the country as well as I: one of them, named Rene Goupil, had already
been murdered at my feet; this young man had the purity of an angel.
Henry, whom they had taken at Mont-Real, had fled into the woods.
While he was looking at the cruelties which were practised upon two
poor Hurons, roasted at a slow fire, some Iroquois told him that he
would receive the same treatment, and I, too, when I should return;
these threats made him resolve rather to plunge into the danger of
dying from hunger in the woods, or of being devoured by some wild
beast, than to endure the torments which these half-demons inflicted.
It was already seven days since he had disappeared. As for Guilllaume
Cousture, I saw scarcely any further way of aiding him, for they had
placed him in a village far from the one where I was; and the savages
so occupied it on the hither side of that place, that I could no longer
meet him. Add that he himself had addressed me in these words: "My
Father, try to escape; as soon as I shall see you no more, I shall find
the means to get away. You well know that I stay in this captivity
only for the love of you; make, then, your efforts to escape, for I
cannot think of my liberty and of my life unless I see you in safety."
Furthermore, this good youth had been given to an old man, who assured
me that he would allow him to go in peace, if I could obtain my
deliverance; consequently I saw no further reason which obliged me to
remain on account of the French.
As for the savages, I was without power and beyond hope of being able
to instruct them; for the whole country was so irritated against me
that I found no more any opening to speak to them, or to win them; and
the Algonquins and the Hurons were constrained to withdraw from me, as
from a victim destined to the fire, for fear of sharing in the hatred
and rage which the Iroquois felt against me. I realized, moreover,
that I had some acquaintance with their language; that I knew their
country and their strength; that I could perhaps better procure their
salvation by other ways than by remaining among them. It came to my
mind that all this knowledge would die with me, if I did not escape.
These wretches had so little inclination to deliver us, that they
committed a treachery against the law and the custom of all these
nations. Savage from the country of the Sokokiois, allies of the
Iroquois, having been seized by the upper Algonquins and taken a
prisoner to the Three Rivers, or to Kebec, was delivered and set at
liberty by the mediation of Monsieur the Governor of New France, at the
solicitation of the Fathers. This good savage, seeing that the French
had saved his life, sent in the month of April, some fine presents, to
the end that they should deliver at least one of the French. The
Iroquois retained the presents, without setting one of them at liberty,
which treachery is perhaps unexampled among these peoples, for they
inviolably observe this law, that whoever touches or accepts the
present which is made to him, is bound to fulfil what is asked of him
through that present. This is why, when they they are unwilling to
grant what is desired, they send back the presents or make others in
place of them. But to return to my subject: having weighed before
God, with all the impartiality in my power, the reasons which inclined
me to remain among those barbarians or to leave them, I believed that
our Lord would be better pleased if I should take the opportunity to
escape. Daylight having come, I went to greet Monsieur the Dutch
Governor, and declared to him the opinions that I had adopted before
God. He summons the chief men of the ship, signifies to them his
intentions, and exhorts them to receive me, and to keep me
concealed--in a word, to convey me back to Europe. They answer that,
if I can once set foot in their vessel, I am in safety; that I shall
not leave it until I reach Bordeaux or La Rochelle. "Well, then," the
Governor said to me, "return with the savages, and toward the evening,
or in the night, steal away softly and move toward the river; you will
find there a little boat which I will have kept all ready to carry you
secretly to the ship."
After very humbly returning thanks to all those gentlemen, I withdrew
from the Dutch, in order better to conceal my design. Toward evening, I
retired with ten or twelve Iroquois into a barn, where we passed the
night. Before lying down, I went out of that place, to see in what
quarter I might most easily escape. The dogs of the Dutch, being then
untied, run up to me; one of them, large and powerful, flings himself
upon my leg, which is bare, and seriously injures it. I return
immediately to the barn; the Iroquois close it securely and, the better
to guard me, come to lie down beside me, especially a certain man who
had been charged to watch me. Seeing myself beset with those evil
creatures, and the barn well closed, and surrounded with dogs, which
would betray me if I essayed to go out, I almost believed that I could
not escape. I complained quietly to my God, because, having given me
the idea of escaping, Concluserat vias meas lapidibus quadris, et in
loco spatioso pedes meos. He was stopping up the ways and paths of it.
