1670-1672.
THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES.
THE OLD MISSIONS AND THE NEW.--A CHANGE OF SPIRIT.--LAKE SUPERIOR
AND THE COPPER-MINES.--STE. MARIE.--LA POINTE.--MICHILLIMACKINAC.
--JESUITS ON LAKE MICHIGAN.--ALLOUEZ AND DABLON.--THE JESUIT FUR-TRADE.
What were the Jesuits doing? Since the ruin of their great mission of the
Hurons, a perceptible change had taken place in them. They had put forth
exertions almost superhuman, set at naught famine, disease, and death,
lived with the self-abnegation of saints and died with the devotion of
martyrs; and the result of all had been a disastrous failure. From no
short-coming on their part, but from the force of events beyond the sphere
of their influence, a very demon of havoc had crushed their incipient
churches, slaughtered their converts, uprooted the populous communities on
which their hopes had rested, and scattered them in bands of wretched
fugitives far and wide through the wilderness. [Footnote: See "The Jesuits
in North America."] They had devoted themselves in the fulness of faith to
the building up of a Christian and Jesuit empire on the conversion of the
great stationary tribes of the lakes; and of these none remained but the
Iroquois,--the destroyers of the rest, among whom, indeed, was a field
which might stimulate their zeal by an abundant promise of sufferings and
martyrdoms; but which, from its geographical position, was too much
exposed to Dutch and English influence to promise great and decisive
results. Their best hopes were now in the North and the West; and thither,
in great part, they had turned their energies.
We find them on Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and Lake Michigan, laboring
vigorously as of old, but in a spirit not quite the same. Now, as before,
two objects inspired their zeal, the "greater glory of God," and the
influence and credit of the order of Jesus. If the one motive had somewhat
lost in power, the other had gained. The epoch of the saints and martyrs
was passing away; and henceforth we find the Canadian Jesuit less and less
an apostle, more and more an explorer, a man of science, and a politician.
The yearly reports of the missions are still, for the edification of the
pious reader, stuffed with intolerably tedious stories of baptisms,
conversions, and the exemplary deportment of neophytes; for these have
become a part of the formula; but they are relieved abundantly by more
mundane topics. One finds observations on the winds, currents, and tides
of the Great Lakes; speculations on a subterranean outlet of Lake
Superior; accounts of its copper-mines, and how we, the Jesuit fathers,
are laboring to explore them for the profit of the colony; surmises
touching the North Sea, the South Sea, the Sea of China, which we hope ere
long to discover; and reports of that great mysterious river of which the
Indians tell us,--flowing southward, perhaps to the Gulf of Mexico,
perhaps to the Vermilion Sea,--and the secrets whereof, with the help of
the Virgin, we will soon reveal to the world.
The Jesuit was as often a fanatic for his order as for his faith; and
oftener yet, the two fanaticisms mingled in him inextricably. Ardently as
he burned for the saving of souls, he would have none saved on the Upper
Lakes except by his brethren and himself. He claimed a monopoly of
conversion, with its attendant monopoly of toil, hardship, and martyrdom.
Often disinterested for himself, he was inordinately ambitious for the
great corporate power in which he had merged his own personality; and here
lies one cause, among many, of the seeming contradictions which abound in
the annals of the order.
Prefixed to the _Relation_ of 1671 is that monument of Jesuit hardihood
and enterprise, the map of Lake Superior; a work of which, however, the
exactness has been exaggerated, as compared with other Canadian maps of
the day. While making surveys, the priests were diligently looking for
copper. Father Dablon reports that they had found it in greatest abundance
on Isle Minong, now Isle Royale. "A day's journey from the head of the
lake, on the south side, there is," he says, "a rock of copper weighing
from six hundred to eight hundred pounds, lying on the shore where any who
pass may see it;" and he farther speaks of great copper boulders in the
bed of the River Ontonagan.
[Footnote: He complains that the Indians were very averse to giving
information on the subject, so that the Jesuits had not as yet discovered
the metal _in situ_, though they hoped soon to do so. The Indians told him
that the copper had first been found by four hunters, who had landed on a
certain island, near the north shore of the lake. Wishing to boil their
food in a vessel of bark, they gathered stones on the shore, heated them
red hot and threw them in; but presently discovered them to be pure
copper. Their repast over, they hastened to re-embark, being afraid of the
lynxes and the hares; which, on this island, were as large as dogs, and
which would have devoured their provisions, and perhaps their canoe. They
took with them some of the wonderful stones; but scarcely had they left
the island, when a deep voice, like thunder, sounded in their ears, "Who
are these thieves who steal the toys of my children?" It was the God of
the Waters, or some other powerful manito. The four adventurers retreated
in great terror, but three of them soon died, and the fourth survived only
long enough to reach his village and tell the story. The island has no
foundation, but floats with the movement of the wind; and no Indian dares
land on its shores, dreading the wrath of the manito.--Dablon, _Relation_,
1670, 84.]
