to them by four presents, which he gave them. By the first
he told them that he and his party were traveling in peace to
visit the nations that lived along the great river as far as the
sea. By the second present, he told them that God who
had created them had compassion on them, since after so long
a time in which the}^ had been ignorant of Him, He willed to
make himself known to all these people ; that he was sent, on
the part of God for this very purpose, and that it was for them
to recognize and obey Him. By the third present he said
that the great chief of the French informed them it was he
that made peace everywhere, having subdued the Iroquois.
Finally, by the fourth, he requested them to give him all the
information they could about the sea and the nations whom
they would have to pass to get there.

When Father Marquette had concluded his discourse, the
chief arose and, laying his hand on the head of a little slave
whom he meant to give them as a present, he spoke as fol-
lows :

" I thank thee. Black-gown and thee, Frenchman, — ad-
dressing M. JoUyet, — for having taken so much trouble to
come and visit us. Never was the earth so beautiful, nor the
sun so bright as today; never was our river so calm nor so
free from rocks, which your canoes have removed in passing
by ; never had our tobacco so good a flavor, nor did our corn
appear so flourishing as we now see it. Behold, here is my

122

son, whom I give to thee, that thou mayest know my heart.
I implore thee to have jDity on m*e and all my people. Thou
knowest the great Spirit who made us all ; thou speakest to
him and hearest His word. Ask Him to grant me life and
health, and do thou come and live with us to make us know
Him."

The chief then placed the little slave near them. As a
second present he gave them the mysterious calumet, which
they prize more highly than a slave. By this present he
showed his great respect for the French governor. By the
third present, he begged of them on the part of all his people,
not to go any further, on account of the great danger to
which they would expose themselves. The Father replied
that he feared not death, and esteemed no happiness greater
than that of sacrificing his life for the glory of Him who made
all things. This was a thing beyond their comprehension.

The council was followed by a great banquet, consisting of
four dishes, which had to be taken Indian-fashion. The first
dish was a large wooden plate of sagamity, that is, corn-meal
boiled in water and seasoned with fat. The master of cere-
monies put a spoonful of it three or four times into the
Father's mouth, as one would feed a little child ; he did the
same to Jolly et. The second dish was a plate offish ; the master
of ceremonies took some choice pieces, removing the bones,
blew upon them to cool them, and then put some into their
mouths. The third dish consisted of a large dog, which had
been hastily killed and prepared for the occasion, but, learn-
ing that their guests did not relish dog meat, it was removed.
The fourth was buffalo meat, of which he put the fattest
pieces into their mouths.

The banquet over, they had to visit the whole village,
which consisted of three hundred lodges. An orator con-
tinually harangued the multitude, to look at them well, but
not to molest them. Everywhere they received presents of
belts and other articles made of bear and buffalo-skins, dyed
red, yellow and gray. At night they slept in the cabin of
the chief, when morning returned they took leave of these
kind-hearted people, telling them they would return in four
months, and the Father promising to come and live with
them the next year. On their way to their canoes they were
accompanied by some six hundred persons, who manifested

123

the joy which the visit of the Father had given tliem in every-
way possible.

They left the village of the Illinois at three o'clock in the
afternoon of the 26th of July. Some distance above the Mis-
souri they beheld two horrid loolfing monsters of the size of
a calf, painted on the side of the bluff facing the river. Their
horns and head resembled that of a roe-buck; their look was
terrifying; eyes red, beard like that of a tiger, face somewhat
human-like. Their body was covered with scales, and their
tail so long, that it passed around their body, over their head,
and turning back between their legs termininated like the
tail of a fish. Green, red and black were the colors used.
They were painted so well that the Father thought the work
could not have been executed by Indians.

Whilst they were conversing on those horrible-looking
monsters, their canoes gently floating down the river with the
current, they heard the noise of a rapid stream emptying into
the Mississippi. This was the Pekitanoui,^ a large river com-
ing Irom the northwest. "I never saw anything more fright-
ful," says he in his journal, "a confused mass of whole trees,
branches, floating islets, etc., issued forth from the mouth of
the river with such impetuosity that it was impossible to
cross over without great danger."

Having traveled about twenty leagues due south and a
little less to the southeast, they came to the river called Oua-
boukigou,^ the mouth of which was at about 36 degrees of
latitude. Before arriving there they had to pass a place much
dreaded by the Indians, because they think there is a mani-
tou, that is, a demon, who devours such as attempt to pass
loj there. This terrible manitou was a bay with rocks some
twenty feet high, into which the whole current of the river
precipitated itself through a narrow channel, causing a fear.-
ful roaring and splashing, which struck terror into the heart
of the untutored child of nature. This was the manitou
spoken of by the Menominees, when they tried to dissuade
the Father from undertaking his voyage of discovery. He

1 Pekitanoui, the Missouri. Father Marquette had now reached the
junction of the Missouri and the Mississippi.

2 Ouaboukigou, pronounced Wah-boo-ke-goo, "The Ohio, or beautiful
river, as that Iroquois name signifies. The name given by Marquette became
finally Ouabache (pronounced Wah-bash), in our spelling Wabash, and is now
applied to the last tributary of the Ohio," (Shea's Discovery and Explor. of
the Miss., p. 41.>

124

passed these dangerous rapids safely and arrived at the mouth-
of the Ouaboukigou, a river coming from the east, where the
Chaouanons/ a very populous tribe, dwelt. In one locality
there were twenty three villages of that tribe, and in another
fifteen. They were peaceable and inoffensive ; hence the Iro-
quois used sometimes to go even as far as their country ta
secure prisoners, whom they would cruelly burn at the stake.
A little above this river they found indications of rich iron-
ore. They began to suffer very much from mosquitoes and
the heat, which obliged them to construct a kind of tent on,
their canoes to protect themselves from this double plague.

As they were gentlj^ floating down the river in their canoes,,
they suddenly beheld some Indians armed with guns. The
Father held up the calumet he had received at the village of
the Illinois, whilst his companions prepared to defend them-
selves. He spoke to the Indians in Huron, but they did not
answer. Their silence was interpreted at first as a declaration
of war. It seemed, however, these Indians were as much
frightened as their French visitors. Finally the latter were
given to understand that they should land and eat with the
Indians. They did so and were regaled with buffalo meat,,
bear oil, and white plums of an excellent flavor. The Indians
had guns, axes, hoes, knives, beads, and glass bottles, in
which they carried their gun-powder. They told Marquette
they obtained those articles from Europeans^ living eastward
from there ; that those people had rosaries and images and
played musical instruments; and some of them were dressed,
like him. Father Marquette instructed them somewhat and
gave them some medals.

This information aroused the party to fresh exertions and
made them ply their oars with renewed vigor. Both sides of
the river were lined with cottonwood and elm trees of won-
derful height and thickness. They could hear the bellowing
of herds of buffalo; hence they concluded that the country a-
little back from the river was prairie-land.

At about 33 degrees of latitude they saw a village near the
river, called Mitchigamea. Perceiving the strangers the
Indians quickly prepared to fight. They were armed with
bows and arrows, tomahawks and war-clubs. They jumped

1 Pronounced Shah-wah-nons, i. e. Shawnees, "Southerners."
3 These Europeans were probably Spaniards residing in Florida.

125

into their large wooden canoes; some of them occupied the
Tiver below, whilst others hastened to station themselves
above the party, so as to cut off their retreat. Those on the
land ran back and forward, shouting and animating one
another to_ fight. Some young men even jumped into the
river to seize Father Marquette's canoe, but the current being
too strong they had to swim back to the shore. One of them
threw his war-club at the party, without however hitting
anyone. In this great danger the Father most fervently in-
voked the Blessed Virgin Immaculate, while continually
showing the calumet. At length it was seen by some of the
old men, who then restrained the young. Two of the head
meri got into his canoe, throwing down their bows at his feet
to give him to understand that no harm would be done to
him and his party. They all disembarked, not, however,
without some feeling of fear on the part of the Father. He
spoke to them by signs, as they did not understand any one
of the six languages he knew. Finally an old man was
found who could speak a Httle ID-inois. The Father then
told them, by the presents he made, that he was on his way
i;o the sea, and he gave them some instr action on God and
the affairs of their salvation. All the answer he received was
that eight or ten leagues further down the river he would
find a large village called Akamsea,^ where he would get all
the information he desired. The Indians offered them some
sagamity and fish, and the party stayed at the village over
night with considerable uneasiness of mind.

Early next morning they embarked, accompanied by an
interpreter and ten Indians in a canoe, who rowed a little
ahead. Having arrived within half a league of Akamsea,
they saw two canoes coming to meet them. The headman
stood up in his canoe and showed them the calumet. He
then sang an agreeable song, offered them the pipe of peace
to smoke, and then served them with sagamity and corn-
bread, whereof they partook a little. The people in the
village in the meanwhile had prepared a suitable place undeo:
the scaffold of the chief warrior. They spread out fine mats
made of rushes, on which the Father and his companions
were invited to sit. Around them sat the chiefs of the tribe,

1 Akamsea or Akansea was located opposite the mouth of the Arkansas
yltiver, named after them, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi.

126

further back the warriors, and behind them the rest of the
people. Luckily he found there a young man, who could,
speak Illinois better than the interpreter whom they had
brought along from Mitchigamea. Him the Father employed
as his interpreter, and he spoke to the Akamseas by the
presents which are generally made on such occasions. They
wondered at what he told them about God and the mysteries
of faith, and manifested a great desire to keep him with/
them in order to be instructed.

The Indians told him that they were ten days' journey
from the sea, but the Father thought they could have made
it in five. They said they were not acquainted with the
tribes that dwelt there, because their enemies hindered them
from having any intercourse with the Europeans there ; that
the axes, knives and beads they saw had been sold to them
by tribes living towards the east and partly by a village of
the Illinois, four days' journey from there towards the west;,
that the Indians whom they had seen with guns were their
enemies, who cut them off from all intercourse and trade
with the Europeans ; finally, that it would be dangerous tO'
go any further, because their enemies continually sent out
war-parties on the river, whom they could not encounter^,
armed with guns as they were and accustomed to war, with-
out exposing themselves to great danger.

These Indians were very poor, having only corn and water-
melons, with but little flesh, as they dared not hunt the
buffalo on account of their more powerful enemies; still they
treated their guests as well as their poverty permitted. The-
chief diet of the people consisted of corn, which grows here
at almost all seasons of the year. They had large earthen
pots very well made, also plates of baked earth, which they
used for a great many purposes. The men wore small
strings of beads hanging from their nose and ears. The
women dressed in poor, shabby looking skins, braided their
hair in two tresses back of their ears, and had no finery of
any kind to ornament themselves Avith. The Father found
their language extremely hard to learn, some words being
simply unpronounceable. Their cabins were constructed of
bark and were quite large. They slept some two feet above
ground on a rude kind of bedstead or scaffold constructed at>
both ends of the lodge. .*f-

127

In the evening some of the head men held a secret council,
designing to kill Marquette and his party, in order to pillage
their goods. The chief, however, stopped the proceedings,
sent for his French guests and danced the calumet dance in
their presence, as a mark of their safety under his protec-
tion. To remove all fear, he made a present of the pipe to
the Father.

Father Marquette and Jollyet deliberated amongst them-
selves whether they had better push on further or return
home. Finding themselves in 33 degrees and 40 minutes of
latitude, they felt confident that they were not far from the
Gulf of Mexico, about two or three days' journey. More-
over, they were convinced that the Mississippi empties into
said gulf and not towards Virginia nor California, whose
latitude they had already passed. On the other hand, by
pushing on further they might meet with hostile Indians or
fall into the hands of the Spaniards, who, no doubt, would
hold them captives, as intruders into a territory discovered
and claimed by them, in which case they would lose the
fruit of all their labors. They had explored the great river
from the mouth of the Wisconsin to that of the Arkansas ;
they had learned all they wished to know as to the people
that lived along its banks, and had entered into friendly
alliance with them all in the name of the governor of Can-
ada ; the main object of the voyage having been realized,
they determined to turn back and report to their respective
superiors the result of their labors.

Having rested a day at the village of the Akamsea, they
left there on the 17th of July, having spent an entire month
exploring the Mississippi, the Father preaching the Gospel,
as much as circumstances permitted, to the various tribes
they met with. They revisited the friendly Illinois at their
village of Peourea,^ where they had been so kindly received
on their down-river trip. Father Marquette stopped with
them three days, preaching to them and instructing them.
He baptized a dying child which they brought to him just
as he was about to embark. The saving of this innocent

1 Father Marquette remarks that on his return trip he entered a beau-
tiful river rising near the Lake of the Illinois, the Illinois. He had, however,
promised to vjsit the Illinois of Pewarea, or Peourea, in four moons, and it is
very probable that he did so, in order to instruct those good people who had
received him so kindly. It may be, however, that he met a band of said
Indians somewhere on the Illinois.

128

soul recompensed him, as he says, abundantly for all the
hardships of his journey.

At 38 degrees they entered the Illinois River, to return
home by a shorter route. The Father speaks most highly of
the beautiful countrj'^ through which this river runs. He
saw there wild cattle, deer, lynxes, geese, ducks, parrots and
beaver. He found on the river a village of the Illinois,
called Kaskaskia,^ containing some seventy-four lodges,
where he was very well received. He promised to return
and instruct them, which he did in 1675. One of the chiefs
with some young men accompanied the Father, assisting
them in making the portage between the head-waters of the
Illinois River and Lake Michigan. Coasting along the east-
ern shore of said lake, they arrived safely at the Mission of
St. Francis Xavier, at the head of Green Bay, towards the
end of September, having left there towards the beginning
of June.

CHAPTER XXXII.

Last Voyage of Father Maequette. — He founds the
Mission op the Immaculate Conception among the
Illinois and Dies on his way back to Mackinaw.

After his return from his trip down the Mississippi,
Father Marquette staid at the Mission of St. Francis Xavier,
at the head of Green Bay, from September, 1673, till Octo-
ber, 1674. The hardships endured on his voyage had given
him the dysentery. However, in September, 1674, he felt
better. He sent the journal of his trip down the Mississippi
to his Superior, awaiting his orders as to where he was to
winter. The order came, though at a rather late season of
the year, to go to Illinois and establish the Mission of the
Immaculate Conception. This was joyful news to him, as
it enabled him to fulfill the promise he had made to those
good Indians to come and instruct them.

1 "It must be borne in mind that Marquette's Peoria and his and Allouez'
town of Kaskaskia are quite different from the present places of the nam.e
in situation." Marquette's Kaskaskia was on the Illinois and Peoria on the
west side of the Mississippi. {" Discovery," p. 51.)

129

He left St. Francis Xavier on the 25th of October, 1674,
mth two Frenchmen, Pierre Porteret and Jacques. At
the mouth of the Fox River he learned that five canoes of
the Pottawatamis and four of the Illinois had already started
for Kaskaskia. On the 27th they overtook the Indians at
Sturgeon Bay, where there was a portage of about three
miles to Lake Michigan. Owing to the inclement weather
andbad roads, it took three days before the whole party.
Whites and Indians, had transported their canoes and bag-
gage across the portage to the lake. October 31st they com-
menced their journey southward along the western shore of
Lake Michigan. The Father most of the time walked along
the beach, except where a river had to be crossed. Novem-
ber 1st, All Saints' Day, he said Mass at the mouth of a
small river, probably where Kewaunee now stands. On All
Soul's Day he said Mass at the mouth of another river,
probably Two Rivers.

Their progress was very slow on account of the rough
weather on the lake. At one time they had to camp five
days, and soon after again three days. It took them over a
month to go from the portage of Sturgeon Bay to Chicago
River. On the 23d of November he had an attack of di-
arrhea, which finally turned into dysentery. On the 4th of
December they reached Chicago River, from which there is
a short portage to the Illinois, on which Kaskaskia was situ-
ated. He wintered at the portage some six miles down the
river, being too weak, on account of his illness, to go any
farther. On the 15th of December the Illinois^ left him to
proceed to their village. He was thus left alone with his
two faithful companions. He sent word to the Illinois that
he would let them know next spring when he would be at
-their village. On the 14th of December his old malady, the
dysentery, came on. Two Frenchmen who were trading
with the Illinois, hearing of the Father's sickness, did all
they Gould to relieve him, sending him a bag of corn and
other refreshments.

On the 26th of January, 1675, three Illinois brought him
presents from the chiefs of the tribe, namely, two sacks of
corn, some dried meat, pumpkins and twelve beavers.

1 The "Relations" always spell the word "Illinois" with one "1,"
though now it is always spelled with double "11."

130

They asked him for gun-powder and merchandise. This'-
shows how little they understood the real object of his visit.
He sent word to the Illinois that he had come to instruct
them, not to trade with them ; that he would not give them
powder, as he and his countrymen came to establish peace
everywhere, and that he did not wish to see them begin war
with the Miamis ; moreover that he did not apprehend any
danger of famine, and, finally, that he would encourage the
French to trade with them, but they should compensate the
latter for the beads they had taken from them, whilst one of
them, called the Surgeon, had come to see him. Consider-
ing, however, they had come sixty miles to see him, he gave
them as presents an ax, two knives, three jack-knives, ten
strings of beads and two double mirrors.

Some time after Christmas he and his two faithful com-
panions made a novena in honor of the Blessed Virgin
Immaculate to obtain, through her intercession, the grace
not to die without having taken possession of his beloved
Mission. Their prayers were not in vain ; he recovered
sufficiently to enable him to go to the Illinois village.
Speaking of that long dreary winter in his poor bark cabin,,
he says : " The Holy Virgin Immaculate has taken such
care of us during our winter here that we have had no want
of provisions, having yet (March 30th) a large bag of corn^
some meat and fat. We have got along very nicely, roy ail-
ment not having hindered me from saying Mass every day..
We have only been able to keep the Fridays and Saturdays
of Lent." He had all along a presentiment of his death, for
he told his companions plainly that he would die of his
ailment, and on that very journey. He made the spiritual
retreat of St. Ignatius with great devotion and consolation,,
said Mass every day, confessed and communicated his two
companions twice a week, and spent the most of the time
in prayer.

On the 29th of March he set out and traveled on the Illi-
nois for eleven days, amidst great suffering. Finally, on
the 8th of April, he reached Kaskaskia, where he was re-
ceived as an angel from Heaven. He went from cabin tO'
cabin, instructing the Indians in our holy faith. Several
times, also, he assembled the chiefs and head-men, explain-
ing to them the truth of religion. At length, on Holy-
Thursday, he convened a general assembly of all the people

131

in an open prairie near the village. Mats and bear-skins-
were spread on the ground for the people to sit on. The
Father attached four large pictures of the Blessed Virgin ta
a pole, so as to be seen by all the people. The auditory-
consisted of five hundred chiefs and head-men, seated in a
circle around the Father, Fifteen hundred young men stood
outside this circle, besides a very great number of women
and children.

He spoke ten words to them by ten presents that he made-
them. He discoursed on the principal truths of religion and
dwelt especially on the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, for
man's redemption. After the sermon he oflfered up the Holy
Sacrifice. On Easter Sunday another great meeting of the
Indians took place, at which he said mass again and preached
to his Indian hearers with the fiery zeal of an apostle. The
good people listened to the Father with great joy and appro-
bation. He told them he was obliged to leave, on account
of his ailment, and how happy he I'elt at their receiving so
well the instructions he gave them. They begged of him to
return as soon as possible. He promised to do so, or if he
should not be able to come himself, then some other Father
would take his place and instruct them. They escorted him
more than thirty leagues of the way, contending with one
another for the honor of carrying, his little baggage.

We shall give the particulars of Father Marquette's, death
in the words of the "Relations."

" After the Illinois had taken leave of the Father, he con-
tinued his voyage and soon after reached the Illinois Lake
(Lake Michigan), on which he had nearly a hundred leagues
to make by an unknown roate, because he was obliged to take
the eastern side of the lake, having gone thither by the western.
His strength, however, failed so much, that his men des-
paired of being able to bring him alive to their journey's end;,
for, in fact, he became so weak and exhausted that he could
no longer help himself, nor even stir, and had to be handled
and carried like a child.

" He, nevertheless, maintained in this state an admirable
equanimity, joy and gentleness, consoling his beloved com-
panions and exhorting them to suffer courageously all the
hardships of the way assuring them moreover, that our Lord
would not forsake them when he would be gone. During:
his navigation he began to prepare more particularly for

132

death, passing his time in colloquies with our Lord, His holy-
mother, his angel guardian and all Heaven. He was often
lieard pronouncing these words : " I believe that my Re-
deemer liveth," or " Mary, Mother of Grace, Mother, of God,
remember me." Besides a spiritual reading made for him
every day, he, toward the close, asked them to read him his
meditation on the preparation for death, which he carried
about him; he recited his breviary every day; and, although
he was so low that both sight and strength had greatly failed,
he did not omit it till the last day of his life, when his com-
panions induced him to cease, as it was shortening his
days.

"A week before his death he had the precaution to bless
some holy water, to serve him during the rest of his illness,
in his agony, and at his burial, and he instructed his com-
panions how to use it. The eve of his death, which was a
Friday, he told them, all radiant with joy, that it would take
place on the morrow. During the whole day he conversed
with them about the manner of his burial, the way in which
he should be laid out, the place to be selected for his inter-
ment ; he told them how to arrange his hands, feet and face
and directed them to raise a cross over his grave. He even went
so far as to enjoin them, only three hours before he expired,
to take his chapel-bell as soon as he would be dead, and ring
it while they carried him to the grave. Of all this he spoke
so calmly and collectedly, that you would have thought he
spoke of the death and burial of another, and not of his own.

" Thus did he speak with them as they sailed along the lake,
till, perceiving the mouth of a river, with an eminence on the
bank which he thought suited to his burial, he told them it
was the place of his last repose. They wished, however, to
pass on, as the weather permitted it, and the day was not
far advanced ; but God raised a contrary wind, which obliged
them to return and enter the river^ pointed out by Father
Marquette. They then carried him ashore, kindled a little
fire, and raised a wretched bark cabin for him, where they
laid him as little uncomfortably as they could ; but they were

1 "A marginal note says: 'This river now bears the Father's name.' It
was indeed long- called Marquette River, but from recent maps the name seems
to have been forgotten. Its Indian name is Notispescago, and according to

■others, Aniniondibeganining. It is a very small stream, not more than fifteen
paceslong, beingtheoutletof a small lake, as Charlevoix assures us." (Shea's

■"Discovery, etc." p. 58.)

133

so overcome by sadness, that, as they afterwards said, they
did not know what they were doing.

" The father being thus stretched on the shore, like St.
Francis Xavier, as he had. always so ardently desired, and
left alone amid those forests — for his companions were
engaged in unloading — he had leisure to repeat all the acts-
in which he had employed himself during the preceding days-
When his dear companions afterwards came up, quite dejected,,
he consoled them and gave them hopes that God would take
care of them after his death, in those new and unknown coun-
tries. He gave them his last instructions, thanked them for
all the charity they had shown him during the voyage, beg-
ged their pardon for the trouble he had given them, and
directed them also to ask pardon in his name of all our
Fathers and Brothers in the Ottawa country, and then dis-
posed them to receive the sacrament of penance, which he
administered to them for the last time. He also gave them a
paper on which he had written all his faults since his last con-
fession, to be given to his superior to oblige him to pray more
fervently for him. In fine he promised not to forget them in
Heaven, and as he was very kind-hearted and knew them to
be worn out with the toil of the preceding days, he bade them
go and take a little rest, assuring them that his hour was not
so near, but that he would wake them when it was time, as,
in fact, he did two or three hours after, calling them when
about to enter his agony.

When they came near he embraced them for the last time,,
while they melted into tears at his feet. He then asked for
the holy water and his reliquar}'', and taking off his crucifix,
which he wore around his neck, he placed it in the hands of
one, asking him to hold it constantly opposite him, raised
before his eyes. Then, feeling that he had but little time to
live, he made a last effort, clasped his hands, and, with his
eyes fixed sweetly on his crucifix, he pronounced aloud his
profession of faith, and thanked the Divine Majesty for the
immense grace He did him in allowing him to die in the
Society of Jesus ; to die in it as a missionary of Jesus Christ,,
and, above all, to die in it, as he had always asked, in a
wretched cabin, amid the forests, destitute of all human aid.

"On this, he became silent, conversing inwardly with God;
yet from time to time words escaped him, "Sustinuit anima
mea in verbo ejus — my soul hath relied on His word," or

134

"Mater die, memento mei — Mother of God, remember me,"
which were the last words he uttered before entering on his
agony, which was very calm and gentle. He had prayed his
companions to remind him, when they saw him about to
expire, to pronounce frequently the names of Jesus and
Mary. When he could not do it himself, they did it for
him; and when they thought him about to die, one cried
aloud: Jesus, Maria, which he several times repeated dis-
tinctly, and then, as if, at those sacred names, something
had appeared to him, he suddenly raised his eyes above his
•crucifix, fixing them apparently on some object which he
seemed to regard with pleasure, and thus, with a countenance
all radiant with smiles, he expired without a struggle, as
gently as if he had sunk into a quiet sleep (May 18, 1675)."

" His two poor companions, after shedding many tears
over his body, and, having laid it out as he had directed,
carried it devoutly to the grave, ringing the bell according to
his injunction, and raised a large cross near it, to serve as a
mark for passers-by. When they talked of embarking, one
of them, who for several days had been overwhelmed with
sadness, and so racked in body by acute pains that he could
neither eat nor breathe without pain, resolved, whilst his
companion was preparing all for embarkation, to go to the
grave of his good Father, and pray him to intercede for him
with the glorious Virgin, as he had promised, not doubting
that he was already in Heaven. He, accordingly, knelt
•down, said a short prayer, and having respectfully taken
some earth from the grave, he put it on his breast, where-
upon the pain immediately ceased; his sadness was changed
into joy, which continued during the rest of his voyage.

" God did not choose to suffer so precious a deposite to
remain unhonored and forgotten amid the woods. The Kis-
takon Indians, who for the last ten years publicly professed
Christianity, in which they were first instructed by Father
Marquette, when stationed at La Pointe du Saint Esprit at
the extremity of Lake Superior, were hunting last winter
on the banks of Lake Illinois. As they were returning early
in spring, they resolved to pass by the tomb of their good
Father, whom they tenderly loved, and God even gave them
the thought of taking his remains and bringing them to our
ohurch at the Mission of St. Ignatius, at Missilimakinac,
where they reside.

135

"They according repaired to the spot and after some
-deliberation, they resolved to proceed with their Father, as
they usually do with those whom they respect. They opened
the grave, divested the body, and though the flesh and intes-
tines were all dried up, they found it whole, the skin being
in no way injured. This did not prevent their dissecting it,
according to custom. They washed the bones and aried
them in the sun. Then putting them neatly in a box of
birch-bark, they set out to bear them to the house of St.
Ignatius."

" The convoy consisted of nearly thirty canoes in excellent
order, including even a good number of Iroquois, who had
joined our Algonquins, to honor the ceremony. As they
approached our house, Father Nouvel, who is Superior, went
to meet them with Father Pierson, accompanied by all the
French and Indians of the place. Having caused the convoy
to stop, they made the ordinary interrogations to verify the
fact that the body which they bore was really Father Mar-
quette's. Then, before landing, he intoned the "De Profun-
dis " in sight of the thirty canoes still on the water, and of
all the people on the shores. After this, the body was carried
to the church, observing all that the ritual prescribes for
such ceremonies. It remained exposed under a pall stretched
as if over a coffin all that day, which was Pentecost-Monday,
the 8th of June (1677). The next day, when all the funeral
honors had been paid it, it was deposited in a little vault in
the middle of the church, where he reposes as the guardian-
angel of our Ottawa Missions. The Indians often come to
j)ray on his tomb."

136
CHAPTER XXXIII.

Discovery of Father Marquette's Grave at Point St.
Ignace, Mich. Letter of Very Rev. Father E.
j acker to the writer, giving a full account op said-
Discovery made by him.

Eagle Harbor, Mich., May 4, 1886.
Rev. Father Chrysostom Verwyst, 0. S. F., Bayfield, Wis.

Rev. Dear Father: You wish to learn something reliable
about the discovery of Father Marquette's grave, nine years-
ago, and about the little share I had in the matter. Want of
time compels me to be brief.

Up to the time when I took charge of the Mackinac and
St. Ignace missions (in 1873), I had given but little atten-
tion to the question concerning the locality of Father Mar-
quette's Mission and the church in which his remains were
deposited (June 8, 1677); hence I had no preconceived,
opinion in the matter. It was rather news to me that a local
Indian and French tradition pointed to the head of East
Moran Bay (south of which the present church and most of
the village of St. Ignace are located) as the site of the old
Jesuit Chapel and the grave of a great priest (Kitchi Meka-
tewikwanaie). This tradition certainly existed as early as
1821; for about that time an Indian, Joseph Misatago (a very
honest and intelligent man, still living) met Father Richard
(of Detroit) lost in the woods back of East Moran Bay,
whither he had gone '' in search of any traces that might
exist of the church, where they said the " great priest " was
buried." Moreover, within the memory of some old persons
a squaw was living in the neighborhood of St. Ignace at a
very advanced age, who asserted to have in her childhood
(probably about, or even before, the middle of the last cen-
tury) seen a large cross standing on or near the beach of the
bay, and that this cross marked the site of a church that once
existed there. The Indian name itself of that little bay goes
far to show that its shores were once inhabited by Father
Marquette's Huron flock, for the Ottawas, who settled in the
neighborhood a little later, called it " The little Bay of the

137

Huron Squaws," i. e. where those squaws went for water
(Nadowekweiamishing).

The study of the Jesuits Relations (1671-79) soon con-
vinced me that the tradition rested on a soUd foundation.
From these records, whose truth fuhiess has never been ques-
tioned by any man of sense and learning, it plainly appears
that the mission chapel built by Father Nouvel about 1674,
in which Father Marquette's bones were buried, stood not,
as some have supposed, on the Island of Mackinac, or on the
apex of the southern peninsula, commonly called Old
Mackinac, but on the point north of the strait, then, as now,
called Point St. Ignace, The exact spot, however, could not
be made out from the description of the mission in the Re-
lations. That second church was built at some little distance
from the bark chapel, provisionally put up in the winter of
1673. Close to the church, the Tionontate Hurons, with whom
that Father had come from Chagaouamigong, lived in a forti-
fied village. And within sight of that village, probably in
front of the church, a large cross was erected about 1678.
This is about all that could be gathered from the Relations.

My own and Father Dwyer's investigations and vain en-
deavors to find traces of the old mission (the site of which we
erroneously surmised to have been on higher ground), helped
at least to create a lively interest in the matter, and to keep
the people upon the alert for any chance "find." All we
ascertained was the former existence of an extensive Indian
village on the bluff overlooking the part of St. Ignace, called
Vide Poche, north of the bay of a fortified hill, a good quarter
of a mile west of the bay, and of a long line of pallisades on
the low, level ground at the head of the bay. The vestiges
of the latter were still visible in the shape of a low, straight
ridge, running south and north; and the Murray brothers
(the owners of the ground) assured us that they had, in that
neighborhood, plowed up decayed cedar posts. In digging a
cellar (in front of what we now believe to have been the
Jesuits' church), Mr. .David Murray, Sr., had even struck a
grave once occupied, to judge from silken stuffs and gold bor-
ders found in it, by some person of distinction. Here then
in front of the Church, as was once customary, th« cemetery
would seem to have been located. The ground behind that spot
was thickly grown over with shrubs and small evergreens. It was
there the discovery was made.

138

In the evening of May 4th, 1877 (very nearly two hundred
years after Father Marquette's burial), Peter Grondin, a half-
breed, being occupied in clearing the ground for Mr. Patrick
Murray, Jr., discovered the rude foundation of a building
36x40 in size, the smaller side facing the lake. Being advised
of it, the following day I hastened to the spot.

The foundation consisted of flat limestones, mostly covered
with sand or soil. There were no traces of a chimney — a,
proof that the building had not been an ordinary dwelling
house. But immediately adjoining it, to the west, there were
the plain traces of a larger building, divided into apartments
and furnished with three fire places, one of which — to judge
from broken implements found in it — had served as a forge.
(The Jesuit brothers work at all trades.) At some little dis-
tance behind that complex of buildings, there were the remains
of a "root-house." The whole plan looked ever so much like
that of a church, an adjoining sacristy, and residence of priests,
with workshops, a. s. f., all on a small scale. And now, our
attention being sharpened, we also discovered, what we could
have seen before — the traces of seven or eight small log houses,
in the shape of square ridges, with a heap of stones — the
ruins of a chimney on one side, and a hollow — ihe former
cellar — in the middle. These buildings stood at some distance
south of the presumed church. And nnrth of it was the ground,
cleared long before, where the stumps of cedar-posts had been
plowed up.

A hollow, about five feet deep, in the south-west corner of
the chimneyless building (just in front of the spot where, in
our churches, the altar of the Blessed Virgin stands) had at
once attracted my attention. But excavations were out of the
question, as the owner of the ground had conscientious scru-
ples in regard to having the presumable grave of a, holy man
disturbed. This gave me (and other persons who took an
interest in the matter) ample time to search historical docu-
ments before digging up the ground.

The chief source for ascertaining the exact locality and
the surroundings of the Jesuit mission was found in the
second volume of La Hontan's Travels, which contains a de-
scription and plan of the Michilimackinac (or St. Ignace)
settlement, as it was in 1688, eleven years after Father Mar-
quette's burial. At the sight of that plan everything at once
became clear. There were first, along the southern border of

139

"the little bay, the small houses of the French traders ; next,
north of these, near the head of the bay, the Jesuits' chapel
'("some sort of a church," as that writer saucily calls it); then,
adjoining it to the north, but still on the level ground, the
Hurons' fortified village; and farther off, on the higher ground
north of the ba}^, the larger Ottawa village.^ It was impos-
sible not to recognize the perfect correspondence between that
plan and the vestiges found on the spot; and every intelligent
visitor of the ground during that summer (among them
some historical students) declared himself convinced.-

At last Mr. Murray's scruples being removed, we obtained
permission to excavate. Monday, Sept. 3, in the presence of
probably not far from two hundred persons — people of the
village and neighborhood, with a few tourists and other
visitors from a distance — a ditch was drawn across the area
•of the presumed church; and no traces of former disturbance
being found in the sandy and gravelly ground, the cellar-like
hollow in the corner was attacked. The expectation was on
tiptof^, for by that time almost every one present knew that
Father Marquette's bones, having been brought to St. Ignace
in a birch bark box (from his first grave in Lower Michigan)
were buried together with that box in a small cellar under the
Jesuits' church; and also that this church had been destroyed
by fire (in 1705), and never after restored. Had those precious
Telics been removed before the fire by the missionaries them-
selves (who burned the chapel to prevent desecration after

1. The fortified hill north of the bay is not accounted for by La Hontan's
plan. As this writer does not mention the existence of a French fort, at the
time of his vjsit, it must be presumed that the fortified quarters of the French
garrison, which certainly existed a few years later, were not yet built in 1688;
and the circumstance that the spur-shaped hill in question is separated from
the ground behind by a very deep ditch, makes it probable that this was the
French fort mentioned in later reports. The Indians were not in the habit of
Intrenching themselves in that manner.

