SOME Savages from the country of the Abnaquiois, coming to visit Noël Negabamat, Captain of the new Christians at the Residence of saint Joseph,—commonly called the Residence [77] of Sillery,—and seeing that this man was leading an entirely new life, were charmed with the novelty of his talk and the beauty of his morals, and had themselves instructed in his belief,—which appeared to them so beautiful and so reasonable that they embraced it with ardor. And, having then received holy Baptism, they returned to their own country, all full of joy, like the Eunuch of Queen Candace, to communicate to their countrymen the good news of the Gospel. Baptism made them Christians and Preachers at the same time; and they spoke boldly of Jesus Christ, in public and in private. The chief men of their country, desirous of participating in this good fortune, sent some of their number as delegates to the Father Superior of our Missions, to obtain some Missionaries of our Society, who should teach them the way to Heaven (as they expressed it), whereof their fellow-countrymen had given them the first intimation. They arrived at saint Joseph on the 14th of August of the year 1646; and after they had declared the purpose of their embassy, Father [page 241] Gabriel Druilletes was granted them. They conducted him to their boats on the 29th of the same month [78] of August, in the same year 1646, to carry him to their country, where he instructed them during the entire Autumn, Winter, and Spring,—when they finally carried him back to Kebec, all laden with Crosses and Palms. On the 15th of June of the year 1647, these good people, actuated by the pleasure that they had taken in a doctrine which astonished and comforted them at the same time, asked that their Father should be given back to them, after some days of rest and recuperation. For suitable reasons, however, their request could not be granted. They returned as many as two and three times during the years '48 and '49, without being able to obtain him, as we believed that other Missionaries nearer to their country would be able to give them religious instruction. Finally, returning in the year 1650, they pressed so urgently and with such good grace to have their Patriarch, (for so they call the Father,) that they bore him away on the first of September of the same year; then bringing him back in the month of June of the year 1651, they gave him only a fortnight's respite to gain strength in mind and body, whereupon they conducted him anew to the country of Crosses, whence he returned [79] on the 8th day of April of the past year, 1652. Among these people, who are so far removed from our customs, he had only one Frenchman for companion in his labors, which could with truth be called the labors of Hercules. But let us follow the memoirs that have been sent me concerning his journeys.The first day of their voyage was the first day of their crosses. Although there is no road in these [page 243] great woods,—or, rather, although all the woods and all the rivers of these regions are naught but roads made for men and wild beasts, and for fishes,—yet one can take the shortest or the longest way, the easiest or the most difficult, to arrive at the end and destination he has in view. Now the Boatmen and Guides conducting the Father took some new routes that they had never traveled; and we have since learned that all those who had taken them before had either died of fatigue and hunger, or had thought they were going to die. After paddling and walking for a fortnight, by swollen streams and very bad roads, when they thought they were approaching the country of the Abnaquiois, they found [80] they had not yet accomplished a third part of their journey; and, to increase their misfortune, they were at the end of their supplies and provisions. The Father, seeing his people in this extreme destitution, had recourse to the God of men and animals,—offering him the sacrifice of his Son in those great forests; and conjuring him, by the Blood shed by him for these people, to succor them in their necessity. The end of his sacrifice was the end of their want. As he was leaving the Altar, a valiant Catechumen, who had plunged into these forest-depths to seek some remedy for their famine, came to offer him three Moose or Elks, which he had just killed. This manna, restoring life to them, was not received without astonishment and thanksgiving. The less they were expecting it and the more their need of it, the greater was their joy at tasting it. It is true, after one good meal, they had from it many very poor ones; for they salted, after the custom of the Savages, what was left them of their feast,—that is [page 245] to say, this meat was smoked, or dried in smoke, by them for the remainder of their journey, and it constituted their [81] sole dish. In these expeditions, the traveler does not know what bread is, or wine, or salt, or sauce. His toils call forth appetite, and appetite is the best cook in the world,—everything being good, everything excellent, in such circumstances. After this little refreshment, it was necessary to resume the paddle, and ascend against the current of the River saint John as far as its source. The shallows, stones, rocks, and portages of five or six leagues, that were to be encountered, so daunted an Etechemin Savage of the party that he wished with all his heart to turn his back on the country of the Abnaquiois, in order to follow the current of the River, and go to Pentagouët in Acadia, where this stream empties into the Ocean. When the Catechumen of whom I have just spoken represented to him the displeasure he would cause the Abnaquiois, who had been for so long a time awaiting their Patriarch, he took heart again. Putting forth all their strength in unison, they propelled their little boat of bark against the torrent's rapid current, through a thousand dangers of wreck. But, on the third day, this poor