There were two principal missions on the Upper Lakes; which were, in a
certain sense, the parents of the rest. One of these was Ste. Marie du
Saut,--the same visited by Dollier and Galinée,--at the outlet of Lake
Superior. This was a noted fishing-place; for the rapids were full of
white-fish, and Indians came thither in crowds. The permanent residents
were an Ojibwa band, called by the French Sauteurs, whose bark lodges were
clustered at the foot of the rapids, near the fort of the Jesuits. Besides
these, a host of Algonquins, of various tribes, resorted thither in the
spring and summer; living in abundance on the fishery, and dispersing in
winter to wander and starve in scattered hunting-parties far and wide
through the forests.
The other chief mission was that of St. Esprit, at La Pointe, near the
western extremity of Lake Superior. Here were the Hurons,--fugitives
twenty years before from the slaughter of their countrymen; and the
Ottawas, who, like them, had sought an asylum from the rage of the
Iroquois. Many other tribes,--Illinois, Pottawattamies, Foxes, Menomonies,
Sioux, Assinneboins, Knisteneaux, and a multitude besides,--came hither
yearly to trade with the French. Here was a young Jesuit, Jacques
Marquette, lately arrived from the Saut Ste. Marie. His savage flock
disheartened him by its backslidings: and the best that he could report of
the Hurons, after all the toils and all the blood lavished in their
conversion, was, that they "still retain a little Christianity;" while the
Ottawas are "far removed from the kingdom of God, and addicted beyond all
other tribes to foulness, incantations, and sacrifices to evil spirits."
[Footnote: _Lettre du Père Jacques Marquette au R. P. Supérieur des
Missions_; in _Relation_, 1670, 87.]
Marquette heard from the Illinois,--yearly visitors at La Pointe,--of the
great river which they had crossed on their way, [Footnote: The Illinois
lived at this time beyond the Mississippi, thirty days' journey from La
Pointe; whither they had been driven by the Iroquois, from their former
abode near Lake Michigan. Dablon, (_Relation_, 1671; 24, 25,) says that
they lived seven days' journey beyond the Mississippi, in eight villages.
A few years later, most of them returned to the east side and made their
abode on the River Illinois.] and which, as he conjectured, flowed into
the Gulf of California. He heard marvels of it also from the Sioux, who
lived on its banks; and a strong desire possessed him, to explore the
mystery of its course. A sudden calamity dashed his hopes. The Sioux,--the
Iroquois of the West, as the Jesuits call them,--had hitherto kept the
peace with the expatriated tribes of La Pointe; but now, from some cause
not worth inquiry, they broke into open war, and so terrified the Hurons
and Ottawas that they abandoned their settlements and fled. Marquette
followed his panic-stricken flock; who, passing the Saut Ste. Marie, and
descending to Lake Huron, stopped, at length,--the Hurons at
Michillimackinac, and the Ottawas at the Great Manatoulin Island. Two
missions were now necessary to minister to the divided bands. That of
Michillimackinac was assigned to Marquette, and that of the Manatoulin
Island to Louis André. The former took post at Point St. Ignace, on the
north shore of the straits of Michillimackinac, while the latter began the
mission of St. Simon at the new abode of the Ottawas. When winter came,
scattering his flock to their hunting-grounds, André made a missionary
tour among the Nipissings and other neighboring tribes. The shores of Lake
Huron had long been an utter solitude, swept of their denizens by the
terror of the all-conquering Iroquois; but now that these tigers had felt
the power of the French, and learned for a time to leave their Indian
allies in peace, the fugitive hordes were returning to their ancient
abodes. André's experience among them was of the roughest. The staple of
his diet was acorns and _tripe de roche_,--a species of lichen, which,
being boiled, resolved itself into a black glue, nauseous, but not void of
nourishment. At times he was reduced to moss, the bark of trees, or
moccasins and old moose-skins cut into strips and boiled. His hosts
treated him very ill, and the worst of their fare was always his portion.
When spring came to his relief, he returned to his post of St. Simon, with
impaired digestion and unabated zeal.
Besides the Saut Ste. Marie and Michillimackinac,--both noted fishing-
places,--there was another spot, no less famous for game and fish, and
therefore a favorite resort of Indians. This was the head of the Green Bay
of Lake Michigan. [Footnote: The Baye des Puans of the early writers; or,
more correctly, La Baye des Eaux Puantes. The Winnebago Indians, living
near it, were called Lies Puans, apparently for no other reason than
because some portion of the bay was said to have an odor like the sea.
Lake Michigan, the Lac des Illinois of the French, was, according to a
letter of Father Allouez, called Machihiganing by the Indians. Dablon
writes the name, Mitchiganon.] Here and in adjacent districts several
distinct tribes had made their abode. The Menomonies were on the river
which bears their name; the Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes were near the
borders of the bay; the Sacs on Fox River; the Mascoutins, Miamis, and
Kickapoos, on the same river, above Lake Winnebago; and the Outagamies, or
Foxes, on a tributary of it flowing from the north. Green Bay was
manifestly suited for a mission; and, as early as the autumn of 1669,
Father Claude Allouez was sent thither to found one. After nearly
perishing by the way, he set out to explore the destined field of his
labors, and went as far as the town of the Mascoutins. Early in the autumn
of 1670, having been joined by Dablon, Superior of the missions on the
Upper Lakes, he made another journey; but not until the two fathers had
held a council with the congregated tribes at St. François Xavier,--for so
they named their mission of Green Bay. Here, as they harangued their naked
audience, their gravity was put to the proof; for a band of warriors,
anxious to do them honor, walked incessantly up and down, aping the
movements of the soldiers on guard before the Governor's tent at Montreal.
