Order of the Oblates, threw a new light on the vocation of Alexandre
Taché. Being the great-great-grandson of Joliette, and having been
brought up in Boucherville, in the very house whence the celebrated
Jacques Marquette had started for his western missions--having moreover
been sheltered by the same roof under which Marquette had registered the
first baptism administered in the locality[13]--it is no wonder that the
spirit of those renowned personages still hovered around the young
ecclesiastic, indicating a life of self-denial, to be endured in the far
North-West. He entered the novitiate at Longueil, in October, 1844. The
mission of the Oblate Fathers, which now extends from the coast of
Labrador to the shores of British Columbia, and from the Gulf of Mexico
to the Arctic Sea, was then in its infancy in Canada. In 1844 the
Hudson's Bay and North-West Territories were detached from the diocese
of Quebec, and the Right Reverend Joseph Norbert Provencher, who had
been exercising his zeal throughout those vast regions, was appointed
Apostolic Vicar. The venerable prelate had toiled, with a very small
number of co-labourers, during the twenty-six previous years, in
evangelizing the scattered tribes. Bishop Provencher was convinced that
to give more extension to his work it was necessary to secure the
services of a religious order, and fixed his choice on the Oblates. His
proposal was so much the more readily accepted that it was suited to
carry into practical effect, to a more than ordinary degree, the motto
of the Order--_Pauperes evangelizantur_. This decision awakened a flame
in the heart of the novice Taché. His first impulse was to offer his
services in the generous undertaking. It was not without dread and
apprehension that he harboured the idea, for he was but twenty-one years
of age. So far, he had known in life naught but what was congenial to
his affectionate nature: the pure joys of home, the tenderness and
solicitude of an almost idolized mother. He had grown up in the sunshine
of universal affection, and his feelings had never been chilled or
nipped by deception or unkindness. The struggle was a difficult one;
but, in the designs of Providence, his love for his mother was made the
means of determining his resolution. The act of his life which has
enlisted the most tender sympathies is certainly that which found him at
the shrine of filial piety, offering to the Almighty the sacrifice of
home and country, and of all that he held dearest on earth; begging, in
return, the recovery of his mother from a dangerous illness under which
she was then labouring. Madame Taché was restored to health, and was
spared for twenty-six years to witness the elevation and popularity to
which her beloved son was destined.
On the 24th of June, 1845, the national feast of French Canadians, while
all around was exultant with joy and festivity, the young missionary,
accompanied by the Rev. P. Aubert, took his place in a birch bark canoe
for a foreign shore. A page from the pen of the Bishop of St. Boniface
in his work "_Vingt Années de Missions_," published some years ago,
vividly describes his feelings on the occasion:--"You will allow me to
tell you what I felt as I receded from the sources of the St. Lawrence,
on whose banks Providence had fixed my birthplace, and by whose waters I
first conceived the thought of becoming a missionary of the Red River. I
drank of those waters for the last time, and mingled with them some
parting tears, and confided to them some of the secret thoughts and
affectionate sentiments of my inmost heart. I could imagine how some of
the bright waves of this river, rolling down from lake to lake, would
at last strike on the beach nigh to which a beloved mother was praying
for her son that he might become a perfect Oblate and a holy missionary.
I knew that, being intensely pre-occupied with that son's happiness, she
would listen to the faintest murmuring sound, to the very beatings of
the waves coming from the North-West, as if to discover in them the
echoes of her son's voice asking a prayer or promising a remembrance. I
give expression to what I felt on that occasion, for the recollection
now, after the lapse of twenty years, of the emotions I experienced in
quitting home and friends, enables me more fully to appreciate the
generous devotedness of those who give up all they hold most dear in
human affection for the salvation of souls. The height of land was as it
were the threshold of the entrance to our new home, and the barrier
about to close behind us. When the heart is a prey to deep emotion it
needs to be strengthened. To sooth mine, I brought it to consider the
uncultured and savage nature of the soil we were treading. . . . I
calculated, or at least accepted, all the consequences thereof. I bade
to my native land an adieu which I then believed to be everlasting, and
I vowed to my adopted land a love and attachment which I then, as now,
wished to be as lasting as my life."