2. La Hontau has the name of an unreliable author. The facts are these:
That flippant writer did not scruple to invent incidents and misrepresent
facts, for the gratification of his vanity, or his rancor. Thus, for instance,
he fabricated a most adventurous voyag-e on a western confluent of the
Mississippi that has no existence, among- impossible Indian tribes of culture,
immense wealth, and ridiculously strange manners. But whei'ever these
personal motives did not come into play, and where the discovei-y of false-
hood would have been inevitable and imminent, he deserves as much credit
as the average writer of travels of his time. Now, any fabrication relating
to the post and mission of St. Ignace would at once have been discovered and
exposed, and LaHontan knew that. Nor can there any personal motive be
imag-iiled that might have induced him to give a false description of the
position of the several buildings and villages. Besides, to all appearance, his
plan of Michilimackinac (St. Ignace) is borrowed from some contemporaneous
topographer, and perfectly agrees with later descriptions, e. g. Cadillac's.

140

their- departure), or after the destruction by other parties ?"
Either was possible; but if the remains were gone, some
trace of the grave or even the bark casket itself might be-
found.

The fact that the hollow referred to had been a cellar was
soon placed beyond question by the digging up of two half
decayed corner posts and pieces of plank, and by the exposure
of the original level bottom four or five feet below the general
surface, and covered with about a foot of decayed vegetable
matter. On that floor quite a number of articles, the evident
debris of a wooden building destroyed by fire, were found
scattered, such as nails, spikes, the hinge of a door, broken
glassware, blackened pieces of mortar (still plainly showing-
the imprint of cedar logs, the interstices between which they
had once filled), superficially burnt pieces of small timber,
etc. Finally near the western end of the cellar, a parched,
piece of birch bark came to sight, soon followed by others of
various size, mostly all more or less scorched. Some of them-
showed on one side sharply cut edges and inverted borders,
and on being handed to Indians or half-breeds present, were
declared by them to be fragments of a large and strong box
Qmakah). Almost all of these pieces were found underneath
the floor of the cellar, in a space evidently once dug out for
the purpose of hurrying something, and now filled with loose,,
blackened sand, quite different from the surrounding clean
and pebbly ground. Mixed with that sand and these shred&-
of bark there were many small globular pieces of apparently
pure lime, quite soft and damp. (Possibly the box might
have been covered with a thin layer of lime; this would help
to account for the fact that the fire reached the box, which
was not likely if it was covered with sand and gravel.)
Within the same space we found two fragments of bone, about
the size of the first and second link of your finger. At last,
at a depth of about one and a half foot under the floor of the
cellar, there appeared a large and strong piece of bark,
scorched on the upper surface only. It rested perfectly level
on three much decayed sticks, and was plainly still in the-
same position in which it had first been laid. This piece,
about one and a half foot in length, plainly was but the frag-
ment of a larger one, placed under the box, like the pieces
of bark which you still see the Indians put on the bottom of
graves. (It would not be strange at all, if the missionaries'

141

liad in that matter followed the Indian custom.) That it did
not form part of the box was shown by one well preserved
corner's being cut round with a knife. Below that piece the
ground had not been disturbed.

A careful search within the space excavated under the floor
of the cellar led to no further discovery. The evening being
nearly spent, we left the ground with mixed feelings of sad-
ness and joy. Our hopes of finding the remains of the saintly
Father were disappointed, but all present were satisfied, from
the overwhelming force of circumstantial evidence, that they
had beheld the spot where Father Marquette's bones had been
"buried two hundred years ago, and touched the fragments of
the box in which they had been placed for transportation
from his first burying place.

Presuming to be the natural custodian of the articles found
in the cellar, and with the silent consent of the owner of the
grounds, I took the fragments of bones and birch bark along
with me, and caused as much of the debris as I considered
-serviceable as pieces of evidence, to be brought to my house.
The following morning duty called me away from home. But
^reat was my surprise when upon my return, Wedesday even-
ing, a young man of the place (Joseph Marly, now dead) came
into my room to hand me a handkerchief full of blackened
sand and dust, which he had scrajoed up from the bottom of
the cellar, at some little distance from the deeper hollow, and
which contained over thirty small pieces of bone from
difi'erent parts of the human frame, such as the skull, the
hands or feet, the limbs, the spine, etc. There was not one
■entire bone among them : they all looked like pieces dropped
■out of larger bones which had been cracked by the heat.
Experts, to whom these fragments were handed for examina-
tion— one of them unaware, at the time, of the discovery and
its circumstances — declared them to be human, very old, and
.acted upon by intense heat. A surgeon directed my atten-
tion to a cut made with some sharp instrument across the
upper surface of a fragment of the cranium — perhaps by one
of the Ottawas who dissected the body and scraned the skin
off the bones before putting them into the box.

These bones, dug out the day after the discovery, had been
'Covered with sand, in consequence of the caving-in of the
western bank of the cellar, near which they la5% and towards
which we had not extended our search. Their looks and the

142

stuff in which they were bedded, as well as the character of
the finder (who neither expected, nor got any reward), left,
no room for the least suspicion of fraud. Besides, at the-
occasion of leveling the ground for the erection of a little
monument, four years ago, a few more fragments of an exactly
similar character were found.

May I suggest the circumstances which would seem to ac-
count for the scattering of these bones on the floor of the-
cellar, outside of the grave? It might have happened in this
manner:

Some time after the destruction of the church and the
departure of the missionaries (whose Christian flock had been,
persuaded by Cadillac to follow him to his new post of Pont-
chartrain, or Detroit), some of the remaining pagans, being
aware of the remarkable cures wrought at the Father's tomb,
may have removed his remains for the purpose of using them
as charms, or for medicine — you know the custom of those
poor people; or do they not, in your neighbood also, carry
bones in their "medicine bags," or grind them to powder for
external use, e. g. to cure the head-ache by the application of
ground skull bones ? Now, in taking the bones out of the-
grave, one of those Indians squatting in front of it, may have
thrown them on the floor of the cellar, near the opposite
bank; and there the small fragments, dropping off, remained,
while the larger bones were distributed among the crowd and
taken away. The shreds of the partly burned box which
might have been thrown out, would have been washed back
into the hollow by the rain, the small particles of bone — from
the size of a pea to the larger link of your thumb — remain-
ing imbedded in the sand, would seem to show that the work-
was done in haste, and not with that pious care which the
missionaries would have employed had they effected the exhu-
mation. Besides, they would, in all likelihood, have taken
out the bones with the box (which after twenty-eight years-
must have been almost as good as new), before, with sad hearts,,
they set fire to their dear chapel. Perhaps you will ask, why
they should not have done so, and taken the precious remains
along with them to Canada. We would had done so undoubt-
edly; but it was not their custom. They left the bones of
their fallen brethren, where they first laid them to rest, on
the field, as it were, of battle. I know of one exception only,
in the case of the martyred Brebeuf, whose skull was takea

143

from the shores of Lake Huron to Quebec. But his was an
exceptional death also; nor is it certain that the relic was
brought thither by his brethren. Father Marquette, whose
fame towers now above that of his not less worthy companions
in the western mission, on account of his journey of explora-
tion, did not hold that prominent position two hundred
years ago.

Is it then, you may ask, absolutely^ certain that the modest
inonument erected by the people of the neighborhood, in the
city of St. Ignace, marks the true site of Father Marquette's
grave? I am not yet prepared to say so. But I have not
heard of, nor can I imagine, any circumstance connected with
our search, that would warrant any positive doubt. Every
thing it seems to me, answers the requirements of good cir-
cumstantial proof so nicely— thousands of judicial decisions
are rendered on much slighter evidence — that mere chance
could have brought about such an orderly combination of facts
with as much probability only, as two alphabets of type,
scattered on the ground, might be expected to form, in the
proper succession of letters, the name of Marquette. If you
or anybody else, are leaning more on the side of doubt, I shall
not quarrel with you.

Some of the remains were re-interred under the monument,
together with specimens of the debris. Other pieces are in
the possession of a number of the admirers of Father Mar-
quette, all over the country. The greatest and most interest-
ing collection (the bones being arranged in a neat casket, pre-
sented for that purpose, by Rev. Father Faerber of St. Louis)
will be piously preserved in the Marquette College of Milwau-
kee. I thought it would be safer there than in the hands of

Your friend, E. J.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Re-establishment of the Mission op the Holy Ghost

UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF St. JoSEPH, BY FaTHER

Baraga; his successors; present state of the Mission;
conclusion.

During 164 years the mission of the Holy Ghost at La
Pointe du Saint Esprit was unattended, namely from 1671,

144

when Father Marquette left, until 1835, when Father, after-
wards Bishop, Baraga arrived. There is no authentic
record, nor even a tradition, that any Catholic priest ever
visited this mission during the eighteenth century.

Bishop Baraga was born on the 29th of June, 1797, in the
parish of Dobernik, Unterkrain, Austria. He studied law in
Vienna, then theology in Laibach, where he was ordained in
1823. Having labored with great zeal for the salvation of
souls in his fatherland for about seven years, he resolved to
go to the United States, to labor for the conversion of the
pagan Indians.

He left Vienna on the 12th of November, 1830, and, em-
barking at Havre de Grace, Dec. 1st, landed at New York,
Dec. 31st. Partly by boat, partly b}'- stage, he traveled via
Philadelphia and Baltimore to Cincinnati, where he arrived
in good health on the 18th of January, 1831. He was re-
ceived with great kindness by Bishop Edward Fenwick, of
Cincinnati. He describes the Bishop as a most humble,
kind-hearted, pious and zealous prelate, who greatly re-
joiced, when Father Baraga told him that he did not intend
to stay in the city, but that he wished to go to the wild In-
dians. The Bishop promised to take him along on his next
episcopal visitation to an Indian mission of his Diocese.
During the winter Father Baraga attended to the spiritual
wants of the German Catholics of Cincinnati, and studied
the Ottawa language under an Indian seminarist, probably
William Makatebinessi (Black Bird), a full-blooded Ottawa
from Arbre Croche, who afterwards went to Rome to con-
tinue his studies, and there died of an injury received at the
Corso races.

On the 21st of April, 1831, Father Baraga left Cincinnati
to go to the Indian mission of Arbre Croche, "Waganakisi"
(Crooked Tree), now Harbor Springs, where he arrived on the
28th of May. A few weeks later, Bishop Fenwick arrived,
and installed the zealous priest as pastor of the Mission, to
the great joy of the poor Indians. Father Baraga's heart
overflowed with joy. " Happy day !" says he, writing to
the Leopoldin Society, "happy day, which has placed me in
the midst of the wild Indians, with whom I will stay, if it
be the will of God, until the last breath of my life." Arbre
Oroche was an old Jesuit mission of the seventeenth century.
In 1695 it used to be attended by the Fathers stationed at

145

Mackinaw, and the baptismal records are still preserved at
St. Ignace. The first entries are of 1741, and the last of 1765,
by Father du Jaiinay, acting Cure of Michilimackinac.

Father Baraga loved his poor Indians with a warm-hearted
affection, which was reciprocated by them. He praises their
childlike attachment and humble obedience. They always
addressed him with the endearing name of father, and be-
haved like good children towards him. His daily order was
this : He said mass early, before which an Indian chief
read aloud, out of a prayer-book, the morning prayers.
Every evening the bell was rung, the Indians assembled in
the chapel, devout hymns were sung and night-prayers said,
after which the Father gave them catechetical instruction to
ground them more and more in the knowledge and j)ractice
of religion. On Sundays they had devotions four times in
the chapel, namely, early in the morning to say morning-
prayers, then high mass at 10 a. m. Vespers at 3 o'clock
with instruction ; finally, at sunset, night-prayers. In the
short space of two and a half months he baptized seventy-
two Indians, old and young. He lived in the greatest
poverty, a log-hut covered with bark being his pastoral
residence. When it rained, he had to spread his cloak over
his books and papers, to keep them from getting wet ; yet
he felt happier than many a millionaire in his palace. By
Jan. 4, 1832, in seven months, he had baptized 131 Indians.
Between April 22d and June 4th, 1832, he baptized again
109 pagans, most of whom were adults. Total number of
l)aptisms in Abre Croche, 461.

In August, 1832, while the Arbre Croche Indians were on
their yearly excursion to Canada, to receive the English
gratuities, Father Baraga printed an Ottawa prayer and
hymn book and catechism. When present in Detroit for
this purpose, a priest of the city in a letter, thus briefly, but
significantly, expressed himself on the character of his
colleague: "Father Baraga is very poor and lives like a
Trappist, but his happiness is immeasurably great."

In the autumn of 1833, having obtained a successor for his
mission in the person of Father Saenderl, C. S. S. R., Father
Baraga repaired to the large village on Grand River, near the
present site of Grand Rapids, Mich., where in the preceding
spring he had already instructed and baptized a hundred
pagan Indians, in one day forty -six. He arrived there Sep-

146

tember 23d. Here he had to fight whiskey, and for this reason
drew upon himself the hatred of liquor-traders and their
victims, the poor, drunken, pagan Indians. He was no longer
safe in his own house. One night a howling band of drunken
savages came to take his life, but, finding it impossible to
break open the door, they were obliged to desist. In sixteen
months he baptized 170 persons and, finding a successor in
Father Viszoczky, a Hungarian missioner, he prepared to go
to La Pointe, Wis.

He had to wait for the opening of navigation, and in the
meanwhile attended the white settlers on St. Claire River.
His heart, however, was with the Indians of Lake Superior.
He wrote from his mission on the St. Claire: "It appears-
strange to me to be in a congregation of whites. I live here^
in peace and am much more comfortable than among my
Indians, but I feel like a fish thrown on dry land. The In-
dian mission is my life. Now, having learned the language
tolerably well and being in hopes that I will perfect myself
therein still more, I am firmly resolved to spend the remain-
der of my life in the Indian mission, if it be the will of God.
I am longing for the moment of my departure for Lake
Superior. Many, I hope, will there be converted to the re-
ligion of Christ, and will find in it their eternal salvation.
Oh ! How the thought elevates me ! Would that I had wings
to fly over our ice-bound lakes, so as to be sooner among the
pagans ! But what did I say ? Many will be converted ! Oh
no ! If only one or two were converted and saved, it would
be worth while to go there and preach the gospel. But God^
in his infinite goodness, always gives more than we expect."'

On the 8th of June, 1835, Father Baraga left Detroit with
as much money as would bring him to Lake Superior, and
with a box of goods just received from Vienna, for his new
mission. On the 27th of July he arrived at La Pointe after a
tedi' ais voyage of eighteen months, in a schooner on Lake
Superior. Three dollars was all the money he had when he
arrived at La Pointe. He found a motley crowd there, —
French, half-breeds, Indians, Americans, etc. With his usual
zeal he went to work to erect a log chapel, 50x20 ft. and 18 ft.
high. The work began August 3rd and by the 9th of that
same month the building was so far completed that he could
say Mass in it on that day.

147

His time was spent during the winter in instructing his-
Indians, preparing the catechumens for baptism, and com-
posing books for their instruction. He then wrote the follow-
ing works: 1, an Otchipwe prayer and hymn-book and cate-
chism, which even to this day is almost the only prayer-book
the Indians of Lake Superior use; 2, an extract of the history
of the Old and New Testament, and a translation of the
epistles and gospels of the year in the same language ; 3, a
treatise on the history, character, manners and customs of
the North-American Indians in German; 4, a popular devo-
tional work in the Slavonic language. At a subsequent
period he published four other valuable works : 1, a medita-
tion book, and 2, a book of instruction on the principal
events in the life of Christ, the doctrines of Faith, the Com-
mandments of God and the Church, the Holy Sacraments;:
and short sermons against the principal vices among Indians,
3, an Otchipwe-English Dictionary; and 4, a Grammar of the
Otchipwe language. These works show his great scholarship,
mental activity, and great zeal for the conversion, enlighten-
ment, and elevation of the Indian race.

Father Baraga's poverty at that period of his life reached
an almost alarming degree. His food consisted principally
of fish and bread, if both could be had together. At first he
had two Germans, who used to stop with him, doing the
cooking; afterwards his sister, who had been married to a
German Count, then deceased, kept house for him about two
years. Later he used to take his meals with Mrs. Perinier, a.
very pious and charitable lady, who is still alive (1886) and
loves to speak of Father Baraga, his childlike simplicity,,
kindheartedness, zeal and labors. The people of La Pointe —
we speak of the Indian portion of them — were then very
poor. Many of their children ran about naked during the
greatest part of the year, and in winter had barely a rag to
cover their nakedness, to protect themselves against the
rigors of these northern winters. This pained the kindhearted
Father very much, especially as he had to witness the dis-
tress and starvation of whole families, without being able to
do anything for them. His own clothes he managed to pre-
serve a long time by great care and timely repairing.

On the 29th of September, 1836, he started for Europe to
collect funds for his La Pointe mission. In the winter of
1836-37 he had the first four above-named works printed in

148

Paris. In his native country he was received with great dis-
tinction and listened to by immense crowds. In the spring
of 1837 he was again on his way to Lake Superior, and on
the 8th of October he arrived at La Pointe.

He worked incessantly at the conversion of the pagan
Indians. From July 25, 1835 to January 1, 1836, he baptized
186 Indians, half-breeds and whites, many of them adults.
In all, he baptized in this mission 981. During winter he
used to travel on snow-shoes from mission to mission, along
the southern shore of Lake Superior, suffering hunger, cold
,and other inexpressible hardships and privations. God alone
knows all this saintly man did and suffered for the love of
•God and his dear Indians. His spare time he emploj'-ed in
teaching tbem to sing religious hymns for divine service and
private devotion, and in making rosaries for them. He some-
times gave them his own dinner. On Sunday's a large pot
of corn would be boiled for them, so that those who lived at
a distance might not be obliged to go home after mass, but
could stop at the presbytery, or near it, for vespers and ser-
mon. Out of his own pocket he built for them fourteen neat
log houses, besides giving them clothes, linen, etc., for their
half-naked children. In fact, he gave them too much alto-
gether—so to say — spoiled them through excessive kindness.

With the funds collected in Europe he finished his church
in August, 1838, and the annexed presbytery, and on Sunday,
September 2, of the same year it was dedicated to God under
the patronage of St. Joseph. This was the old church — the
first church ever built on La Pointe Island, for Father Mar-
quette's chapel was not built on the island, as some errone-
ously imagine, but on the mainland, at the head of Ashland
Bay, probably about six miles above Washburn, at the south-
west corner of the bay; neither is there any part of Mar-
quette's Chapel, nor are there any materials thereof in the
present church of La Pointe, as such were not even in the
old chapel, built alongside the Indian cemetery on the south-
eastern side of said graveyard at Middlefort. The American
Fur Company gave a log building of theirs to Father Baraga,
and partly out of it and partly out of new materials the first
chapel at Middlefort was constructed. On the 7th of Sep-
tember, 1838, Rt. Rev. Frederic Rese, first Bishop of Detroit
came to La Pointe, and on the 9th of the same month he
confirmed 112 Indians and Canadians.

149

In the year 1841, Father Baraga built the present church
of La Pointe, having torn down the old one at Middlefort,.
which had not been well built. The church was finished in
July of that year and blessed by Father Baraga on the first
Sunday of August, 1841, under the patronage of St. Joseph.
On the 4th of October, 1843, he left La Pointe to start a new
mission — rather revive the old mission of Father Menard, in
St. Theresa (now Keweenaw) Bay, of 1660 — this was done with
the approbation of Rt. Rev. Peter Paul Lefevre, second
Bishop of Detroit, who sent Father SkoUa to La Pointe and
gave L'Anse, Michigan to Father Baraga. On the 27th of
July, 1844, Father Baraga came to La Pointe, and stayed
there a few weeks to attend to the spiritual wants of his
former parishioners and prepare many of his Indians for
confirmation. On the 14th of August 1844, Rt. Rev. John
Martin Henni, first Bishop, afterwards Archbishop of Mil-
waukee, visited this most northern mission of his diocese^
and on the 16th of said month confirmed 122 Indians and
Canadians. On the 3d of September, Father Baraga returned
to L'Anse. Subsequently he made several visits to La Pointe„
both before and after his elevation to the episcop^ dignity.

In L'Anse he labored with his customary zeal and success.
An humble church was built, heathenish superstition^
drunkeness and other vices extirpated, and many Indians,
even from Lac Vieux Desert and Lac du Flambeau, con-
verted. It was there he published his OtchiiDwe Dictionary
and Grammar, which works place him in the foremost rank
of Indian scholars. In 1853 he was consecrated Bishop of
Sault Ste. Marie, where for several years he had to perform
all the duties of a simple parish priest, laboring especially
among the neighboring Indians. He afterwards transferred
his See to Marquette. The writer has his first Pastoral letter,
a curiosity of its kind, a regular Indian document, announc-
ing to his dear Indians his elevation to the Episcopal dignity.
Even as Bishop he used to perform all the duties of a simple
missionary-priest, hearing confessions, instructing children,
visiting the sick, etc. He died at Marquette, January 19,
1868. His funeral was attended by all Marquette — Indians
and whites, Protestants and Catholics vying with one another
to honor the pious, humble and saintly missionary and
Bishop, who had passed out of this world to receive in
heaven the reward of his many labors and hardships.

150

On the 4th of October, 1845, feast of St. Francis of Assi-
siuni, Rev. Otto C. SkoJla, 0. S. F. Str, Obs., arrived in La
Pointe, where he labored as a true son of St. Francis in
poverty and fasting, leading an almost eremitical life in
■silence, prayer, and seclusion from the world for almost
eight years, having baptized in that length of time 401
Indians, half-breeds and whites. His last baptismal entry
was October 7, 1853, on which day, or shortly after, he went
to labor among the Menominee Indians. In 1854, La Pointe
was attended for about two months by Rev. Angelus Van
Paemel. Then came Rev. Timothy Carie, whose baptismal
entries extend from September 10, 1854 to December 25, 1855,
when he was succeeded by Rev. A. Benoit and A. Van Paemel,
Father Benoit's last baptism was on the 25th of July, 1858.
about which time he left and Father Van Paemel took exclu-
sive charge of the mission. He was a Belgian by birth, a
very zealous, mortified and pious man. He attended this
mission, which then and long after included Superior, for
nearly four 3^ ears.

He was succeeded by Rev. John Cebul, who came here in
June, 186^, and remained in this mission for twelve years. -
He was remarkable for his great linguistic talent, having
learned in a comparitively short time three languages, which
he spoke fluently; English, French and Otchipwe. He was
universally beloved by all classes. After him Father Keller
visited the mission from Duluth, in November, 1872, and
baptized several children. The next resident priest was Rev.
Dr. Quigly, author of " The Cross and the Shamrock," " The
Prophet of the Ruined Abbey," and other works of fiction.
He was never intended by nature, nationality or training for
an Indian missioner, so his stay was short — about nine
mionths. Father F. X. Pfaller was his successor. He did much
for this mission, procured a beautiful altar for the church in
Bayfield, besides vestments and other valuable articles of
church furniture. He remained here in Baj'^field for two
years, and left in August, 1875. During 1876-77 Fathers
J. B. Genin and Joseph Buh visited the mission, attending
to the spiritual wants of Indians and whites. In 1878, Father
A. T. Schuttelhofer visited this mission in January and
March. On the 19th of June, of the same year, the writer
arrived and had charge of the La Pointe and Bayfield mission
for about five months, when he was removed to Superior.

151

The mission was now given in charge to the Franciscan
Order. On the 13th of October, 1878, Fathers Casimir Vogt
:and John Gafron, 0- S. F., arrived with two lay Brothers.
They and other Fathers of the same Order have since then
worked with great zeal and success at the conversion of jjagan
Indians, of whom they have baptized a great number. They
have, moreover, established Catholic schools for the religious
and secular training of Indian and white children. They
have schools with Sisters at Bayfield, La Pointe, Buffalo Bay,
Ashland, and Bad River Reservation. They have also an
Industrial school for Indian girls at Bayfield. The erection and
maintenance of these schools have cost large sums of money,
^contributed partlj^ by generous benefactors in different parts
of the countr}^, and partly by collections made by the inde-
fatigable, pious and zealous Father Casimir in the pinery
among the "boys." The Fathers in Bayfield have charge of
the following missions : 1. Bayfield; 2, Buffalo Ba}^; 3, La
Pointe; 4, Washburn; 5, Ashland; 6. Drummond; 7, Mason;
8, Silver Creek; 9, Glidden; 10, Butternut, 11, Fifield; 12,
Phillipps; 13, Odanah, Indian Reservation, 14, Hurley.

The same Order has also a residence occupied by three
Fathers and two Brothers at Superior, Wis. The Fathers
have a large tract of country under their care. There is, like-
wise, a Franciscan Residence at Keshina, Shawano Co., Wis.,
among the Menominees, occupied by three Fathers and five
lay Brothers. They have there a large boarding and industrial
school, supported by the Government. The same Order has
a large house at Harbor Springs, the Arbre Croche of Father
Baraga, where he labored so successfully for the conversion
of the Ottawas in 1831-32-33.

It will thus be seen that the sons of St. Francis now have
charge of all the Indian Missions of Wisconsin, besides sev-
eral in Michigan.

On the 23d of August, 1885, the 220th year of the first
foundation of this Mission by Father AUouez, and the 50th
anniversary of its reestablishment by Father— afterwards
Bishop — Baraga, was celebrated with great solemnity. Rt.
Rev. Kilian C. Flasch, Bishop of La Crosse, celebrated pon-
tifical high mass, assisted by the Rev. Fathers Collins and
Boehm of Eau Claire, and Fathers Paulinus Tolksdorf and
Chrysostom Verwyst, 0. S. F. Rev. Charles F. H. Goldsmith,
S. T. D., of Chippewa Falls, preached an eloquent sermon,

152

reviewing the ancient and modern history of La Pointe Mis-
sion. He was followed by Father John Gafron, 0. S. F., who
preached a good sermon on the same subject in Chippewa.
There were present: Rev. Zeininger, Rector of the Seminary
of St. Francis, near Milwaukee, Rev. Abbelen, Chaplain of
Notre Dame Institute in Milwaukee, and Rev. Van de Zande,
Chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

The weather was beautiful, and the Church of La Pointe
filled with Indians, from far and near, who had come to honor
their beloved Father, to whom many of them owed their con-
version. An immense number of whites were also present
from Bayfield, Ashland and Washburn. The Church could
not hold one half of the people. It was tastefully decorated
by the Indians both within and without. May the good God
grant His blessing to this Mission, the oldest, except that of
Father Menard in Keweenaw Bay, in the whole Northwest,
and, whilst the Christian tourist visits the spots, hallowed
by the presence of a saintly Allouez, Marquette and Baraga,
may he contribute a mite to the preservation of the Indian
Missions founded by them.

THE KND.

Biographical and Historical Notes.

Rise and fall of the Huron Mission ; Martyrdom of
Father Anthony Daniel, S. J.

In 1615 the first three Franciscan Fathers of the Recollect
reform came to Canada ; Father Dennis Jamay labored at
Quebec, John d'Olbeau at Tadoussac, and Joseph Le Caron
went to Carragouha among the Hurons. In 1622 Father
William Poulain visited the Huron mission, which Father
Le Caron had been obliged to leave, in order to attend the
Indian tribes in the vicinity of Quebec. In the following
year Father Nicholas Viel arrived, and with him Father Le
Caron returned to Carragouha, where they lived in Francis-
can poverty, and baptized two adults.

Finding themselves too few in numbers for the great mis-
sionary field before them, the Recollects invited the Jesuits
to come and labor with them among the Indians of New
France. In 1625 the first Jesuit Fathers, Father Charles
Lalemant, Edmund Masse, and John de Brebeuf, with some
Recollects, arrived at Quebec. Father Viel prepared to
descend to Three Rivers to make a retreat, consult his
superiors, and obtain some necessary articles. Father de
Brebeuf and the Recollect Joseph de la Roche Dallion were
to meet him at the trading post, on the descent of the annual
fur flotilla from the Huron country, and under his guidance
labor among the Hurons, but they never met. Shooting the
last rapid in Ottawa river, behind Montreal, the Indian who
conducted Father Viel, from some unexplained hatred,
hurled him and a little Christian boy into the foaming
torrent, and they sunk to rise no more. To this day the
place bears the name of the Recollect's Rapid. ^

1 "Sault au Recollet."

■ 154

In 1626 Fathers de Brebeuf, Dallion and de None, after a
painful voyage, reached Carragouha. Father de Brebeuf
labored there till 1629, when his superior, Fffther Masse,
called him to Quebec. He had endeared himself to the poor
Indians, and when he was on the point of departing, they
crowded around him: "What! Echon" — that was his In-
dian name — "dost thou leave us? Thou hast now been
here three years to learn our language to teach us to know
thy God, to adore and serve him, having come but for that
end, as thou hast shown ; and now, when thou knowest our
language more perfectly than any other Frenchman, thou
leavest us. If we do not know the God thou adorest, we
shall take him to witness, that it is not our fault, but thine
to leave us so."

Three days after de Brebeuf 's arrival at Quebec, that town
was captured by the English, led by the French traitor,
Kirk. All the Fathers, both Franciscan and Jesuit, were
carried off by Kirk to England. In 1632 Canada was re-
stored to France, and in 1633 the Jesuits returned to Canada.
In the following year Fathers de Brebeuf, Daniel andDavost
began their apostolic labors at the new village, Ihonatiria.
There they built in September a log house, 36 ft. x 21 ft.,
which, being divided off, gave them a house and chapel.
The medicine-men did all in their power to raise a persecu-
tion against the Fathers, but could not succeed. In the
summer they were joined by Fathers Francis Le Mercier and
Peter Pijart, and they extended their labors to the neighbor-
ing villages. In 1636 Fathers Garnier, Chatelain and Isaac
Jogues arrived. A pestilential sickness ravaged the country
of the Hurons, and the Fathers, being accused as the authors
thereof, were maltreated and in great danger of being killed
by the superstitious savages. Still they labored on, baptiz-
ing 250 dying children and adults. In 1637 the pestilence
returned with renewed violence, and the missionaries were
in constant danger of death, as by the Indian custom any-
one may strike down a wizard. The mode of life pursued
by the missionaries confirmed the superstitious suspicions
of the savages; the mass, their prayers at night, their clock,
cross, a flag above their cabin, all were in turn suspected.
In October their cabin was set on tire, and de Brebeuf wrote
to his superior at Quebec : " We are probabl}^ at the point
of shedding our blood in the service of our blessed master,

155

Jesus Christ. His goodness apparently vouchsafes this
sacrifice in expiation of my great and countless sins, and to.
•crown the past services and the great and burning desires of
all our Fathers here." Council after council was held by the
Indians ; finally the Fathers were condemned to die, and on
the day named for their execution, the}'- gave, in accordance
with Huron custom, their dying banquet. Their undaunted
demeanor had its effect. Once more de Brebeuf was sum-
moned to the council, and succeeded in convincing the
sachems of their innocence. Ashe left the council-hall, he
saw a medicine-man, his greatest persecutor, tomahawked at
his side. Believing that in the dusk the avenger had mis-
taken his victim, he asked : " Was that for me ?" " No," was
the reply, "he was a wizard, thou art not."

The missionaries soon regained their popularity, and in
1638 they baptized two families, besides many individuals.
Their ranks were now reinforced by the arrival of Fathers
Jerome Lalemant, Le Moyne, and Du Perron. In the spring
of 1639 they had nearly 50, who had made their first com-
munion. But new trials were at hand. The small-pox, the
greatest scourge of the Indian, broke out among them. The
terror-stricken Indians ascribed the scourge to the Fathers.
The crosses on their dwellings were thrown down, tomahawks
often glittered over their heads, their crucifixes were torn
from them, and one of them cruelly beaten. Yet the mis-
sionaries labored on calmly amidst all these trials, and suc-
ceeded in converting and baptizing many of the sick and
dying. In 1640 Fathers Charles Raymbaut and Claude
Pijart arrived. The faith began now to spread, and 1,000
had been baptized, almost all in danger of death, one-fourth
heing infants. The Christians and Catechumens became so
numerous*, that in many villages they formed a considerable
party, and by refusing to participate in the heathenish rites
and ceremonies of their countrymen, they drew upon them-
selves petty persecution and bitter hatred.

The Iroquois, old enemies of the Hurons, began more and
more to ravage their country, spreading everywhere dismay,
ruin, and death. But this was the time of salvation for the
sorely-tried Huron nation. As famine, disaster and de-
struction closed around them, they gathered beneath the
■cross, their only hope. In no town was the chapel large
.enough to hold the congregation.

156

" On the 14th of July, 1648, early in the morning, when
the braves were absent on war or hunting parties, and none
but old men, women, and children tenanted the once strong
town of Teananstayae, it was suddenlj^ attacked by a large
Iroquois force. Father Anthony Daniel, beloved of all, fresh
from his retreat at St. Mary's and full of desire for the glory
of heaven, was just preaching to his flock about that place of
bliss, urging them to prepare for it in joy, when suddenly a
cry arose, " To arms ! to arms ! " which, echoing through
the crowded chapel, filled all with terror. Mass had just
ended, and Father Daniel hastens to the palisade, where the
few defenders had rallied. There he rouses their drooping
courage, for a formidable Iroquois force was upon them.
Heaven opens to the faithful Christian who dies fighting fof
his home, but to the unbeliever vain his struggle, temporal
pain will be succeeded by endless torment. Few and quick
his words. Confessing here, baptizing there, he hurries along
the line; then speeds him to the cabins. Crowds gather
round to implore baptism they had so long refused. Unable
to give time to each, he baptizes by aspersion, and again hur-
ries into cabin after cabin to shrive the sick and aged. At
last he is at the chapel again. 'Tis full to the door. All had
gathered round the altar for protection and defense, losing
the precious moments. "FJy, brethren, fly," exclaimed the
devoted missionary. "Be steadfast till your latest breath in
the faith. Here will I die ; here must I stay while I see one
soul to gain for heaven; and, dying to serve you, my life is
nothing." Pronouncing a general absolution, he urged their
flight from the rear of the chapel, and advancing to the main
door, issued forth, and closed it behind him. The Iroquois
were already at hand, but at the sight of that man thus fear-
lessly advancing, they recoiled, as though some deity had
burst upon them. But the next moment a shower of arrows
riddled his body. Gashed, and rent, and torn, his apostolic
spirit never left him. Undismayed he stands till pierced by
a musket ball, he uttered aloud the name of Jesus and fell
dead, as he had often wished, by that shrine he bad reared
in the wilderness. His church, soon in flames, became hi&
pyre, and flung in there, his body was entirely consumed.

