Georgetown University - Ye Domesday Booke Yearbook (Georgetown, DC)

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it were Christmas Day for me, and that I was to be born again to a new life, and a life in God. Father Brebeuf would find in Isaac Jogues the very man to assume the burden of a missionary. Jogues did not go among the Hurons for a while, so Father Brebeuf remained alone. About August 20th, Father Daniel arrived with the young Indians he was bringing to the seminary. Daniel ' s Indian guides requested that a priest accompany them home and Jogues was selected. When they arrived, an epidemic was raging in the village and Jogues was the first victim among the missionaries. Then Gamier (who had left Quebec for the mission just before Daniel arrived) and three others became ill. For awhile, Jogues was close to death. As a desperate remedy, he resorted to bleeding himself; and after acting successfully as his own surgeon, he soon recovered. The others re- turned to health moreslowly. They all entered vigor- ously into the life of the mission, learning the lan- guage, instructing, baptizing the dying. Their mission was called St. Joseph ; and they also established a mission at Ossossane. The missionaries traveled constantly between these two missions; and to all the villages they could possibly reach where there was no mission. They worked with patience and kindness, although often ex- hausted by travel and lack of food. Conversions among the adults continued to be slow; but hundreds were baptized, when dying of the plague. Gradually the Indians began to grasp the idea that the priests offered the hope of eternal salvation after death ; and there was hardly a village that did not re- quest a visit. By 1639 the epidemic had abated ; and the situation became more settled. With their typical fickleness, the Indians for- got the teachings of the priests; and began to mutter against them, blaming them for the plague. Because of their deep-seated belief in sorcery, they suspected the priests ' rosaries, crucifixes, breviaries and other accoutrements of having an evil spirit. Life at St. Joseph became impossible for the missionaries and they took up permanent residence at Ossossane. This mission had been instituted in 1636; and finally, in 1639, after three years of work by five men, the first adult in good health to be converted was baptized. The ceremony was solemn and the Hurons, with their love of pomp, flocked to see it. The enemies of the priests made this the occasion for renewed attacks. Despite Bre- beuf ' s attempts to reason with them, the In- dians were confirmed in their suspicion, that the missionaries were sorcerers ; and in August, a council of the chiefs was held, ostensibly to discuss tribal affairs, but actually to decide the fate of the priests. The affair dragged on until finally, in Oc- tober, the priests were con- demned to death. At this point Brebeuf wrote a state- ment of incomparable hero- ism ; all those at the mission signed it. The following ex- cerpt indicates the serenity with which they awaited death. Be this as it may, I will tell you that all our Fathers await the outcome of this affair with great calm- ness and contentment of mind. And for myself, I can say to your rever- ence, with all sincerity, that I have not yet the least apprehension of death for such a cause. But we are all sorry for this — that these poor barbarians through their own malice, are clos- ing the door to the Gospel and to grace . . . If God grant me the grace to go to heaven, I will pray to Him for them, the poor Hurons. This was their attitude toward those at whose hands they expected barbarous tortures.

