Iroquois (July 29, 1609), on the western shores of Lake Champlain, cost
New France dearly, as it secured for the struggling colony the deadly
enmity of the most warlike savages on the continent, for nearly a
century and a half. It was impossible for New France to make permanent
headway when sapped by such an enemy. Slafter's exhaustive notes to
_Champlain's Voyages_ (Prince Soc.), vol. i., p. 91, and vol. ii.,
p. 223, make it clear that the site of this momentous skirmish was
Ticonderoga.
25. (p. 109)--Jessé Fléché, a secular priest from the diocese of
Langres, was invited by Poutrincourt to accompany the first colony to
Acadia. The papal nuncio gave him authority to absolve in all cases,
except those reserved to the pope.--Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., p.
99. Poutrincourt evidently meant to Christianize Acadia without the aid
of the Jesuits. The wholesale baptism of savages by Fléché, before the
arrival of Biard and Massé, was, according to Faillon (_Ibid._, vol.
i., p. 100), condemned as a profanation by good Catholics, "tous les
théologiens, and notamment la Sorbonne."--Cf. also note 19, _ante_,
and Sagard's _Histoire du Canada_, p. 97. He had been at Port Royal
nearly a year before the arrival of the Jesuits. The name is variously
spelled: Fleche, Fléche, Flèche, Fléché, Flesche, Fleuchy, and Fleuche;
see Sulte's _Poutrincourt en Acadie_, p. 38. See Bourinot's picturesque
description of the baptismal scene, in _Can. Royal Soc. Trans._, sec.
ii, p. 73. Fléché was much esteemed by the Micmacs; his nickname, "Le
Patriarch," is still current among them corrupted into "Patliasse,"
as the name for a priest.--See Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire_ (Quebec,
1861), vol. i, p. 80.
26. (p. 127)--The four letters here given (Biard, Jan. 21, June 10, and
June 11, 1611; and Massé, June 11, 1611) are from Carayon's _Première
Mission des Jésuites au Canada: Lettres et Documents Inédits_ (Paris,
1864). All of the documents in Carayon's collection will be published
in this series, in chronological order, with that Editor's valuable
footnotes.
Auguste Carayon, S. J., a leading authority upon the history of his
order in New France, was born in Saumur, France, 1813, and died in
Poitiers, 1874. His principal works were: _Bibliographie historique de
la Compagnie de Jésus; Catalogue des ouvrages relatifs à l'histoire
des Jésuites depuis leur origine jusqu'à nos jours_ (Paris, 1864);
_Documents inédits concernant la Compagnie de Jésus_ (Poitiers,
1863-1875, 18 vols.); _Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada_ (Paris,
1864); _Bannissement des Jésuites de la Louisiane_ (Paris, 1865);
_Établissement de la Compagnie de Jésus à Brest, par Louis XIV._
(1865); _Prisons du Marquis de Pombal, ministre du Portugal, journal
de 1759 à 1777_ (1865); _Notes historiques sur les parlements et les
Jésuites au dix-huitième siécle_ (1867). Carayon also edited numerous
important historical works, between 1864 and 1871.
27. (p. 127)--Pierre Biard, S. J., writer of several of the early
Acadian _Relations_, was born at Grenoble, France, 1567, and died at
Avignon, November 17, 1622. In 1608, he was called from a chair of
scholastic theology and Hebrew, in Lyons, by Father Coton, the King's
confessor and preacher, to take charge of the Jesuit mission in Acadia.
His several accounts of the colony, with the part taken by himself in
notable episodes, do not always agree with the version of Lescarbot.
See Parkman's _Pioneers_, part ii., chaps, v.-viii.; also, R. P. Felix
Martin's _Life of R. P. Pierre Biard,_ S. J. (Montreal, 1890).
28. (p. 127)--Claude Aquaviva, S. J., born 1544; elected general of the
Society of Jesus, 1581; died, 1615; a Neapolitan nobleman; chamberlain
of the Court of Rome; fifth general of the order, and ranked by some
historians as its ablest legislator and second founder. See Nicolini's
_History of the Jesuits_, pp. 210, 257.