Thus, in the midst of his labors perished Anthony Daniel,
priest of the Society of Jesus, unwearied in labor, unbroken
in toil, patient beyond belief, gentle amid every opposition^

157

•charitable with the charity of Christ, supporting and embrac-
ing all. Around him fell hundreds of his Christians ; and
thus sank in blood the mission of St. Joseph, at the town of
Teananstayae. The news of this disaster spread terror through
the land.^"

Village after village was abandoned. In vain did the
missionaries try to arouse the Hurons to a systematic defense
of their country. Their courage was broken ; they only
thought of j[ligh"t. New disasters awaited them. On the 16th
of March, 1649, at daybreak an army of a thousand Iroquois
burst on the town of St. Ignatius and all were massacred ex-
cept three, who, half naked, succeeded in reaching the neigh-
boring town of St. Louis. Sending away the women and
children, the braves prepared to defend the place. On came
the Iroquois, but a well directed fire of the Hurons drove
them back. Yet in spite of their losses the Iroquois pressed
up to the palisade, and soon effecting an entrance drove back
the few Hurons and fired the town. The place being de-
fstroyed the Iroquois collected their captives and began to
torture them by tearing out their nails. They led them to
St. Ignatius, where the other captives had been left. There
they most inhumanly butchered Fathers de Brebeuf and
Lalement, as shall be described below. This was the death-
blow of the Huron mission; fifteen towns were abandoned
and the people fled in every direction. On the 7th of De-
cember of the same year, 1649, the village Etharita, among
the Tionnontate Hurons, called also the Tobacco Nation from
their cultivating large fields of tobacco, was attacked and
destroyed by the Iroquois; men, women and children mur-
dered. Among the dead was Father Charles Gamier, whose
death will be described below, who, true to his sublime
calling, remained at his post doing his duty like a brave
rsoldier of the Cross, until a blow from an Indian tomahawk
put an end to his life. Since the first visit of the Recollect
Father Le Caron in 1615 till 1649, a period of thirty-four
years, twenty-nine missionaries had labored among the
Hurons. Seven of them had perished by the hand of vio-
lence, eleven still remained; these, like their neophytes, scat-
tered, seeking to labor elsewhere for the salvation of souls.*

1 Shea, "Catholic Missions," pp. 185-187.

2 Fathei' Grelon, one of the survivors of tlie Huron mission, went to
dhina. Years after, when traveling through the plains of Tartary, he met a

158

Heroic Sufferings and Death of Fathers De Brebeuf'
AND Lalemant, S. J.

On the 16th of March, 1649, a large Iroquis force, number-
ing 1000 warriors, attacked the village of St. Ignatius, at
break of day, while the inhabitants were buried in sleep.
They carried the place by assault, put men, women and
children to death and set fire to the cabins. Out of four
hundred inhabitants, but three escaped to carry the alarm to-
the village of St. Louis, but a league distant. Before sun-
rise they attacked the last-named village, soon overpowering
the eighty Hurons, who defended the place, and killed thirty
of them. They set fire to the town and cast into the flames-
the old, the infirm, the wounded, and such small children as
ha.d been unable to escape.

In the village of St. Louis, there resided at the time of the
assault, two Jesuit Fathers, John de Brebeuf and Gabriel
lialemant. The Relation of 1649, p. 37 says: "Some of
the Christians had entreated the Fathers to preserve their
lives for the glory of God, which could have been very easily
effected, since at the first alarm more than five hundr(jd had
escaped with ease to a place of security; but their zeal would
not allow them to do this, and the salvation of their flock
was dearer to them than the love of life. They employed
every moment of their time as the most precious of their
whole lives; and during the hottest of the combat, their
heart was all on fire for the salvation of souls. One of them
was at the breach baptizing the Catechumens, the other was
giving absolution to the Neophytes, and both were busy in.
animating the Christians to die in sentiments of piety, which
consoled them in the midst of their misfortunes.

An unconverted Huron seeing things desperate, spoke of
flight, but a Christian, named Stephen Annaotaha, the most
distinguished of the whole village for his courage and for-
his exploits against the enemy, would not hear of it. "What!"
he exclaimed, "shall we abandon these good Fathers, who for

Huron woman whom he had known on the shores of her native lake (Lake
Huron). Having been sold from tribe to tribe, she had reached the interior-
of Asia. There, on the steppes of Central Asia, slie knelt and in that tongue,
which neither had heaid for years, the poor Huron woman confessed once
more to her aged pastor. It was this fact that first led to the knowledge of
the near appi-oach of America to Asia. (Shea, "Cath. Missions," who cites
Charlevoix, Ch. v, p. 45.)

159

our sakes have exposed their own lives? The love they
have for our salvation will be the cause of their death ; there
is no longer time for them to fly across the snows. Let us
then die with them and in their company we will go to
heaven." This chief had made a general confession but a
few days before, having had a presentiment of the threatened
danger, and having said that he wished death to find him
ripe for heaven. And in effect he and many other Christians
displayed so much fervor, that we can never sufficiently bless
the ways of God towards his elect, over whom his providence
watches with love at every moment, in life and in death.
This whole multitude of Christians fell, for the most part,
alive into the hands of the enemy and with them our two
Fathers, the pastors of that church. They were not killed
immediately; God reserved for them more glorious crowns.

From the narrative of some fugitive Huron captives,
who had been eye-witnesses of all the circumstances attend-
ing their death, the following details are gathered: "Imme-
diately after their capture, the Fathers were both stripped of
their clothing, their finger-nails were torn out by the roots,
and they were borne in savage triumph to the village of St.
Ignatius, which had been taken on the same morning. On
entering its gates they both received a shower of blows on
their shoulders, loins and stomach — no part of their exposed
bodies escaping contumely. Father de Brebeuf, though
almost sinking under these cruel blows, and fainting from
agony and loss of blood, still lost not courage, but his eye
kindling with fire, he addressed the Christian Hurons, who
were his fellow-captives, in the following language:

" My children ! Let us lift up our eyes to heaven in the
midst of our sufferings; let us remember that God is a wit-
ness of our torments, and He will soon be our reward exceed-
ingly great. Let us die in the faith, and trust in his goodness
for the fulfillment of his promises. I feel more for you than
for myself; but bear with courage the few torments which
yet remain; they will all terminate with our lives; the glory
which will follow them will have no end!" "Echon," such
was his Huron name, "Echon," they replied, " our hope
shall be in heaven, while our bodies are suffering on earth.
Pray to God for us, that He may grant us mercy; we will
invoke Him even until death."

160

Some pagan Hurons, who had proved obstinate under the
preaching of the missionaries, and who, having been long
before taken captive by the Iroquois, had become naturalized
among them, were filled with fiendish hatred at the noble
freedom with which the captive Father spoke. They rushed
upon him and Father Lalemant and bound them each to a
stake. The hands of de Brebeuf were cut ofi", while Lale-
mant's flesh quivered with the awls and pointed irons thrust
into every part of his body. This did not suffice; a fire
kindled near soon reddened their hatchets, and these they
forced under the armpits and between the thighs of the
sufferers, while to de Brebeuf they gave a collar of those
burning weapons, and there the missionaries stood with those
glowing irons seething and consuming to their very vitals.

" In the midst of his torments, Father Gabriel Lalemant
raised his eyes to heaven, joining his hands from time to
time, and sending forth sighs to God, whom he invoked to
his succor. Father John de Brebeuf, with the apparent in-
sensibility of a rock, heedless alike of fire and flame, con-
tinued in profound silence, without once venting a sigh or
murmur, which astonished even his executions: without
doubt his heart was then sweetly reposing in the bosom of
God. After a brief time, as if returning to himself, he
preached to those infidels, and more especially to a good
number of Christian captives, who showed compassion for
his sufferings. His cruel executioners, indignant at his zeal,
in order to prevent his speaking any more of God, struck
him on the mouth, cut off his nose and tore away his lips,
but his blood spoke more eloquently than his lips, and his
heart not yet having been torn out, his tongue did not fail to
aid him in recounting the mercies of God in the midst of
his torments and in animating more than ever his Christian
fellow-captives. In derision of baptism, which these good
Fathers had so charitably administered at the breach and in
the hottest of the contest, those barbarous enemies of the
faith bethought themselves of baptizing them with boiling
water. More than twice or thrice their whole bod}'- was
inundated with the scalding element, the infidels accompany-
ing the ablution with heartless jeers: 'We baptize you that
you may be happy in heaven, for without baptism no one
can be saved.' Others said, mocking: 'We treat you as
friends, for we will be the cause of your greater happiness;

161

thank us for our good offices, for the more you suffer, the
more God will reward you.' ''

" The more their torments were redoubled, the more did
the Fathers pray, that their sins might not be the cause of
the reprobation of these blinded infidels, whom the^^^ forgave

with all their hearts When they were attached to

the stakes where they endured all these tortures and where
they were to die, they fell on their knees, embraced the wood
with joy and kissed it fervently as the cherished object of
their sighs and prayers and as a certain and last pledge of
their eternal salvation. They continued in prayer much long-
er than pleased their barbarous tormentors. They plucked
out the eyes of Father Gabriel Lalemant, and applied red-hot
•coals to the orifices from which they had been torn. Their
sufferings did not take place at the same time. Father John
de Brebeuf suffered for about three hours and expired at four
o'clock in the evening of the 16th of March, the same day on
which the village of St. Ignatius had been captured. Father
Oabriel Lalemant suffered longer; from six o'clock of that
evening until about nine o'clock of the following day, the
17th of March. Before their death the hearts of both were
torn out, an incision having been made for this purpose under
the breast, and those barbarians drank their blood while it

was still warm While they were yet living, pieces of

flesh were cut from their thighs, arms and legs, which were
roasted and eaten before their eyes ! Their bodies had been
gashed all over, and to increase their torments, red-hot tom-
ahawks were run along the deep incisions. Father John de
Brebeuf had been already scalped, his feet had been cut off,
and his thighs denuded to the very bone, and one of his
•cheeks had been divided by a stroke of the tomahawk.
Father Gabriel Lalemant had also received a stroke of the
murderous weapon on his left ear, and the instrument had
sunk deep into his skull, laying bare the brain ; we could find
no part of his body, from head to foot, which had not been
roasted, even while he was living. Their very tongues were
roasted, burning fire-brands and bunches of bark having been
repeatedly thrust into their mouths to prevent them from
invoking while dying, the name and succor of Him, for whose
love they were enduring all these torments."

On the morning of the 19th of March the Iroquois suddenly
fled, being for some unaccountable reason seized with a sudden

162

panic. Such prisoners as they could not or would not take
along, they doomed to a horrible death.

"As for the prisoners, whom they had doomed to immediate
death, they bound them to pine stakes driven into the earth
in the different cabins, to which, in leaving the village, they
set fire on all sides, taking delight on their departure at the
piteous cries of those poor victims, perishing in the midst of
flames, of infants roasted by the side of their mothers, and of
husbands, who saw their wives roasted near them."

On the morning of the flight of the Iroquois, the Jesuit
Fathers of the village of St. Mary's having through some
Huron captives who had escaped, received intelligence of
the death of Fathers de Brebeuf and Lalemant, sent one of
their number with seven Frenchmen as an escort, to find and
bring back their mortal remains. The messengers on reach-
ing the spot, where the martyrdom of these illustrious mis-
sionaries had been consummated, witnessed a scene which froze
their very souls with horror. Everything betokened the fiend-
ish barbarity of the merciless Iroquois. Having reverently
gathered up the mangled remains of the two Fathers, they
brought them back to the Mission of St. Mary's, where they
were solemnly interred on the 21st of March, which fell on a
Sunday. At the funeial all were "filled with so much conso-
lation and with sentiments of a devotion so tender, that
every one ardently desired, rather than feared, a similar death;
and all would have deemed themselves thrice happy, to have
obtained from God the grace of shedding their blood and
laying down their lives under similar circumstances. No
one could bring himself to pray to God for their repose, as if
they stood in need of prayer ; but all raised their hearts to
Heaven, where they had no doubt the souls of the departed
already were."^

Glorious Martyrdom of Father Jogues, S. J.

Father Isaac Jogues, the first missionary to plant the cross
on Michigan soil in 1642, was born in Orleans, France, of a
highly respectable family on the 10th of January, 1607. In
October, 1624, he entered the Society of Jesus at Rouen.

1 "Relations," pp. 37-53. We cite the Relations of 16i9, as quoted in Spald-
ing's "Miscellanea," pp. 333-34.

163

After his ordination in 1636 he was sent to Canada and'
labored for some years in the Huron country. In 1642 he
and Father Raymbault visited Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where-
they were well received by the two thousand Indians as-
sembled there to celebrate the feast of the dead. Father
Jogues then went to Quebec and on his way back to the
Huron country, the party, with whom he was traveling, fell
into a Mohawk ambuscade. The Father might have escaped,.
but seeing some captives in charge of a few Mohawks, join-
ing them he surrendered himself in order to assist the
wounded and dying. Besides Father Jogues there were two
Frenchmen captured, Couture and Rene Goupil, and some
twenty Hurons. Couture had slain in the engagement a
chief and was, therefore, to be tortured. He was stripped,-
beaten, and mangled. Father Jogues, who consoled him,
was beaten till he fell senseless, his nails torn out, and the^
fingers gnawed to the very bone.

The Mohawks then started for their village, inflicting all
manner of cruelty ilpon their defenseless captives. Sailing
through Lake Cham plain, they descried another party of their
countrymen on an island, and the captives were made to run
the gauntlet. The missionary sank under the clubs and iron
rods. "God alone," he said, "for whose love and glory it is
sweet and glorious to suffer, can tell what cruelties they
perpetrated on me then." He was dragged to the scaffold, .
bruised and burnt; most of his remaining nails were torn out
and his hands so dislocated, that they never recovered their
natural shape. On the 14th of August they reached the first
Mohawk village, where again they were made to run the
gauntlet, "this narrow path to paradise," amid blows of clubs
and iron rods, until they reached the scaffold, where new
tortures awaited them. The missionary's left thumb was
hacked off by an Algonquin slave; none of the party escaped
torture. At night they were tied to the ground, with legs^
and arms extended, writhing in pain, vainly trying to escape
the hot coals thrown on them by the children. In two other
villages the captives were treated in the same cruel manner.
In a third village he succeeded in baptizing two Huron cate-
chumens with a few drops of dew found on a corn-stalk
thrown to him by an Indian. They were all condemned to
death, but on further consideration the Mohawks reversed

164

their first decision, sparing the French prisoners and con-
demning of the Hurons only three to death.

The charitable Hollanders at Fort Orange raised a sum of
money to redeem Father Jogues and his faithful attendant
Rene Goupil, but their efforts were vain. Soon after a war
party came in that had been repulsed in an attack on the
French. They determined to vent their rage upon their
French captives. Rene Goupil had been seen to make the
sign of the cross on the forehead of a child and, as the Hol-
landers had told the Mohawks that the sign was not good,
the master of the cabin ordered Rene Goupil to be put to
death. Two young braves set out and meeting Jogues and
Rene ordered them to return to the village. Conscious that
death was nigh, they began to say their beads, and arriving
at the palisade one of the Mohawks buried his tomahawk
deep in the head of Rene Goupil. Pronouncing the "lioly
name of Jesus, he fell to the ground. Father Jogues think-
ing that his hour too had come, knelt at his side to share his
fate. They dragged him off from his companion's body,
whom the two Indians killed with repaiited blows of their
hatchets.

Father Jogues thus entirely alone among his savage cap-
tors, devoted his leisure moments to the Huron captives.
When unfortunate prisoners were brought in to die, he went
to meet them, instructed, baptized, or confessed them, some-
times amid the very flames, whilst they were being burnt at
the stake, for he always assisted them in death. His Mohawk
captors took him to their hunting grounds and made him do
the work of their slaves and squaws. When his work was
done, he would roam about in the woods chanting psalms
from memory or praying before the sign of the cross carved
on some tree.

Several times he was taken to the Hollandish settlement
of Rensselaerswyk, now Albany, where in August, 1643, he
wrote to his provincial, giving an account of his captivity
and sufferings. There he finally succeeded to escape by the
aid of the Hollandish settlers, especially Van Curler; they
even periled their own lives in trying to deliver him from
his masters, who, having been defeated before Fort Richelieu,
had determined to put him to death. The settlers succeeded
in appeasing the wrath of his enemies by presents and he
was conveyed to New Amsterdam, now New York, where he

165

was most kindly treated by Governor Kieft and Dominie
Megapolensis, and in November, 1643, sailed for Europe. He
was driven on the coast of England and robbed of every-
thing. Reaching France in a wretched plight, he was soon
an object of general admiration. Pope Innocent XI. gave
him permission to say Mass with his mutilated hands, say-
ing: "It were unjust that a martyr of Christ should not drink
the blood of Christ."

He soon returned to Canada. In 1645, peace having been
concluded between the Mohawk and the French, a new mis-
sion was projected among them. " We have called it," says
the Superior, " the Mission of the Martyrs, and with reason,
since we establish it among the very men who have made
the gospel-laborers suffer so much, and among whom great
pains and hardships must still be expected. Good Rene
Goupil has already met death in their midst, and if it be
lawful to make conjectures in things, which seem so prob-
able, it is to be believed that our projects against the empire
of Satan will not bear fruit till watered with the blood of
some other martyrs."

On the 16th of May, 1646, Father Jogues, with the Sieur
Bourdon, set out for the Mohawk country. At Fort Orange
he stopped to thank his kind deliverers, and then proceeded
to the first Mohawk town, called Onewyiure. There he and
his companion were well received and peace concluded.
They then returned to Quebec, and after a few days of rest,
Father Jogues started to return to his mission. Although
rumors of war were afloat, the devoted missionary pushed
on. He had, however, a presentiment of his end. "Iboet
non redibo," are the prophetic words of his last letter : " I
shall go, but I shall not return." His Huron companions
gradually forsook him, but he kept on with his faithful com-
panion, John Lalande. " I shall be too happy," he said, "if
our Lord deign to complete the sacrifice where he has begun
it, and make thie few drops of my blood an earnest of what
I would give Hm frrom every vein of my body and heart."

Meeting with a party of Mohawks painted for war, the
Father and his companion were stripped and bound. On
the 17th of October, 1646, Father Jogues again entered Gan-
dawague, the place of his former captivity. Entering the
village, he was received with blows of clubs and fists. He
was not treated as a common prisoner of war. He was to

166

■ die as a sorcerer, for in their superstition they attributed to
his chest, with its vestments and chapel service, a pestilential
fever that ravaged their cabins, and the swarm of caterpillars
that devoured their crops. " You shall die tomorrow !" said
they, " Fear not ! You shall not be burned ; you shall both
die under our hatchets, and your heads shall be fixed on the
palisade, that your brethren may see them, when we bring
them in captive." In vain did Father Jogues endeavor to
show them the injustice of treating him as an enemy. Deaf
to all reason, they began the butchery by slicing off the flesh
from his arms and back, crying : " Let us see whether this
white flesh is that of an Otkon" (sorcerer). "I am but a
man like yourselves," replied the fearless confessor of Christ,
■^'though I fear not death nor your tortures. I know not
'why you put me to death. I have come to your country to
'preserve peace and strengthen the land and to show you the
way to heaven, and you treat me like a dog. Dread the
vengeance of the Master of life."

A council of the Oyanders was called : the Bear family
clamored for his blood ; but the Wolf and Tortoise opposed
them firmly, and it was resolved to spare his life. It was
too late. While the coancil was sitting on the night of the
18th October, some of the Bear-clan came to invite him to
sup with them ; he rose to follow, but scarcely had his
shadow darkened the door of his perfidious host, when an
Indian, concealed within, sprang forward, and with a single
blow stretched him lifeless on the ground. The generous
arm of Kiotsaeton was raised to save him, but, though
deeply wounded, did not arrest the blow. Father Jogues
fell dead ; his missionary toil was ended. His companion
shared his fate, and the rising sun beheld their heads fixed
■on the north palisade, while their bodies were flung into the
neighboring stream. After his death miracles were attri-
buted to him and duly attested ; and the missionaries who,
at a later date, saw a I'ervent church arise at the place of his
glorious death, and those who saw it produce that holy
virgin, Catharine Tegahkwita, ascribed these wonders of
grace only to his blood.

Steps have been taken looking towards the beatification
and canonization of Father Jogues and the Iroquois virgin,
-Catherine Tegahkwita.^

I Shea, " Catholic Missions," pp. 306-208.

167
Heroic death of Father Garnier, S. J.

Father Charles Garnier was born in Paris, in 1605, of an

^-eminent and j)ious family. He entered the Society of Jesus
on the 5th of September, 1624. Sent to Canada in 1636, he
was constantly on the Huron missions, from the 11th of Sep-
tember of that year till his death on the 7th of Decem.ber,
1649. He seemed to have been born and to live only for the
conversion of his Indians ; of nothing else did he think or
converse. Esteemed by his companions as a saint, his
letters, still extant, bear testimony to his eminent love of

'God and zeal for the salvation of souls, as well as his entire
disengagement from earthly things. As a Huron scholar he
was next to de Brebeuf, the best in the whole body of mis-
sionaries.

" On the 7th of December, 1649, a large Iroquois force
burst upon the Huron town of Etharita, or St. John, where
Father Garnier was stationed. On that day the braves of
that town, tired of waiting for the enemy, had set out to meet
them, but unfortunately had taken a wrong direction. The
Iroquois, fearful of being surprised by the returning Hurons,
cut down all without mercy, and fired the place. Father
Garnier was everywhere exhorting, consoling, shriving,
baptizing ; wherever a wounded Indian lay, he rushed to
gather his dying words ; wherever a sick person or child met
his eye, he hastened to confer baptism. While thus, re-
gardless of danger, he listened only to the call of duty, he
fell mortally wounded by two musket balls; and the Iro-
quois, stripping him of his habit, hurried on. Stunned by
the pain, he lay a moment there, then clasping his hands in

' prayer, prepared to die ; but as he writhed in the agony of
death, he beheld a wounded Tionontate Huron some paces
from him. The sight revived him ; forgetful of his own
state, he remembered only that he was a priest, and rallying

:all his strength by two efforts, rises to his feet and endeavors
to walk, but after a few stagering steps falls heavily to the
ground. Still mindful only of duty, he dragged himself to
the wounded man, and, while giving him the last absolution,
fell over him a corpse; another Iroquois had driven a toma-
hawk into his skull.

"Father Garreau and Grelon hastened from the other

'town and buried, amid the ruins of his church, the body of

168

the holy missionaiy, the beloved Oracha of the natives, who
won by hiB mild and gentle manners, entire devotion to them
and their good, his forgetfulness of all that was not connected
with their salvation, no less than his perfect knowledge of
their language and manners had long considered him less a
Frenchman' than an Indian, or a being of another world sent
to assume the form." ^

The Three Missionary Martyrs op Wisconsin.

The three martyred missionaries referred to, are Father
Menard, who perished at the headwaters of Black River, Wis-
consin, probably by the hand of some roving Indian, and
two Jesuit Fathers said to have been put to death at the
place where Depere now stands. Some claim that the word
Depere is a corruption of "Deux Peres, Two Fathers," that
name having been given to the town as being the spot where
they were put to death.

John Gilmary Shea, a Catholic historian, second to none
in the United States, in his justly celebrated work, "History
of the Catholic Missions among the Indian Tribes of the
United States" — a work which we have freely used in the
preparation of this little volume — p. 377, speaking of the year
1765, says: " In this year two Jesuit missionaries are said
to have been put to death on an eminence by a rapid on the
Fox River, thence called "LeRapide des Peres," a name pre-
served in the town of Depere. This may be true, but no
trace of the fact is to be found in any work of the time. See
Ann. Prop. II, 121."

In the annals of the I.eopoldine Stiftung, annal VII, p. 34,
Father Haetscher, C. S. S. R., writes from Green Bay, under
date of September 2, 1833. "Speaking of the Fox River, I must
remark that I have seen in a certain pla'ce there the remains
of a Jesuit monastery that formerly stood there, which has
given to the rapids of the river there the name " Rapide des
Peres," where I found in the ruins a small silver cross. These
good Fathers were martyred there by the savages. They were
attacked by the relatives of the Indians, converted by them,
bound to stakes and boiling water poured over their heads,

1 Shea, "Catholic Missions," p. 193.

169

in order, as the savages mockingly said, to baptize them too, '^
No date given.

Father Van den Broek, who succeeded Fathers Saenderl
and Haetscher, C. S. S. R., as pastor of the Catholic congre-
gation of Green Bay, in 1834, speaking of a robbery com-
mitted by some drunken soldiers of Fort Howard, in his
church, on the night of Holy Saturday, 1838, says: ''In the
meanwhile the thieves were busy robbing everything in the
church, as for instance, a silver monstrance, a ciborium, and
water-cruets, etc." In a foot-note he says : "These were pre-
cious objects, which had been found at Rapides des Peres in
the ground and which had been concealed there when the mis-
sionary was killed by the Indians. One hundred and fifty years
ago (this was written in 1847^) there was a Jesuit mission
and chapel there. But after this occurrence no priest has
been seen there." Elsewhere he refers to the same fact, say-
ing that in the "Godsdienstoriend," 1843, p. 260, the origin
of the name, Rapides des Feres, is explained.

In the monthly magazine, "Alte unu Neue Welt," No. 5,
1868, p. 134, Rev. J. V. Badin, who came to visit the Green
Bay mission, May the 12th, 1825, says: "Although the in-
habitants of Green Bay form a sample of all colors, and
although they are for the most part awfully ugly -looking and
rude in their manners, still morals are much purer here than
elsewhere. It would only require two Jesuits to take the
place of the two Fathers who were murdered here about
sixty years ago (i. e. 1765) or rather who were martyred by
the hands of cruel savages. I passed a rapid in the Fox
River, still called " Rapide des Peres," opposite to which is
the bluff (or hill) where both these martyrs have shed their
blood for Jesus Christ."

By the kindness of Father Kersten, a manuscript of Father
Hypp Hoffen, deceased, was sent to me, in which he writes :
" In 1765 two Jesuit missionaries, whose names tradition has
not preserved, were killed on the banks of the Fox River near
the place, where, in 1676, the church and residence of their
predecessors had been erected. Although no work of that
time mentions this fact, the old inhabitants believe it to be certain
and show the ground that was soaked with the blood of these
martyrs. Margaret Okeewah, a one hundred year old Indian

1 " Keize naar Noord-Amerika" etc., door den WelEerwaarden Heer T. J.
Van den Broek te Amsterdam, by Langenhuyseu, 1847.

170

woman, who died February 13. 1868, ascertained the fact,
saying that her parents often talked to her about two "Black-
gowns" whom the Indians had massacred, because they had
cast the lot (an evil charm) on the children of the tribe,
which made them all die." It seems to be the old super-
stitious fear of baptism which the Indians regarded as an
evil charm for the destruction of their children.

In the " Memoires " of Augustin Grignon of Butte des
Morts, Wis. (Wis. Hist. Coll., vol. Ill), we find that his great-
grandfather, on his mother's side, Sieur Augustin de Lang-
lade, born in France of a noble family about 1695, came with
his son, Charles de Langlade, born in Mackinaw in 1729, to
Green Bay between 1744^46. They may be called the
founders of that <iity. Mr. Grignon's mother, a daughter of
Charles de Langlade, was born in Green Bay in 1763. Sieur
Augustin de Langlade died in Green Bay about 1771; his son,
Charles de Langlade, died there in 1800, and Charles' wife,
Augustin Grignon's mother, died in 1818. A. Grignon was
born in Green Bay, June 27, 1780, and he was still alive in
1857. His own recollections go back as far as 1785.

Now, in the "Memoires" he nowhere speaks of any mis-
sionaries having been killed in the vicinity of Green Bay.
though he mentions a thousand little incidents in the life of
his maternal grandfather, Charles de Langlade, before and after
1766, the year when those missionaries are said to have been
killed. From his silence on the matter we may pretty salely
conclude, that, if missionaries were killed at Depere, it must
have occurred before the advent of the first French settlers
in Green Bay in 1745 It must have happened between
1721, the year of Charlevoix' visit when Father Chardon was
stationed at Green Ba}^, and 1745, when Sieur Augustin de
Langlade settled in Green Bay. The fact that Charlevoix
knew nothing about the fact in question, would seem to show
that the event must have taken place after his visit to the
bay in 1721.

Moreover, Augustin Grignon remarks: "i am perfectly satis-
fied that from the first settling in Green Bay in 1745, till Father
Gabriel Richard, of Detroit, visited it in 1820, no missionaries
coidd have been there.'" He relates how in 1794 his mother had
to take her children all the way from Green Bay to Macki-
naw in a birch canoe to have them baptized by Father Pay et,
who had lately arrived at the last named place. Hence we

171

"think that the date of said martyrdom, 1765, is not correct;
l3ut we think that the fact itself occurred, for there must
have existed some reliable tradition upon whfch the story
of the martyrdom of these priests, as given above, is founded.
The silence of cotemporary writers does not disprove the
fact, for the missionary accounts between 1 679 and 1820 are
very meagre and incomplete. Moreover, the Foxes and Sacs
were of old enemies of the French, with whom they had sev-
eral wars, one in 1728, and another in 1746 under Morand,
when they were defeated at Butte des Morts. It may easily
have happened that the French missionaries fell into the
hands of the Foxes and were barbarously murdered by
them, partly out of hatred of the religion they preached, and
partly out of 4iatred of the nation they belonged to. The fact
of the monstrance being found buried in the ground corrob-
orates this view very strongly, for most likely it was hastily
buried at an unexpected attack made on the village, and very
probably there and then the Fathers were captured and put
to death by the victorious Foxes, the same as de Brebeuf and
Lalemant had been murdered under similar circumstances.

Grosseilliers and Radisson, the Pioneers of the
Northwest.

The "Relation" of 1660, p. 12, does not give the names of
the two Frenchmen, who arrived with the Ottawa flotilla in
1660 at Three Rivers. In vol. V, Minn. Hist. Coll., p. 401,
two Frenchmen are mentioned as the earliest explorers of
Minnesota, namely, Medard Chouart, called Sieur des Gros-
seilliers, and his brother-in-law, Pierre d'Esprit, the Sieur
Radisson. They visited the Tionnontate Hurons at the
headwaters of Black River, Wis., and the Dacotah or Sioux
in the Mille Lacs region of Minnesota. They spent the spring
and early part of summer on the south shore of Lake Su-
perior. They are the identical Frenchmen spoken of in the
"Relation" of 1660. Perhaps they are also the two French-
men who were ice-bound on Madeline (La Pointe) Island and
subsequently discovered in a starving condition by some
Chippewa Indians residing on the mainland where Bayfield
now stands. "On the 19th of August, 1660, Grosseilliers, by

172

way of the Ottawa River, reached Montreal with three-
hundred of the Upper Algonquins. They had left Lake Su-
perior with (ftie hundred canoes, but forty turned back, and
the value of the peltries was 200,000 livres. In a few days
the furs were sold and on the 28th of August, 1660, Grosseil-
liers left Three Rivers and again turned his face westward,.
accompanied by six traders and the rirst missionary for that
region, the aged Menard, and his servant, Jean Guerin. The
party passed Sault Ste. Marie and on the 15th of October,,
1660, were at Keweenaw Bay, and here Father Menard spent
the winter."

The authorities for the above statements are not clearly
indicated. They appear to be " Neill's History of Minne-
sota," 5th edition, 1883, and the "Journal des ^Tesuites," par
M. M. les Abbes Laverdiere et Cosgrain, Quebec.

The Chippewa tradition in regard to these two Frenchmen
is given by \Vm. W. Warren (Minn. Hist. Coll., vol. V, p.
121-2), as follows:

"One clear morning in the early part of winter, soon after
the islands, which are clustered in this portion of Lake Su-
perior and known as the Apostles, had been locked in ice, a
party of young men of the Ojibways started out from their
village in the bay of Shag-a-waum-ik-ong to go, as was cus-
tomary, and spear fish through holes in the ice, between the
island of La Pointe and the main shore, this being considered
as the best ground for this mode of fishing. While engaged
in this sport they discovered a smoke arising from a point of
the adjacent Island, towards its eastern extremity.

" The island of La Pointe was then totally unfrequented^
from superstitious fears, which had but a short time previous-
led to its total evacuation by the tribe, and it was considered
an act of the greatest hardihood for anyone to set foot on its-
shores. The young men returned home at evening and re-
ported the smoke which they had seen arising from the
island, and various were the conjectures of the old people re-
specting the persons, who would dare to build a fire on the
spirit-haunted isle. They must be strangers, and the young
men were directed, should they again see the smoke, to go
and find out. who made it.

" Early the next morning, again proceeding to their fish-
ing-ground, the young men once more noticed the smoke
arising from the eastern end of the unfrequented island, and

173

led on by curiosity, they ran thither and found a small log
■cabin in which they discovered two white men in the last
stages of starvation. The young Ojibways, filled with com-
passion, carefully conveyed them to their village, where,
being nourished with great kindness, their lives were pre-
served.

" These two white men had started from Quebec during
the summer with a supply of goods, to go and find the Ojib-
wsijs, who every year had brought rich packs of beaver to
the sea coast, notwithstanding that their road was barred by
numerous parties of the watchful and jealous Iroquois.
^Coasting slowly up the southern shores of the Great Lake late
in the fall, they had been driven by the ice on the unfre-
quented island, and not discovering the vicinity of the Indian
village, they had been for some time enduring the pangs of
hunger. At the time they were found by the young Indians
they had been reduced to the extremity of roasting and eat-
ing their woolen cloth and blankets as the last means of sus-
taining life.

" Having come provided with goods, they remained in the
village, exchanging their commodities for beaver-skins. The
ensuing spring a large number of Ojibways accompanied
them on their return home.