Etechemin lost heart a second time; and, although he was well aware [82] that the Father had not led them astray or involved them in these detours, yet, regarding him as the primary cause of this undertaking, he discharged upon him every moment the weight of his anger, which grew sharper as their difficulties and sufferings increased. At last, in order to appease that importunate fellow, the Father was forced to part with his companion and abandon his little baggage, to lighten their gondola. This done, [page 247] that man of ill humor took the bit in his teeth, as the saying is,—paddling in the torrents, and making his way over the portages with the Father and his Catechumen, without taking any rest from morning till night. The Geldings of England eat almost all night, and travel all day without being unbridled. The Americans of these regions do almost the same when they are on a journey. The poor Father set out at daybreak, and toiled on, without eating, until nightfall; his supper was a little of that smoked meat, hard as wood,—or a small fish, if he could catch one with his line; and, after saying his prayers, the ground was his bed, a log his pillow. Yet, with all that, he slept [83] more sweetly than those who do naught but dream upon feathers and down. At length, after 23 or 24 days of hard work, they arrived at one of the villages or towns of the Abnaquiois, called Nazanchouak. The Captain of the place, whose name was Oumamanradok, received them with a salvo of arquebus shots, and, embracing the Father, exclaimed: " I see well, now, that the great Spirit who commands in the Skies is pleased to regard us with favor, since he sends us back our Patriarch." His harangue was tolerably long, at the close of which he made inquiry of the Catechumen if the Father had been in good health on the journey, and if he had been well treated. Upon learning that the Savage from the country of the Etechemins had often given him trouble, he said to him, with a grave and very serious tone: " Thou hast shown, by not paying respect to our Patriarch, that thou hadst no sense. Thou wouldst have deserted him in the middle of the journey, and thou didst force him to part with his companion and leave behind a small [page 249] package that he was carrying with him. Wert thou under my authority, or one of my nation, I would make thee feel the displeasure thou hast occasioned to the whole country. " [84] This poor man, instead of excusing himself, uttered his own condemnation,—Savages not easily resisting the truth when they recognize it, although they do not always follow it. " It is true, " he made answer before all the assembly; " I have no sense, to have treated so badly a person to whom I myself am under great obligations. By his prayers he restored me to health when I had fallen ill, watching all night at my side and driving away by his orisons the Demon that wished to deprive me of life. When he saw that I was weak, he was not content with carrying his own baggage or packet in the places where we had to walk, but he also burdened himself with mine. He obtains from him who made all things everything that he wishes: when the water in our course was too low, he asked for rain to swell the streams, and he was immediately heard and ourselves much aided. When we were on the point of dying from hunger, he prayed for us; and he who is the master of the animals gave us meat, more than we needed for the rest of our journey. He himself did not eat of it, ordinarily, when it was fresh, but would catch with his line, toward night, some little fish, [85] with which he contented himself, leaving us the good pieces. When the water was not deep enough, and our Canoe was in danger of touching bottom, he would get out; in order to lighten us, and would walk, for six whole days, through thickets and among frightful rocks. In these toils he did not eat; but he would be found at nightfall fresher, gayer, and happier than we. [page 251] He is not a man; he is a Nioueskou,"—that is, a Spirit, or an extraordinary Genie; " and as for me, I am a dog to have treated him so ill. When I railed at him or threatened him, accusing him of being the cause of our ill luck, he would not say a word,—or, if he spoke, one would have believed that he was guilty, and that I was right in upbraiding him, so gentle and full of kindness were his answers. Yes, it is true, I have no sense, but I wish to have some; I will love prayer, and will have myself instructed by the Patriarch." That is the confession of this Etechemin Savage, and the remarks he made on the life of the Father. But let us continue on our way.
As soon as the Etechemin had finished his speech, [86] every man, woman, and child, without exception, came to show the Father the joy that was felt at his return. There was nothing but feasting in all the cabins, and he was taken and carried off with love. " At last thou art here, " they would say to him; " we behold thee, thou art our Father, our patriarch, and our dear fellow-countryman; for living with us, and remaining among us, thou art an Abnaquiois like us. Thou bringest back joy with thee to all the country. We were planning to leave our native land to go and find thee; for when we saw many die in thine absence, we were losing hope of going to Heaven. Those whom thou didst instruct did everything they had learned of thee,—but, being ill, their hearts sought thee and could not find thee; while those who have died longed for thee with tears. But at last thou hast come back."
Some made him affectionate reproaches: " If thou hast done us much good by thy presence, thou hast caused us great evils by thine absence. Hadst thou [page 253] remained with us, thou wouldst have instructed us fully; we are only half Christians, because thou [87] hast only half taught us. The Demon has laid waste our country, because we did not well know how we ought to have recourse to Jesus, who is his master."