29. (p. 127)--Fathers Biard and Massé sailed January 26.
30. (p. 129)--_Brother-coadjutor._ The six classes of the order
of Jesuits were: (1) novices, (2) lay-brothers, (3) scholars, (4)
coadjutors, (5) Jesuits of the Third Order, and (6) Jesuits of the
Fourth Order. See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's _Lecture on the Jesuits_.
31. (p. 133)--Biencourt and Robin de Coulogne, not having means to
equip and provision the vessel which was to convey Biard and Massé
to Port Royal, made an arrangement with Dujardin and Duquesne, two
merchants of Dieppe, by which the latter undertook to furnish the
equipment and supplies in consideration of being admitted as partners
in Poutrincourt's fur-trading and cod-fishing enterprise. Concerning
this _Contract d'Association des Jésuites au Trafique du Canada_,
made January 20, 1611, see Parkman's _Pioneers_, p. 288, _note_. Cf.
also, Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. i., p. 32. These partners, being
Huguenots, objected to the shipment of the Jesuits, but finally sold
their interests for 2,800 livres to Madame de Guercheville, whose
part in this expedition is related in note 33, _post_. See Biard's
succeeding letter, for fuller details of this adventure.
32. (p. 133)--_Formal order of the Queen._ October 7, 1610, the young
King, Louis XIII., wrote from Monceaux to Baron de Poutrincourt:
"Monsieur de Poutrincourt, as Father Pierre Biard and Father Ennemond
Massé, religious of the Society of Jesus, are being sent over to New
France to celebrate the divine services of the church and to preach the
Gospel to the people of that country, I wish to hereby recommend them
to you, that you may, upon all occasions, assist and protect them in
the exercise of their noble and holy calling, assuring you that I shall
consider it a great service."
The Queen Mother also wrote: "Monsieur de Poutrincourt, now that the
good Jesuit Fathers are about to try, under the authority of the King,
my son, to establish our faith over there, I hereby request you to
give them, for the success of this good work, all the courtesy and
assistance in your power, as a service very near our heart, and very
acceptable to us, praying God, Monsieur de Poutrincourt, to keep you
under his holy and watchful care."--David Asseline's _Antiquities and
Chronicles of the City of Dieppe_ (Dieppe, 1874; 2 vols.) The letters
are reproduced in Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., p. 102.
33. (p. 135)--Antoinette de Pons, Marquise de Guercheville, patroness
of Jesuit missions in New France, was lady of honor to Marie de
Médicis, and accounted one of the most beautiful and zealously
religions women of her time. Taking up the defence of the Jesuits
against Poutrincourt, she not only bought the ship in which to
transport them to America, but the cargo and the royal patent of
De Monts, thus succeeding the latter as proprietor of all Acadia,
excepting Port Royal, which still remained in Poutrincourt's
possession. Concerning her rupture with De Monts, see Shea's
_Charlevoix_, vol. i., p. 274. She resolved to plant a strictly
Catholic colony at Pentagoet (site of Bangor, Me.), and sent out,
under La Saussaye, some fifty settlers and three Jesuit missionaries
(1613). Upon reaching Port Royal, they were joined by Biard and Massé,
and thence proceeded to the eastern side of Mount Desert Island. For
the location of their mission, St. Sauveur, see Parkman's _Pioneers_,
p. 304, _note_. The descent of the English under Argall (1613), was
the end of Madame de Guercheville's mission. See _N. Y. Colonial
Documents_, vol. iii., pp. 1, 2, concerning reparation allowed her
by the government of Great Britain for the loss of her vessel. Cf.
Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 110-117; and Baird's _Hug. Emig._,
vol. i., p. 103. Upon the queen regent's high regard for the Jesuits,
see _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 101, 102.
34. (p. 141)--Several of the old French coins were called écus. They
date from the period of Charles VII.,--_écus à la couronne_, or crowns
of gold, from the crown which formed the type of the reverse.--Prime's
_Coins, Medals, and Seals_, p. 150. The écu of Louis XIV. is first
given in Dye's _Coin Encyclopedia_, p. 621; value in United States
currency, $1.10S. The early écu was equal to three francs; later, to
about five.