"From close inquiry and judging from events which are
said to have occurred about this period of time, I am dis-
posed to believe that this first visit of the whites took place
«,bout two hundred years ago (this was written in 1852). It
is, at any rate, certain that it happened a few years prior to
the visit of the " Black-gowns " mentioned in Bancroft's
history, and it is one hundred and eighty -four years since
this welJ -authenticated occurrence."

Nicolas Perrot's Account of Father Menard's Death. ^

" Father Menard who had been given to the Outaouas
{Ottawas) as missionary, accompanied by some Frenchmen,
who went to that nation to traffic, was abandoned by
all those he had with him, except one, who rendered him
until death all the services and help, which he could expect

1 "Memoire" par Nicolas Perrot, pp. 91, 93.

174

from him. This Father followed the Outaouas to the lake ol
the Illinoets (Illinois — Lake Michigan) and in their flight, on
the Louisianne (Mississippi) as far as above Black River. It
was there that only one Frenchman remained to accompany
this missionary and that the others left him. This French-
man tollowed carefully the route of the Outaouas and made
his portage wherever they had made theirs, never leaving the
river on which they had navigated. One day he found him-
self in a rapid, which carried him along in his canoe. To
help him, the Father took some of his baggage out of the
canoe and did not take the right path to get to him. He got
on to a trail, much traveled by animals, and in endeavoring
to get back to the right path, he got entangled in a labarynth
of trees and went astray. The Frenchman having passed
the rapids with great difficulty, awaited the good Father, and
as the latter did not come, he determined to go in search of
him. He hallooed for him with all his might during several
days in the woods, hoping to find him, but in vain. How-
ever he met on the way a Saki (Sac Indian) who was carrying
the kettle of the missionary, and who gave him an account of
him (Menard). He assured him that he had found his
(Menard's) tracks far away in the woods, but that he had not
seen the Father. He told him that he had also found the
tracks of several others who were going towards the country
of the Sioux. He even declared to him that he thought the
Sioux perhaps had killed him, or that he had been taken by
them. In fact, many years alter, his breviary and cassock
were found with that tribe, and they used to expose them at
their feasts, offering to them their meats."

The reader will no doubt have noticed the discrepancy
between the " Relation" and Perrot's " Memoire" in their
account of Father Menard's death. Ferrot states that Father
Menard followed the Ottawas (and Hurons) in their flight to
Lake Michigan and thence to the Mississippi (Louisianne,) as
far as above Black River. This is evidently a mistake.
According to the " Relation" of 1663, Father Menard went to
Keweenaw (St. Theresa) Bay in 1660, and nine months after,
on the 13th of July, 1661, started to go to the Huron village at
the headwaters of Black River, where he perished about the
10th of August ; whereas according to Perrot, the Ottawas
and Hurons, with whom Father Menard is said to have stayed
till they left Pelee Island, spent some years on said island^

175

prior to their ascending the Black River. If Perrot's statement
were true, then Menard and not Marquette, would be the
discoverer of the Upper Mississippi.

After the general defeat of the Algonquin tribes by the Iro-
quois in 1649-50, the Hurons (and Ottawas) settled for some
years on Mackinaw Island. Thence they fled to some islands
at the entry of Green Bay, thence to the shores of Green Bay,
probably at the " Red Clay Banks," about twelve miles below
the head of the bay, near Dykesville, where they erected a
poor fort and tried to poison their Iroquois besiegers with
poisoned corn bread. They went down the Wisconsin and
up the Mississippi as far as the head of Lake Pepin, where
they settled on an island, about eighteen miles below
Prescott. Here they lived some years in peace, till foolishly
attempting to invade the territory of the Sioux to get
possession of their hunting-grounds, they were deteated
by the latter and forced to abandon their island-home. In
order to get away from their enemies, who were continually
harrassing them, they sailed up the Black River to its source.
Here the Hurons constructed a fort, and it was there they
were in 1661, when Father Menard attempted to bring them
the consolations of religion, and perished probably within a
day's journey of their village. The Ottawas had in the mean-
while pushed on to Lake Superior^ and settled on the shores
of Ashland (Chequamegon) Bay, on the flat, between Fish
Creek and Ashland. They were afterwards joined by the
Hurons, whose village seems to have been on the south-
western end of said bay, and it was there that Father
AUouez found both tribes in 1665. Perrot, who came into
the country of the great lakes about 1665, obtained his
account from Indian and French reports. He was told that
Father Menard had been abandoned by the Hurons and that
he and his faithful companion had followed the route of said
Hurons, carefully noting the places, where they had made
portages; but this had reference to the Hurons, whom he had
met with at Keweenaw Bay, and who were to pilot him to
their village, but abandoned him at Lac Vieux Desert. This
Perrot understood of the Hurons on their flight to the head

1 Before arriving at Chequamegon Bay, they probably lived some years
at Lac Courte Oreille, which even to this day is called by the Chippewas Otta-
wa-sagaigan, "Ottawa Lake." An Indian tradition affirms that many of them
perished on the shores of that lake from starvation, during asevei-e winter, in
which their provisions entirely gave out.

176

of Green Bay and up the Mississippi. I think this sufficiently
explains the discrepancy in the two accounts. Perrot's state-
ments are, in the main, correct and reliable, and with the one
exceptionjust explained, they harmonize with the "Relations."
Father Menard went from Keweenaw Bay to Ijac Vieux
Desert, situated on the boundary line between Michigan and
Wisconsin. There he tarried two weeks, waiting in vain for
the young Hurons who were to conduct him to their village.
His scanty stock of provisions beginning to give out, he
starts with only one Frenchman for the Huron village.
Their way lay through a country literally sowed with lakes,
ponds and swamps. They descend the Wisconsin, being
often obliged to make portages at the many rapids on the
headwaters of that river. Carefully they follow the route of
the Hurons, who had abandoned them at Lac Vieux Desert,
making portages wherever they had made them. Finally
there remained a long portage from the Wisconsin to Black
River. It was probably when making their last portage
along some rapids of the Wisconsin that Father Menard got
lost and perished. This occurred within perhaps a day's
journey from the Huron village on Black River. Hence we
are inclined to think that Father Menard died somewhere
near the mouth of Copper river, a few miles above Merrill,
between there and Medford.

St. Theeesa Bay.

No bay of Lake Superior now bears the name given by
Father Menard, but there is no doubt but that St. Theresa
Bay is what is now called Keweenaw Bay. The " Relation "
of 1664, p. 6, says that the bay where Father Menard arrived
on St. Theresa day, Oct. 15th, and where he wintered, was a
large bay on the south shore of Lake Superior, one hundred
leagues above the Sault. It cannot be Chequamegon Bay,
for Father Allouez in "Relation" of 1667, p. 9, expressly
states that on his way to Chequamegon (Chagaouamigong)
Bay he passed the bay called by the aged Father Menard
St. Theresa Bay, where he found some Christian women
converted by him five years before.

The word " Keweenaw " is a corruption of the Chippewa
word " Kakiweonan " (pron. Kah-ke-wa-o-nan), which means

177

**' Where they make a short cut by water," and significantly
denotes the passage Jrom the west shore of Keweenaw Point
hy way of Portage Lake and Portage River to the east shore
of said Point. In all probability Father Menard's mission
■was located at Old Village Point, or " Pikwakwe.waming "
(Pikwakwewam), "a peninsula in the shape of a knob,"
about seven miles north of the present town L'Anse, Mich.
Father Menard baptized there some fifty adults and many
<;hildren.

Earthquake of 1663.

We have devoted a chapter to this most remarkable and
well authenticated earthquake. We thought it would be
interesting to many of our readers, to tourists and others
traveling on the St. Lawrence. Besides, this earthquake may
liave extended to the Lake Superior country. The north
shore, the Apostles Islands, in fact, this whole region shows
that it has been the scene of great subterraneous disturb-
•ances, upheavals and sinkings in bygone times. True, there
is no written account that said earthquake of 1 663 was felt
at Lake Superior; but this is easily accounted for. Father
Menard was no more. Father Allouez arrived in 1665. Had
any of these missionaries been here in 1663, they would
doubtlessly have chronicled this event, if an earthquake had
been felt in this upper country. It extended up the Ottawa
Eiver, perhaps as far as Georgian Bay and eastward to the
Atlantic seaboard. It is certainly one of the most remark-
able and most minutely described earthquakes of modern
times.

As regards the supernatural features of the earthquake, we
.find nothing strange or superstitious in the narrative of the
" Relations." That an Almighty Being can work miracles is
^elf-evident. That he has done so is a matter of history.
The Bible account of the Old and New Testament is full of
them. Flavins Josephus relates many preternatural signs
that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem, at which he was
present. In II. book of the Maccabees, ch. V., we find
supernatural facts related more wonderful than those men-^
tioned in the " Relations." Armed soldiers were publicly
seen in the air by all the inhabitants of Jerusalem during

178

forty days, goin^ through all the manoeavres of warfare. The
emperor Constantine the Great beheld prior to his celebrated
battle with Maxentius near the gates of Rome, October 28th,
A. D. 312, at noonday with his whole army a wonderful
cross in the skies, with Greek inscription: "En touto nike" —
" In this thou shalt couquer." The preternatural sights and
the earthquake combined had a most salutary effect upon
the inhabitants of the St. Lawrence valley. Hence it was not
unworthy of the Deity to use such means for so good an
end : the conversion and moral reformation of thousands of
people.

Father Allouez — Short Sketch of his Life and Labors.

Father Allouez may justly be called the "Apostle of Wis-
consin," for he is the founder of every Indian mission within
the limits of our State. On the 1st of October, 1665, he
arrived at Chagaouamigong (Shagawamikong) and established
the mission of the Holy Ghost at the head of Ashland Bay.
Indefatigably he labored there until 1669. Leaving Sault
Ste. Marie November the 3d of that same year, he arrived
at the head of Green Bay December the 2d. and having said
mass with all possible solemnity December 3d, feast of St.
Francis Xavier, he founded there the mission of St. Francis
Xavier. Afterwards, in 1671, the mission was removed about
two leagues up the Fox River to the site of the present city
of Depere, where in 1676 a beautiful church was built by
Father Albanel. Ten years later, 1686, Nicolas Perrot, author
of certain '• Memoires" on the customs, wars, and religion of
the Algonquin tribes living in the country of the " Great
Lakes," made a present to said church of Depere of a beauti-
ful silver monstrance which was found in 1802, buried in the
ground probably near the site of the old Jesuit Church.

On the 16th of April, 1670, Father Allouez started from
St. Francis mission to visit the Outagamies (Foxes) on the
Wolf, and the Mashkoutens, Miamis, Illinois and Kickapoua
on the upper Fox river. The last named tribe resided at
that time about twelve miles below the village of the other
three tribes, below the junction of the Fox and Wisconsin
rivers, probably near Alloa (Allouez). Leaving Green Bay
on the 16th of April, he passed Appleton on the 19th, on

179

which day he says he saw an eclipse of the sun. On the-
evening of that day, which was a Saturday, he arrived at
the entrance of Lake ^A^innebago and camped there for the
night. The next day, Sunday, they sailed as far as the mouth
of Wolf River, and the Father said mass on the spot where
Oshkosh now stands. He then ascended the Wolf River, and
on thft 24th arrived at the village of the Outagami, which
was situated about six miles above " Little Lake St. Francis"
(probably Lake Winneconne) at, or a little below, Mukwa,
(Lake Winnebago is called by Allouez, Lake St. Francis).
He began his missionary labors among them on St. Mark's
day, April the 2oth, hence he called it St. Mark's Mission. He
found them plunged in great grief on account of a terrible
calamity that had in the preceding month of March hap-
pened to them. An Iroquois party of eighteen men, led by
two Iroquois who had long been captives among the Potta-
watamis, attacked a small village of the latter, while the braves
were away from home. They killed some six men and one
hundred women and children, and led thirty women into
captivity. This happened some two days journey from Green
Bay, probably not far from Manitowoc. The poor people
were too grief-stricken to listen much to the Father's words.
He visited them often afterwards and baptized many adults
and children.

On the 27th of April, he left St. Mark's mission and on
the 29th he ascended the upper Fox River, and on the 30th
arrived at the Adllage of the Mashkoutens, three leagues from
the junction of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. The village
was built about two miles from the bank of the Fox River,,
on an eminence overlooking a beautiful prairie country, not
far from a creek with mineral water on the eastern side of
the river, not far from Corning. He published to them the
gospel, which they received with great eagerness and docility
and baptized five children, who were in danger of death. The
mission was called St. James, whose feast falls on the 1st of
May, being the day be had announced to them the first
tidings of salvation. On the 3d of May he departed and in
three days arrived at his mission of St. Francis. On the 6th
of the same month he started to visit the Menominees and
begun there the mission of St. Michael. They were then,
residing near the mouth of the river, which bears their name.
As he announced to them the gospel on the 8th of May, he

180

•called it St. Michael's Mission, in honor of that great angel,
the feast of whose apparition falls on that day. In the fall
of the same year, 1670, he visited again the Mashkoutens on
the upper Fox River, in company with Father Dablon,
Superior of the upper Algonquin missions.

Besides these missions, he established another among the
Winnebagoes and Pottawatamies on the eastern shore of
Green Bay, between Bay Settlement and Sturgeon Bay, and
among the Sacs, whose village was located four leagues up
the Fox River, somewhere near Little rapids. Father Louis
Andr6 took charge of the missions in the immediate vicinity
of Green Bay, and Father Allouez attended those further
distant. In 1673, when Father Marquette arrived at the
mission of St. Francis, at the head of Green Bay, he found
over two thousand fervent Christians belonging to that mis-
sion and its dependencies. Father Allouez spent almost
twenty -five years on the Indian missions of Wisconsin and
Illinois, the greatest part of that time being devoted to
'Christianizing the Indians of Wisconsin. He died about 1689
in the mission of St. Joseph, St. Joseph's River, Michigan.

Father Allouez' Message to the Upper Algonquins.

The " Relation " of 1665, p. 9, speaking of Father Allouez'
mission to the upper Algonquin tribes residing in the Lake
Superior country, says: " Monsieur de Tracy gave the Father
three presents, which he was to make to those people as soon
as he would arrive in their country, declaring to them:

" First, that the king was going to bring the Iroquois to
reason and consequently uphold their (upper Algonquin)
country, which was tottering, ready to fall.

" Secondly, that if the Nadouessiouek (Sioux) who are
their other enemies, whom they have also on their hands —
if they do not want to listen to peace he will compel them
by the force of his arms."

" The third present was to exhort all the Algonquin tribes
of those quarters to embrace the faith, of which some have
liad already some tincture through the indefatigable cares
and apostolic zeal of Father Rene Menard, who, by a par-
;ticular conduct of Providence, got lost in their woods, where

181

he died of hunger and misery, abandoned by all humaii
succor. But God, no doubt, will not have abandoned him^
as he is everywhere with those who lose themselves for his
love in the conquest of souls redeemed by the blood of
Jesus Christ. Some years ago (1656) another one of our
Fathers, Father Leonard Garreau, having taken the same
road, with the same Outaouac tribe, with the saine designs for
the salvation of those souls, met happily with death on the
second day of his voyage, having been killed in an ambus-
cade of the Iroquois, who were lying in wait for them."

Chagaouamigong.

The word Chagaouamigong (now corruptly written Che-
quamegon) is used to designate a long point of land at the
entrance of Ashland Bay, sometimes called Light-house-
Island. The Relations speak of Chagouamigong Point and
Bay. Nicolas Perrot speaks of Chagouamigong and applies
it to the whole country in the neighborhood of said point of
land.

Wm. W. Warren, who spoke Chippewa very fluently, it
being his mother-tongue, though his father was American,,
says the word means "the soft beaver-dam," and in his work
" History of the Ojibways," based upon traditions and oral
statements, Minn. Hist. Coll. vol. V, he relates an Indian
legend to explain the origin of this name. Here it is : Mena-
bosho, the great Indian demi-god, who made the earth anew
after the deluge, once was hunting the great manitou-beaver
in Lake Superior, which was but a large beaver-pond. The
beaver, flying from his powerful enemy, took refuge in Ash-
land Bay. To capture him, Menabosho built a long dam
from the south shore across the bay to La Pninte Island. In.
doing so, he would take up handfuls of the soft dirt and
throw them into the lake, and these are the Apostles Islands.
Thus the Indians explain the origin of those islands. Dam
finished, off he starts in pursuit of the great beaver. Already
he imagines that he has him cornered. But alas ! poor
Menabosho is doomed to disappointment. The beaver breaks
through the soft dam and escapes; hence the word Chagaoua-
mig or Shagawamik, in the locative case Shagawamikong,
"The soft beaver-dam."

182

Bishop Baraga, in his Chippewa-English Dictionary, gives
the verb jagawamiha and defines it: "There is a long,
shallow place in the lake, where the waves break "; the letter
"j" having the French sound of "j" in the words jour, jardin;
philologists represent this sound (j) by zh, to be pronounced
like z in azure, glazier. The French "ch" corresponds to our
English "sh" in show, short, etc. Hence the " Relations " give
ChagaoiLamigong, instead of Shagaouamigong or as it is some-
times written Shagawamikong.

The word is exclusively applied by the Indians at the
western extremity of Lake Superior to Shagawamikong Point,
near La Pointe; hence the writer thinks that it is a proper
noun, the name of a place, given to said point of land by
the Indians on account of the above-mentioned legendary
incident.

A Very Rev. Friend of ours, who is a great Indian scholar,
suggests the following explanation: The point in question
was probably first named jagawamiha. " There are long, far
extending breakers," the participle of which is jaiagawami-
kag, "where there are long breakers." But later on, the
legend of the beaver hunt (which is found in other similar
localities) being applied to the spot, the people imagined the
word amik (a beaver) to be a constituent of the compound
and changed the ending in accordance with the rules of their
language, dropping the final a in jagawamiha and using the
locative case jagawamihong, instead of the participle jaiaga-
wamikag.

Site of the old Jesuit Chapel of Fathers Allouez and
Marquette ; Picture and Vestment in La Pointe
Church.

It is very probable that the bark chapel, built by Father
Allouez in 1665, was subsequently replaced by a more solid
structure, as he informs us, that one of the objects of his
voyage to Quebec in 1667 was to procure French mechanics
to build a chapel that would be a subject of wonder to the
Indians, many of whom had never seen anything more pre-
tentious than their birch-bark wigwams. Father Allouez
failed in securing as many Frenchmen as he had intended;
it seems, however, that a few Frenchmen had remained at La

183

Pointe du Saint Esprit to trade with the Indians. Besides,
the "Relation" of 1669 says that there were already two
chapels built, one at Sault Ste. Marie and the other at La
Pointe du Saint Esprit. The word used, "bastir," seems to
imply that those chapels were something more substantial
than mere bark chapels; in all probability they were log
buildings, fixed up as nicely as possible, on the walls of which
the good Fathers hung religious pictures, which served them
so well in explaining the various mysteries of our holy faith.

But where stood this old chapel of Fathers Allouez and
Marquette? It was certainly not on Madeline (La Pointe)
Island. The "Relation" of 1667 plainly states that Father
Allouez found at the head of Chequamegon Bay (^^ChagSbonaLUii-
gong") a large village of Indians, from seven different tribes,
numbering 800 men capable of bearing arms, and that it was
there he made his ordinary abode and constructed his chapel.
Again, the "Relation" of 1660 says that at that time two
chapels had been actually built, the one at the "Sault" and
the other at "La Pointe du Saint Esprit." Now, the Jesuit
map of 1671, drawn up most probably by Marquette and
Allouez, places the mission of the Holy Ghost on the main-
land, on the Bayfield peninsula, if it may be called so, at the
head of Chequamegon Bay, near the southwest corner of
said bay, between the head of the bay and the modern town
of Washlourn. Father Marquette's map of 1674, which he
drew up after exploring the Mississippi, also places the
mission of the Holy Ghost at the head of Chequamegon Bay.

There is not a particle of truth in the notion that the old
Jesuit chapel — often called by tourists, Marquette's church —
stood on La Pointe Island, nor is any part of said structure
incorporated into the present church. The La Pointe church
is, for all that, an object worthy of veneration, as it is the
oldest catholic church in Wisconsin, dating from 1835. It
was built by Father, afterwards Bishop Baraga, at Middlefort,
near the Indian cemetery, on the south-eastern side thereof.
It was taken down in 1841 and rebuilt, much enlarged, on its
present site.

It is currently reported that there is in La Pointe church
a vestment worn by Father Marquette and left there by
him. That is another fable which we feel it our duty to ex-
plode. The vestments there were procured by Bishop Baraga
and his successors; not one of them dates from the seventeenth

184

century. As to the picture — "The takmg down of the body of
Christ from the cross" — we are not prepared to pronounce on
its origin. A vague and, as we honestly believe, unfounded
tradition ascribes it to Father Marquette. That the Father
had pictures, we know from the "Relation" of 1672, which
states that the Sioux returned him the pictures he had sent
them. No doubt the jjicture in La Pointe church is very old
and crumbled- up, as if it had been for a long time in some
Indian's medicine-bag. We incline to the opinicm that it
was brought from Europe by Bishop Baraga.

Engraved Copper-plate of Tagwagane, Indian Chief of
La Pointe ; First Arrival of the Chippewas at Sha-

GAWAMIKONG (ChEQUAMKGON).

Mr. Warren, speaking of the first arrival of thf* Chippewas
at La Pointe, says : "The Loon is the totem also of a large
clan (of the Chippewa nation). This bird is denominated by
the Ojibways ' Mang,' but the family, who claim it as their
badge, are known by the generic name of 'Ah-auh-wauh,'
which is derived by imitating its peculiar cry. This family
claim the hereditary first chieftainship in the tribe, but they
cannot substantiate their pretensions further back than their
first intercourse with the old French discoverers and traders,
who, on a certain occasion, appointed some of their principal
men as chiefs, and endowed them with flags and medals.
Strictly confined to their own primitive tribal polity, the
allegory of the Cranes (given by Chief Tagwagane in a speech
held by him at the treaty of La Pointe in 1842, and which
Warren gives elsewhere in full, in which he claims the chief-
taincy for the Crane totem) cannot be controverted, nor has it
ever been gainsaid.

" To support their claim, this family hold in their posses-
sion a circular plate of virgin copper, on which are rudely
marked indentations and hieroglyphics denoting the number
of generations of the family who have passed away since they
first pitched their lodges at Shagawamikong and took posses-
sion of the adjacent country, including the island of La Pointe
or Moningwanekaning.

" When I witnessed this curious family register in 1842, it
was exhibited by Tagwagane to my father. The old chief

185

kept it carefully buried in the ground, and seldom displayed
it. On this occasion he only brought it to view, at the entreaty
of my mother, whose maternal uncle he was. Father, mother
and the old chief, have all since gone to the land of spirits,,
and I am the only one still living who witnessed on that occa-
sion this sacred relic of former days.

" On this plate of copper were marked eight deep indenta-
tions, denoting the number of his ancestors who had passed
away since they first lighted their fire at Shagawamikong,
They had all lived to a good old age.

" By the rude figure of a man with a hat on his head, placed
opposite one of these indentations, was denoted the period,
whien the white race first made its appearance among them.
This mark occurred in the third generation, leaving five gen-
erations, which have passed away since that important era in,
their history.

"Tagwagane was about sixty years of age at the time he
showed this plate of copper, which he said descended to him
through a long line of ancestors. He died two years ago (i. e.
about 1850), and his death has added the ninth indentation
thereon; making, at this period, nine generations since the Ojibways
first resided at La Pointe, or six generations since their first
intercourse with the whites.

" From the manner in which they estimate their genera-
tions, they may be counted as comprising a little over half
the full term of years allotted to mankind, which will mate-
rially exceed the white man's generation. The Ojibwaya
never count a generation as passed away, till the oldest man
in the family has died, and the writer assumes from these,
and other facts obtained through observation and inquiry,
forty years as the term of an Indian generation. It is neces-
sary to state, however, for the benefit of those who may con-
sider this as an over-estimate, that since the introduction of
intoxicating drinks and diseases of the whites, the former
well authenticated longevity of the Indians has been materi-
ally lessened.

"According to this estimate, it is now (1852) three hundred
and sixty years since the Ojibways first collected in one grand
central town on the Island of La Pointe (about A. D. 1492),
and two hundred and forty years since they were first dis-
covered by the white race (about 1612), and seventy-seven
years after Jacques Cartier, representing the French nation,

186

obtained his first formal meeting with the Indians of the inte-
rior of Canada (in 1535), and fifty -six years (1668 — Warren's
mistake) before Claude Allouez (as mentioned in Bancroft's
History of America) first discovered the Ojibways (?) congre-
gated in the Bay of Shagawamikong, preparing to go on a
war excursion against their enemies, the Dacotah.

" From this period the Ojibways are traditionally well pos-
sessed of the most important events which have happened
to them as a tribe, and from nine generations back, I am
prepared to give, as obtained from their most veracious, reli-
able and oldest men, their history, which may be considered
authentic." (Minn. Hist. Coll., vol. V.)

Silver Ceucifix found at Bad River.

" The circumstance also is worthy of mention, that a few
years ago (this was written in 1852) an old Indian woman
dug up an antique silver crucifix in her garden at Bad River
(Odanah), near La Pointe, after it had been deeply ploughed.
This discovery was made under my own observation, and I
recollect at the time it created quite a little excitement
among the good Catholics of La Pointe, who insisted that the
great Spirit had given this as a token for the old woman to
join the church. The crucifix was found about two feet from
the surface of the ground, composed of pure silver, about
three inches long and size in proportion. It has since been
buried at Gull Lake, in the grave of a favorite grandchild of
the Indian woman, to whom she had given it as a plaything."
(Wm. W. Warren in Minn. Hist. Coll., vol. V, p. 117.)

Perhaps this crucifix was given by Father Allouez or Mar-
quette to some Christian chief or man of distinction and
buried with him.

Beautiful Silver Monstrance found in Depere in 1802.

We copy the following article from the " Wisconsin State
JournaV of 1878, written by J. D. Butler :

" Sixteen hundred and eighty-one is the date of the oldest
tombstone at Plymouth on the hill above the rock where the
Pilgrim fathers landed. Wisconsin has a relic as old wanting

187

five years, attesting the presence of European settlers within
her borders. It is a memorial as indubitably genuine as the
Massachusetts gravestone, and more wonderful for many
reasons.

" This curiosity by a strange good fortune stands before me
as I write. It is a silver ornament fifteen inches high and
elaborately wrought. A standard nine inches high supports
a radiated circlet closed with glass on both sides and sur-
mounted with a cross. This glass case, accessible by a wicket,
was intended to contain the sacramental wafer (the sacred
host) when exhibited for popular veneration. The sacred
utensil is called a '^soleil,^' as resembling in shape the solar
orb, and also a " mmistrance " and an " ostensorium,'^ because
used to demonstrate or ostentate the holy host-

" The antiquity of the relic before me is beyond doubt or
cavil. Around the rim of its oval base I read the following
inscription, in letters every one of which, though rude, is per-
fectly legible :

t Cb SOLEIL a ESTE DONNE PAR Mr. NiCOLAS PeRROT A LA

Mission de St. Francois Xavier en la Baye des Puants, t
1686.

That is in English : "This salary was presented by Mr.
Nicolas Perrot to the mission of Saint Francis Xavier at Green
Bay in the year 1686."

" A lawyer full of skeptical suggestions, like the Satanic
toad squatting at the ear of Eve, whispers that this inscrip-
tion might be cut in our time as easily as two centuries ago.
So, too, it were as easy to write his legal documents, if forged,
^s if genuine, — yet he believes in them.

" The ostensorium was sent to me by the Bishop of Green
Bay. The inscription on it was printed by Shea, "History
.of Catholic Missions" in 1855. But the shrine on which it is
engraved had been plowed up fifty-three years before, at De-
pere, in 1802. Such is the Catholic tradition, which we have
no reason to distrust.

" Regarding Perrot, the donor of the ostensory, little was
Iknown where it was unearthed. But it is now ascertained
that he was traversing the northwest in 1663 and for a quarter
of a century thereafter. He was the earliest and ablest of
those French agents sent west of Lake Michigan to gather up
fragments of nations scattered by the Iroquois, and con-
federate them under French leadership against those invet-

188

erate foes of France. His adventures, largely in Wisconsin^
he wrote out, not for publication, but for the information of
Canadian governors ("Memoire"). These memoirs, laid up
in Parisian archives, were never printed till 1864, and remain
to this day untranslated. The date on the ostensory tallies
with the period when he was Governor of Green Bay and all
the Northwest. Such a present was in keeping with his
devotional proclivities, his fondness for the missionaries, and
his desire to make his favor for those apostles manifest to
Indian converts.

" The mission at Depere — five miles above Green Bay —
was the oldest west of Lake Michigan, except that at La
Pointe. It was established sixteen years before the date of
Perrot's present, that is in 1670. The first chapel was prob-
ably a bark wigwam, hut in 1676 a fine church was erected
through the efforts of Father Charles Albanel. The same
year Father Silvy reported as baptized at that station thirty-
six adults and one hundred and twenty -six children. But
within a twelve-month after the benefaction of Perrot, the
Depere church was burned by pagan Indians. It is natural
to suppose that at the first alarm the ostensory was buried in
the earth by its guardians, who sought to save it from sacri-
legious hands, and who succeeded so well that they were
never able to recover it themselves. The earth of Depere was
a sort of Pompeii, sealing up in secrecy and safety a witne?&
who stood much nearer the cradle of our history than Pom-
peii to that of Italy.

" A fac simile of the marvelous monstrance has been taken
of iife-size by our photographic artist, Mr. Jones, and will
soon be exhibited in the halls of the Historical Society. The
original I restore to the Bishop of Green Bay, F. X. Kraut-
bauer, who keeps it in his vault. On Christmas night'
(should read, Holy Saturday night), 1834 (should read, 1838),
it was stolen from the church by some drunken soldiers
from Fort Howard, but recovered the next day. It was after-
wards carried to France and brought back only a few years-
ago. Its weight is a trifle over twenty ounces, and the re-
pousse work, rayonnant and flamboyant, attest that it must
have been manufactured in France itself, — just as the rude-
ness of the lettering bears witness of a Green Bay provincial
goldsmith. An odd bit of proof has fallen in my way that
the soleil is at least seven years older than 1686, the date of:

189

its consecration to the mission. It is this : In 1679 Louis
XIV. issued a decree that every soleil should have a mark
and countermark stamped on its oval base. The soleil now
l)efore me bears no such stamp. Either, therefore, it is older
than 1679, or through pious fraud it evaded the royal order.
"The base was broken from the standard by the plow, but the
fracture was well repaired.

" There are four memorials older than the ostensorium of
Perrot, proving the presence of white men in Wisconsin, —
but they are all treasured far beyond its borders, and I fear
will be for a long time. One is the original manuscript of
Marquette, detailing his journey across Wisconsin and down
the Mississippi, which was written at Green Bay in the win-
ter of 1673-4. This writing is in the college of St. Mary at
Montreal. The second memorial is Joliet's notes on the same
journey, written on his return to France in 1674, and pre-
served in the seminary of St. Sulpice at Paris. The other
two are maps, both preserved in Parisian archives, one is of
Lake Superior, drawn up in 1671; the other dating from 1679,
"shows the Messipi from 49° to 42°, where the Misconsing
comes in," according to an inscription upon it.

" Fragments of French arms and other metallic, glass or
•earthern articles doubtless exist in the northwest, that are
older than the sacred silver relic of Perrot. But none known
to me can be proved of so great antiquity, for none of them
can bear dates that are tell-tales of their age. In Ottawa I
«aw a bronze cross picked up at the foot of Starved Rock, and
called Marquette's; but it bears no date. There is another
of silver that was found at Green Bay and presented long ago
to our State Historical Society'', but how old it is no one
knows, or can know.

" Some other dated native offering to the La Pointe or
•Green Bay missions even before 1686 may possibly come to
light, but aside from such an improbable windfall, it seems
impossible that any antiquarian discovery this side of the
prehistoric period, either in Wisconsin, or, indeed, out of it,
in all the length and breadth of the Mississippi valley, can
ever be made that shall rival, as a work of art, as a religious
Telic, and above all as a historical memorial, the silver osten-
sorium of Nicolas Perrot. With good reason, then, has Wis-

190

consin fostered her Historical Society till it is preeminent
throughout the West. It had the most precious memorial
to enshrine. J. D. Butler.

Madison, July 22, 1878.

Silver Monstrance of Father Allouez.

" An Indian with the name of "Kiskirinanso, i. e. Chopped
Buffalo," of the tribe of Maskoutin, a war-chief renowned
among his people, says that in a small river to which he will
conduct me, he had found a lot of white metal, a piece of
which, he says, he gave to Father Allouez, and that Brother
Charles, a goldsmith who resided at the Bay of the Puants
(Green Bay), had worked it and made thereof a soleil (mon-
strance, ostensory), in which the holy bread is put; this is the
silver monstrance which the same Brother made there; that
Father Allouez had given him in reward some goods and told
him to keep this thing secret, as it (the while metal) was a
manitou, i. e. a spirit that is not dead." (La Salle's letter, in
Margry, vol. II, p. 178-9.)

N. B. — The writer has translated the above from a slip of
paper written in German, which Rev. N. Kersten, Green Bay^
kindly sent him.

Curious Ancient Medal dug up at Fort Howard.

" While the first colonists of Massachusetts, Manhattan and

Virginia were struggling to make good their settlements on
the coast, a bold Frenchman, Nicolet, was exploring Green
Bay and the river entering into it. As early as 1669 the
Jesuit Father, Allouez, began to announce Christianity to the
Sacs and Foxes, Winnebagoes and Pottawatamies, around
that bay. These missions continued for more that a cen-
tury (?) and the plow and spade in our day frequently turn
up some evidence of the labors of these early clergymen.

" Some years since, a silver monstrance was tound near
Green Bay, the inscription on it showing that it had been
presented in 1684 (?) to the chapel there, by Nicolas Perrot,
a man who bore a conspicuous part in the French explora-
tion and development of the West.

191

" May, 1878, Patrick McCabe, a railroad laborer of Depere,
a spot five miles from Green Bay, which in its name recalls
the early missionaries, while digging out gravel for the rail-
road, near the site where the American Fort Howard was
built years ago, so long indeed that no trace of it remains,
found a curious old medal of which we give a picture.

" It is one evidently struck in Italy, as indicated by the
word 'Roma,' and by the whole style of the workmanship.
It was struck for use by the Jesuits, a fact which may not
appear at once, but is proved by the fact that on the little
. orb surrounded by cherubs is the arms of the Society of Jesus,
the letters I. H. S., surmounted by a cross, with the three
nails beneath it.