The missionaries reached St. Boniface on the 25th of August, after a
long and tiresome journey of sixty-two days. On the first Sunday after
his arrival the young ecclesiastic, who had during the voyage reached
the required age of twenty-two years, was ordained Deacon, and on the
12th of October following he was raised to the Priesthood. The next day
Father Taché pronounced his religious vows. This was the first time that
the vows of religion were pronounced in the far North-West, and it is
worth noting, once more, that the young Oblate then performing the
solemn act was related to the discoverer who first hoisted the banner of
the cross in those remote regions--the illustrious Varennes de la
Verandrye. Shortly after his ordination Father Taché was appointed to
accompany the Rev. L. Lafleche, now Bishop of Three Rivers, to Isle à la
Crosse, a thousand miles distant from St. Boniface. They started on the
8th of July, 1846, and after a harassing journey that lasted two months
they arrived at their destination. The young missionary went heart and
soul into his work. Having heard of an Indian Chief who lay dangerously
ill at Lac Vert, a place ninety miles distant, and who desired to be
baptized, he hastened through dismal swamps and pine forests to perform
that sacred office. On his return, after four days' rest, he undertook
the voyage to Lac Caribou, 350 miles north-east of Isle à la Crosse, and
was the first who ever reached that desolate spot to announce the Gospel
of Peace. There he had the happiness of instructing and baptizing
several poor Indians. His next missionary expedition was to Athabasca.
On his way thither he was warned of the fierce and savage character of
the Indian tribes who frequented that region, but, nevertheless, he
courageously pursued his weary journey of 400 miles to the end. A great
missionary triumph awaited him. In the course of three weeks he baptized
194 Indian children of the Cree and Chippeweyan tribes. These happy
beginnings inspired Father Taché's zeal to pursue with continued ardour
his apostolic career. The annals of the "Propagation of the Faith"
contain soul-stirring accounts of the labours accomplished by the young
missionary. His travels were through the wilderness, where no hospitable
roof offered a shelter. After a long day's walking through deep snow, or
running behind a dog sled, with nothing to appease his hunger but the
unpalatable pemmican, he had to seek repose on the cold ground, with the
canopy of heaven overhead. Still, he affirms that he counts among the
happiest days of his life those passed in his first Indian missions in
the North-West, and relates how his heart beat with joy when, at a
journey's end, he was welcomed by the untutored savages whom he desired
to win to Christ.
While Father Taché was thus giving proofs of his zeal and ability, and
seeking to extend the reign of the Master who had chosen him, his
superiors were admiring his remarkable endowments. The young clergyman
who sought oblivion was being marked out for an exalted dignity. The
keen eye of the venerable bishop of the North-West had remarked the
brilliant talents of his young missionary, and experience has shown how
judicious was his choice in selecting Father Taché, then only twenty-six
years of age, as his coadjutor and future successor. It is easy to
imagine the latter's surprise on receiving the news of his promotion to
the episcopate. At the call of his bishop he repaired to St. Boniface. A
letter from his Religious Superior awaited him there, instructing him to
sail immediately for France for his consecration. His first meeting with
the founder of the Oblates was marked by signs of mutual appreciation.
Bishop Taché received the episcopal consecration on the 23rd of
November, 1851, in the Cathedral of Viviers, in Southern France, at the
hands of the Bishop of Marseilles, Monseigneur De Mazenod, assisted by
Monseigneur Guibert, now Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, and Monseigneur
Prince, Bishop of St. Hyacinthe. Bishop Taché left immediately for Rome.
The paternal encouragements of His Holiness Pope Pius IX., and repeated
visits to the tombs of the Apostles and Martyrs, imparted renewed
strength to the energy of the young prelate. He started in February for
the remote scene of his labours. He spent a few weeks in Lower Canada,
where the liveliest sympathies were lavished upon him. Every one was
impatient to see and to hear the young bishop of the Indians of the
North-West. In the month of June he reached St. Boniface. Bishop
Provencher, feeling that his end was near, had thought of retaining his
coadjutor near him, but the strong reasons adduced by the missionary
bishop prevailed. Monseigneur Taché, on taking his departure for Isle à
la Crosse, knelt to ask the blessing of Monseigneur Provencher. The
venerable prelate gave expression on that occasion to the following
prophetic words:--"It is not customary for a bishop to ask for another
bishop's blessing, but as I am soon to die, and as we shall never again
meet in this world, I will bless you once more on this earth, while
awaiting the happiness of embracing you in heaven."