35. (p. 141)--_Viaticum._ In Père de Ravignan's _On the Existence and
Institutions of the Jesuits_ (Paris, 1862), p. 190, _note_ ii., mention
is made of a custom in connection with the viaticum of missionaries,
which was frequently observed at this time. The founders or benefactors
of missions, in order to obtain with greater certainty and abundance
the money which they intended for missionary work in distant lands,
charged the merchants, who acted as agents, to sell the merchandise
which they consigned to them, and to remit the price of it to the
missionaries for their support. Thus Madame de Guercheville furnished
considerable money to Biencourt to invest in the fish and fur trade,
which he was about to undertake, with the sole condition that, for
her share, he should support the missionaries. See Rochemonteix's
_Jésuites_, vol. i., pp. 35-36, _note_.
36. (p. 141)--The Marchioness de Verneuil furnished their chapel,
Madame de Sourdis their vestments and linen, and Madame de Guercheville
provided other necessaries.--_Annuæ Litteræ S. J._, an. 1612, p. 570.
Madame de Verneuil founded a convent of Annunciades, and gave her
declining years to religion. She died at Paris, 1633, aged 54.
37. (p. 143)--In his _Relation_ of 1616, chap, xi., Biard says: "Thomas
Robin de Coulogne enjoyed a modest fortune; he had often heard about
New France from the Dieppe merchants, and had wished to mingle in this
colonization movement. What Baron de Poutrincourt told him about the
attempts made at Port Royal pleased him greatly, and he promised to
assist him."
The names of Monsieur de Coullogne (Coulogne) and of Madame de
Sigogne (Sicoine) appear in Fléché's list of baptisms, _ante_. Other
contemporary spellings of Coulogne are: Cologne, Coloigne, and Coloine.
38. (p. 147)--This is an interesting, and we believe a unique
statement of Biard, that the islands off the Gulf of St. Lawrence were
once called the "Azores of the Great Bank." The maps of many early
cartographers and navigators represent Newfoundland as a group of
islands, or a large island with a circlet of smaller ones, or "almost a
single island."--See Winsor's _N. and C. Hist._, vol. i., pp. 74, 77,
79, 93, 379. As Newfoundland was the first land sighted by voyagers in
New France, and as their last sight of land had been the Azores, the
naming of the islands on the Great Bank the Azores is in keeping with
their custom in this regard.
39. (p. 149)--Ennemond Massé, S. J., born at Lyons, 1574; died at
Sillery, Canada, 1646; admitted to the Society of Jesus at the age of
twenty, and assigned to a chair of theology in Lyons; in 1608, chosen
by Father Coton to accompany Biard to Acadia. He was again sent to
Canada in 1625, with Charles Lalemant, Jean de Brébeuf, and two lay
brothers. During the English occupation of Canada (1629-32), he was in
France, but returned with Brébeuf in 1633. Rochemonteix (_Jésuites_,
vol. i., p. 24). says of him: "Of an impetuous and violent nature, he
had all he could do to restrain it. But, by vigilance and perseverance,
he conquered it so well that he no longer seemed to have any strong
impulses or passions. Industrious, unwearying, of robust health, he
was prepared for the hardships of a distant mission by a life of
penitence and denial, frequently fasting, sleeping upon hard boards,
accustoming his taste to everything, and his body to extreme cold and
heat. Although innocent as a child, he led the life of a penitential
anchorite; in 1608, they made him an Associate to Father Coton, then
confessor and preacher to the king. But this austere apostle preferred
a life of privation and sacrifice to that of the court. He chose
Canada." Bressani's _Relatione_, to be given _post_, describes the
death of Massé, who was one of the most notable of the missionaries
of New France. A monument to his memory has been erected at Sillery.
There is a difference of usage in the matter of accenting his name:
Charlevoix, Winsor, and Parkman do not use the accent; but Champlain,
Biard, and Cretineau-Joly do, and Faillon (_Col. Fr._, vol. i., p. 101)
gives authorities for this usage, which we have preferred to adopt.