" Without the nails, it is a common Roman Catholic sym-
bol, but with that addition it is the special insignia of the
Jesuits, a fact which architects a,nd glass-stainers ought to
know, for it is rather odd to find a Protestant church some-
times with what unintentionally declares it to be Jesuit
property.

" The workmanship of the medal is apparently not later
than the seventeeth century, and has the look of having been
moulded and cast from one struck by a die. This is not
impossible, and it may be a specimen of early western metal
work. The Jesuits had lay -brothers and donnes, at Sault Ste.
Marie and Green Bay, who were smiths, and we know that
one at the Sault used to go up Lake Superior to get native
copper, with which he manufactured crucifixes, etc., for the
use of the missionaries. He would naturally take molds of
any such articles as he could find and reproduce them. The
missions lasted at Green Bay till about 1729, and were visited
subsequently at intervals.

" The medal, lost probably more than a oentury ago by a
missionary or one of his dusky converts, bears on one side
the figure of the Blessed Virgin, standing on the moon, her
head encircled by stars, with two cherubs, and the inscrip-
tion : B. Virgo sine Pecc(ato) origiQaali) conc^epta) — " Blessed
Virgin conceived without original sin" — and on the reverse
an orb with the monogram as described, and two kneeling
angels, with the legend : "/Sw l{odato) il S. S. Sacramento'''^
— " Blessed be the most Holy Sacrament."

192

" The medal has excited no little interest, and has been
kindly sent to us by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Krautbauer, Roman
Catholic Bishop of Green Bay." (John Gilmary Shea.)

Copper Crucifix pound in Depere.

A crucifix of copper, supposed to have been worked by a
Jesuit lay-brother under Father Allouez after 1670, has been
found in Depere together with two Indian skulls and a stone
pipe, July 7th, 1879.

Indian Customs of Lake Superior Country.

Indian Superstitions; Demon- Worship; Religious Rites
AND Ceremonies; from Perrot's "Memoire." ^

" It cannot be asserted that (pagan) Indians profess any
doctrine; it is certain that they do not follow, so to say, any
Teligion. They only observe some Jewish customs; for they
have certain feasts at which they do not make use of a knife
to cut the meats that have been boiled, but tear and devour
them with their teeth. Their women also, when they have
given birth to a child, have the custom of not entering for
one month the cabin of their husbands; they are not even
allowed during all that time to eat with the men nor to par-
take of anything prepared by them. For this reason they
do their cooking apart."

"As their principal divinities, Indians acknowledge the
Great Hare, the Sun, and Demons; I mean those who have
not been converted. They invoke most frequently the Great
Hare, as they . venerate and adore him as the creator of the
«arth; also the Sun, as the author of light. But they also
put the wicked spirit among the number of their gods, and,
if they invoke them, it is because they fear them and in the
invocation, which they make to them, they beg of them life.
Those among the Indians whom the French call jugglers
(medicine-men), speak to the devil, whom they consult in re-
gard to war and the chase."

" They have, besides, many other divinities to whom they
pray and who, they claim, reside in the air, on the land, and
beneath the earth. The gods of the air are thunder, light-
ning, and in general all visible objects that they cannot com-
prehend, for instance, the moon, eclipses and whirlwinds.

1 Perrot's "Memoire," pp. 12, 13, 19, 30, 21.

194 .

The gods of the land consist in mahgnant and injurious
creatures, especially serpents, tigers, and other animals or
birds with animal-like claws. They also comprise under this
head such animals as are extraordinary in their kind for
beauty or deformity. The gods beneath the earth, are bears,
who pass the entire winter Avithout eating, nourishing them-
selves only from the substance which they extract from their
navel (umbilicus) sucking. They have a similar regard for
such animals as live in caves or holes under ground, whom
they invoke when they have dreamt of them in their sleep."

" For such like invocations, they get up a feast consisting of
eatables or tobacco, to which the sachems are invited, and
the host declares in their presence the dream he had. They
do this whenever they offer up a sacrifice feast in honor of
the Manitou, of whom they dreamed. At such feasts one of
the headmen makes a speech, and naming the creature to
which the feast is vowed, he addresses it in the following
words : " Be merciful to him who offers thee these viands" —
naming each kind of meat that is being offered. " Have pity
on his family; grant him all he needs !" All present answer
in chorus "0! 0'' several times until the prayer is finished.
This "0!" means the same with them as ''Amen" with us.
There are some who at such feasts oblige the guests to eat
all there is; others again do not oblige you to do so; you.
may eat what you like and take the rest home."

" They honor the Great Tiger, as the god of the water,,
whom the Algonquins and others speaking the same language
call Michipissy^ They tell you that this Michipissy lives
in a very hollow cave; that he has a large tail, which excites
great winds whenever he moves it in going to drink; but
when he wiggles it lively, it causes great tempests. On the
voyages they are obliged to make, be they long or short, they
invoke him in the following manner: "Thou who art the
master of the winds favor our voyage and give us calm
weather." This they say while smoking a pipe of tobacco,
the smoke of which they blow up into the air. However,
before undertaking somewhat long voyages, they are sure to
tomahawk some dogs, whom they hang up on some tree or
pole. Oftentimes also they vow to the sun, or lake, dressed

I The same Manitou, called by Father AUouez (Relation of 1667) "Missibizi."
Bishop Baraga spells the word Mishibiji (pron. mee-shee-be-zhee) and defines
it, a lion.

195

skins of elk, hinds, or bucks, in order to obtain good weather;-
If in winter they have to make a voyage on the ice, they in-
voke for this purpose a certain spirit, called by the Algon-
quins Mateomek, to whom they offer the smoke of tobacco,,
praying him to be propitious and favorable to them on their
journey. But this devotion is practiced with considerable
carelessness, the little fervor they have then not nearly
approaching that which they have on solemn feasts."

"The Nepissings, otherwise also called Nepissiniens, the-
Amikouas, and all tribes allied to them assert that the Ami-
kouas, which means. Offspring of the Beaver, derive their origin
from the carcass of the Great Beaver, whence came forth the
first man of that tribe. They say that this beaver left Lake
Huron and entered a certain river called French River.
When water was beginning to fail, he constructed some dams-
in said river, which are now rapids and portages. When he
came to the river which rises in Lake Nepissing, he crossed
over and followed several other rivulets and creeks, which he
passed. He then came to the river, which issues from
Outenulkame, where he went to work again and constructed
dams in those places, where he did not find enough water.
These are now the roads and rapids where a person is obliged
to make portages. Having thus spent several years in his-
voyages, he resolved to people the earth with children whom
he left there, and who multiplied wherever he had passed in
penetrating the creeks which he had discovered on his way.
Finally he arrived below the calumets, where for the last time
he made some dams. Turning back on his tracks, he saw
that he had formed a beautiful lake (Lake Superior) and
there he died. They believe that he is buried north of the
lake, towards a place where the mountain resembles the
shape of a beaver, and that his tomb is there, and for this
reason they call it "The place where reposes the slain
Beaver." When Indians pass by there they invoke him and
blow smoke (from their pipes) into the air to honor his
memory and to beg of him to be favorable to them on the
voyage they have to undertake. If a stranger or some poor
widow in want, residing near these Amikouas, or near some
one of their family, happen to see a branch corroded by
some beaver during night, the first one who finds it at the
entrance of his tent, picks it up and carries it to the master
of the family, who immediately causes a collection of victuals.

196

to be made for this poor person, because he is mindful of
their ancestors, and the people of that village club together
with a good will to make a present to him who has done
them the honor of reminding them of their origin (namely,
that they are descended from the Great Beaver). They do
not practice these things among the French, as they ridiculed
both them and their superstition."

Indian Feast and War Dance, from Perrot's
" Memoire."^

" There are other feasts in use among the Indians, in which
a certain kind of adoration is practiced, in consecrating to the
pretended divinity not only the meats of the feast, but also
exhibiting at his feet the contents of a leather bag, which
they call ''the war bag," or in their language, their "Pindi-
kossan" (Baraga, Pindjigossan^), which contains the skins of
owls, snakes, white birds, parrots, magpies and other very
rare animals. They have also in those bags roots or powders,
to be used as medicines (hence the name, medicine-bag).
Before the feast they always fast, without either eating or
drinking, until they have had a dream. During this fast
they blacken their face, shoulders and breast with coal; they
smoke, however. Some are said to have fasted twelve con-
secutive days — which seems incredible — and others less. If
they dream of a divinity residing on or under the ground,
they continue to blacken themselves, as has been said, with
■coals; but if they dream of the great hare or of the spirits of
the air, they wash themselves and then besmear themselves
with black earth; from that very evening they begin the
solemnity of the feast.

" The author of the feast invites two companions to assist
him at the feast and they have to sing with him in order to
propitiate the divinity of which they have dreamt, and for
which the ceremony is intended. Formerly, when they had

1 "Memoire," pp. 14-19.

2 W. W. Warren (Minn. Hist. Coll., vol. V, p. 68) says: "The Ojibway pin-
jig-o-saun, or as we term It, "medicine bag-," contains all he holds most sacred;
it is preserved with great care, and seldom ever allowed a place in the com-
mon wigwam, but is generally left hanging in the open air on a tree, where
even an ignorant child dare not touch it. Its contents are never displayed

'Without much ceremony."

197

no guns, they used to make as many proclamations (public
invitations to the feast) as there were large kettles on the fire
for boiling the different meats. Then the author of the feast
begins to sing with his two assistants, who are daubed with
vermilion or a tincture of red. This song is solely sang in
honor of the divinity of which he dreamed, for each creature,,
animate and inanimate, has its own peculiar song (by which
it is to be honored, praised, and invoked). They continue
singing during that night all those songs that are sang in
honor of other imaginary deities, until all the guests are
assembled. All the guests being assembled the feast-giver
begins to intone alone the song which belongs to the god of
whom he dreamed.

"The feast consists of dog meat, as the flesh of a dog is
considered as the best and most highly prized of all meats.
They add several other kinds of meat, for instance, that of
the bear, elk, or of some other large animal; if they have none
they supply the deficiency with Indian corn seasoned with
fat, which they pour upon the plate of each guest. You will
take notice that, to render this feast solemn, there must be
a dog, whose head is presented to the principal war chief;,
the other parts of the animal are distributed among the war-
riors. When the meat is boiled they take the kettles oflf* the
fire and a herald makes public proclamation in the village to
let people know that the feast is ready and that now every-
one may come. The men are allowed to come with their arms
and the old men each with his plate. They are not ceremo-
nious as to place, sitting promiscuously, without order^
wherever they like; strangers are as welcome as the inhabi-
tants of the place, they are even served the first and are given
the best things of the feast.

" When everyone is seated at his place the author of this
ceremony, who always remains standing, assisted by his two
companions, his wife and children having seated themselves
on both sides of him ornamented with their best trinkets,
and his two companions armed like himself with a javelin or
a quiver of arrows, raises at first his voice so as to make him-
self understood by all present, saying that he offers these
viands in sacrifice to such a manitou, naming him, and that
it is to him he offers them. These are the words he uses :
" I adore and invoke thee that thou mayest be favorable to
me in the enterprise I have on hand, and that thou mayest

198

iiave pity on me and my whole family. I invoke all the had
and good spirits, all those who are in the air, on the earth, and
underneath, that they may preserve me and my party, and
that we may be able to return, after a happy voyage, to our
country." Then all present answer in chorus, "0 ! 0 !" These
kinds of feasts are generally only got up on an occasion of
war or some other enterprise against their personal enemies.
If a Frenchman happens to be present, they do not say, " I
invoke the bad spirits^'; they pretend to invoke only the good
manitous. The words they use in these invocations are so
peculiar, that only they themselves can understand them.
They usually have recourse to those spirits, whom they
imagine to be the most ]30werful and who can be more pro-
pitious to them than others. They even imagine that they
cannot escape the accidents that may happen to them on the
part of their enemies, or other misfortunes, if they have
omitted these invocations.

" The master of the feast, having finished his invocations
in the posture above described, with his bow and quiver of
arrows, his javelin or dagger, assumes a most furious look,
entones his war song, and at each syllable that he pronounces
makes most horrible contortions of head and body, the most
terrible that can be seen. All this, however, is done accord-
ing to a certain rising and falling inflection of the voice; for
both the voice and the body accord at the same instant with
the demonstrations of his enmity, which show that his
courage grows stronger more and more, walking always ac-
cording to the tunes and inflections of his song from one end
of the place to the other, where the feasting is going on.
Thus he goes back and forward several times continuing his
gesticulations, and when he passes before the guests, who are
seated on the ground on both sides facing each other, they
answer his war-song without discord, shouting in one voice,
" Ouiy ! Ouiy !" from thfi bottom of their throat. But the
most agreeable thing in their inflections occurs when in cer-
tain parts of his song he pronounces two or three syllables a
great deal faster than the rest; when this occurs, all present
do the same, answering " Ouiy !" quicker, observing the tempo
which the cadence requires. This is observed so regularly,
that out of five hundred assembled not one is found to fail
therein.

199

" All the women, children, and in general all in the village
-who were not invited to the feast, go there of themselves, in
order to be spectators of the solemnity. They lose eating
: and drinking, and often abandon their wigwams, which they
thus leave exposed to be plundered by other Indians who
-are naturally prone to stealing.

" After the master of the feast has got through walking and
singing, he assumes the same posture he had heretofore.
One of his companions now takes his place and enacts the
same drama, which he saw performed a moment ago, and
after he gets through, he joins the master of the feast. The
other assistant also chants in his turn, and after him all the
guests, one after another, and they endeavor to outdo one
another in assuming most furious appearances. While sing-
ing, some fill their plates with hot ashes and burning coals,
which they throw upon the spectators who vociferate in
chorus with a very strong, but slow voice, " Ouiy !" Other
seize fire-brands and throw them up into the air ; others,
again, act as if they were going to tomahawk the spectators.
These last are obliged to repair the afiront, offered to him
whom the}^ feigned to strike, by making him a present of
vermilion, knife, or some other object of like value. Only
such warriors as have slain or captured an enemy are
allowed to act in this manner. These feints signify that it is
thus that he slew the enemy. But were he not to give some-
thing to him whom he might chance to address in the
company, the latter would tell him before all present that
he was a liar and never capable of slaying anybody, which
then would cover him with shame.

" During the singing of these songs they show themselves
haughty, intrepid, and ready to overcome all dangers such
as they hav.e heretofore met with in those places where they
have been in war. When they stop singing at certain inter-
vals, all present cry out in chorus: " Ouiy !" After that they
continue to chant, one after another, each in his turn, some-
times three or four together. When doing so, they station
themselves one at each end and one in the middle of the
place where the feast is going on ; and, walking from one
end of the cabin to the other, they meet without losing a
single note of their song, nor changing the contortions of
their face and body, although they sing difierent songs with
-difierent gestures. The guests follow the singing and answer

200

in their turn whenever the dancers pass before them. It
must be remarked that each man has his own peculiar song^
neither can anyone chant his comrade's song without insult-
ing him, which affront would draw a blow of the tomahawk
on the head of him who had thus sung the war-song of
another, that being the greatest insult that a person could
offer him in an assembly where he is present. This war-
song of his cannot be sang even after his death on days of
solemnity, unless by those of his family who bear his name.
On ordinary days, when no feast is being celebrated, it is
lawful to sing it in his presence, provided the singer is not
sitting at the time and that he knows that the owner of the
song pretends to ignore it to be his.

" When all present have chanted, those who have been
chosen to wait upon the guests first take the plates of the
strangers which they fill and place before them. They then
wait upon their chiefs. When waiting upon the chiefs and
the strangers, they give them the best they have at the feast.
They deal out portions to the other guests indiscriminately,
without making any distinction, aJl of whom are sitting on the
ground, which serves them for a table, and there they hold
the plate, brought along, between their legs. Above all,,
everyone must come provided with his own plate; otherwise
he would not get his share. Hence they never fail in this,
the Indian being naturally too gluttonous to forget on an
occasion like this to fill well his belly.

"When they have determined to make a general march
into their enemies' country, or to form small war-parties, the
leader makes a feast such as has just been described. Those
who feel inclined to go with him, meet there to be enrolled
with him, for he would not be accompanied by a^ single per-
son if he had not first feasted them. The march is conducted
according to his orders. As long as it lasts, the leader has
his face, shoulders and breast blackened with earth or coal.
He is also very careful to chant every morning when start-
ing his death-song without ever failing in it until he is out of
danger, or has returned to his village, where he makes again
a feast in case no evil happened him, in order to thank the
spirit who has been favorable to him on his journey. To
this feast are invited the chiefs of the village and those who
accompanied him in his enterprise."

201

Indian Mareiages.^

" There are some Indian tribes where people marry to live-
together until death, and there are others where the married
separate whenever they like.^ The Iroquois, the Loups
(Mohikans, Mohegans), and some other tribes follow the last-
named custom; but the Ottawas (Outaouas) marry to live
with their wives all their life, unless a very strong reason
causes the husband to repudiate his wife. For without such
a reason the husband would be exposed to the danger of
being plundered by his wife and of suffering thousand in-
dignities at her hands, for the woman, whom he had aban-
doned to marry another, would put herself at the head of
her relatives and take from him what he had with him and
what could be found in his lodge ; she might pull his hair
and scratch his face, and, in one word, there is no indignity
or affront which she could not heap upon him and which she
would be justified in inflicting on him, and that without his
being able to prevent her, unless he would be willing to be-
come the scorn of the village. In case such a husband does
not marry somebody else, the woman he has deserted may
plunder him when returning from the chase or traffic, leav-
ing him but his arms, and even these she at last takes from
him, should he still refuse to return to her. But if he can.
prove that she was unfaithful to him before, or even after
leaving her, he can marry someone else without her being
able to complain of it. The wife on her part cannot leave
her husband, because he is her master, as he has bought her
and paid for her. Even her folks cannot take her away from
him, and if she leave him, custom authorizes him to kill
her without hinderance. This has many a time caused war
between families, who were determined to uphold the right
of the husband (in slaying his wife) when she would not
consent to return to him.

1 "Memoire," pp. 32, 33.

3 ■ The writer is not aware of any particular marriage ceremony among-
our paRaa Chippewas. They simply come and live together for life, or as
long as they can agree. They tiave very loose notions in regard to matri-
mony, and for very slip:ht reasons part and marry somebody else. Polygamy
is very rare, but divorces and adulterous marriages are freguent. They
marry without much consideration and readily abandon one another. Even
among the Christians the standard of morality is very low in many places,
especially where they come in frequent contact with the irreligious, impure
and materialistic civilization of this country. Invalid marriages are, nine
cases out of ten, the cause of apostasy on the part of Christian Indians.

202

" The Iroquois, the Loups, and some other tribes, do not
act like the Ottawas towards their wives; still there are some
who never part, and who during life love each other solely.
But the far greater number, especially the young, only marry
to leave one another whenever they think proper. They will
each take a woman during a voyage of hunting or of traffick-
ing and divide with her one-half of the profit they may have
made. A man can even make a bargain with a woman as to
what he will give her for the time he intends to keep her,
with the understanding that she is to be faithful to him; after
having made the yoyage she can leave him again. Still there
are some to be found who mutually love each other and who
always remain united, especially such as have had children
together, which children, according to Indian custom, belong
to the mother, as they always live with her, that is males,
until they are able to get married, and girls until their
mother's death. Should the father of a family abandon his
wife, the children he had by her, when grown up, would treat
him with contempt and heap reproaches on him for having
abandoned them in their infancy, having left to their mother
the care and trouble of raising them."

On the Manner in which the Indians op the Lake Supe-
BiOR Country conducted their Funeral Ceremonies.^

" When an Ottawa or other Indian is about to die, they
bedeck him with the most beautiful trinkets his folks have,
I mean his parents and relatives. They arrange his hair and
paint it with red paint mixed with grease. They also daub
his body and face with vermilion, and put a shirt on him of
the nicest kind, if there be any on hand. He is clothed with
a jacket and blanket of the richest kind — in one word, he is
dressed as gaudily as if he were to give a great feast. They
carefully adorn the place where he lies with strings of beads,
circlets (of fancy stuffs) and other gewgaws. His arms are at
his side, and at his feet, generally, all that he used in war
during life. All his relatives and especially the medicine-men
are about him.

1 "Memoire," pp. 33—36.

203

"^^ When the sick man appears to be in his agony and on the
point of expiring, his female relatives, and others who have
heen hired for the purpose, begin to cry, singing mournful
■songs in which mention is made of the degree of relationship
between them and the dying man. But whenever he seems
to revive and regain his senses they cease to cry, commencing,
however, their wails and lamentations over again as often as
ihe sick man falls into convulsions or gets weak spells.

" When he is dead or a moment before expiring, they place
him in a sitting position as if he were still alive, his back
being supported: I will say here, en passant, that I have seen
•some whose death-agony lasted for more than twenty-four
hours, and who made terrible grimaces and contortions, their
eyes rolling in the most horrible manner. You would have
believed that the soul of the dying man saw and noticed some
■enemy, although he was senseless and almost dead. The dead
remain in a sitting position till the next day and are kept in
this posture by their relatives and friends who come to see
them. They are also assisted from time to time by an old
woman who places herself before the female relatives of the
■deceased there present; shedding hot tears she begins a lugu-
brious song, all the other women joining in, and whenever
she stops singing they do the same. They then offer her a
piece of meat or a plate of grain, or something else.

" As to the men, they do not weep, that being considered
unworthy of them. Only the father of the deceased evinces
by his mournful song that there is nothing in the world that
-can console him for the loss of his son. A brother does tbe
same for an elder brother, if he has received from him during
-life sensible tokens of tenderness and friendship. He disrobes,
daubs his face with coal and red streaks. He has his bow and
a,rrow in hand as if he meant to attack the first man he
would meet. Chanting a song in a most furious manner, he
runs like a madman through the place, streets, and wigwams
•of the village without shedding a single tear, showing to all
who meet him how great is the sorrow he feels at the loss of
his brother. This moves the hearts of his neighbors to com-
passion and engages them to make up among themselves a
present for the deceased, declaring in the harangue that
accompanies it that this present is given to dry the tears of
the dead man's relatives, and that the mat which they give
iim is intended for him to repose on (in the land of spirits) ;

204

if the gift consists of bark (birch-bark), they say it is intended
to preserve his body from the injurious effects of the weather
(rain, snow).

"When they are about to bury the body, they go for the
persons chosen for this function. They erect a scaffold from
seven to eight feet high, which is used instead of a grave, and
on it the body is placed. If he is to be buried in the ground,
they dig for him a grave of only four or five feet. During
all this time the family despoil themselves bringing him
grain (corn, wild rice), furs or other merchandise to be placed
on the scaffold or near his grave. This done, they carry there
the body in the same posture he had when dying, and with
the same ornaments (he wore at that time). He has his arms
near him and all that had been placed at his feet before dying.

"After the funeral ceremonies are over, and the body buried
they richly pay those who have buried him, giving them a
kettle or some strings of beads for their trouble.

"All the people of the village are obliged to assist at the
funeral. The whole being concluded, a certain man presents
himself amongst them holding in his hand a small green stick
of the thickness of a thumb and about four fingers in length.
This he throws into the midst of the crowd. The great point
now is to catch the green stick; if it falls on the ground, every
one scrambles for it and tries to pick it up, pushing and pull-
ing one another with so great violence that in less than half
an hour it has passed through the kands of all those present.
If finally some one of the crowd has managed to possess him-
self of it and shows it without it being taken from him, he
sells it at a fixed price to the first person who wants to buy
it. The price will often be a kettle, gun or blanket. The
guests are then told to meet again for a similar ceremony, the
day being appointed; this is done several times, as I have said.

"After this game, a proclamation is made that there will be
another prize for the best runner among the young men. The
race course is indicated from the place whence they are to
start until the spot where it is said they aire to arrive. All
the young men dress and form a long line in an open field.
At the first shout of the man appointed .for that office, they
start to run for some distance from the village and the first,
one who arrives at the other end bears off the prize.

" Some days afterwards the jmrents of the deceased get up
a feast consisting of meat, corn and wild rice, to which all

205

those of the village are invited who are not their relatives
and who descend from families different from theirs (i. e. not
having the same totemic mark). Those also are invited, and
that especially, who have made presents to the deceased.
They invite to it strangers from other villages, if any such
happen to be present, and they inform their guests that it is
the deceased who gives them this feast. Should the feast
consist of meat, they will take a piece and this has to be
carried to the grave and placed on it; they do the same with
other kinds of food. Women, girls and children are allowed
to eat these things (placed on the grave) but not grown up
men, for they are to look upon this as unworthy of them.
At this feast every one is at liberty to eat what he likes and
to take the rest home. They make considerable presents in
merchandise to all those strangers who previously have done
the same to the deceased, but those of their own tribe receive
nothing. They are then thanked for having remembered the
deceased and congratulated on their charitableness."

The Manner in which Indians Conduct the Grand Feast
OF THE Dead.^

^' When Indians intend to have a feast in honor of their
dead they carefully make the necessary arrangements before-
hand. Returning home from their traffic with the Europeans
they bring along with them such articles as are suitable for
this purpose and at home provide themselves with meat,
grain, furs and other things. At their return from the chase
the whole village meets to solemnize this feast. When once
they had decided to celebrate the feast of the dead, they send
deputies of their peoj)le to all the neighboring villages near
by (and far away) some of them more than a hundred leagues
distant, to invite them to assist at the coming feast, telling
them the time fixed for said celebration. A great many
people of the so invited villages start then, each canoe hold-
ing several persons; they make a small collection of goods
among themselves in order to make thereof a present in
common to the village which has invited them . Those who
have invited them prepare for their coming a large cabin,

1 "Memoire," p. 3T-40.

206

very strong and well covered, in order to receive and lodge-
all those whom they are expecting."

"As soon as all have arrived, the different tribes stand^
separated one from the other, in the center of the large cabin-
Being thus assembled, they make their presents and give
away what they have, saying, that they have just been
invited to render homage to the remains of the dead of the
village and to their memory. Immediately they begin to
dance to the sound of a drum and of a gourd, in which are
small holes which constantly give out the same tune. They
dance from one end of the cabin to the other, one behind
the other in single file, moving around the three fir or other
trees planted there. While the dancing is going on, some
are busy in the kitchen cooking. Dogs are killed and boiled
with other meats, all of which have been diligently prepared.
When all is ready, the guests are made to rest a while, and
the dance being now stopped, the repast is served up.

"I have forgotten to remark that as soon as the dance
stops, the presents which the guests have made and all their
effects are removed. Their hosts give them other presents
of greater value in exchange. In case they have lately re-
turned from trafficking with Europeans, the presents they give
will consist of shirts, head-gear, stockings, new blankets, or
some paints and vermilion, though the guests have brought
but old articles, perhaps green hides, furs of beaver, of wild
cats, bears, or some other animal.

" When those invited frora other villages arrive, the same
is done at each new arrival (of guests) and the same re-
ception is given to the people of each village. When all are
assembled they get them to dance three days in succession^
during which one of those who called them to the feast in-
vites twenty persons, more or less, to a feast at his place, and
then a certain number are chosen from each tribe and de-
tached from the rest of the tribe, who keep on dancing. But
instead of serving them with victuals at this feast, they give
them presents, such as kettles, hatchets, and other articles;
nothing, however, to eat. These presents then become the
common property of the tribe; should they consist in articles
of food, they may eat them at once, which they do very
readil}^, for they are never wanting in appetite. Another will
do the same in regard to the other dancers; they will be in-
vited to come to his lodge (to receive presents). Thus they

207

treat their guests till all of the village have given in their
turn such kind of donation feasts. During the three days
that the dance lasts they squander all they have in the line
of merchandise or other goods and reduce themselves to ex-
treme poverty, and that to such an extent that they do not
keep for themselves even a hatchet or knife. Oftentimes all
the}'- keep is but an old kettle for their use. Their intention
in making these donations is to render the souls of the de-
parted more happy and honored in the land of the dead, for
they believe that they are under a strict obligation to comply
with all that is observed at funeral obsequies, and that only
such kinds of donations can give repose to the departed. It
is customary with them to give all they have without reserve
at funeral ceremonies and other superstitious performances.
Some of those who have imbibed the milk of religion (be-
come Christians) have not entirely abandoned these kind of
customs, and with the body they bury all that belonged to
the deceased during life. Such feasts of the dead were for-
merly celebrated every year, each tribe in its turn giving
such a feast, they mutually invited then one another to the
feast. Since some years, however, these things are no longer
practiced among some of them, as the French, who have much
intercourse with them, made them understand that this use-
less squandering of their goods ruined their families and
reduced them to such straits as not to have even the neces-
saries of life.

Pagan notions in regard to the Immortality of the
Soul and of the place where the Dead are said
to reside forever.^

" All pagan Indians believe in the immortality of the soul.
They maintain that the soul, after leaving the body, goes to
a beautiful prairie country where there is neither heat nor
cold and where the atmosphere is agreeably temperate. They
say that country is full of animals and birds of all kinds and
varieties. Hunters there never find themselves exposed to
hunger, as they can slaj'' and eat whatever animal they like.
They assure us that this beautiful country is very far away

1 "iMemoire," pp. 40-43.

208

on the other side of the earth. Hence they place provisions
and arms on the graves of the dead, for they believe that the
departed will find in the other world for their use all that
has been given them in this, especially on the voyage they
have to make.

" They believe, moreover, that as soon as the soul has left
the body it enters this charming country, and, having
traveled several days, it meets on its way^ a rapid river, over
which there is but a small stick to cross over. When walk-
ing over this thin stick it bends so much that the soul is in
danger of falling into the water and being carried away by
the current. They maintain that, should this accident un-
happily occur, it would get drowned, and that all these
dangers are at an end when once she has entered the land of
the dead. They also believe that the souls of young people
of both sexes have nothing to fear as they are vigorous
and strong. Hut it is not the same with those of the old and
of children, when not assisted at this dangerous passage by
other souls; this is oftentimes the reason why they perish.

" They also say that this same river is full of fish beyond
imagination. Sturgeon and other fish abound there, which
they kill with their hatchets and clubs in order to roast them
on their voyage, for after leaving the river they no longer
meet with game. After having traveled for quite a long time
they come to a very steep mountain, which obstructs their
passage and obliges them to seek another elsewhere. How-
ever they find none, and, after having suffered a great deal,
they come at last to that terrible passage where two pestles
of prodigious size, rising and falling by turns, form a great
difficulty which it is hard to surmount, for should the soul
be unhappily caught beneath, that is, when one of the pestles
is just falling, it would surely be killed; but the disembodied
spirit watches most carefully for the lucky moment (when
one of the pestles goes up) to slip through this so dangerous
place. Yet many get caught and peiish, especially the souls
of old people and children, as they are less strong and
vigorous and rather slow when trying to get through.

2 The road to the "Happy hunting grounds of the dead" is called Ke-wa-
kun-ah, "Homeward road"; also Che-ba-kun-ah, "Ghost road." The soul
travels till she comes to a deep, rapid stream, over which lies the much
dreaded Ko-go-gaup-o gun, or rolling and sinking bridge; once safely over
this, as the traveler looks back it assumes the shape of a huge serpent swim-
ming, twisting and untwisting its folds across the stream.

209

" Once through this dangerous passage the}) enter a charm-
ing country where excellent fruits are found in abundance.
The ground is covered with all kinds of flowers, the odor of
which is so wonderful that it enchants the heart and charms
the imagination. There is now but a short distance to make
;S0 as to arrive at the place where the noise of the drum and
gourd, keeping time to the songs and shouts of the dead at
their entertainment (dance), makes itself agreeably heard.
This stimulates them to run most eagerly directly towards
the place whence the sound of the happy multitude proceeds.
The nearer they come the louder the noise becomes, and the
delight and joy, to which the dancers give expression by con-
tinual shouts, ravish the new comers more and more. When
they are near the place where the dancing is going on^ a cer-
tain number of the dead leave their follow-dancers and go to
welcome them and manifest the great pleasure their arrival
■causes to the whole company. They are then conducted to
the place where the dancing is going on, where they are kindly
received by all those present. They find there meats of all
tastes and without number. Nothing more exquisite or
better prepared can be imagined. They can eat whatever
they like and pleases their appetite. When they get through
they mingle with the rest to dance and enjoy themselves for-
ever, without being any longer subject to grief, inquietude,
infirmities, or any of the vicissitudes of mortal life.

"This is the belief of the Indians in regard to the immor-
tality of the soul. It is a dream, a chimera of the most
ridiculous things that can be invented,. but they cling to this
belief with so great obstinacy, that, when a person wants to
•convince them of its ridiculous absurdity, they tell the Euro-
pean who speaks to them about these things, that we have a
particular country for our dead (and they another for theirs).
Having been created by spirits who lived in harmony with
•one another and who were mutual friends, they (i- e. the
spirits or manitous that created the pale-faces) had chosen in
the other world a different country from theirs (that is, of
the departed Indians, each race having a heaven for itself).
They say that it is an indubitable truth, and one they have
learned from their ancestors, that they once went to war into
a country so far away that they came at last to the extreme
€nd of the earth. They then passed the place where the
Jarge pestles keep going up and down, as I have described

210

above, at the entrance of the beautiful land of the dead..
Having passed through, they heard at a little distance the-
beating of the drum and the sound of the gourds and,
curiosity having impelled them to go on a little further to
see' what was going on, they were discovered by the dead,,
who then came towards them. They tried to flee, but were
soon overtaken and conducted to the cabins of these inhabi-
tants of the other world, where they were well received. The
dead then escorted them as far as the passage of the pestles,
which they stopped so as to enable them to pass through
without danger (into the land of the living). Taking leave
of them they told their living countrymen never to come
back there again till after death, for fear some misfortune
might happen to them."

Ottawas.