I spent also that second night without sleeping; the day approaching, I
heard the cocks crow. Soon afterward, a servant of the Dutch farmer
who had lodged us in his barn, having entered it by some door or other,
I accosted him softly, and made signs to him (for I did not understand
his Flemish), that he should prevent the dogs from yelping. He goes
out at once, and I after him, having previously taken all my
belongings, which consisted of a little Office of the Virgin, of a
little Gerson, and a wooden Cross that I had made for myself, in order
to preserve the memory of the sufferings of my Savior. Being outside
of the barn, without having made any noise or awakened my guards, I
cross over a fence which confined the enclosure about the house; I run
straight to the river where the ship was--this is all the service that
my leg, much wounded, could render me; for there was surely a good
quarter of a league of road to make. I found the boat as they had told
me, but, the water having subsided, it was aground. I push it, in
order to set it afloat; not being able to effect this, on account of
its weight, I call to the ship, that they bring the skiff to ferry me,
but no news. I know not whether they heard me; at all events no one
appeared. The daylight meanwhile was beginning to discover to the
Iroquois the theft that I was making of myself; I feared that they
might surprise me in this innocent misdemeanor. Weary of shouting, I
return to the boat; I pray God to increase my strength; I do so well,
turning it end for end, and push it so hard that I get it to the water.
Having made it float, I jump into it, and go all alone to the ship,
where I go on board without being discovered by any Iroquois. They
lodge me forthwith down in the hold; and in order to conceal me they
put a great chest over the hatchway. I was two days and two nights in
the belly of that vessel, with such discomfort that I thought I would
suffocate and die with the stench. I remembered then poor Jonas, and I
prayed our Lord, Ne fugerem a facie Domini, that I might not hide
myself before his face, and that I might not withdraw far from his
wishes; but on the contrary, infatuaret omnia consilia quae non essent
ad suam gloriam, I prayed him to overthrow all the counsels which
should not tend to this glory, and to detain me in the country of those
infidels, if he did not approve my retreat and my flight. The second
night of my voluntary prison, the minister of the Dutch came to tell me
that the Iroquois had indeed made some disturbance, and that the Dutch
inhabitants of the country were afraid that they would set fire to
their houses or kill their cattle; they have reason to fear them, since
they have armed them with good arquebuses. To that I answer: Si
propter me orta est tempestas, projicite me in mare: "If the storm has
risen on my account, I am ready to appease it by losing my life;" I
had never the wish to escape to the prejudice of the least man of their
settlement. Finally, it was necessary to leave my cavern; all the
mariners were offended at this, saying that the promise of security had
been given me in case I could set foot in the ship, and that I was
withdrawn at the moment when it would be requisite to bring me thither
if I were not there; that I had put myself in peril of life by escaping
upon their words; that it must needs be kept, whatever the cost. I
begged that I be allowed to go forth, since the captain who had
disclosed to me the way of my flight was asking for me. I went to find
him in his house, where he kept me concealed; these goings and these
comings having occurred by night, I was not yet discovered. I might
indeed have alleged some reasons in all these encounters; but it was
not for me to speak in my own cause, but rather to follow the orders of
others, to which I submitted with good heart. Finally, the captain told
me that it was necessary to yield quietly to the storm, and wait until
the minds of the savages should be pacified; and that every one was of
this opinion. So there I was, a voluntary prisoner in his house, from
which I am writing back to you the present letter. And if you ask my
thoughts in all these adventures, I will tell you.
First, that that ship which had wished to save my life, sailed without
me.
Secondly, if our Lord do not protect me in a manner well-nigh
miraculous, the savages, who go and come here at every moment, will
discover me; and if ever they convince themselves that I have not gone
away, it will be necessary to return into their hands. Now if they had
such a rage against me before my flight, what treatment will they
inflict on me, seeing me fallen back into their power? I shall not die
a common death; the fire, their rage, and the cruelties which they
invent, will tear away my life. God be blessed forever. We are
incessantly in the bosom of His divine and always adorable providence.
Vestri capilli capitis numerati sunt; nolite timere; nultis passeribus
meliores estis vos quorum unus non cadet super terram sine patre
vestro; he who has care for the little birds of the air does not cast
us into oblivion. It is already twelve days that I have been
concealed; it is quite improbable that misfortune will reach me.
In the third place, you see the great need that we have of your prayers
and of the holy Sacrifices of all our Fathers; procure us this alms
everywhere, ut reddat me Dominus idoneum ad se amandum, fortem ad
patiendum, constantem ad perseverandum in suo amore, et servitio, to
the end that God may render me fit and well disposed to love him; that
he may render me strong and courageous to suffer and to endure; and
that he may give me a noble constancy to persevere in his love and in
his service--this is what I would desire above all, together with a
little New Testament from Europe. Pray for these poor nations which
burn and devour one another, that at last they may come to the
knowledge of their Creator, in order to render to Him the tribute of
their love. Memor sum vestri in vinculis meis; I do not forget you; my
captivity cannot fetter my memory. I am, heartily and with affection,
etc.
From Renselaerivich, this 30th of August, 1643.
END "LETTER AND NARRATIVE OF FATHER ISAAC JOGUES."
End of Project Gutenberg's Narratives of New Netherland, 1609-1664, by Various