40. (p. 151)--Bourinot (_Canad. Mo._, vol. vii., p. 292) says _Canso_
is a Souriquois word meaning "facing the frowning cliff;" also, that
"the strait was long called after the Sieur de Fronsac, one of the
early gentlemen adventurers who held large estates in Acadia." It is
shown as _detroit de Fronsac_ on Chabert's map (1750); it is Camceau on
Champlain's map of 1632; it sometimes appears as Campceau on old French
documents; and is spelled both Canceaux and Canso in the official
correspondence between France and England in the eighteenth century. In
1779, the fisheries of Canso were worth £50,000 a year to England. See
Murdoch's _History of Nova Scotia_ (Halifax, 1865-67), vol. ii, p. 597.
41. (p. 151)--Lescarbot states that they arrived at night, three hours
after sunset.--_Relation dernière_ (Bans, 1612), to be given _post_.
42. (p. 153)--Cap de la Hève, now known as Cape La Have, is the
southern point of La Have Island, off New Dublin Bay, one of many
indentations of the coast of the township of New Dublin, Lunenburg
County, Nova Scotia. The cape is a picturesque cliff or bluff rising
107 feet above tide level, and visible a long distance out to sea.
When De Monts and Champlain left Havre de Grâce, France, in March,
1604, Cap de la Hève, in the suburb of St. Adresse, must have been the
last land seen by them; as this cliff off New Dublin was probably the
first sighted by them in La Cadie, it was natural that they should
name it after the famous French landmark. There are evidences on La
Have Island of an early French settlement, of which there appear to be
no records; although it is known that Saussaye planted a cross there,
May 16, 1613. De Laet, in describing Cadie (1633) says: "Near Cap de
la Hève lies a port of the same name, 44° 5' north latitude, with safe
anchorage."--See Des Brisay's _Hist. of Co. of Lunenburg, N. S._ (2d
ed., Toronto, 1895), pp. 166 _et seq._ The Editor is also indebted to
F. Blake Crofton, secretary of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, for
information under this head.
43. (p. 163)--People from St. Malo, France. Spelled also by Biard,
_post_, Malouines.
44. (p. 169)--Robert, the son of Pontgravé, who had escaped from
custody, and had been in hiding in the forest. See Parkman's
_Pioneers_, pp. 265, 290; also, Lescarbot's reference to him, _ante_.
45. (p. 181)--Referring to Queen Blanche of Castile (1187-1252), regent
after the death of her husband, Louis VIII., during the absence of her
son, Louis IX. (Saint Louis), in the Holy Land.
46. (p. 197)--Joseph Jouvency (also written Juvency, Jouvenci, and
Jouvancy), Jesuit historian, an eminent litterateur of his time. Born
in Paris, September 14, 1643; died at Rome, May 29, 1719. In 1659,
he was admitted to the Society of Jesus, for many years filling the
position of professor of rhetoric at La Flèche, and devoting much time
to historical and classical research. After taking his vows in 1677,
he was sent to Rome, as one of the staff of writers upon _Historia
Societatis Jesu_.
47. (p. 197)--Count Ernest von Mansfeld, soldier of fortune,
conspicuous in the Thirty Years War. Born, 1585; died, 1626, soon after
his defeat by Wallenstein at the bridge of Dessau. His great army of
mercenaries was, according to Motley (_John of Barneveld,_ vol. ii.,
p. 32), "the earliest type, perhaps, of the horrible military vermin
destined to feed so many years on the unfortunate dismembered carcass
of Germany." Cf. Kohlrausch's _History of Germany_ (Haas trans.), pp.
320, 326. Concerning the campaign of Louis XIII., against the Huguenots
(1622), and Count von Mansfeld's part therein, see Kitchin's _History
of France_, pp. 497, 498.
48. (p. 199)--Philip Alegambe, a Jesuit scholar (Flemish). Died in
1652, while superior of the house of his order at Rome. He was the
leading writer upon _Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Jesu_ (1643).
49. (p. 219)--_Seven Islands._ A group at the mouth of the St. Lawrence
River, near the northerly shore of the gulf.