De la Motte Cadillac, in 1695 commander at Mackinaw,,
wrote that the Ottawas were divided into four bands: 1, the
Kiskakons, or Queues Coupees ; 2, the Sable, because their
old residence was on a sandy point ; 3, the Sinago, or
Outaoua-Sinageaux ; and 4, the Nassawaketon, or People of
the Fork, because they had resided on a river which had
three forks or branches, perhaps the Chippewa River of Wis-
consin. Nassawaketon was the Algonquin word for a river
which forked (Minn. Hist. Coll., vol. V, p. 405). LacCourte
Oreille, which empties by Courte Oreille river into the Chip-
pewa, is called to this day by the Indians " Ottawa-Sagaigan,"
Ottawa Lake, as there is a tradition that Ottawas used to re-
side on the shores of said lake. The Relation of 1667 says
that their ancient dwelling place was near Lake Huron..
They used to go by way of Ottawa River to Montreal and
Quebec, and thus the river they traveled on was called after-
them. At Father Menard's time, 1660, a large body of
Ottawas resided at Keweenaw Bay. Another portion had
fled with a band of Tionnontate Hurons to the Mississippi,.
and had settled on an island near the entrance of Lake Pepin.
Driven away by the Sioux, whom they had foolishly at-
tacked conjointly with the Hurons, they ascended Black
River, Wis., at the headwaters of which the Hurons built a

211

fort, while the Ottawas pushed on to Lake Superior.,
and settled on the shores of Chequamegon Bay, between
the mouth of Fish Creek and Ashland. In 1670-71 they
went to live on Manitouline Island, their ancient abode,
where the Fathers established among them the flourishing-
mission of St. Simon. At present they reside in Michigan,,
at Grand and Little Traverse, Harbor Springs, and elsewhere-
Their language strongly resembles the Chippewa. In 1668-69
Father Allouez succeeded in converting the Kiskakon band
of Ottawas at Chequamegon Bay, but the Sinagoes and
Keinouche's (from kinoje or kinosha, a pike) remained deaf
to the voice of the zealous Father, though many subse-
quently embraced Christianity at Green Bay and Mackinaw.
Father Baraga labored among them at Arbre Croche -(Harbor
Springs) and Grand River, baptizing seven hundred or more.
At present their spiritual wants are attended to by the
Franciscan Fathers residing at Harbor Springs.

PoTT A W AT AMIES .

The Pottawatami lived on the peninsula formed by Green
Bay on the west and Lake Michigan on the east. They and
the Winnebagoes had a village about 24 miles above the spot
where the city of Green Say now stands, near Little Sturgeon
Bay. In 1641 they were at Sault Ste. Marie, fleeing before
the face of the Sioux. In 1665 we meet with them at Che-
quamegon Bay, where Father Allouez found them to the
number of three hundred men, bearing arms. In 1668 they
resided on the Pottawatami Islands, in Green Bay. _ They
were very docile and friendly disposed to Christianity, be-
sides being more humane and civilized than other Indian
tribes. Wm. W. Warren says their name signifies, " Those
who make or keep the fire," from bcdawe or potawe,to make
a fire, from the fact of their taking with them or perpetuating
the national fire, which, according to tradition, was sacredly
kept alive in their more primitive days.

A Pottawatami band settled about the year 1721 on the-
St. Joseph's River, and another near Detroit. In 1830 V. Rev-
Frederic Rese, then Vicar-General of Cincinnati, afterwards
first bishop of Detroit, visited the Pottawatamies on St.

212

Joseph's river. He was received with the greatest joy by the
poor Indians, and baptized Pokegan, a Pottawatami chief,
and twelve others. However, the Father was soon obliged
to leave to attend other missions. Pokegan was inconsolable.
He repaired to Detroit on the 1st of July, 1830. '' Father !
Father !" be exclaimed, " I come to beg you to give us a
Black-gown to teach us the word of God. We are ready to
give up whiskey and all our barbarous customs. Thou dost
not send us a Black-gown, and thou hast often promised us
one. What! must we live and die in our ignorance? If
thou hast no pity on us men, take pity on our poor children,
who will live as we have lived in ignorance and vice. We
are left deaf and blind, steeped in ignorance, although we
earnestly desire to be instructed in the faith. Father, draw
lis from the fire — the fire of the wicked manitou. An
American minister wished to draw us to his religion, but
neither I nor any of the village would send our children to
Ms school, nor go to his meetings. We have preserved the
way of prayer taught our ancestors by the Black-gown who
used to be at St. Joseph. Every night and morning my
w^ife and children pray together before a crucifix which thou
bast given us, and on Sundays we pray oftener. Two days
before Sunday we fast till evening, men, women and chil-
dren, according to the tradition of our fathers and mothers,
as we have never seen a Black-gown at St. Joseph."^

Father Stephen Badin was sent them in August, 1830, and
by January he had three hundred Christians, all of whom con-
fessed regularly, besides a hundred children and adults bap-
tized. In a few years there were from 1000 to 1200 fervent
Christians. In September, 1838, the United States troops sur-
rounded the Pottawatamies, and as prisoners of war, com-
pelled them to remove. They were deported to the banks of
the Osage River, where Father Petit, their pastor, confided
them to the care of Father J. Hoecken, S. J. On the sale of
their lands, the United States government allotted the Potta-
watamies 5,000,000 acres on the Missouri, near Council Bluffs.

1 Shea, "Catholic Missions," p. 394.

213

Sacs.

The country of the Sacs was between Lake Huron and
Erie. They resided for a long time in Michigan, near Sagi-
naw Bay, on the Saginaw and Tittibewasse Rivers. After
many bloody wars with their neighbors, in which they were
well nigh annihilated, they were driven from that State and
settled in Wisconsin, where the}'- became allies of the Outa-
gamies or Foxes. Father Allouez found some Sacs at Che-
quamegon Bay, and afterwards, in 1669, at Green Bay and
up the Fox River, where they had a village, some twelve
miles up that river. They were a very warlike and barbarous
race, without fixed dwelling-places, roaming about through
the woods. On the 4th of June, 1763, the Sacs and Chippe-
was, by stratagem, took Fort Mackinaw and killed almost
all the British soldiers of the garrison. Their last great
tribal e£fort was made conjointly with the Foxes, in the Black
Hawk war of 1832, Black Hawk was defeated on the Wis-
consin by General Dodge, and on the 2d of August, 1832,
Gen. Atkinson overtook the broken fragments of his army,
and attacked them on the bottoms of the Mississippi, a few
miles below the mouth of Bad Ax River, about forty-five
miles above Prairie du Chien, and totally defeated and scat-
tered them.

OUTAGAMIBS OR FoXES.

The Foxes, called by the French, "Renards," and the Chip-
pewas, " Oudagamig," call themselves "Moskwakig," from
mosk (Chipp. misk) red and aki, land, i. e. "People of the red
land." Father Allouez found some of them on the shores of
Chequamegon Bay, where they came to fish and trade. They
resided along the Fox and Wolf rivers and had a large village
near New London and another at Mukwa or a little below
there (the latter perhaps a corruption of Muskwaki, their
Indian name), on the Wolf River, Wisconsin, where Father
Allouez visited them in April, 1670, and started the mission of
St. Mark. He converted several of the tribe, though subse-
quently the mission was abandoned on account of the hostile
attitude of the Foxes towards the French. They are the only
Algonquin tribe on whom the French made war.

'214

The Foxes and Chippewas were enemies from time im-
memorial and many a bloody battle was fought between
them. An Indian tradition relates that a large band of Foxes
stealthily landed about two centuries ago or more on the
southeastern extremity of Madeline (La Pointe) Island and
captured four Chippewa women. Elated with their success
they hastily embarked in their small canoes, and when they
thought themselves safe from pursuit they raised a defiant
shout, which was heard by the Chippewas, who jumped into
their canoes. A thick fog covering the lake, neither party
could see the other; but the Chippewas were guided by the
noise of the songs and shouts of their enemies. They over-
took the Foxes near Montreal River and a naval battle ensued
in which the Chippewas totally defeated and annihilated the
Foxes. Their last great battle with the Foxes was at St.
Croix Falls, where under their great war-chief, Wau-boo-jeeg,
they defeated the combined forces of the Foxes and Sioux,
reducing the former to fifteen lodges, who were then incor-
porated with the Sacs. This battle occurred about 1780.
Wau-boo-jeeg, the Chippewa leader in that war, lived on the
projection of land near Pike's Bay, above Bayfield, and died
in 1793.

When the French became acquainted with the Chippewas,
whose home was the Sault (whence they were called by the
French Saulteur or Sauteurs, now Sauteux), they formed
alliance and friendship with them and supplied them with
fire-arms, which enabled them eventually to drive the Foxes
out of northern Wisconsin and the Sioux beyond the head-
waters of the Mississippi.

The Illinois.

Of all the Algonquin tribes of the north west the Illinois
were the most docile and susceptible of Christianity. Both
Fathers, Allouez and Marquette, speak most highly of them.
Father Allouez found a considerable number of them on the
Upper Fox River, some nine miles from where Portage City
now stands. He also met with a small band of them on
Chequamegon Bay, where they told him such wonderful
things about their beautiful prairie country, that he burned

215

"with desire to visit them, the more so as they evinced such un-
-tjommon inclination to embrace the faith. He visited them
"in 1670 at the Maskouten village near Portage City and was
received by them with great joy. They immediately pre-
pared a feast. A venerable old man then addressed him in
the following words: "How good it is, Black-gown, that thou
hast come to visit us. Have pity on us; thou art a manitou
►(a god), we offer thee to smoke. The Nadouessious (pron.
Nah-doo-wes-see-oo, Sioux) and the Iroquois are eating us;
have compassion on us. We are often sick, our children die,
we suffer hunger. Hear me, Manitou, I offer thee to smoke;
-may the earth yield us corn and the rivers fish ; may sickness
not kill us and famine not be so hard on us." At each in-
vocation the old men present answered with a loud "0 ! 0 !"
the same as "Amen." Father Allouez was horrified at thus
Teceiving divine honors from these poor ignorant but well-
meaning people. He preached to them most fervently, telling
~them that he was not the Manitou, the master of their lives,
but that he obeyed Him and carried His word all over the
land. Father Marquette passed by this mission in June, 1673,
when on his way to discover and explore the Mississippi. He
■stayed there from the 7th till the 10th of June, and was much
pleased *to see in the midst of the village a large cross, to
which were attached quivers with arrows and other Indian
-presents, in thanksgiving to God for having prospered their
"last winter's chase. At the mouth of Des Moines River the
same Father found a large settlement of Peorias, another
'branch of the Illinois tribe, where he was received with the
-greatest joy and respect. In 1675 he founded the mission of
the Immaculate Conception among the Kaskaskias, another
Illinois trifle, on the Illinois River, where he offered up the holy
Mass on Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday,^ and .preached
•the faith of Jesus Christ to an immense concourse of people.
The Illinois were for a time under the care of two Recollect
Fathers of the Order of St. Francis, namely, Gabriel de la
!ERibourde and Zenobius Membre. On September the 9th,
1680, Father GabriPil was ruthlessly murdered by some Kick-
-apoo Indians. Father Sebastian R^le, who was afterwards
>killed in his Abnaki Mission in the State of Maine by an
.English and Indian war-party, and Father Gravier labored

1 The first holy Mass offered up on Illinois soil was most probably said by
J. Father Marquette about the 30th of June, 1673, on his voyage of discovery.

216

in Illinois. Father Marest was stationed at Kaskaskia 1700-
1712, laboring with great fruit. Many other apostolic men
worked successfully for the conversion of the various tribes-
in Illinois.

Chippewas, La Pointe.

The Outchibouec, called also Otchipweg, Ojibways and
Chippewas, are a numerous tribe, inhabiting both the north
and south shores of Lake Superior, British America, Michi-
gan, Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. They are often called
Saulteurs, Sauteurs, and Sauteux, from the Sault, their origi-
nal home, rhey heard the first tidings of Christianity from
Fathers Jogues and Raymbaut, in 1642, at Sault Ste. Marie^
at the great Indian feast of the dead. According to their
traditions they came to La Pointe Island about four centuries
ago, circa 1492. They had a large flourishing town on the
southeast end of the island, where they had cleared a large
tract of land and raised a great deal of corn and pumpkins.
In the early part of the seventeenth century, about the year
1612, they suddenly abandoned their island through.a super-
stitious fear that it was haunted by ghosts. Many of them
went back to the Sault (pron. Soo); others settled at the west
end of Lake Superior, where Father Allouez found them^
between 1665-67, probably near Superior City. After the
various tribes, whom the fear of the Iroquois had driven to
Chequamegon Bay and the Apostle Islands, had left in 1670-
71, the Chippewas of the south shore gradually returned and
settled on the mainland, where Bayfield now stands, also at
Pike's Bay and along the shore of Chequamegon Bay. Many
also resided at Cheqaamegon Point, Odanah, at the head of
the bay and near Michael Dufault's place. At an early date,
probably already in 1695, the French built a fort on La
Pointe Island. The location of the old French fort is involved
in obscurity. Hon. Wm. W. Warren claims that is was
built at Middlefort, near the old Indian cemetery. Tradition —
the name, " Old Fort " — seems to point to the southeastern
end of the island as the site somewhere near the place where
Michael Cad otte built his trading post and fort in 1782. For
many years the American Fur Company had a flourishing

217

trading poet on the island, and La Pointe was then one of
the largest towns of Wisconsin. It is now but a historic
relic, a most beautiful place for a summer resort, a place in-
tended by nature for quiet enjoyment, rest, meditation and
prayer. We hope it will never be transformed into a modern
town with its noise, dirt, manure-piles, stinking oyster-can&
and empty beer-kegs in the gutters.

Here two treaties were made with the Chippewa Indians^
one in 1842 and the last in 1854, by which they ceded all
their remaining lands in Wisconsin, and also large tracts in
Minnesota and Michigan, to the United States for a considera-
tion, perhaps not the one-thousandth part of their actual
value. To give some idea of the wretched condition of the
poor Indians, which made them, so to srj, give away for
trifling annuities, large tracts of the most valuable agricul-
tural, pine and mineral lands, the value of which they never
knew or realized, but which was well comprehended by the
grasping "Kitchi Mokoman " — "Big Knife," American, we
append here the concluding remarks of two of their Chiefs,
Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe and Nay-naw-ong-gay-bee.

At a treaty made at the Mississippi, in 1855, the Chief
Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe, "Wide Mouth,'' made the following re-
marks in answer to the refusal of the goverument agents to
accept a proposition of the chiefs, to sell their lands at a
price double that offered them by the agent. He said^:
" My father, I live away north on the headwaters of the Mis-
sissippi; my children (band) are poor and destitute, and, as
it were, almost naked, while yon, my father, are rich and well
clothed. When I left my home to come to this treaty to
sell my lands — for we know that we must sell for lohat we can
get — the whites must have them — my braves, young men, women
and children, held a council and begged of me to do the best
I could in selling their homes ; and now, my father, I beg of
you to accept of the proposition I have made you, and to-
morrow I will start for home; and then you count the days
which you know it will take me to reach there, and on the
day of my arrival look north, and as you see the northern
lights stream up in the sky, imagine to yourself that it is
the congratulation of joy of my children ascending to God,
that you have accepted of the proposition I have offered
you."

1 Wis. Hist. Coll. vol. II, pp. 343-344.

218

At the treaty made in La Pointe, in 1854, Nay-naw-ong-
gay-bee, the " Dressing Bird," one of the head chiefs of the
Courte Oreille band of Chippewas, made a speech expatiating
on the destitute condition of his people, who were abjectly
poor, many of the children being perfectly naked. We will
only insert his concluding remarks: " My father, look around
you, upon the faces of my poor people; sickness and hunger,
whiskey and war are killing us fast. We are dying and fading
away; we drop to the ground like the trees before the ax of
the white man ; we are weak, you are strong. We are but
foolish Indians — you have wisdom and knowledge in j'^our
head; we want your help and protection. We have no
homes, no cattle, no lands, and we will not need them long. A
few short winters, my people will be no more. The winds
shall soon moan around the last lodge of your red children.
I grieve, but cannot turn our fate away. The sun, the moon,
the rivers, the forests, we love so well, we must leave. We
shall soon sleep in the ground — we will not awake again. I
have no more to say to you, my father." We doubt whether
anything more simple, touching and sad, was ever uttered
by a white speaker.

Crees and Sauteux of British America ; their customs,
language and superstitions.

The Crees have always been intimately united with the
Chippewas ; their languages are very much alike, and they
have the same usages and superstitions. They inhabit a
large part of British America, especially on both sides of the
Saskadjiwan. Father Belcourt,^ a zealous missionary of
British America, who spent a great portion of his life
among the Indians of that country and knew their language
and customs well, speaking of the Crees and Sauteux
(Chippewas of that region), says :

" Their principal religious meeting takes place every
spring, about the time when all the plants begin to awaken
from their long winter sleep, and renew their life and com-
■nence to bud. The ticket of invitation is a piece of tobacco

1 Father G. A. Belcourt, in Annals of Minn. Hist. Soc. for 1853, vol. IV.

219

sent by the oldest person of the nation, indicating the place
of rendezvous to the principal persons of the tribe. This is
a national feast in which every individual is interested, it
being the feast of medicines. Each head of a family is the
physician of his children, but he cannot become no without
having received a prelimiriary instruction and initiation into
the secrets of medicine. It is at this feast that each one is
received. All the ceremonies which they perform are em-
blematical and signify the virtues of plants in the cure of
various maladies of man.

" Another superstition, proper to cure evils which have
place more in the imagination than in the body, is the Nibi-
kiwin. It consists in drawing out the evil directly, in draw-
ing the breath and spitting in the eyes of the sick person.
The pretended cause of suffering is sometimes a stone, a
fruit, the point of an arrow, or even a medicine wrapped up
in cotton. One cannot conceive how much these poor people
submit with blind faith to these absurdities.

" Lastly, curiosity and the desire of knowing the future,
has invented the Tchissakiwin. It consists of certain
formalities, songs, invocation of spirits, and bodily agitations,
which are so energetic that you are carried back to the times
of the ancient Sybils; they seem to say to you, Deus, ecce Deus,
and then submitting to the questions of the spectators,
they always have a reply, whether it be to tell what
passes at a distance, or reveal the place where objects which
have been lost may be found. As the skill of the prophet
consists in replying in ambiguous terms upon all subjects of
which he has not been able to procure information in ad-
vance, he is always sure of success, either more or less strik-
ing.

" Dreams are for the Sauteux revelations ; and the bird,
animal, or even a stone, or whatever it may be, which is the
principal subject of the dream, becomes a tutelary spirit, for
which the dreamer has a particular veneration. As dreams
are more apt to visit a sick person, when the brain is more
subject to these abberations, many such have a number of
dreams, and consequently many tutelary spirits. They keep
images and statues in their medicine-bags, and never lose
sight of them, but carry them about wherever they go. The
faith of the Sauteux in their medicine is such that they be-

220

lieve a disease can be thrown into an absent person, or that
certain medicines can master the mental inclinations, such as
love or hatred. Thus it is the interest of these old men ta
pander to the young.

" Their writings are composed of arbitrary hieroglyphics^
and the best writer is he who is most skillful in using such
signs as most fully represent his thoughts. Though this
manner of writing is very defective, it is nevertheless in-
genious and very useful, and has this advantage over all
other languages, since it depicts the thoughts and not the
word, just as figures represent numbers in all languages.

" Though the Sauteux have no idea of the state they shall
find themselves in after death, they believe in the existence
of a future life. They have very strange ideas on this sub-
ject ; in consequence of some of these, they place near the
deceased his arms and the articles most necessary to life.
Some have even gone so far as to have their best horse killed
at their death, in order, as they said, to use him in traveling
to the country of the dead. It is the general belief that the
spirit returns to visit the grave very often, so long as the
body is not reduced to dust. During this space of time, it is
held a sacred duty, on the part of the relatives of the de-
ceased, to make sacrifices and offerings, and celebrate festi-
vals before the tomb. In the time of fruits, they carry them
in great abundance to the tomb, and he who nourishes him-
self with them after they have been deposited there, causes
great joy to the parents and relations of the deceased.

" The Sauteux have also some knowledge of astronomy y
they have names for the most remarkable constellations ;.
they have names also for the lunar months; but their calcu-
lations, as can be conceived, are very imperfect, and they
often find themselves in great embarrassment, and have re-
course to us to solve their difficulties. The electric fluid
manifested in thunder, the rays of light of the Aurora
Borealis are, in their imagination, animated beings ; the
thunders, according to them, are supernatural beings, and
the rays of the Aurora Borealis are the dead who dance.

" Their idea of the creation of the world goes no further
back than the deluge, of which thej^ bave still a tradition,

the narration of which would fill volumes I will tell

the part which relates to the creation. 'An immortal genius
(demi-god), seeing the water which covered the earth, and

221

finding nowhere a resting place for his foot, ordered a beaver,
an otter, and other amphibious animals, to plunge by turns
into the water and bring up a little earth to the surface.
They were all drowned. A (musk) rat, however, succeeded
in reaching the bottom, and took some earth in his paws,
but he died before he got back; yet his body rose to the sur-
face of the water. The genius, Nenabojou (Ma-nah-bo-sho),
seeing that he had found earth, brought him to life, and em-
ployed him to continue the work. When there was a suffi-
cient quantity of earth, he made a man, whom he animated
with his breath.' This genius is not the Great Spirit (Kitchi
Manitou), of whom they never speak, except with respect ;
while Nenabojou is considered a buffoon of no gravity.

" The Sauteux have a great passion for gambling. They
pass whole days and nights in play, staking all they have,
even their guns and traps, and sometimes their horses; they
have staked even their wives upon the play.

"Their love of intoxicating liquors is, as among all other
savage tribes, invincible. A Sauteux, who was convinced
of religion, wished to become a Christian; but he could not
be admitted without renouncing indulgence in drinking to
excess. He complained bitterly that the Hudson Bay Com-
pany had reduced his people to such a pitiable state by
bringing rum into the country, of which they would never
have thought if they had not tasted it.

"The Sauteux are one of the most warlike of nations.
From time immemorial, they have had the advantage over
their numerous enemies, and pushed them to the North.
They treat the vanquished with most horrible barbarity. It
is then that they are cannibals ; for, though we see some-
times among them cases of anthropophagy (cannibalism),
they have such a horror of it, that he, who has committed
this act, is no longer sure of his life. They hold it a sacred
duty to put him to death on the first favorable occasion.
But during war they make a glory of cannibalism. The
feast of victory is very often composed of human flesh. One
sees a trait of this barbarity in the names they give to their
principal enemies, as for instance the Sioux, whom they
call "Bwanak." As I remarked before, it is not rare that
they add to or retrench a little their proper names, which
renders their interpretation rather difficult for strangers. In
the word that I have mentioned, bwan is put for abwan,

222

which signifies a piece of flesh put on the spit. Thus the
word Ahwanah, which they have shortened by calling Bwanak,
signifieB those whom one roasts on a spit. In their great
war-parties, after the victory, the Sauteux build a great fire,
then plant all around spits laden with the thighs, heads,
hearts, etc., of their enemies, after which they return home."
What Father Belcourt says of the Sauteux and Crees of
British America, can be applied in a great measure to the
other Indian tribes that resided in the St. Lawrence valley
and in the country of the " Great Lakes." More than one
Catholic missionary and many a poor Frenchman has been
burnt to death at the stake, and their bodies devoured by
the Iroquois of New York. Perrot tells how four Sioux were
made soup of by the Ottawas in their village on Chequame-
gon Bay in the winter of 1670-71. The Chippewas of the
South Shore are more civilized than those of the North, and
never indulge in the horrible practice of cannibalism, which
they abhor and detest as much as the whites.

Sioux, called Bwanag — Meaning of the word.

The "Bwalag" of the "Relations" are the same people whom
the Chippewas still call '' Bwanag," i. e. Sioux. The " Re-
lation " of 1660, p. 13, says that the word Bwalag or Bwanag
means warriors. It is uncertain whether the word Bwanag
is Chippewa or derived from some other Algonquin dialect.
Wm. W. Warren, a Chippewa half-breed well educated, says-
the word is Chippewa, and is an abbreviation of Abwanag,
meaning "Roasters," from "nmd abive," I roast, abwan, a roast.
The Ottawas call the Sioux "Nadowessi," i. e. 'Little Adder,"
the diminutive of "nadowe" an adder, which name they give
to the Iroquois, their fearful enemies of old in the east, which
appellation significantl}'^ expresses the sneaking, treacherous,,
serpentine, and cruel disposition of the Iroquois tribe.

The Sioux call themselves Dakotas; Nicolas Perrot in his
"Memoire" calls them Sioux, an abbreviation of Nadoues-
doux; Father Allouez calls them Nadouessiouek, and Mar-
quette, Nadouessi (Nah-doo-wes-see). They are described in
the ''Relations" as a very powerful and warlike tribe, living
some 40-50 leagues west of La Pointe du Saint Esprit. Father

223

Allouez first met with them at the west end of Lake Superior,
near Duluth or Superior. In 167 L they drove the Ottawas
and the Hurons from the shores ofChequamegonBay. They
were almost continually at war with the Chippewas, by
whom they were gradually driven out of Wisconsin and
eastern Minnesota, beyond the Mississippi, and the latter
occupied their fine hunting grounds near Red Lake, Leech
Lake and vicinity, Minnesota. In 1862 the Sioux massacred
about 700 whites, most of them industrious, inoffensive Ger-
mans. In 1876, led by Sitting Bull, they completely an-
nihilated General Custer's forces. They have been removed
to Dakota, where missionaries are laboring at Christianizing
them.

Mode of life among the Sioux.

We insert the following lines taken from an article of Ed-
ward D. Neill, in "Annals of the Minn. Hist. Soc. for 1853,
Number IV":

" The heathen in their manner of life are essentially the
same all over the world. They are all given to uncleanness.
As you walk through a small village, in a Christian land, you
notice many appearances of thrift and neatness. The day-
laborer has his lot fenced and his rude cabin whitewashed.
The widow, dependent upon her own exertion and alone in
the world, finds pleasure in training the honeysuckle or the
morning-glory to peep in at her windows. The poor seam-
stress, though obliged to lodge in some upper room, has a
few flower-pots upon her window-sill, and perhaps a canary
bird in a cage hanging outside. But in an Indian village all is
filth and litter. There are no fences around their bark huts;
whitewashing is a lost art, if it was ever known among them;
worn out moccasins, tattered blankets, old breech-cloths, and
pieces of leggins are strewn in confusion all over the ground.
Water, except in very warm weather, seldom touches their
bodies, and the pores of their skin become filled with grease
and the paint with which they daub themselves. Neither
Monday or any other day is known as washing-day. Their
cooking utensils are encrusted with dirt and used for a variety
of purposes. A year or two ago a band of Indians, with their

224

dogs, ponies, women and children, came on board of a steam-
boat on the Upper Mississippi on which the writer was
traveling. Their evening meal, consisting of beans and wild
meat, was prepared on the lower deck, beneath the windows
of the ladies' cabin. After they had used their fingers in the
place of forks and consumed the food which they had cooked
in a dirty iron pan, one of the mothers, removing the blanket
from one of her children, stood it up in the same pan, and
then dipping some water out of the river began to wash it
from head to foot. The rest of the band looked on with
Indian composure, and seemed to think that an iron stew-
pan was just as gooa for washing babies as for cooking beans 1
Where there is so much dirt, of course vermin must abound.
They are not much distressed by the presence of those in-
sects which are so nauseating to the civilized man. Being
without shame, a common sight of a summer's eve is a woman
or child with her head in another's lap, who is kindly killing
the fleas and other vermin that are burrowing in the low,
matted and uncombed hair.

" The Dakotas have no regular time for eating. Dependent
as they are, upon hunting and fishing for subsistence, they
vacillate from the proximity of starvation to gluttony. It
is considered uncourteous to refuse an invitation to a feast,
and a single man will sometimes attend six or seven in a day
and eat intemperately. Before they came in contact with
the whites they subsisted upon venison, buffalo and dog
meat. The latter animal has always been considered a deli-
cacy for these epicures. In illustration of these remarks I
transcribe an extract from a journal of a missionary, who
visited Lake Traverse in April, 1839:

" Last evening at dark our Indians returned, having eaten
to the full of buffalo and dog meat. I asked one how many
times they were feasted. He said, 'Six, and if it had not be-
come dark so soon, we should have been called three or four
times more!' This morning 'Burning Earth' (Chief of the
Sissetonwan Dakotas) came again to our encampment, and
moving, we accompanied him to his village at the south-
western end of the lake In the afternoon I visited the

chief; found him just about to leave for a dog feast to which
he had been called. When he had received some papers of
medicine I had for him, he left, saying, 'The Sioux love dog
meat as well as white people do pork.' "

225

" In this connection it should be stated, that the Dakotas

(Sioux) have no regular hours for retiring They sleep

whenever inclination prompts; some by day and some by
night. If you were to enter the Dakota village, iour miles
below St. Paul, at midnight, you might, perhaps, see some
few huddled around the tire of a tepee (as they call their
wigwams), listening to the tale of an old Indian warrior, who
was often engaged in bloody conflict with their ancient and
present enemies, the Ojibways; or you might hear the un-
earthly chanting of some medicine man, endeavoring to
exorcise some spirit from a sick man; or you might see some
lounging about, whiffing out of their sacred red stone pipes,
the smoke of kinnikinnik, a species of willow bark; or you
might see some of the young men sneaking around a lodge,

or you might hear a low, wild drumming, and then see

a group of men, daubed with vermilion and other paints, all
excited and engaged in some of their grotesque dances; or a
portion may be firing their guns into the air, being alarmed
by some imaginary evil, and supposing that same enemy is
lurking about.

" Dakota females deserve the sympathy of every tender
heart. From early childhood they lead " worse than a dog's

life." On a winter's day, a Dakota mother is often obliged

to travel five, eight, or ten miles, with the lodge, camp kettle,
ax, child, and small dogs upon her back. Arriving late in
the afternoon, at the appointed camping ground, she clears
off the snow from the spot upon which she is to erect the
tepee. She then, from the nearest marsh or grove, cuts down
some poles, about ten feet in length. With these she forms
a framework for the tent. Unstrapping her pack, she unfolds
the tent cover, which is seven or eight buffalo skins stitched
together, and brings the bottom part to the base of the frame.
She now obtains a long pole and fastening it to the skin
covering she raises it. The ends are drawn around the frame
until they meet, and the edges of the covering are secured
by wooden skewers or tent pins. The poles are then spread
out on the ground, so as to make as large a circle inside as
she desires. Then she or her children proceed to draw the
skins down so as to make them fit tightly. An opening is
left where the poles meet at the top, to allow the smoke to
escape. The fire is built upon the ground in the centre of
the lodge. Buffalo skins are placed around, and from seven

226

to fifteen lodge there through a winter's night, with far more-
comfort than a child of luxury upon a bed of down. Water
is to be drawn and wood cut for the night. The camp kettle
is suspended and preparations made for the evening meaL
If her lord and master has not by this time arrived from
the day's hunt, she is busied in mending moccasins. Such
is a scene which has been enacted by hundreds of females

this very winter in Minnesota As a consequence of this-

hard treatment, the females of this nation are not possessed
of very happy faces, and frequently resort to suicide to put
an end to earthly troubles."

Father Marquette.

Father James Marquette was born in Laon, a city of
France, in 1637. At the age of seventeen he entered the-
Society of Jesus and was ordained early in 1666. The same
year he sailed to Canada, where he landed on the 20th of
September. On the 10th of October he started for Three
Rivers to learn the Montaignais language, under Father Gab-
riel Druilletes, being destined for the northeastern mission.
He remained in Three Rivers until 1668 when he was ordered
to prepare for the Ottawa mission. He left Quebec April 21,
1668, with three companions to go to Montreal, to await there
the Ottawa flotilla. A party of Nez-Perces came with Father
Louis Nicolas, who had gone with Father Allouez to La
Pointe du Saint Esprit, in 1667, and with them Marquette
departed for Sault Ste. Marie, in 1668. He was the first
resident priest of that mission being stationed there for about
one year or a little more. He may, therefore, be called the
founder of the Sault Ste. Marie mission. This mission was
located at the foot of the rapids, on the Aitierican side,,
about nine miles below the mouth of Lake Superior.

In 1669. Father Claude Dablon came to Sault Ste. Marie,.
as Superior of the upper missions. Father Marquette was-
sent to La Pointe du Saint Esprit, where he arrived on the
13th of September, 1669. Father Allouez, his predecessor
there, left the Sault on the 3d of November of the same
year, and arrived at the head of Green Bay on the 2d of
December, vigil of St. Francis Xavier, Patron-Saint of the

227

Green Bay mission. Father Marquette was stationed at the-
head of Ashland Bay till 1671, when, on account of the war
that had broken out, he was obliged to remove with the-
Huron portion of his flock to St. Ignace, Mackinaw. It was
from Mackinaw that he started in the early part of 1673, on
his voyage of discovery.

Father Dablon.

Father Claudius Dablon came to Canada in 1655, and wa&
employed in the mission Onondaga till 1658. Three years
later we find him and Father Gabriel Druilletes, the "A postle-
of the Abnaki in Maine," who was afterwards stationed for
many years at Sault Ste. Marie, attempting to reach Hudson
Bay, by the Saguenay. After suffering many and great
hardships on their journey through the trackless wilderness,,
they were arrested at the sources of the Necouba, by Iroquois-
war parties. The journal of their trip is given in the
" Relation " of 1661." In 1669, he arrived at Sault Ste. Marie,.
Michigan, whither Father Marquette had preceded him in
1668, and he became Superior of the Algonquin missions of
the- Northwest. In 1670, he came to Green Bay, and with
Allouez visited in September of the same year the Mission
of St. James, located on the Upper Fox River, a short dis-
tance from the junction of said river with the Wisconsin.
Shortly after, he returned to Quebec to assume his post as-
superior of all the Canada, missions under the care of his
Order, which office he held with intervals for many years,,
certainly till 1693. As the head of the missions, he con-
tributed a great deal to their extension, and above all, to the
exploration of the Mississippi, by Father Marquette. He
published the Relations of 1670-71-72, with an accurate map
of Lake Superior, most probably drawn by Fathers Allouez
and Marquette, the two Fathers best acquainted with the
topography of said lake. He prepared also the Relations
from 1672 to 1679, for the press, but they were not printed
and existed only in manuscript form till within a few years
prior to this writing. He likewise prepared Father Mar-
quette's Journal, describing his discovery and exploration
of the Mississippi, for the press, which journal, together with
many other highly valuable and interesting papers relating

228

to the exploration of said river has been published by the
learned historian, John Gilmary Shea, in his work "Discovery
and Exploration of the Mississippi," a work we most highly
recommend to all who take an interest in the early history
of our western country.

Great mass-meeting at Sault Ste. Marie in 1671; Names

OF THOSE WHO SIGNED THE TREATY; PeRROT's ACCOUNT.