Father Taché's elevation to the episcopal dignity increased his
responsibilities, and gave a new impulse to his zeal and devotion to the
good cause, while the unction of a divine commission gave efficacy and
power to his efforts. From his residence at Isle à la Crosse the prelate
made frequent excursions to visit different tribes. The following
playful but truthful description, in his own words, of his dwelling
place, and of his mode of travelling, gives an idea of what he had to
endure, and how he bore it:--"My episcopal palace is twenty feet in
length, twenty in width, and seven in height. It is built of logs
cemented with mud, which, however, is not impermeable, for the wind and
the rain and other atmospheric annoyances find easy access through its
walls. Two windows of six small panes of glass lighten the principal
apartment, and two pieces of parchment complete the rest of the luminary
system. In this palace, though at first glance everything looks mean and
diminutive, a character of real grandeur, nevertheless, pervades the
whole establishment. For instance, my secretary is no less a personage
than a bishop--my 'valet de chambre' is also a bishop--my cook himself
is sometimes a bishop. The illustrious _employés_ have countless
defects, but their attachment to my person endears them to me, and I
cannot help looking at them with a feeling of satisfaction. When they
grow tired of their domestic employments I put them all on the road, and
going with them, I strive to make them cheery. The entire household of
his lordship is _en route_, with two Indians, and a half-breed who
conducts a team of four dogs. The team is laden with cooking utensils,
bedding, a wardrobe, a portable altar and its fittings, a food basket,
and other odds and ends. His lordship puts on a pair of snow shoes which
are from three to four feet in length, real episcopal pantofles,
perfectly adapted to the fine tissue of the white carpet on which he has
to walk, moving with more or less rapidity according to the muscular
strength of the traveller. Towards evening this strength equals zero;
the march is suspended, and the episcopal party is ordered to halt. An
hour's labour suffices to prepare a mansion wherein his lordship will
repose till the next morning. The bright white snow is carefully
removed, and branches of trees are spread over the cleared ground. These
form the ornamental flooring of the new palace; the sky is its lofty
roof, the moon and stars are its brilliant lamps, the dark pine forests
or the boundless horizon its sumptuous wainscoting. The four dogs of the
team are its sentinels, the wolves and the owls preside over the musical
orchestra, hunger and cold give zest to the joy experienced at the sight
of the preparations which are being made for the evening banquet and the
night's repose. The chilled and stiffened limbs bless the merciful
warmth of the kindled pile to which the 'giants of the forest' have
supplied abundant fuel. Having taken possession of their mansion, the
proprietors partake of a common repast; the dogs are the first served,
then comes his lordship's turn, his table is his knees, the table
service consists of a pocket-knife, a bowl, a tin plate, and a
five-pronged fork, which is an old family heirloom. The _Benedicite
omnia opera_ is pronounced. Nature is too grand and beautiful in the
midst even of all its trying rigours for us to forget its Author;
therefore, during these encampments our hearts become filled with
thoughts that are solemn and overpowering. We feel it then to be our
duty to communicate such thoughts to the companions of our journey, and
to invite them to love Him by whom all those wonderful things we behold
around us were made, and to give thanks to Him from whom all blessings
flow. Having rendered our homage to God, Monseigneur's 'valet de
chambre' removes from his lordship's shoulders the overcoat which he has
worn during the day, and extending it on the ground calls it a mattress;
his cap, his mittens and his travelling bag pass in the darkness of the
night for a pillow; two woollen blankets undertake the task of
protecting the bishop from the cold of the night, and of preserving the
warmth necessary for his repose. Lest they should fail in such offices,
Providence comes to their aid, by sending a kindly little layer of snow,
which spreads a protecting mantle, without distinction, over all alike.
Beneath its white folds sleep tranquilly the prelate and his suite,
repairing in their calm slumbers the fatigues of the previous day, and
gathering strength for the journey of the morrow; never dreaming of the
surprise that some spoiled child of civilization would experience if,
lifting this snow mantle he found lying beneath it bishop, Indians, the
four dogs of the team, etc., etc., etc." The above description is
applicable not merely to a solitary journey made by Bishop Taché, but to
those habitually performed by him; and as it gives an excellent idea of
the nature of primitive travel in the North-West we have quoted it at
length.