50. (p. 219)--Chicoutimi River, rising in numerous small lakes near
Lake St. John, pursues a picturesque course, frequently interrupted by
rapids, eastward and northeastward into the Saguenay. At the junction,
seventy-five miles above the mouth of the latter, is now the important
lumber-shipping port of Chicoutimi, at whose wharves ocean-going
vessels are laden. The old missionary district of that name included
the rugged country lying south and southwest of Lake St. John.
51. (p. 221)--The French Jesuits definitely abandoned the Iroquois
field in 1687, owing to the rising power of the English. In 1701,
Bruyas was again on the ground, being joined the year following by
De Lamberville, Garnier, and Le Valliant, and later by D'Hue and De
Marieul. The entire party was driven out in 1708, and many of their
Iroquois converts retired with them to the mission of Caughnawaga, near
Montreal.
52. (p. 221)--The Iroquois Mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded in
1669 by Iroquois Christians,--emigrants from the "castles" of the Five
Nations. The mission was finally removed to Sault St. Louis, on the St.
Lawrence, and called Caughnawaga, from the Indian village of that name
on the Mohawk, where had also been a Jesuit mission.
53. (p. 221)--Lake Michigan. Called Lac des Puants on Champlain's map
of 1632, in reference to the Winnebago tribe (Puants) on Green Bay; in
several of the _Relations_, and on Marquette's map (1674), it is styled
Lac des Illinois, from the Illinois Indians upon its southern coast;
Allouez calls it (1675) Lac St. Joseph, because of Fort and River St.
Josephs on the southeast coast; Coronelli's map (1688) honors the
Dauphin by calling the lake after him; Hennepin comes the nearest to
modern usage, in his name, Michigonong.
54. (p. 221)--Lake Huron, which has figured under many titles, in the
old maps and chronicles. This name has reference to the Indian family
upon its eastern shores. Champlain first named it La Mer Douce, ("The
Fresh Sea"), and later Lac des Attigouantan, after the chief tribe of
the Hurons; Sanson's map (1657) names it Karegnondi; Coronelli's map
(1688) christens it Lac d'Orleans; Colden in one place gives it as
Quatoghe, and in another as Caniatare. Lac des Hurons first appears in
the map accompanying the _Relation_ for 1670-71.
55. (p. 221)--The mission of St. Ignace was founded by Marquette, in
1670, on Point St. Ignace, on the mainland north of and opposite the
Island of Michillimackinac (now shortened to Mackinaw or Mackinac, as
fancy dictates). The term Michillimackinac, variously spelled, was
applied by the earliest French not only to the island and straits of
that name, but in general to the great peninsula lying north of the
straits.
56. (p. 221)--The mission of Sault Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake
Superior, was founded by Raimbault and Jogues in 1640. The place was
always an important rallying-point for the natives, and naturally
became the center of a wide-spreading fur trade, which lasted, under
French, English, and American dominations in turn, until about 1840.
57. (p. 221)--The Western mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded by
Allouez in 1669, at the first rapids in the Fox River (of Green Bay),
on the east side of the river, in what is now the city of Depere, Wis.
An important Indian village had from the earliest historic times been
located there.
58. (p. 223)--Outaouaki = Ottawas; Puteatamis = Pottawattomies;
Kikarous = Kickapoos; Outagamies = Foxes; Oumiamis = Miamis.
59. (p. 223)--Bayagoulas, one of the Louisiana missions, of which
Father Paul du Ru, S. J., was in charge in 1700. Shea's _Catholic
Missions_, p. 443.
60. (p. 227)--An anonymous writer in _The Catholic World_, (vol. xii.,
p. 629) makes the statement that Quentin and Du Thet were sent out to
replace Biard and Massé "if they had perished; otherwise to return to
France." Contemporary writers, however, speak of their coming as a
reinforcement.
61. (p. 227)--On what came to be known as Frenchman's Bay, on the east
side of the island of Mount Desert. Parkman says (_Pioneers_, ed. 1865,
p. 276, _note_): "Probably all of Frenchman's Bay was included under
the name of the Harbor of St. Sauveur. The landing-place so called
seems to have been near the entrance of the bay, certainly south of Bar
Harbor. The Indian name of the Island of Mount Desert was Penetic. Its
present name was given by Champlain."