"The treaty was signed in the presence of Dablon,^ Supe-
rior of the mission, and his colleagues, Dreuilletes, Allouez,^
Andre of the Society of Jesus ; Nicolas Perrot,^ inter-
preter; Sieur Jolly ef; Jacques Mogras of Three Rivers; Pierre
Moreau, the Sieur de la Taupine; Denis Masse; Frangois de
Chavigny, Sieur de la Chevrottiere ; Jacques Lagillier, Jean
Maysere, Nicholas Dupuis, Frangois Bibaud, Jacques Joviel,
Pierre Porteret,^ Robert Duprat, Vital Driol, Guillaume Bon-
homme." (Margry, vol. I, p. 97.)

Nicholas Perrot says:''

" The first vessels from France arrived at Quebec whilst all
the (Ottawa and Iroquois) chiefs were there. M. de Cour-
celles received some letters from M. Talon, who wrote to him
on the necessity of engaging in his service such Frenchmen
as had been with the Outaouas and knew their language, so
thathe could go there and assume possession of their country in
the name of the king. M. de Courcelles cast his eye first on
me and made me wait in Quebec until the return of M. L'ln-
tendant.

" When the latter had arrived, he asked me if I would like
to go to the Outaouas, as interpreter, and conduct there his

1 Dablon and Dreuilletes were stationed at the Sault, thoug-h Dablon spent
a part ot the winter of 1670-71 at Mackinaw, building a rude bark chapel
there.

2 Allouez an d Andre were stationed at Green Bay, Andre having- charge of
the missionary stations at the head ot said bay, while Allouez attended the
Inland missions.

3 Nicolas Perrot, the author of the "Memoire," held several offices under
the Canadian government, was "Coureur de bois," interpreter, and kind of
governor or commandant at Green Bay, between 1665-1701.

4 Jollyet accompanied rather Marquette upon his voyage of discovery and
exploration down the Mississippi.

5 Pierre Porteret accompanied Father Marquette on his last journey to the
Illinois in 1674, and was present at his death on the eastern shore of Lake
Michigan in 1675.

6 "Memoire," pp. 136-138.

229

subdelegate, whom he would place there to take possession of
their country. I informed him that I was always ready to
obey him, and oflFered him my services. I left, therefore,
with the Sieur de Saint Lusson, his subdelegate, and we ar-
rived at Montreal, where we remained till the beginning of
the month, October (1670). We were obliged on our way to
winter with the Amikouets (Beaver Indians). The Saulteurs
(Chippewas of Sault Ste. Marie) also wintered at the same
place and secured more than two thousand four hundred elks
on an island called the "Island of the Outaouas," which ex-
tends the length of Lake Huron, from the point opposite St.
Francis River to that of the Missisakis, going towards Michil-
limakinak (Manitouline Island). This extraordinary chase
was nevertheless only made with snares.

" I sent them word to return to their country in the spring
as soon as possible, to hear the word of the king, which the
Sieur Saint Lusson brought to them, and to all the tribes. I
likewise sent Indians to inform those of the north to return
to their country. I dragged and then carried my canoe to
the other side of the island, where I embarked; for it is to be
remarked that the lake (Huron) never freezes except on the
side where we wintered and not towards the offing, on
account of the continual winds which agitate it there. Thence
we started to go to the bay of the Foxes and Miamies, which
is not very far distant, and I caused all. the chiefs to go to
Sault Ste. Marie, where the pole was to be erected and the
arms of France attached, to take possession of the Outaouac
country. It was the year 1669^ that this took place.

" On the 5th of the month of May, I went to Sault Ste.
Marie with the principal chiefs of the Pouteouatamies, Sakis,
Puants (Winnebagoes), Malhommis (Menominees) Those of
the Foxes, Mascoutechs (Maskoutens), Kikaboos (Kickapoos)
and Miamies did not pass the bay (Green Bay). Among
them was a man with the name of Tetinchoua, head chief of
the Miamies, who, as if he were their king, had day and night
in his wigwam forty young men as a body-guard. The vil-
lage over which he ruled had from four to five thousand
braves; in one word, he was feared and respected by all his

1 Perrot's mistake; it was the 14th of June, 16T1. The "Relation" of 1671,
p. 26, gives the 4th of June, also a mistake, made probably by the copyist.
Perrot probably wrote his "Memoire" many years after the treaty, hence he
forgot the precise year when it was made.

230

neighbors. They say, however, that he was of a very mild
disposition and that he conversed only with his lieutenants,
or people of his council charged with his orders. The
Pouteouatamies did not venture through respect for him to
have him exposed to dangers or mishaps in making the voy-
-age, fearing for him the fatigues of the canoe and that in con-
sequence thereof he might fall sick. They represented to him
that, should any accident happen to him, his people would
believe themselves deserving of blame for it, and that they
would take upon themselves the dangers of the voyage. He
finally yielded to their reasons and requested them to do for
him in the matter (under consideration) as he would do for
them if he were there present. I had explained to them what
the question was and why they had been called (to the
treaty).

" I found at my arrival, not only the chiefs of the north,
but also all the Kiristinons (Crees), Monsonis and whole
villages of their neighbors; the chiefs of the Nipissings were
■there also, besides those of the Amikouets and all of the
-Saulteurs, who had their settlement in the place itself. The
pole was erected in their presence and the arms of France
attached to it with the consent of all the tribes, who, not
knowing how to write, gave presents as their signatures, de-
.claring in this manner that they placed themselves under the
protection and obedience of the king. The Process-Verbal
was drawn up in regard to this act of assuming possession,
which I signed as interpreter, with the Sieur de Saint Lusson,
subdelegate ; the Rev. Missionary Fathers Dablon, Allouez,
Dreuilletes and Marquet signed lower down, and below them
the French who were trafficking in the various localities. This
ivas done following the instructions given by M. Talon. After
that, all those tribes returned each to their country and lived
several years without any trouble from one side or the other.

" I forgot to say that the Hurons and Outaouas did not
arrive till after the act of taking possession, for they had fled
from Chagouamigon (Chequamegon) on account of having
eaten some Sioux, as I have related above. They were in-
formed of what had lately been done, and agreed, like the
rest, to all that had been concluded and decided on"

231

•Copy of the Process- Verbal of the taking possession of
THE Indian country/

Preliminary remarks of Father J. Tailhan, S. J., publisher
.«,nd annotator of Perrot's "Memoire."

" The "Relation" of 1671 (see text) and La Potherie (II, pp.
128-130) contain many details in regard to this act of taking
•possession omitted by Perrot, to which the reader is'referred.
I will merely give here the unpublished Process- Verbal of
that ceremony, after the somewhat incorrect copy deposited

in the archives of the marine The passages suppressed

and replaced by dots offer no historical interest; they are but
^simple protocols or useless repetitions."

Process- Verbal.

" Simon Frangois Daumont, esquire, Sieur de Saint Lusson,
commissioned subdelegate of Monseigneur, the Intendant of
New France

" In accordance with the orders we have received from
Monseigneur, the Intendant of New France, the 3d of last
July to immediately proceed to the country of the In-
dian Outaouais, Nez-percez, Illinois, and other nations, dis-
covered and to be discovered, in North America, in the
region of Lake Superior or Mer-Douce (Huron), to make
•there search and discovery of mines of all sorts, especially of
copper, ordering us moreover to take possession in the name
■of the king of all the country, inhabited or not inhabited,
'through which we might pass We, in virtue of our com-
mission, have made our first disembarkment at the village or
burg of Sainte Marie du Sault, the place where the Rev.
■Jesuit Fathers make their mission, and where the Indian
tribes, called Achipoes, Malamechs, Noguets, and others,
make their actual abode. We have convoked there as many
other tribes as it was in our power to assemble, and they met
there to the number of fourteen tribes, namely the Achipo^s^,
Malamechs^, Noguets^, Banabeoueks^, Makomiteks®, Poul-

1 "Memoire," pp. 292-294.

2 Chippewas; 3, Merameg, Man-um-aig, "Catfish"; 4, Noquets, No-kaig
•"Bear Family or Clan"; 5, Ne-baun-aub-alg(?), "Merman Clan"; 6, Makomi-

232

teatemis', Oumaloumines^, Sassaouacottons^, dwelling at the
Bay called that of the Puants (Green Bay), and who have
taken it upon themselves to make it (treaty) known to their
neighbors, who are the Illinois^", Mascouttins' % Outagamis^*,
and other nations ; also the Christinos^^, Assinipouals^*,
Aumossomiks^^, Outaouais-Couscottons^®, Niscaks", Mask-
wikoukiaks^^, all of them inhabiting the countries of the
North and near the sea, who have charged themselves with
making it known to their neighbors, who are believed to be
in great numbers dwelling near the shores of the same sea.
We have caused this, our said commission, to be read to
them in the presence of the Rev. Fathers of the Society of
Jesus, and of all the Frenchmen named below, and have had
it interpreted by Nicolas Perrot, interpreter of His Majesty in
this matter, in order that they may not be able (to claim) to
be ignorant of it. Having then caused a cross to be erected
to produce there the fruits of Christianity, and near it a
cedar-pole, to which we have attached the arms of France,
saying three times with a loud voice and public proclama-
tion, that IN THE NAME OF THE MOST HIGH, MOST
POWERFUL, AND MOST REDOUBTABLE MONARCH,
LOUIS XIV. OF NAME, MOST CHRISTIAN KING OF
FRANCE AND NAVARRE, we take possession of said
place, Sainte Marie du Sault, as also of the Lakes Huron and
Superior, the Island of Caientaton (Manitouline), and of all
other lands, rivers, lakes and streams contiguous to and ad-
jacent here, as well discovered as to be discovered, which
are bounded on the one side by the seas of the North and
West, and on the other side by the sea of the South, in its
whole length or depth, taking up at each of the said three
proclamations a sod of earth, crying 'Vive le Roy!' and
causing the same to be cried by the whole assembly, as well
French as Indians, declaring to the said nations aforesaid
and hereafter that from henceforth they were to be protegees
(subjects) of His Majesty, subject to obey his laws and
follow his customs, promising them all protection and succor
on his part against the incursion and invasion of their
enemies, declaring to all other potentates, sovereign princes,

teks(?); 7, Pottawatamies ; 8, Menominees; 9, Nassawaketons, "People of the
Fork"; 10, Illinois; 11, Mashkouteng, Muskatine, Muscoda, "Prairie People";
13, Foxes; 13, Crees; 14, Assineboines, "Stons'-country Sioux" ; 15, Mousoneeg,
"Moose"; 16, Ottawa Kiskakon (?) or Ataouabouskatouk, a Cree tribe; 17,
KiskakoDS (?); 18, Maskwakeeg (?), Foxes, or Mikikoueks.

233

as well States as Republics, to them or their subjects, that
they neither can nor shall seize upon or dwell in any place
of this country, unless with the good pleasure of his said
most Christian Majesty, and of him who shall govern the
land in his name, under penalty of incurring his hatred and
the efforts of his arms. And that none may pretend ignor-
ance of this transaction, we have now attached on the re-
verse side of the arms of France our Process-Verbal of the
taking possession, signed by ourselves and the persons be-
low named, who were all present.

" Done at Sainte Marie du Sault, the 14th day of June, in
the year of grace 1671.

Daumont de Saint Lusson.
(Then follow the signatures of the witnesses.)

The annotator remarks : " In conclusion I will point out a
slight error of Perrot. Father Marquette did not figure among
the witnesses of the act of assuming possession. At that time
he was with the Hurons and Outaouacs, who did not arrive
at the Sault till after the ceremony. In place, therefore, of
Father Marquette, the name of Father Andre should be sub-
stituted in our text (Perrot's account of the treaty), whose
name is read in the Process -Verbal of M. de Saint Lusson
among those of the other witnesses, after the name of the
subdelegate. "

Menominees; Labors op Father Van den Broek among
THAT Tribe at Green Bay, Little Chute,

AND elsewhere.

The Menominees, now a populous tribe, were few in num-
ber at the time Father Allouez first appeared among them.
They are an Algonquin tribe, though their language differs
considerably from the Chippewa and Ottawa, two other tribes
of the Algonquin family of natives.^ Father Allouez, although
well versed in Algonquin, found it difficult to understand
them. Their principal village was near the mouth of the
Menominee River, which empties into Green Bay. Here
Father Allouez visited them for the first time on the 8th of
May, 1670, and established the mission of St. Michael. There
were also two villages of that tribe on the western shore of

234

Green Bay, one at Chouskoiiabika and the other at Ossaoua-
migoung. In both of these villages Father Andre labored,
and made many converts. Chouskouabika, called also Chous-
kouanabika, was located near the site of the modern town of
Pensaukee. The word means " there are many smooth, flat
stones" — French, "auxgalets." The name Ossaouamigoung
is a corrupt form of OssaAvamikong (from ossawa " yellow,"
and amik a beaver) and means " The place of the yellow
beaver," or perhaps, " Beaver-tail." This mission was near
Suamico, a corruption of the Indian name, as Pensaukee is a
corrupt form of Peshaking or Pensaking (from Pejakiwan,
Pensakiwan, " the land is marked, streaked"). There were
also many Menominees at the mouth of Fox River. They
subsequently extended their settlements along the last named
river, and many resided at Little Chute prior to 1842, when
they sold a large tract of land to the United States and moved
to Poygan (Pawagan). At present they reside on a reserva-
tion on the Wolf River, in Shawano county, and are attended
by the Franciscan Fathers residing at Keshina. As Father
Van den Broek labored for many years among this tribe, a
short account of his labors will not be out of place here.

Father Theodore J. Van den Broek was stationed for some
time in Alkmaar, Holland, and belonged to the Dominican
Order. He left his native land in 1832, and having landed
at Baltimore, he proceeded via Wheeling, Cincinnati and
Louisville to St. Rose, near Springfield, Washington county,
Kentucky, where there was a house of his Order, with four-
teen Fathers and four lay-brothers. The whole journey from
Antwerp, Belgium, to St. Rose, took nine weeks. Here he
prepared himself for missionary work, studying the language
and customs of the country. After a short stay at St. Rose
he was removed to Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, where
there was another house of his Order. M. Grignon, an esteem-
able and worthy lady, now residing at Green Bay, used to
interpret for him sometimes at Somerset.

On the 4th of July, 1834, he arrived in Green Bay, to
labor in the Indian missionary field. Here he found only
ten Catholic white families, although more were living at a
distance in the interior of the State at Little Chute, Butte
des Morts, etc. He completed the priest's house, begun by
Father Mazzuchelli, and labored zealously among the whites

235

and Indians of his flock. The Catholic Church and priest's
house were then located at Menomineeville (Shanteetown)
half way between Green Bay and Depere. Scarcely a year
after his arrival the towns of Navarino and Astor, now Green
Bay, were built, and as the Catholics of these places formed
one congregation with those of Menomineeville, we will call
the mission Green Bay. -

The first building in Green Bay, used as school-house and
chapel, was built of logs in 1823, and was destroyed by fire
in 1825, through carelessness in makhig fire to drive off
mosquitoes. In 1831, Bishop Fenwick selected a site for a
new church, which was begun by Rev. S. Mazzuchelli and
finished by the Redemptorist Fathers Sanderl and Hatscher
in November, 1832, at a cost of $3000. This church burned
down in 1846. A subsequent church, bought of the Metho-
dists, shared the same fate in 1871.

Father Van den Broek labored at Green Bay, sometimes
alone sometimes with Father Mazzuchelli, from 1834 till the
winter of 1836. It seems he left Green Bay in December of
that year and came to reside at Little Chute. As the Redemp-
torist Fathers Sanderl and Hatscher and Prost, remained but
a short time in Green Bay, the care of that mission devolved
again upon Father Van den Broek for the next two years,
from 1836-38. He used to have mass there every other Sun-
day. While yet residing in Green Bay, he often said two
masses on Sundays, the first one at Green Bay (Menominee-
ville), and the second at Little Chute, walking it at that,
although the distance is twenty to twenty-four miles! Once
his feet bled profusedly from the pegs in his boots, whence
he was obliged to stop on his way to get them extracted.
Another time he lost his boots in the thick, sticky mud.
Truly his was not an easy life. Besides the hardships of the
road he had often to endure hunger, as his Indians were
rather negligent in providing for his wants. When he first
came to Little Chute, he lived for half a year in a wigwam,
fifteen feet long and six feet high, which served as church,
dwelling and school, for he began at once to teach his Indian
neophytes to learn their A B C, so as to' be soon able to read
Bishop Baraga's prayer and catechetical books. Here in his
wigwam he was visited by snakes, wolves, and that worst of
all nuisances, starving Indian dogs, who would often steal

236

the poor Father's next meal, stowed away in the shape ot
meat or fish, in some old Indian kettle!

His mission embraced almost the whole State of Wisconsin,
for some years. He attended Green Ba}^ Little Chute, Butte
des Morts, Fort Winnebago, near Portage City, Fond du Lac,
Prairie du Chien, Poygan, Calumet and other places, visiting
the more distant missions generally in winter. Oftentimes
he had to sleep, during bitter cold winter nights, in the snow,
with no other roof overhead than the starry canopy of
Heaven and the snow his bed. Once, when called to attend
a sick person, about 240 miles distant, he got lost in the
woods, his guide having got drunk at a fort, where the Father
had stopped over Sunday to give the Catholic soldiers a
chance to attend to their religious duties. After riding about
for several hours in the dark through the woods, having lost
his way, he finally tied his horse to a tree, took off the
saddle and used it for a pillow on which to rest his aching
head. It rained fearfully, and wolves howled about him
fiercely. Next morning hie said his j)rayers devoutly and
made a vow that he would offer up a mass in thanksgiving,
should he find his way out of the woods. He then mounted
his horse, let the reins loose and allowed the animal to go
whithersoever Divine Providence might direct it. In less
than five minutes he was on the road and soon arrived at
the sick person's house. Incidents like these give the reader
some idea of the hardships and trials this apostolic man
endured.

But Father Van den Broek was not only a missionary; he
was also a civilizer of his Indian people. He worked him-
self most industriously and plowing his garden with hoe and
spade raised the first year he came to Little Chute plenty of
corn and potatoes, which, no doubt, his Indians helped him
to eat up. The second year he raised sufficient breadstuffs
besides vegetables, his Indians helping him with a good will
to till the ground. He also trained them to handle carpenter
tools, made them masons, plasterers, etc. With their help
he erected a neat church, 70 ft. long with a nice little steeple,
which he completed in 1839 and dedicated to St. John Nepo-
muc, the glorious martyr who sealed with his blood the in-
violability of the seal of Confession. Between 1884-42 he
converted and baptized over six hundred Indians, not to

237

speak of those converted between the last named year and
that of his death, 1851.

But Father Van den Broek has not only a claim to the
grateful remembrance of the Catholics of Wisconsin as a
zealous Indian missionary, but also as an originator of Cath-
olic colonization. On the 29th of May, 1847, he left Little
Chute and crossing the broad Atlantic visited his native land,
Holland. The same year he published at Amsterdam a
pamphlet, describing some of the many advantages Wisconsin
held out to the industrious immigrant, and induced many of
his countrymen to settle in our State. Three ships with
Hollanders sailed for America in 1848, in two of which were
Catholic priests to attend to the spiritual wants of their
countrymen, namely Fathers Godhard and Van den Broek.
The latter sailed from Rotterdam, March 18th, 1848, in the
"Maria Magdalena." May 7th he landed at New York, and
the 9th of June arrived at Little Chute with a large number
of Hollandish immigrants. These people settled at the last
named place, also at Hollandtown, Green Bay, Depere, Free-
dom and other localities. They were soon followed by others
and at present form quite a large percentage of the Catholic
population of the Green Bay diocese. They are second to
none in strong, practical Catholicity, zeal for their church, re-
ligion and schools, and command the respect of all classes of
our people by their industry, thrift and orderly behavior.
They are an honor to the country of their birth and a valu-
able acquisition to the land of their adoption. The tree that
Father Van den Broek planted at Little Chute, in 1848, has
spread its branches over a large part of northeastern Wis-
consin, and offshoots of it are found in Minnesota, Nebraska,
Oregon and other States.

Father Van den Broek continued to labor with his cus-
tomary zeal after his return to Little Chute, in 1848, until his
death in that town, Nov. 5th, 1851, at the age of sixty-eight
years. He was succeeded by the Fathers of the Holy Cross,
who for many years continued the work of their worthy
predecessor, laboring zealously among the Hollanders,
French, Irish, and Indian half-breeds of Little Chute and
vicinity.

238

Short Sketch of the Green Bay Misson.

The first white man that penetrated the wilds of Wisconsin
was Jean Nicolet, an adventurous Frenchman, a zealous
Catholic, and a man well versed in the Algonquin language,
for which reason he was emjDloyed by the government as
Indian interpreter at Three Kivers in 1636. In 1639 he
pushed to the head of Green Bay, found there the Winne-
bagoes, or " Sea Tribe," and made a treaty of peace in the
name of the French government with the Indians assembled
there to the number of four or five thousand.

In 1669 Father Claude Allouez arrived there on the 2d of
December, and established the mission of St. Francis Xavier,
offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with all possible
solemnity on the following day, Dec. 3d, feast of the above-
named saint. He found there some eight young Frenchmen
trading with the Indians. There were about 600 Sacs, Pot-
tawatamies, Foxes and Winnebagoes in one village, near the
mouth of Fox river, besides other smaller villages up the
Fox river, and on both sides of the bay. Many of these
Indians had received their first knowledge of Christianity
whilst residing at Chagaouamigong (Chequamegon) Bay,
whither they had fled through fear of the Iroquois prior to
1665.

Father Allouez soon made converts among the poor In-
dians at the head of the bay, whom he describes as uncom-
monly barbarous, ignorant and destitute. They soon learned
to attend church regularly on Sundays and to chant the
" Our Father " and " Hail Mary " in their own language.
The headquarters of this first mission seems to have been
located a short distance below the head of the bay, on the
western shore, as he says the Menominees, " whom he found
at their river," — Menominee river — were eight leagues from
his cabin.

In 1671 the mission was removed five miles up the Fox
river, and a chapel built on the site of the present town of
Depere, near the river. The spot is now covered with water.
In 1670 the Father founded the mission of St. Mark on the
Wolf river, probably six miles above Lake Winneconne. •
The same year he established the mission of St. James on
the Upper Fox river, about nine miles from the junction of
the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. He also founded in May»

239

1670, the St. Michael's mission among the Menominees, near
the mouth of the Menominee river.

In 1670 Father Louis Andre was sent to Green Bay, prob-
ably towards the latter end of the year. The two Fathers
divided then the various missionary stations in Wisconsin
among them-selves. Father Andre taking the missions on both
shores of Green Bay and up the Fox river, whilst Father
Allouez attended those more distant inland.

Father Andr6 composed religious hymns on the principal
doctrines of faith and against pagan superstitions, which he
taught the children to sing to the accompaniment of the
flute. This enraged the pagans. During his temporary ab-
sence they burnt his house and his whole winter supply of
dry fish, his nets, and all he had. Undaunted by this.
Father Andre raised a cabin on the ruins of the old one de-
stroyed, and renewed his attacks on pagan superstition and
polygamy. As the Indians were addicted to demon-worship,
they attacked the Father for his opposition to their demon-
olatry. " The devil," exclaimed a chief, " is the only great
chief; he put Christ to death and he will kill you, too."
Father Andre, however, labored on undauntedly, and made
converts even in the wigwams of his bitterest enemies at
Chouskouabika (pronounced Shoos-quah-bee-kah) and Ous-
souamigong (pron. Oos-swau-mee-gong).

The number of converts kept steadily increasing, and when
Father Marquette passed through Green Bay in 1673, on his
way to discover and explore the Mississippi, he found 2,000
baptized in the mission of St. Francis Xavier and its de-
pendencies. Towards the end of that year Father Marquette
returned to Green Bay, broken down in health through the
hardships endured during his voyage down the Mississippi.
He stopped with Father Andre till the fall of 1674. Despair-
ing of human help, he had recourse to the Blessed Virgin
Immaculate, and made with the fervent neophytes of St.
Francis mission a novena in her honor, in order to obtain
through the powerful intercession of the Mother of God the
recovery of his health, so as to enable him to found the mis-
sion of the Immaculate Conception among the Illinois.
Their prayer was heard, and towards the end of October,
1674, Father Marquette started for Illinois by way of Sturgeon
Bay and Lake Michigan.

240

Father Andre labored on successfully, making converts and
repressing idolatry. His house at St. Francis Xavier had
been burned down by the pagans; another on the Me-
nominee now shared the same fate. Most of the year he
spent in his canoe visiting his missions along the bay and up
the Fox river. In 1676 Father Charles Albanel, just return-
ing from an English prison, became Superior of the western
missions, and took up his residence at Depere, where he
built a beautiful church, aided by Nicolas Perrot and other
French traders.

In 1680 Father John Enjalran was stationed at Depere,
but how long he labored there is not known. At any rate,
the church built by Father Albanel stood yet in 1686, the
date engraved on the monstrance donated by Nicolas Perrot
to the church of St. Francis Xavier. Things now took an
unfavorable turn. War broke out between some Wisconsin
tribes, and the missionaries were in constant danger. A
servant of the missionaries was pursued by the Winnebagoes,
near Sturgeon Bay, and, in trying to escape, he ran through
a grove of saplings. All of a sudden the hair of his whig
got entangled in some branch overhead, which caused it to
come off. The savages in pursuit, seeing what they sup-
posed the brother's scalp and his bald head, halted, much
astonished, to examine the whig, and this gave him a chance
to escape. But unhappily he came upon another band of
the same tribe, who unmercifully killed him. There is a
tradition among the French pioneers of Green Bay that
about the same time also a Jesuit Father was killed near
Sturgeon Bay by the same Indians. The writer, however,
thinks that the tradition of the Father's death does not rest
on a very reliable foundation. Among the Foxes another
lay -brother was cruelly treated and compelled by a chief to
work for him, a drawn sword being held over his head at
times. Father Enjalran accompanied the Ottawa troops led
by Durantaye in Denonville's expedition against the Senecas.
Whilst fearlessly attending the wounded on the field of
battle, he was himself several}^ wounded. During his ab-
sence the pagans fired his church and house at Depere. He
subsequently returned to his mission at Depere, but how
long he remained there is not known. In the winter of 1700
he was living at Mackinaw, and thenceforth his name ceases
to be mentioned.

241

When the historian Charlevoix visited Green Bay in 1721,
he found at the Fort of the Bay of the Puants (Green Bay)
the amiable Father Jean Baptiste Chardon, a Jesuit Father,
whose chapel was about a mile and a half from the mouth
of the Fox river, up river, on the eastern bank of the river,_a
very short distance west of the present French church in
Green Bay; the place is now covered with water. Medals,
crosses, and other devotional articles have been found there.
Father Chardon evangelized the Sacs, but not finding them
docile, he was studying diligently the Winnebago language,
in order to preach to that tribe. Charlevoix, in his capacity
as embassador of the king of France, told the Sacs to respect
and listen to their missionary, if they wished to retain the
king's favor. That same year Father Chardon was sent to
the Illinois. He was the last Jesuit Father that resided at
Green Bay of whom we have any authentic account.

The wars between the French and Foxes greatly embar-
rassed missionary efforts. The Green Bay mission was per-
haps occasionally visited by Jesuit Fathers residing at Macki-
naw (Michillinimackinac) between 1721 and 1765. It is
during this period that two Jesuit Fathers, whose names are
unknown, were killed at Depere. The event did not occur
prior to Charlevoix's visit to Green Bay in 1721, for neither
the Relations nor Charlevoix say anything about it. More-
over, as Augustin Grignon, in his memoires of his maternal
grandfather, Charles de Langlade, who came to Green Bay
between 1744-46, mentions nothing of this tragical event, we
must conclude that it did not occur after 1744, but before it,
between 1721-45, probably during the French and Fox war
of 1728. Elsewhere we have discussed this subject more at
length.

The war that broke out between the French and English
for the possession of Canada, 1754-59; then the Pontiac war,
1760-64; the American Revolution, 1776-83, kept the North-
west in a continual state of excitement, so that hardly any-
thing could be done for the conversion of the Indians.
Finally, the suppression of the illustrious Jesuit Order by
Pope Clement XIV., in. 1775, was for a time the death-blow
of Indian missionary work. A Recollect Father stationed
at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit) made perhaps an occasional
visit to Green Bay, the last time about 1793.

242

The first white settlers who located permanently at Green
Bay about 1745, were the Sieur Augustin de Langlade, a Pari-
sian by birth, and his son Charles, born in Mackinaw in 1729,
A few other French families soon arrived. In 1785 the colony
numbered seven families, with fifty-six inhabitants. In 1792
and 1804 the settlement increased by the arrival of a few
French-Canadian families, so that at the beginning of the war of
1812 there were 250 inhabitants. In 1816 an American garri-
son arrived at Green Bay on the 16th of July, under command
of Col. Miller, Maj. Gratiot, Chambers, and other officers.
They erected a fort on or near the site of an old French fort
on the west side of the river, called Fort Howard. At that
time the Menominees had a village near by, about a half a
mile distant, under a chief with the name of Tomah (Thomas).
Col. Miller requested the Menominees to give their consent
for the erection of a fort in the neighborhood, which consent
was duly given, the Indians receiving flour, pork and some
"fire- water."

Green Bay now began to grow, settlers moved in, a home
market was established for the surplus productions of the
soil, and vessels arrived from time to time with supplies for
the garrison and settlers. In 1820 Col. Ebenezer Childs
located not far from Fort Howard, on the west side of the
river. Next year Daniel Whitney arrived; he was the first
American that opened a store at Green Bay. That same fall
came Gen. William Dickenson and three other Americans.
Early in the season of 182] a large delegation of Oneida and
Stockbridge Indians arrived at Green Bay in order to make
arrangements with the Menominee Indians for settling in
their country. The arrangements were perfected and the
Oneidas located six miles west of the bay, and the Stock-
bridges twenty-four miles above Green Bay on the Fox River.
The Oneidas still reside on the reservation where they were
first located; but the Stockbridges subsequently removed to
the east side of Lake Winnebago, and many live on a reser-
vation not far from Shawano. After the Black Hawk war of
1832 Green Bay grew rapidly. (Wis. Hist. Coll., vol. III.)

Michigan territory with its northwestern district, com-
prising Mackinaw County, Upper Michigan, and Brown and
Crawford Counties, embracing the present State of Wisconsin
and part of Minnesota, was formerly under the jurisdiction
of the bishop of Quebec, which episcopal see was founded in

243

1659, Monseigneur Laval, Bishop of Petrea, I. P. I., being the-
first bishop. He arrived in Quebec on the 16th of June, 1659,
and labored with apostolic zeal among the French and In-
dians until 1672, when he went to France. June the 19th,-
1821, Pius VIII. erected the bishopric of Cincinnati, which
was to comprise Ohio, Michigan and the Northwestern Terri-
tory. He appointed for that see Rev. Edward Fenwick, of
Maryland, ot the Dominican Order. He had two vicar-
generals, namely Frederic Rese, afterwards first bishop of
Detroit, and Gabriel Richard, a Sulpitian and pastor of St..
Ann's in Detroit, Mich., since 1799.

Thirty years had elapsed since a Catholic priest had visited
Green Bay (1793-1823). In 1823 Father Gabriel Richard of
St. Ann's Church, Detroit, Mich., came to Green Bay and
said Mass in Pierre Grignon's house, situated on Washington
Street (in 1866 the property of Dr. Crane). In 1824 Green
Bay numbered 500 inhabitants. Rev. J. Vincent Badin,
stationed at St. Joseph's Mission, Mich., among the Potta-
watamies, visited Green Bay three times, staying each time-
a month or so to attend to the spiritual wants of the people.
His three visits occurred in 1825, 1826, and in the summer of
1828. In the fall of the same year, 1828, Rev. P. S. Dejean
visited the mission.

Pierre Grignon had given, but without a deed, six lots on
which to build a church and school, but at his death this pro-
perty passed over to his heirs. A school, which was also to
serve as a chapel, was built of logs, and Rev. Badin appointed
a Frenchman with the name of Favrell to keep school and al-
lowed him to assemble the people on Sundays, read to them
the Gospel of the day, sing hymns and read prayers. But
Favrell soon overstepped the limits of his permit and at-
tempted to say Mass, minus the consecration, and to make
processions accompanied by the soldiers of Fort Howard.
He made a trip to Europe with an Indian, whom he every-
where exhibited, and the presents often made to the latter
found their way into the Frenchman's pocket. To crown his
work of hypocrisy and imposition he attempted to start a
church of his own, but failed egregiously. In 1832 Very
Rev. Frederic Reve was sent to Green Bay to rid the country
of this impostor.

In 1830 Bishop Fenwick of Cincinnati visited Green Bay,
remaining only for a few days, but in the following year,

244

1831, he stopped there for three weeks, accompanied by-
Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli, arriving there on the 11th of
June. They held a kind of mission during their stay,
preaching several times a day and hearing confessions often
until ten or eleven o'clock at night. Many who had not gone
to confession for twenty, thirty, and forty years made their
peace with God. The bishop confirmed 100 persons. A site
was selected for a church in Menomineeville (Shanteetown),
half way between Green Bay and Depere, $300 subscribed for
the building, and the work begun. This church burnt down
in 1846.

In 1832 Rev. Fathers Simon Siinderl and Fr. X. Hiitscher,
C. S. S. R., where stationed at Green Bay, where they bap-
tized a great many Menominees, and likewise some at Grand
Kakalin (near Little Chute). They left in the fall of 1833 and
went to ArbreCroche, Mich,, intending to establish, if possi-
ble, a house of their order there for the conversion and
civilization of the Ottawas of that district. In 1832, Sept.
26th, Rt. Rev. Edward Fenwick died of the cholera, on an
episcopal visitation, at Wooster. The same year also Father
Richard, of Detroit, died of the same disease.

In November, 1833, Rev. S. Mazzuchelli, 0. P., came with
two nuns, cloistered Poor Clares, to Green Bay. Sister Clare,
an American lady and a convert, was superioress. The other
was Sister Therese Bourdaloue, and their Superioress in
Detroit, whence they had come, was Sister Francoise De la
Salle. They bought two acres of land from a man with the
name of Ducharme, in Menomineeville (Shanteetown), to
erect thereon a house of their Order and a school. They
taught school for some time, and there are still people alive
(1886) who went to their school. They remained from a year
and a half to two years, and- were there during the fearful
cholera visitation in 1834, when Father Van den Broek, 0. P.,
was stationed in the Green Bay mission. They assisted in
attending to the sick and burying the dead. Sometimes
no one could be found to bury the dead, and Father Van
den Broek, with the two Sisters, were obliged to bury them.
Often four and five died in one house, of the terrible sick-
ness, many even while making their confession, and some-
times several bodies were buried in one and the same grave.
Father Van den Broek, who had arrived in the summer of
1834, labored in the Green Bay mission for about two years

245

and then went to reside in Little Chute. In December, 1836,
Fathers Hatscher and Probst, C. S. S. R., took charge of Green
Bay, but only for some months, and also Father Bernier was
there, probably only on a passing visit. In fact, it can be
said that Father Van den Broek attended the mission from
1834-1838, namely, for two years whilst residing at Menomi-
neeville, and again two years after having moved to Little
Chute.