"A Captain touched my heart, " says the Father. " He repeated to me often, in public and in private, that he loved his children more than himself. 'I have lost two of them,' added he, 'since thy departure. Their death is not my greatest grief, but thou didst not baptize them,—that is what afflicts me. It is true, I did to them what thou hadst bidden me; but I know not whether I did aright, and whether I shall ever see them in Heaven. If thou thyself hadst baptized them, I would not mourn them or be sorry because of their death; on the contrary, I would be comforted. If, to banish my sadness, thou wert willing at least to promise us not to think of Kebec for ten years, and not to leave us during that time, thou wouldst show that thou lovest us.' Thereupon, he conducted me to the grave of his two children, over whom he had planted two fine Crosses painted red, which he went to salute from time to time; it was within sight of the English themselves, who live at Koussinok, the Place where the Cemetery of these good [88] people is situated, because they hold two large assemblies on this spot,—one in the Spring, and the other in the Autumn.
"A young man—one of the most accomplished I have seen—gave me a surprise, " the Father remarks. "'I come from a great distance,' said he to me; 'I am not accustomed to appear in these parts. A very long time ago, some one whom I do not know urged and entreated me, within my heart to come and find [page 255] thee, and to obey what thou shoutdst say to me. Here I am, accordingly, in thy charge; teach me, and, if I transgress thy bidding, chastise me. I will tell thee everything; my heart shall be opened to thee, and thou shalt write therein what is in the book of Jesus. "'
As soon as the news of the Father's return was carried to the other villages of the Abnaquiois, people came from all sides to invite him, with earnest and pressing entreaties, to instruct all the country. He visited first the 12 or 13 settlements or villages of those tribes which are ranged partly along the river Kenebec, which the French commonly call Quinibequi, and partly along the coast of Acadia, which the English occupy. He was everywhere received like an Angel descended from Heaven. If the [89] years have their Winter, they also have their Spring. If these Missions have their griefs, they are not deprived of their joys and consolations. " These latter, " says the Father, " I have felt in such intensity as to be beyond the power of expression, upon seeing the Gospel seed that I had, four years previously, planted in ground which had for so many centuries produced only brambles and thorns, bear fruits worthy of God's table. Could one, indeed, without feeling a pleasure greater than that of the senses, see old men and languishing invalids almost die of joy upon receiving their passports for Heaven? Can one close his eyes in this cheerfulness without taking part in it ? Death, which inspires all with fear, makes a newly-baptized Savage rejoice; and his relatives' faith changes their lamentations and loud outcries to Thanksgivings and rejoicings at the prospect of soon seeing one another in Paradise. It is thus that the [page 257] really faithful ones conduct themselves, on the day of their departure from this life. "
After the Father had made his visits, and had spent some time in cultivating [go] the villages farther inland and at a greater distance from the English, he took with him Noël Negabamat, or Tekouerimat, Captain of the Christians of saint Joseph, to go down to new England. This valiant Neophyte was commissioned by the Algonquins of the great River, and the Father was sent as Agent, or Ambassador, by his good Abnaquiois Catechumens, to ask the English for some help against the Hiroquois, who were striving to exterminate those poor [Abnaquiois] peoples, as well as the Hurons and Algonquins. The Father went to Boston, to Pleymot,—in short, he journeyed over almost all new England, without prevailing on the English to put themselves to much trouble in aid of these poor nations, their neighbors. His embassy accomplished, he returned to his dear children, and spoke about making a journey to his brothers who were at Kebec. Those whom he had instructed and caused to be born in Jesus Christ, remonstrated with him affectionately; but he was forced to leave them, in order to go and render an account of his work.
To conclude this Chapter, I will say (speaking as the Savages speak) that the [91] sufferings, of which we have just spoken, encountered by the Father and his companion on their way to the country of the Abnaquiois, were no sufferings at all; but that they met with some on their return. Both he and all those who formed his escort thought they would die with hunger and cold; some even lost their lives in the snow, and in the excess of fatigue which one [page 259] must often enough endure in these expeditions. The Father and his dear companion sustained life for ten whole days without eating anything, after having fasted during the whole of Lent. At length they bethought themselves to boil their shoes, and afterward the Father's undershirt, which was made of Elk-skin; and when the snow had melted, they also cooked the cords or lacings of the snowshoes which, when it was deep, they used to keep themselves from sinking. All this seemed to them to have a good taste; the divine grace gives a marvelous seasoning to bitter doses that are taken for Jesus Christ's sake, In a word, they arrived at Kebec on the Monday after Easter, with no strength or vigor beyond that which, zeal for the saving of souls can impart to a skeleton, Non ex solo pane vivit homo. The Spirit of God is a good [92] and substantial nutriment. The emaciated countenance and exhausted body of this good Father did not deter another from setting out, with five or six Neophytes, in little bark Canoes, to go to the shores of Acadia and, by that route, find an easier approach to the tribes called Etechemins, Abnaquiois, Sokoquiois, Sourikois, Chaouanaquiois, Mahinganiois, Amirgankaniois, and numerous other savage nations, which are sedentary, and have villages of a thousand or two thousand fighting men. But let us continue the remaining account of the Mission carried on among the Abnaquiois. [page 261]
- Taken from Chapter VII, Vol. 37 of the Jesuit Relations
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