62. (p. 227)--The "Jonas," conspicuous in the annals of Acadia from the
time in which Poutrincourt and Lescarbot sailed in her for Port Royal,
in 1606, to her capture by Argall in 1613. Parkman aptly calls her "the
'Mayflower' of the Jesuits."
63. (p. 229)--Samuel Argall, born in Bristol, England, 1572; died,
1639. See Cooke's _Virginia_ (Amer. Commonwealths ser.), pp. 111-113,
for a fair estimate of this tempestuous character. Folsom's "Expedition
of Captain Samuel Argal," to _N. Y. Hist. Colls._ (new ser.); vol. i.,
pp. 333-342, goes over that ground quite completely.
64. (p. 231)--Sir Thomas Dale, the predecessor of Argall as governor
of Virginia; he was in the service of the Low Countries, 1588-95, and
1606-10; in 1611, he entered the service of the Virginia Company, where
he remained five years as governor of the colony; and in 1619 he died
at Masulipatam, while in command of an expedition to the East Indies.
65. (p. 233)--The charge was freely made at the time, that Biard and
Massé, incensed at Biencourt, who had been unkind to them, piloted
Argall to Port Royal. Poutrincourt and Lescarbot, disliking the
Jesuits, naturally believed it, and the former addressed the French
admiralty court on the subject, under the date of July 18, 1614.--See
Lescarbot's _Nouv. France_, book v., chap. 14. Champlain discredited
the charge, saying that Argall compelled an Indian to serve as
pilot. Cf. Parkman's _Pioneers_, pp. 313 _et seq._, and Biard's
own statements, _post_ (Letter to T.-R. Général, May 6, 1614; and
_Relation_ of 1616).
66. (p. 233)--Argall's lieutenant, in command of the captured "Jonas."
According to Parkman (_Pioneers_, p. 318), he was "an officer of merit,
a scholar, and linguist," treating his prisoners with kindness.
67. (p. 251)--Reference is here made to Lake Champlain, the Mer des
Iroquois and Lacus Irocoisiensis of the early French cartographers.
Richelieu River was at first styled Rivière des Iroquois. In a letter
of John Winthrop to Lord Arlington, dated Boston, Oct. 25, 1666, Lake
Champlain is referred to as Lake Hiracoies.--_N. Y. Colon. Docs._,
iii., p. 138. See also, Palmer's _History of Lake Champlain_ (Albany,
1866), pp. 12, 13; and Blaeu's maps of 1662 and 1685, in Winsor's _N.
and C. Hist._, vol. iv., p. 391.
68. (p. 253)--The gar-pike (_Lepidosteus osseus_). A picture of this
"armored fish" is given in Creuxius's _Historia Canadensis_ (Paris,
1664), p. 50.
69. (p. 253)--Jouvency plainly refers to what is still known as Bird
Island, of Bird Rocks, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, N. W. of Cabot
Strait. Authorities disagree in locating the Bird Island of Cartier's
first voyage. See _Hakluyt's Voyages_ (Goldsmid ed.), vol. xiii.,
pt. i, p. 78; Shea's _Charlevoix_, vol. i., p. 112, _note;_ both
indicating that what is now called Funk Island, off the eastern coast
of Newfoundland, was the Bird Island of Cartier. Kingsford, in _History
of Canada_ (Toronto, 1887), vol. i., p. 3, identifies it, however, with
the present Bird Island of the Gulf. Champlain's map of 1613 has a Bird
Island near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. Anspach, in _History of
Newfoundland_ (London, 1819), p. 317, says: "Fogo Island [N. W. of Cape
Freels] is described in the old maps by the name of Aves, or Birds'
Island."
70. (p. 269)--The Montagnais, a wretched tribe of nomads, were, at this
time, chiefly centered upon the banks of the Saguenay River.
71. (p. 281)--_Venus mercenaria_, the round clam, or quahaug.
[Illustration: MAP OF NEW FRANCE (PARTS OF UNITED STATES AND CANADA)
1610-1791.
To Illustrate THE JESUIT RELATIONS AND ALLIED DOCUMENTS.
THE BURROWS BROTHERS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.]
Transcriber's Note.