In the night of the 14th of April, 1838, being the Saturday
night of Holy Week, between the hours of ten and three,
three soldiers of Fort Howard violently entered the church
at Menomineeville and robbed " one silver urn, one silver
chalice and cover (ciborium, scattering the consecrated hosts
on the floor), one silver communion cup" and other articles
of the value of $300 (ita Acta judicialia in Green Bay).
The names of these sacrilegious robbers are Samuel Richard-
son, Lucius G. Hammon and Nelson W. Winchester. The
stolen articles were found buried in the sand. The celebrated
monstrance of 1686 was among the stolen articles. The per-
petrators of this dastardly deed were sentenced to imprison-
ment at hard labor from six to twelve months.

Father Florimond Bonduel was stationed during two terms
at Green Bay; the flrst time from 1838-43, and then again
from 1858-61. After him came Rev. Peter Carabin, a Ger-
man, from 1843-47, who in his turn was succeeded by Rev.
A. Godfert, from October, 1847 to September, 1849. In the
same month of September, 1849, Rev. Anton Maria Ander-
leder, S. J., at present Superior General of the whole Jesuit
Order, and Rev. Joseph Brunner, S. J., came to Green Bay.
Father Anderleder left in September, 1850, but his colleague,
Father Brunner, remained one year longer in Green Bay,
and then went to Manitowoc Rapids, where he was stationed
for five years. He then was removed by his superiors to
New Westphalia, Missouri, where he resided for two years,
then went to Europe and from thence to Bombay, Hindoo-
stan, where he labored most zealously for nineteen years.
Father Brunner was succeeded in 1851 by Rev. John C. Per-
rodin, from 1851-57.

In 1868, Green Bay was elevated to the dignity of an
Episcopal See, and Rt. Rev. Joseph Melchers was consecrated
its first Bishop, on the 12th of July of that year.

Some Peculiarities of the Chippewa Lano^uage.

1. Long words. — The Chippewa language abounds in
long words, man}'- of them containing eight, ten and even
more syllables; e.g.: Mitchikanakobidjigan — fence; madwes-
sitchigewinini— bell-ringer; metchikanakobidjiganikewininiivis-
dgohanenag (nineteen syllables!) a participle, meaning " men
who perhaps did not build fences." There are two reasons
■to account for these long words. First, the continual adding
of new syllables to express the various moods, tenses, per-
sons, and participles of the verb, which in modern languages
are mostly formed by means of short auxiliary words, has,
shall, did, would, etc. For instance, take the verb, nin
wabama (root wab); from this verb are formed words of
seven to eleven sylables; e. g., wabamawindiban, he was per-
haps seen; waiabamigowagobanen, they who were perhaps
seen by, etc. Secondly, the compounding of words from two
or more roots; e. g., kijabikisigan, from "kij," referring to
heat; "abik" refers to iron, metals, and shows that the heat-
ing is caused by something made of iron or some metal; "is,"
has reference to bwning and indicates that in this " heating
iron," fire is made to burn; finally " igan " is the termination
of a noun, derived from a working verb and indicates the
object that performs the action described in the verb, that is
it names the object or thing doing the work; e. g., pakiteige,
he hammers; pakiteigan, a hammer. Thus the Chippewa
word names the object and in that name it mentions often the
material from which the instrument is made and the end, pur-
pose and object, for which it is intended, the same as, e. g.,
telephone, telegraph, etc.

2. Great number of Verbs. — Perhaps nine-tenths, if not
more, of all Chippewa words are verbs. The language,
therefore, is the very expression of life, activity, being, action.
JNouns are transformed into verbs, e. g., ininiwi, he is a man.

247

from inini, a man; nokomissiban, the grandmother I once
had, i. e., my deceased grandmother, from nokomiss, my
■grandmother. Adjectives are changed into verbs, e. g., gwan-
^tchiwan, it is beautiful, from the adjective "gwanatch,"
beautiful. Numerals are made into verbs, e. g., nijiwag, there
are two, from ''nij," two. Adverbs are transformed into verbs,
•e. g., bakanad, it is otherwise, different, from "bakan," dif-
ferently, otherwise. A great many different verbs, belonging
to different conjugations, and differing in meaning, are formed
from one and the same root, e. g., the root " wab," has refer-
ence to seeing; from this root are derived nin wabama, I see
him — nin waloandan, I see it — nin wabandis, I see myself —
wabandiwag, they see each other — wabange, he looks on, is a
spectator — o wabangen, he looks on it-^o wabangenan, he looks
on him — wabi, he sees. All these derivative verbs are formed
from their primary root or radix, according to certain regular
rules.

3. No Gender in the CifippEw^A language. — All nouns,
adjectives and verbs are divided into two classes, namely,
animate and inanimate. Animate refers to living beings, be
they really so or only by grammatical acceptation. Inanimate
indicates lifeless, inanimate things, real or grammatical!}^ so
considered. In transitive verbs the object of the verb decides
whether the verb to be used is to be animate or inanimate,
e. g., nin sagia aw anishinabe, I like, love that Indian; the
verb "sagia" is animate because its object anishinabe, Indian,
is animate — o sagiton ishkotewabo, he likes, loves fire-water
'(whiskey), the verb " sagiton " is inanimate, because its ob-
ject, ishkotewabo, fire-water, is inanimate. In intransitive
verbs the subject of the verb determines the character of the
verb, e. g., nagosi anang, a star (gram, anim.), is visible. Here
the verb is animate, because the subject, anang, star, is
grammatically animate; nagwad anakwad, a cloud, is visible;
here the verb, " nagwad," is inanimate, because anakwad
(cloud) is inanimate.

4. Dual form. — Besides singular and plural they have a
kind of dual, in the first person plural, and this dual form is
systematically employed in all transitive and active verbs
and participles. The pronoun '' we " has a double form in
'Chippewa to express its double signification. If the word
we is meant to signify not onlj'- the speaker and his party,
■but also the person ol' persons spoken to, then they use ki,

248

kinawind. But if the pronoun we is to be confined to the
speaker and his party (duo), they use the dual form, niriy
ninawind. Hence, when we speak of God, we use the plural
form, Kossinan (Our Father), and when we speak to Him,
praying, we employ the dual form Nossinan. So also in the
verbs and participles, e. g., kinawind waiahamang aw inini, we
(includes the speaker, his party, and persons spokea to — plural)
who see that man ; ninawind waiabnjmangid aw inini, i. e.,
we (only the speaker and his party — duo, dual form) who
see that man. From these examples it will be seen that the
Chippewa dual is not exactly like the Greek dual, though it
somewhat resembles it.

5. Affirmative and Negative forms. — All verbs have
two forms, the affirmative and the negative, and each has its
proper moods, tenses, and participles. In other languages,
the negative is only expressed by the word ^^ not,'^ whilst the
verb itself remains the same, whether something be affirmed
or denied. In Chippewa there is a double negation; first in
the word "?ioi," kawin, and secondly by the verb itself, which
also expresses the negation, e. g., ikito, he says (affirmative),
kawin ikitossi, he does not say (negative form); enamiad
(affirm.), one who prays, i. e., a Christian — enamiassig
(negat.), one who does not pray, i. e., a pagan. Hence it can
be truly that on account of this double form, affirmative and
negative, the nine Chippewa conjugations really amount to
eighteen.

6. DuBiTATiVE FORM. — All Chippewa verbs have a double
conjugation, which might be designated the Assertive and
the Dubitative conjugations of said verbs, and both of these
conjugations have an affirmative and negative form ; e. g.
ikito, he says — root "ikit."

. ,. f Nind ikit — I say (affirmative).

' \ Kawin nind ikitossi— I do not say (negative).

!" Nind ikitomidog — Perhaps I say (affirmative).
Kawin nind ikitossimidog — Perhaps 1 do not
say (negative).
The dubitative, as the word implies, means an affirmation
or negation made with some doubt, uncertainty, and is also
used in speaking of historical events or facts of which the
speaker was not a witness. Thus the Chippewa Indian can
express by the verb itself the nicest shade of thought, posi-

249

tive assertion or doubtful, positive denial or dubitative. It
also reveals a hidden phase of their mental life; their vacil-
lating, hesitating, undecided way of acting, thinking, and
talking. There is no positivism in his mental make-up. On
account of this dubitative form, we can truly say that the
nine Chippewa conjugations amount to thirty-six !

7. Great number of terminations. — From this multi-
plicity of conjugations, forms, moods, tenses and participles
the reader can form some idea of the endless number of
terminations, with which the Chippewa verb abounds to
express every possible form of thought, action, or being. At
the most moderate calculation, the first conjugation contains
122 terminations, and the fourth at least five hundred, if not
more. It is an herculean task to commit all these termina-
tions to memory, to remember the particular idea each one
of them conveys, and to understand and employ them
readily in conversation. The writer ventures the opinion
that no white man ever spoke the Chippewa language to per-
fection, not even excepting Bishop Baraga, who composed a
dictionary and grammar of their language.

8. Wonderful regularity and system in the Chippewa
LANGUAGE. — There are only two irregular verbs in the whole
language. Neither Latin nor Greek can compare with the
Chippewa in regularity and system. Every possible shade
and variety of thought, action and being can be expressed in
that language with regularity and precision. The more the
scholar studies it, the more he admires its systematic evolu-
tion of forms to express corresponding ideas. It may be
compared to a majestic Gothic cathedral, where each stone
and timber fits in its place. It is the very opposite of the
English language, a congiomeration, so to say, of Anglo-
Saxon, British, Danish, Norman, Greek, Latin, etc., without
hardly anything like rule, regularity, or system. The Chip-
pewa language is the very embodiment of rule, system, and
regularity. The originators of that language in ancient
times must have attained a high degree of civilization. Our
Indians now are but the remnant of ancient civilized races
sank into barbarism through incessant wars, immigrations
and vice. Their language, it is true, is poor in abstract
words or terms to express abstract ideas, but the fault is not
in the language, but in the Indian's mode of life. He is a
child of nature in all its individuality and concreteness .

250

Hence his ideas move only in the circle of concrete, indi-
vidualized nature, and his language is necessarily bounded
by the same limits. Were they a European nation, with the
breadth and depth of European ideas, they could mould
their language so as to make it express every idea con-
ceivable. This is shown in the names they have given to
objects of civilized make and invention, e. gf., biwabiko-
mikana, iron road, i. e., railroad ; ishkotens, a little fire, i. e.,
a match.

9. Plasticity of the language. — In English, most of
the names of modern inventions are taken from the Greek
language as being the most plastic and expressive of known
languages for the coining of new words and names. Thus
the theological word " incarnation " is rendered in Chippewa
by " anishinabewiidisowin," which is a far better and more
intelligible expression of that mystery than the word in-,
carnation itself, and even the German word, ^'Menschwerdung.''^
It is derived from the verb, anishinabewiidiso, he makes him-
self man (in German: (£r mac^t [i(^ gum 9Jienjc^en). This one
example will suffice to show that the Chippewa language, if
moulded by the European mind, would be wonderfully
adapted for scientific, philosophic and theologic branches of
learning. And this plasticity, this adaptibility for the coin-
ing and compounding of words is one reason why there are
so many long words. They originate from the attempt to
convey in one word, two, three, or more distinct ideas; e. g.,
bidassimishka, he is coming here in a canoe, boat; from bi,
denoting approach; ondass, come here; bimishka, becomes
or goes in a boat, canoe. As most commonly every consonant
is followed by a vowel, it is easy to clipp off a part of the
word, retaining but the root to preserve the radical meaning,
and then add to it two or three roots of other words, and
thus make a new word. Thus, I wash my feet, my hands
are cold, he regards me with compassion, I come to him
begging, weeping with hunger, are all expressed in Chippewa
by one single word. The same idea is manifested in many
Latin words, adopted into the English language, e. g., edify,
manufacture, pontificate.

10. Euphony. — The Chippewa Indians pay great atten-
tion to harmoniousness of sound. Hence they often prefix
or add a vowel to a word, in order to prevent the concurrence
of disagreeable, harsh-sounding consonants; e. g., " epitch,"

251

if followed by a word beginning with a consonant, will be
made epitchi. Thus they prefix the letter i to na, dash, etc.,
if the preceding word terminates in a consonant that does
not well assimilate with the n or d of the following word
For the same reason they put a consonant between two
words, the one concluding and the other beginning with a
vowel; e. g., anamiewabo, holy water, from anamie. holy
sacred, appertaining to prayer; and abo, referring to water
and hquids; the letter w is inserted for the sake of Euphony.
11. Various kinds of Verbs formed from one and the
SAME ROOT.— Let us take for instance the root anok, which has
reference to work, labor. From this root are formed:
• a. The Common verb, anoM, " he works."

b. The Reciprocal verb, anohitaso, "he works for himself."
These verbs show a reaction of the subject on itself; e. a. nin
wabandis, " I see myself." '

c. The Communicative verb, anokitadiwag, " they work for
each other." These verbs show a mutual action of two or
more subjects upon each other; e. g., nin migadimin, "we are
fighting with each other."

d. The Personifying verb, nind anokitagon, " it works for
me, serves me." These verbs represent inanimate things as
actmg like animate beings; e. g., ki-ga-nissigon ishkotewabo,'"
hrewater (whiskey) is going to kill you."

e. The Reproaching verb, anokitashki, " he has the bad (?)
habit of working." These verbs signify that their subject has
a habit or quahty that is reproach to him; e. g., minikweshki,

he has the bad habit of drinking; he is a drunkard" (from
minikwe, "he drinks").

/. The Feigning verb, anokikaso, "he feigns; makes believe
he is working." These verbs are used to express feigning,
dissimulation; e. g., nibakaso, "he feigns to sleep" (from'
niba, " he sleeps").

g. The Causing verb, nind anokia, "I make him work-
cause him to work." The verbs indicate that the subject of
the verb causes its animate object to act or do something;
e. g., manisse, "he chops wood"; nin manissea, " I make him
chop wood."

h. The Frequentative verb, aianoki, " he works often," nita-
anoki, "he is industrious; likes to work." These verbs in-
dicate a repetition or reiteration of the action expressed by

252

the verb; e. ^., nin tangishkawa, " I kick him," nin tatangish-
kawa, " I kick him several times."

i. The Pitying verb, anokishi, " he works a little " (being
still weak, sickly). These verbs are used to manifest pity;
e. g., nin debimash, " it is but too true what they say of me;"
nind akosish, " I am deserving a pity; being sick."

In the same manner various kinds of verbs are formed
from nouns transformed into verbs. Take for instance the
noun ogima, " a chief"; from this root are formed :

a. The Substantive verb, ogimawi, " he is chief; he rules."

b. The Common verb, nind ogimakandawa, " I rule over
him; govern him; am his chief."

c. The Abundance verb, ogimaka, " there are many chiefs "
(e. g., in a certain place). These verbs signify an abundanc*
of what they express; e. g., sagime, "a mosquito"; sagimeka
oma, " there are lots of mosquitoes here."

d. The Possessive verb, nind ogimam, " I have a chief."
These verbs denote possession of property; e. g., mokoman,
" a knife " (hence kitchi mokomanag, " the Big Knives," i. e.,
the Americans), nind omokoman, " I have a knife."

e. To these may be added the so-called Working verbs,
which denote doing or making a thing; e. g., pakwejigan,
"bread," pakwejiganike," "he, she makes bread."

All these verbs are formed according to certain fixed rules,
so that from one simple root perhaps a dozen or more different
verbs may be formed, and, as from each verb of these kind
verbal nouns may be made, it is easy to be seen that the
Chippewa language is richly supplied with verbs and verbal
nouns, far more so than any of our modern or classic
languages, that is, for expressing every possible mode of
being and acting in Indian life. It is truly a living, acting
language ; everything in it seems to live and act.

For further interesting peculiarities of the Chippewa
language, we refer the reader to Bishop Baraga's Chippewa
Dictionary and Grammar, published by Messrs. Beauchemin
& Valois, 256 and 258 St. Paul street, Montreal, Canada.

CHIPPEWA ROOTS

(Radical Syllables or Words) Resembling Those of
European and Asiatic Languages.

Abreviations:— Sanscrit (Sans.)— Greek (Gr.)— Gothic (Goth.)— Latin (Lat.)—
Lirhuanian (Llth.)— Sclavonic (Scl.)— German (Germ.)— Hebrew (Hebr.)—
Hibernian (Hib.)— Celtic (Celt.)— English (Eng-1.)— Anglo-Saxon (A. Sax.)—
Danish (Dan.)— Dutch (D.)— Russian (Russ.)— Old Germ. (O. Germ.)

Aba — Chippewa formative conveying the idea of the Eng-
lish prefix: un ; e. g., nind abaan, I untie it ; nind ababi-
kaan, I unlock it. It also means, of, off, from; Sans., apa;
Lat., ab; Gr., apo; Goth., af; D., af; Germ., ab (abnehmen).

Abaio, bato, means, to run; e. g., bimibato, I run by (a
person, house); nin kijikabato, I run fast. Gr., baino;
Fr., s'abattre.

Abi, signifies : to be in a place; e. g., pindig abi, he is in-
side (house, etc.); nind abitan, I inhabit it, abide in it.
Engl., abide; Lat., habitare; A. Sax., abidan; O. Germ.,
bitan; Goth., beidan; Dan., bie (perhaps, by, bei).

Abo, refers to liquids; e. g., enamiewabo (prayer- water)
holy water; ishkotewabo, fire water, whiskey. Sans., ap
(water); Lat., aqua; Goth., ahra, water (flumen); Lith.,uppe,
river.

Aiabe, nabe, refers to male beings. Hebr., habbah, or
abba, father (primogenitor), abbas; Eng., abbot; Germ., abt
(perhaps the Germ, word, knabe, is derived from a similar
root).

Animad, it blows, refers to wind, breath; e. g., minwani-
mad, the wind is good, favorable. Sans.,-an (sonare), anila,
wind, anemos; Lat., animus, anima; Hib., anal, breath,

254

anam, life; Goth., us, ana (expire); Eng., animate; Dan.,
aand; Germ., odem, athem, athmen.

Andj, a formative syllable, implying change, alteration;
e. g., nind andjiton, I change it; andj' ijiwebisin, change your
way of living, your conduct. This formative is very much
used in compounding words, and always conveys the idea of
change. Sans., antara (derived from antar, Lat., inter, sub);
Goth., anthar; Germ., anders, andern; Lat., alter, the "1"
taking the place of the Chippewa "n"; Eng., alter, other.

Aw, this; e. g., aw inini, this man. Hebr., hou (him).

Baia, means something bad or wicked; e. g., bata dodamo-
win, bad doing, bad action; bata ijiwebisi, he is bad, wicked.
Engl., had ; Germ., bose; Goth., bauths, deaf, dumb, dull.

Bi, b/'c, has reference to liquids, water; e. g., onagan mosh-
kinebi, the dish is full (of water or some other liquid);
ogidibic, on the water; giwashkwebi, he is drunk, dizzy from
drinking. Gr., pino; Lat., bibo; Fr., boire; Sans., pitar
(beer (?); Germ., bier).

B/', a prefix and formative, conveying the idea of some-
thing coming to, or being brought to where the speaker is;
e. g., bi-ijan oma, come here! bidon, bring it here. Eng., by;
Germ., bei.

Bibagi (root, bag), he calls; halloes. Sans., vac;- Lat.,
voco, vox; old Germ., gi-vag; Serb., vik-ati (vociferate); Fr.,
voix; Eng., vocal.

Da, refers to place where a person or thing is, or said to
act; e. g., nin da, I dwell; endaian, where I dwell, my house ^
dagwaso, she sews in a certain place, for instance, at home.
Germ., da, darneben, darunter ; A. Sax., thaer; Goth., thar.;
Eng., there.

Dan, has reference to possessing things, riches; e.g., kitchi
dani, he is rich; daniwin, riches. Sans., dana, riches.

Dodam, (root dod). Eng., do; D., doen; Germ., thun;
Sans., da, to put; dadami, I put. Gr., tithemi.

Gaie, means and. Gr., kai; Lat., que.

Ga, gin, refers to motherhood; e. g., ninga, my mother;
kiga, thy mother; ogin, his mother; ogiwan, their mother.
Sans., gan; Gr., ginomai; Lat., gigno, genui, genitor; Hib.,

255

genim, I beget; Goth., kin; Eng., kin, kindred; Fr., gen^se,
generation.

Ca^wrefl^' (godj) has reference to questioning, trying. Sans.,
cest; Lat., quaesivi; Eng., quest, 'question; e. g., nin gag-
wedjima, I ask him a question; gagwedjindiwin, question.

/n/'w, onow, these, those. Sans., ana; Lith., anas, an's (ille,
ilia); Gr., en, on; Sclav., onu, ona, ono; Chald., inum.

/sh, an affix, implying contempt; e. g., inini, a man;
ininiwish, a had man; ikwesens, a girl; ikwesensish, a had
girl. In English and German the termination "ish" means
the same thing; e. g., boyish, womanish; Germ., weibisch.

Jag (pron. zhag or shag) implies the idea of weakness;
e. g., nin jagwenima, I think he is weak; jagwiwi, he is weak;
jagwagami anibishabo, the tea is weak. D., zwak; Germ.,
schwach.

Ki, Kin, thou, thy. Hebr., ka; D., gy.

Man, a formative syllable, generally indicating something
bad; e. g., manadad, it is bad; nin manadenima, I think bad
of him, have a bad opinion of him; manj' aia, he feels un-
well; manadisi, he looks bad, homely. Lat., malus, bad; as
in Chippewa they have no " 1," the letter "n" is always sub-
stituted for it, e. g., angeli — anjeni. As the Latin formative,
mal, is used in compound words, e. g., malevolus, malignus,
tnaleficium, etc , and always conveys the idea of something
bad, so also the Chippewa man has the same meaning in all
words, in which it occurs The Chippewa and Latin forma-
tive seem to be identical in meaning and origin.

Mang, a formative implying something large, great; e. gr.,
mangidibe, he has a large head; mangademo mikana, the
trail, path, road is large, wide. This root, mang, is much
used in compound words. Sans., manh; Gr., megas; Lat.,
magnus; Goth , mikils; Hib., mochd; Dan., mange; Germ.,
mancher. Conf. also Chippewa, nin magwia, I am greater,
stronger than him, surpass, overcome him; nin mamakade-
nima (root mak), I admire him (for his greatness, strength,
etc.)

Man/to, means spirit; e. g., Kije Manito, God; Kitchi
Manito, the Great Spirit, God. Sans., man to think; manas,
soul, spirit; Lat., mens; Eng., mind and man; Germ., mann;
Dan., mand.

256

Mashk, refers to anything strong; e. g., mashkawisi, he is
strong; mashkawagami anibishabo, the tea is strong. Lat.,
magnus ('?); Germ., macht, miichtig; D,, magt.

Min, the opposite of ''man," implies something good, and
therefore lovely: e. g., mino inini, a good man; mino ikwe, a
good woman. It is much used in compound words, nin
minwadendam, I have good patience; minotchige, he does
well. Sans., mid, mind to love; D., beminnen, to love; 0,
Germ., minna, minni love, hence the word minnesiinger.

Ufa, particle used in asking questions; e. g., ki gi-wabama
naf did you see him? Lat., ne (putasne?); Fr., ne.

IVin, means I. Hebr., ani, ni.

Ningot, means one; ningoting, once. Hebr., achad; Sans.,
eka.

Nongom, means now. Lat., nunc; Germ., nun; D., nu;
Eng., now (^perhaps from iw (this) gon (day), this day).

-on, a formative sj'llable referring to ships, boats ; e. g.,
pindonag (from pind, inside, in, and on, boat, canoe), in a
canoe, boat; nin mangon. I have a large boat (from mang.
large, and on boat). Hebr., oni, boat.

Ogima, means chief ; kitchi ogima, a great chief, a king.
Gr., hegemon.

Ond, ondj, conveys the idea of origin, source, cause, reason
why and for; e. g., Jesus gijigong gi-ondjiba, Jesus came
from heaven; kin ondji dodam, he does it for you, on your
account. Lat., unde, inde ; D., ont (ontstaan) ; Germ., ent
(entkommen).

Takona (root tak), I take, seize ; e. g., takonigewinini, a
man who takes people— sheriff, constable. A.-Sax., tacan;
Eng., take.

Tang, refers to touching ; e. g., nin tangina, I touch him.
Lat., tango; Gr., tynchano; Eng., touch ; Germ., tasten
(antasten); tangible.

IVan, implies losing; e. g., nin waniton, I lose it; nin wa-
nendan (I lose it mentally) forget it; nin wanishin, I make
a mistake ; this root is much used in compound words.
Hebr., aviin; Lat., vanus, vanitas; Eng., vain.

Weweni. Eng.. well; Lat., bene; Germ., wohl. (Perhaps
the root is on, onijishin it is good; participle, wenijishing,
good, that which is good.

257

Wi, a particle prefixed to verbs to denote will, determina-
tion to do a thing; e. g., nin wi-ija, I will go. Germ, and
Eng., will; Lat., volo, velle; Gr., boulomai.

Vl^/c/, widj, conveys the idea of accompaniment and is very
much used in compound words, 'like the Latin cum (con);
e. g., widjiwagan, a companion; nin widjiwa, I go with him ;
widj' anishinabe, fellow-man; (Literally the Germ, mit-
mensch); Gr., meta; Eng., with; Germ., mit ; D., med;
Swede, vid; Dan., ved.

Wiw, wife; e. g., wiwan, his wife. Germ., weib ; D., wyf;
Eng., wife.

V/issin, midjin, to eat. Lat., edere, est, or edit; Germ.,
essen, er ist; D,, eten; Eng., eat.

Many more might be added.

Chronological Table.

1490 (?) — Chippewas settle on Madeline (La Pointe) Island.

1492 — Columbus discovers the New World.

1534 — Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence.

1541 — De Soto discovers the Mississippi.

1605 — First permanent French settlement in North America,
made at Port Royal.

1607 — Jamestown in Virginia founded.

1608 — Quebec settled by Champlain.

1615 — Recollect Fathers' arrival in Canada.

1620 — Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth.

1625 — First Jesuit Fathers land at Quebec. The Recollect
Father Viel, the proto-matyr of Canada, is drowned
by a pagan Indian, at Sault au RecoUet, near Mont-
real.

1629 — Canada taken by the English under Kirk, and all the
missionaries carried to England.

1632 — Canada restored to France.

1633 — Jesuits return to Canada.

1639— Jean Nicollet visits the Winnebagoes and other tribes
at the head of Green Bay.

1642 — Fathers Jogues and Raymbault, S. J., plant the cross
at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. First captivity of
Father Jogues.

1646— October 18, Father Isaac Jogues killed by the Mo-
hawks.

1648— July 4, Father Anthony Daniel, S. J., killed. -

1649 — March 16, Father John de Brebeuf, S. J., cruelly put
to death by the Iroquois. March 17, Father Lale-
mant, S. J., tortured to death. December 7, Father
Charles Garnier, S. J., killed, and on the 8th, death
of Father Natalis Chabanel, S. J. Huron mission
destroyed.

259

1654 — Two French traders pass St. Ignace on their way to
Green Bay, namely, Grosseilliers and Radisson;
they are discovered in a starving condition on Made-
^ line Island; visit the Hurons at the headwaters of
Black River, Wisconsin, and the Sioux in Minnesota;
return to Quebec in 1660.

1656 — Father Leonard Garreau, S. J., killed,

1660 — October 15, Father Rene Menard, S. J., arrives at
Keweenaw Bay, Michigan.

1661 — First mass in Wisconsin, by Father Menard, between
the 1st and 10th of August; he perishes or is killed
at the headwaters of Black River, Wisconsin, about
August 10th.

1662 — Conflict at Iroqouis Point, Lake Superior.

1663 — Great earthquake in the whole St. Lawrence valley.

1665 — October 1, Father Claude Allouez, S. J., arrives at
Chagaouamigong (Chequamegon) Bay, and begins
the mission of the Holy Ghost on La Pointe du Saint
Esprit, at the head of Chequamegon Bay. About
the same time or before that, Nicholas Perrot visits
the Pottawatamies at Green Bay.

1667 — Father Allouez returns to Quebec and brings back
with him Father Louis Nicolas to La Pointe du
Saint Esprit.

1668 — Father Jacques (James) Marquette, S. J., stationed at
Sault Ste. Marie.

1669 — Father Claude Dablon, S. J., arrives at the Sault;
Father Marquette stationed at La Pointe du Saint
Esprit, September 19. Father Allouez founds the
Green Bay mission of St. Francis Xavier, Decem-
ber 3.

1670 — Father Allouez founds the mission of St. Mark, above
Lake Winneconne, Wisconsin, April 25 — the mission
of St. James, not far from Portage City, Wisconsin,
May 1 — the mission of St. Michael, among the
Menominees, near the mouth of Menominee River,
Wisconsin, May 8 — another near Little Sturgeon
Bay, Wisconsin, among the Winnebagoes and Potta-
watamies.

1671— June 14, great mass meeting at Sault Ste. Marie; the
mission of La Pointe du Saint Esprit abandoned.

260

1673 — June 17, Father Marquette and M. Joliet discover the

Mississippi.
1674 — Chapel at Sault Ste. Marie burnt by pagan Indians.
1675 — Father Marquette dies on the eastern shore of Lake

Michigan.
1676 — Nice church built at Depere, Wisconsin.
1677 — Father Marquette's remains brought by a party of

Kiskakon Indians to Mackinaw and interred at

Point St. Ignace.
1679 — Father Hennepin, 0. S. F., and La Salle arrive at

Mackinaw. Du Luth visits the Sioux, and the fol-
lowing year goes up the Bois Brule and down the

St. Croix River, Wisconsin.
1680 — Father Hennepin ascends the Mississippi to the Falls

of St. Anthony. September 18, Father Gabriel de

la Ribourde, O. S. F., killed in Illinois by some

Kickapoo Indians.
1687 — Church and mission house at Depere burnt by pagan

Indians.
1690 — Father Allouez dies at St. Joseph's mission, Michigan.
1695 — A French trading post established at Chagaouamigong.
"^ 1705 — Mission of Mackinaw abandoned; the Fathers with a

sorrowful heart burn their church to prevent its

desecration by pagan Indians.
1721 — The historian, Charlevoix, visits Green Bay; Father

Chardon, S. J., stationed there at that time.
1728 — French and Fox war; probably during that war two

Jesuit Fathers were put to death by pagan Indians

at Depere, Wisconsin.
1741-65 — Father Peter du Jau*iay stationed at Mackinaw.
1745 — Augustine de Langlade and his son Charles settle at

Green Bay.
1754 — Commencement of the Old French War.
1759 — Quebec taken.

1776 — July 4, Declaration of Independence.
1783— End of the war between Great Britain and the United

States.
1790— Diocese of Baltimore erected. Mt. Rev. John Carroll

consecrated August 15.
1793 — May 25, First ordination in the United States, that of

Rev. Stephen T. Badin.

261

1799 — Rev. Gabriel Richard visits Arbre Croche. Washing-
ton dies.

1810 — November 4, Rt. Rev. Benedict Joseph Flaget conse-
crated Bishop of Bardstown, Kentucky. Pope Leo
XIII. born, March 2.

1815 — December 3, Archbishop Carroll, Baltimore, died.
1822 — January 13, Rt. Rev. Edward Fen wick, first Bishop of

Cincinnati, consecrated.
1823 — Rev. Gabriel Richard visits Green Bay; a combination

school and church built; destroyed by fire in 1825.
1825— Rev. J. V. Badin visits Green Bay, also in 1826, 1828.
1828 — Rev. P. S. Dejean, of Arbre Croche, Michigan, visits

Green Bay.
1830-1831— Rt. Rev._ E. Fen wick visits Green Bay; also V.

Rev. Frederic Rese. Father Baraga arrives in New

York, December 31, 1830.
1831 — First Catholic Church in Wisconsin built at Menomi-

neeville, near Green Bay — destroyed by fire in

1846 (?)
1832 — Rev. Sanderl and Hatscher, C. S. S. R., take charge of

the Catholic congregation of Green Bay. Bishop

E. Fenwick, of Cincinnati, dies of the cholera at

Wooster, Ohio, September 26. Father Van den

Broek arrives in Baltimore, August 15.
1833 — Rev. Sanderl and Hatscher go to Arbre Croche. Rt.

Rev. Frederic Rese, first Bishop of Detroit (and

first German Bishop of the United States) consecrated

October 6.
1834 — July 4, Father T. J. Van den Broek arrives in Green

Bay — cholera there that same year.
1835 — Rev. Frederic Baraga arrives in La Pointe, Madeline

Island, July 27; he builds a chapel at Middlefort.
1836 — The Redemptorist Fathers take charge of Green Bay

for the second time. Father Van den Broek goes to

Little Chute.
1838 — Rev. Florimond Bonduel takes charge of the Green

Bay congregation. Visit of Bishop Rese to La

Pointe, Wisconsin.
1839 — Father Van den Broek completes his church in Little

Chute.

7 ^ T r-J r

262

/x-f^

1841 — Present church of La Pointe, built by Father Baraga.
Rt. Rev. Peter Paul Lefevre, coadjutor of Detroit,
consecrated November 21.

1843 — Rev. Peter Carabin takes charge of Green Bay. Father
Baraga removes to L'Anse, Michigan.

1844 — Rt. Rev. John Martin Henni, of Milwaukee, conse-
crated March 17 — created Archbishop in 1875 — died
September 7, 1881. August 16, 1844, Bishop Henni
confirms 122 Indians and French in La Pointe.

1845— October 4, Rev. Otta SkoUa, 0. S. F. Str. Obs., arrives
in La Pointe; removed to Keshina in 1853.

1847 — Rev. A. Godfert takes charge of Green Bay. Father
Van den Broek goes to Holland.

1848 — First settlement of Catholic Hollanders in Wisconsin.

1849 — Rev. A. Anderledy, S. J., and Jos. Brunner, S. J., take
charge of Green Bay.

1850 — Rev. A. Anderledy leaves Green Bay.

1851 — Father Van den Broek dies at Little Chute, Novem-
ber 5.

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