"We could hardly keep from laughing," writes Dablon, "though we were
discoursing on very important subjects; namely, the mysteries of our
religion, and the things necessary to escaping from eternal fire."
[Footnote: _Relation_, 1671, 43.]
The fathers were delighted with the country, which Dablon. calls an
earthly paradise; but he adds that the way to it is as hard as the path to
heaven. He alludes especially to the rapids of Fox River, which gave the
two travellers great trouble. Having safely passed them, they saw an
Indian idol on the bank, similar to that which Dollier and Galinée found
at Detroit; being merely a rock, bearing some resemblance to a man, and
hideously painted. With the help of their attendants, they threw it into
the river. Dablon expatiates on the buffalo; which he describes apparently
on the report of others, as his description is not very accurate. Crossing
Winnebago Lake, the two priests followed the river leading to the town of
the Mascoutins and Miamis, which they reached on the fifteenth of
September. [Footnote: This town was on the Neenah or Fox River, above Lake
Winnebago. The Mascoutins, Fire Nation, or Nation of the Prairie, are
extinct or merged in other tribes.--See "Jesuits in North America." The
Miamis soon removed to the banks of the River St. Joseph, near Lake
Michigan.] These two tribes lived together within the compass of the same
inclosure of palisades; to the number, it is said, of more than three
thousand souls. The missionaries, who had brought a highly-colored picture
of the Last Judgment, called the Indians to council and displayed it
before them; while Allouez, who spoke Algonquin, harangued them on hell,
demons, and eternal flames. They listened with open ears, beset him night
and day with questions, and invited him and his companion to unceasing
feasts. They were welcomed in every lodge, and followed everywhere with
eyes of curiosity, wonder, and awe. Dablon overflows with praises of the
Miami chief; who was honored by his subjects like a king, and whose
demeanor to wards his guests had no savor of the savage.
Their hosts told them of the great river Mississippi, rising far in the
north and flowing southward,--they knew not whither,--and of many tribes
that dwelt along its banks. When at length they took their departure, they
left behind them a reputation as medicine-men of transcendent power.
In the winter following, Allouez visited the Foxes, whom he found in
extreme ill-humor. They were incensed against the French by the ill-usage
which some of their tribe had lately met with when on a trading-visit to
Montreal; and they received the faith with shouts of derision. The priest
was horror-stricken at what he saw. Their lodges,--each, containing from
five to ten families,--seemed in his eyes like seraglios; for some of the
chiefs had eight wives. He armed himself with patience, and at length
gained a hearing. Nay, he succeeded so well, that when he showed them his
crucifix, they would throw tobacco on it as an offering; and, on another
visit, which he made them soon after, he taught the whole village to make
the sign of the cross. A war-party was going out against their enemies,
and he bethought him of telling them the story of the Cross and the
Emperor Constantine. This so wrought upon them that they all daubed the
figure of a cross on their shields of bull-hide, set out for the war, and
came back victorious, extolling the sacred symbol as a great war-medicine.
"Thus it is," writes Dablon, who chronicles the incident, "that our holy
faith is established among these people; and we have good hope that we
shall soon carry it to the famous river called the Mississippi, and
perhaps even to the South Sea." [Footnote: _Relation_, 1672, 42.] Most
things human have their phases of the ludicrous; and the heroism of these
untiring priests is no exception to the rule.
The various missionary stations were much alike. They consisted of a
chapel (commonly of logs) and one or more houses, with perhaps a
storehouse and a workshop,--the whole fenced with palisades, and forming,
in fact, a stockade fort, surrounded with clearings and cultivated fields.
It is evident that the priests had need of other hands than their own and
those of the few lay brothers attached to the mission. They required men
inured to labor, accustomed to the forest life, able to guide canoes and
handle tools and weapons. In the earlier epoch of the missions, when
enthusiasm was at its height, they were served in great measure by
volunteers, who joined them through devotion or penitence, and who were
known as _donnés_, or "given men." Of late, the number of these had much
diminished; and they now relied chiefly on hired men, or _engagés_. These
were employed in building, hunting, fishing, clearing and tilling the
ground, guiding canoes, and if faith is to be placed in reports current
throughout the colony in trading with the Indians for the profit of the
missions. This charge of trading--which, if the results were applied
exclusively to the support of the missions, does not of necessity involve
much censure--is vehemently reiterated in many quarters, including the
official despatches of the Governor of Canada; while, so far as I can
discover, the Jesuits never distinctly denied it; and, on several
occasions, they partially admitted its truth. [Footnote: This charge was
made from the first establishment of the missions. For remarks on it, see
"Jesuits in North America."]