On the 7th of June, 1853, the first Bishop of St. Boniface breathed his
last, worn out by a life of toil and usefulness. His coadjutor received
the sad tidings while making the pastoral visitation of the diocese. The
stroke was a severe one, and it was with dread and mistrust in himself
that Bishop Taché entered upon the office of titular bishop of an
immense territory. Nevertheless, at the call of the new bishop zealous
co-labourers came forth to share a high and holy mission. Colleges,
convents and schools were founded, while those already existing were
supported to a great extent by the generosity of the prelate himself,
ever ready to endure the severest privations for the sake of his flock.
At his request the Sisters of Charity opened an asylum for little orphan
girls, while the orphan boys shared the lodgings and table of the
bishop, until provision could be made for them. Missionary posts were
established and extended three thousand miles distant from St. Boniface.
The visitation of the diocese at necessary intervals became, for the
Bishop of St. Boniface, an impossibility. In 1857, accordingly, the
prelate made a voyage to Europe to obtain a coadjutor. The Rev. Father
Grandin was appointed to this office. In 1860 the Bishop of St. Boniface
undertook a long and trying journey to confer with his coadjutor at Isle
à la Crosse, on the propriety of subdividing the diocese, and of
proposing the Rev. Father Faraud for an episcopal charge. The plan was
adopted and sanctioned by proper authority. The districts of Athabasca
and Mackenzie became a Vicariate Apostolic, confided to the zeal of
Monseigneur Faraud. Bishop Taché had to suffer more during that journey
than can be easily imagined by those unacquainted with the climate and
the mode of travelling in that country. From that time his health began
to fail, but left his indomitable energy unimpaired, as was needed for
the trials which awaited him in the not distant future. Alluding to the
morning of the 14th of December, 1860, he writes as follows:--"We left
our frosty bed at the early hour of one a.m. to continue our journey. We
travelled until ten in the forenoon, and then halted to rest, and to
partake of a little food. We found it almost impossible to kindle a
fire; at last we partially succeeded. I sat beside the dying embers,
cold and hungry and wearied; a peculiar sadness oppressed me. I was then
nine hundred miles from St. Boniface." This sadness might have seemed a
premonition of what was occurring at St. Boniface on the same day and at
the same hour. The episcopal residence and the cathedral were in flames,
and with them everything they contained was reduced to ashes. With what
grief did the bishop witness the scene of destruction on his return
after his painful journey! He writes as follows to the Bishop of
Montreal:--"You may judge, my Lord, of my emotion when, on the 23rd of
February, after a journey of fifty-four days in the depth of winter,
after sleeping forty-four nights in the open air, I arrived at St.
Boniface, and knelt in the midst of the ruins caused by the disaster of
the 14th of December, on that spot where lately stood a thriving
religious establishment. But the destruction of the episcopal
establishment was not the only trial which it pleased God that year to
send us. A frightful inundation invaded our Colony, and plunged its
population in profound misery. What should the Bishop of St. Boniface do
in presence of these ruins, and under the weight of so heavy a load of
affliction, but bow down his head in Christian and loving submission to
the Divine will, whilst blessing the hand that smote him, and adoring
the merciful God who chastised him?"
The soul of the Bishop of St. Boniface, though sorely tried by the above
disasters, as well as by the distress of seeing his flock looking to him
for assistance, was not cast down. He lost no time in taking the
necessary steps to repair the calamities which had occurred. He went to
Canada and to France to raise funds, and success crowned his efforts.
Mr. Joseph James Hargrave, in his work on "Red River," alluding to the
burning of the cathedral and episcopal residence, says:--"This check
has, however, through the ability of the bishop, been turned almost into
a benefit, for a much superior church has been raised on the site of the
old one, and the handsome and commodious stone dwelling-house which has
replaced the other is, in more than mere name, a palace."