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with his death. The Hurons flocked to Quebec for their annual market, haggling over mer- chandise and indulging in feasts which were practically orgies. They wished to take Bre- beuf, Daniel and another priest back to their country with them; but at the last minute, an Ottawa, with a grudge against the French, frightened the Hurons into refusing to take the priests. They had to wait another year, spending their time among the Indians around Quebec. It was heart-breaking to them, long- ing as they did to bring souls into the faith, to be continually set back by malice and treachery. The Iroquois were mak- ing war on the Hurons ; few of the latter could find time to make the trip to Quebec the following year. The three priests met those who did come; and begged to be taken. When the Indians agreed, the Fathers were so eager to leave that Daniel and Davost actually left all their belongings behind, except for vestments and sacred ves- sels. The journey was long and rough, and the continual treachery of the Indians added greatly to the difficulties. They stole the priests ' belongings, forced them to cast over- board the few books that they had; and fre- quently abandoned the Black-robes to shift for themselves. This treatment served only to intensify their resolve to devote their lives to the conversion of these heathens. At last they reached Huronia ; and set about building their mission. By dint of bribery, they persuaded the Indians to build them a cabin, which became the center of their ac- tivity. They met with meager success in in- structing the adults, making few converts. The children, however, were their greatest hope. They took readily to instruction; and grew fond of the priests, who became teachers, playmates and physicians. In their instruction, they adopted a form of catechesis, much like that used by the Apostles. Prayers and for- mulas of faith were translated into Huron, usually in some sort of verse or couplet. These the priests repeated until the savages learned them; then they would repeat part and have the Indians give the responses. When they preached sermons, the priests would first recapitulate what they had said before, and then introduce new material. They soon found that it did little good to speak of virtue and grace. Rather they must emphasize the ideas of hell, of justice and of sin. This type of castigation had more reality for the Indians whose original gods were the Oki or evil spirits. It was hopeless to attempt to produce any true virtue in the vicious atmosphere of a Huron vil- lage, so Brebeuf managed to persuade a few of the Indians to permit their children to be taken to Que- bec to be educated. Daniel and the other priest, Davost, set out for Quebec with these children, and left Bre- beuf alone. While waiting for the return of his companions, Brebeuf wrote his famous instructions for those who were to come to the Huron mission. It was an eloquent appeal for volunteers, and an exposition of a lifeof utmost hardship. Before his letter reached France, new recruits were to arrive. In April, 1636, Jogues and Gamier landed in Quebec. We can see in Jogues the deep-seated mis- sionary spirit from a letter written to his mother upon his arrival in New France. I do not know what it is to enter paradise ; but this I know, that it is difficult to experience in this world a joy more excessive and over- flowing than I felt on my setting foot in New France, and celebrating my first Mass here on the day of the Visitation. I assure you, it was indeed a day of the visitation of the good- ness of Our Lord and Our Lady. I felt as if 16

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The outcome was almost miraculous. The night that he was to die, Brebeuf invited all to a farewell banquet. It was a custom of the Indians to feast their condemned victims. He spoke to them, not of himself, but of life after death. They left the cabin downcast and dis- mayed. The missionaries were left in peace; Brebeuf was adopted by the tribe and made a captain. In 1638 a new mission called St. Joseph II had been established at Teanaustaye, with Brebeuf in charge. Jogues was employed at this mission during the above crisis. From that time on, the missionaries ' progress was heartening ; and the number of converts grew steadily. It was decided that a permanent central mis- sion should be established. This had become necessary, because the Indians were envious, if the priests identified themselves with any particular village. The new headquarters was accordingly established about eight miles from Ossossane and twelve miles from Ste. Joseph 1 1 . It was named Ste. Marie; and was the central bureau for about fifteen priests and laymen. With the decided change for the better, it was possible to extend the field of activity. In 1640 Jogues and Garnier started on a spe- cial mission to the Petun, or Tobacco ' ' Indians. It was winter; the priests had to travel on snowshoes and they were deserted by their guides. When they arrived, they found that their reputation for sorcery had preceded them; and they were ignored. None of the villages would receive them. The expedition was a failure; and the two priests returned to Ste. Marie. Rebuffs such as this served only to double the enthusiasm of the missionaries. Jogues traveled two hundred and fifty miles to visit the Ojibways. He was greeted by two thousand of them, who begged him to stay with them. All he could do was to make know n the Faith and to prepare the ground for his successors. It was on this journey that he and his companion Raymbault discovered Lake Superior. Brebeuf made an expedition to the Neuters on the shores of Lake Erie. He met with the same ill success as had Jogues and Garnier among the Petuns. He was often threatened with death. While in this hostile country, Brebeuf had a vision of what was to happen to the Huron mission. It came to him in the form of a giant cross, rising from the heart of the Iroquois country, and its arms over- shadowing Huronia. The cross was large enough to bear all the missionaries in Huronia. Huronia was in sore straits. Harvests had been poor; and the plague was rampant again. Once more the Hurons began to agitate against the Black-robes, and to attribute their dire condition to sorcery. They clung more fiercely to their superstitions and indulged in the worst forms of vice. All too soon the fullfillment of Brebeuf ' s vision was to begin. Lack of supplies made a