In 1868 all the crops in the Red River settlement were destroyed by
innumerable swarms of grasshoppers. The same year the buffalo chase, one
of the principal resources of the country at the time, was a complete
failure. Famine was the result. The most energetic efforts were made to
mitigate the distress, and timely aid from abroad prevented, in many
cases, death from starvation. A Relief Committee was appointed, and
among the members were the clergymen of the different religious
denominations, to whom it belonged to see to the wants of their
respective congregations. While it is true that all these gentlemen
acted their part well, it is but fair to add that Bishop Taché was the
most active; ever devising new means, at his own expense, to preserve
his people from starvation, and securing seed for the ensuing spring
when the resources of the committee were insufficient.
Famine is often a forerunner of political disturbance in a country.
During the spring of 1869 a universal feeling of dissatisfaction and of
uneasiness prevailed in the colony, when it became known, through the
public press, that transactions were being carried on between Her
Majesty's Government, that of the Dominion, and the Hudson's Bay
Company, for the transfer of the Red River country to Canada, while the
authorities of Assiniboia and the population of the colony were entirely
ignored by the negotiating parties. This wounded the susceptibilities of
the inhabitants, among whom a spirit of sullenness and disaffection
began to appear. The surveyors sent from Canada to lay out the land were
not allowed to prosecute their work, and when the newspapers of Ontario
and Quebec brought intelligence to Fort Garry that a Commission under
the Great Seal of Canada had been issued on the 29th of September, 1869,
appointing the Hon. William McDougall to be Lieutenant-Governor of the
North-West Territories, and that the Honourable gentleman was _en route_
with a party, and taking with him three hundred and fifty breech-loading
rifles with thirty thousand rounds of ammunition, the dissatisfaction
became exasperation. The French Half-Breeds took up arms and sent a
party to the frontier to meet Mr. McDougall and order him back. Such was
the beginning of the outbreak.
Bishop Taché was at this time absent in Europe, attending the sitting of
the [OE]cumenical Council at Rome. When the troubles in the North-West
became known to the Canadian Government at Ottawa, it was thought
desirable to secure His Lordship's services. His influence over the
French Half-Breeds was known to be all-powerful, and he was regarded as
the one man for the crisis. He was communicated with by cablegram, and,
recognizing the urgency of the case, he at once set out for Canada. Upon
reaching Ottawa he had a conference with the Government, and received
instructions authorizing him to proceed at once to the North-West, and
to offer the rebels an amnesty for all past offences. He lost no time in
repairing to Fort Garry, but five days before his arrival there the
murder of Thomas Scott--"the dark crime of the rebellion"--had been
committed. Bishop Taché, while deploring that ruthless piece of
butchery, did not conceive that his instructions were affected thereby.
He recognized the Provisional Government, entered into negotiations with
Riel, and was instrumental in restoring peace. He unconsciously
exceeded his powers, and made promises to the rebels in the name of the
Canadian Government which, in the absence of express Imperial authority,
the Canadian Government itself had no power to make. All this, however,
was done from the best of motives, for the purpose of preventing further
bloodshed, and without any idea that he was exceeding the authority with
which he had been invested. A great deal has been said and written
against Bishop Taché in connection with this troublesome episode in the
history of Red River. The Archbishop has informed the author of this
sketch that his intention is to personally prepare a full account of
what he knows respecting that episode. Meanwhile, suffice it to say to
those who would know the part played by him, that His Grace has already
published two pamphlets on the subject, the first in 1874, and the
second in 1875. The latter portrays the painful feeling experienced by
His Grace at the way he was treated by the authorities after he had
succeeded in appeasing the dissatisfied people, and in bringing them to
enter into negotiations, the results of which were satisfactory to the
Government of Canada, as well as to the old settlers of Assiniboia. It
is impossible, in reading those pages, not to be convinced that the
prelate acted with the utmost good faith, and with the interests of the
country at heart. "The Amnesty Again, or Charges Refuted," clearly
demonstrates how deeply the author felt that he had been unjustly
treated. Few men, if any, in Canada, occupying such a high position,
have been attacked so unfairly as Bishop Taché. There is not a man of
sense acquainted with His Lordship and with the country in which he has
laboured so indefatigably during the last thirty-five years that would
venture to repeat the accusations brought against him at the time in
reference to the Red River disturbances. Some of those who had accused
him experienced a complete transformation in their ideas on forming His
Lordship's acquaintance, and could not help sharing in the universal
respect which surrounds him.