USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Hartford > History of the diocese of Hartford > Part 15
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"Louis d'Ailleboust, Lieutenant-General for the King and Governor of all New France, etc., Greeting:
"Having been solicited and entreated, both by the Christian Indians depending on our government and by the Abenaquinois, living on the River Kinibeqiue, and others, their allies, to protect them against the incursion of the Iroquois, their common enemies, as it has been heretofore practiced by Sieur de Montinagny, our predecessor in this gov. ernment ; and having anew shown us that all their nations were on the point of being totally destroyed unless he speedily brought a remedy-We, for these causes and the good of the colony, and following the express orders given us in the name of the Queen Regent, mother of the King, to protect the Indians against their said enemies, have deputed and depute, with the advice of the Council established in this country and some of the most notable inhabitants, the Sieurs Gabriel Druillettes, preacher of the gospel
1 The Abenaki were within the jurisdiction of Plymouth Colony.
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DIOCESE OF HARTFORD.
to the Indian Nations, and John Godefroy, one of the Councilors of said Council, ambas- sadors for them to the gentlemen of New England, to treat either with the Governors and Magistrates of New England or with the General Court of Commissioners and Deputies of the United Colonies, for assistance in men and munitions of war and supplies to attack the said Iroquois in the most proper and convenient places ; and also to agree upon articles which shall be deemed necessary to assure this treaty, and to grant to the said people of New England the trade which they have desired from us by their letters in the year 1647, with the articles, clauses and conditions which they shall therein see necessary ; awaiting the arrival of the Ambassadors whom we shall send on our behalf to satisfy and establish finally what they have agreed upon.
"We accordingly pray all governors, lieutenant-generals, captains and others to let them pass freely," etc.
The letter of the Council of Quebee to the Commissioners breathes the saine spirit, expresses an earnest desire for eloser commercial relations, calls attention to the insolent hostility of the Iroquois, and solieits aid in crush -- ing their common enemy.
"GENTLEMEN : It is now several years since certain gentlemen of Boston proposed to begin commerce between New France and New England. The Council established by His Majesty in this country sent answers as well as letters written by our Governor to those gentlemen. The tenor of these inessages was that we are desirous of this com- merce ; also of a sincere union between your colonies and ours, and at the same time we wish to form an offensive and defensive league against our enemies, the Iroquois, who are ruining our commerce, or, at least, retarding it. It seems to us that your obligation is to crush the insolence of these savage Iroquois, who are killing the Sokoinois (Saco Indians) and the Abenaki, your allies; and, moreover, the facilities you have to begin this war are two reasons which induce us to carry on these negotiations with you in your Court of Commissioners. We have requested your Governor to write us on the subject. We join our efforts with his to assure you of our desire, and that of all New France for this commerce with New England and this war with the Iroquois, who should be our common enemy. With the Rev. Pere Druillettes, who began last winter to negotiate in this matter, we are pleased to associate Mons. Godefroy, as Councillor of our Commission The merits of these two deputies lead us to hope for success. They are clothed with all the necessary powers, that is to say, to efficaciously arrange matters relative to commerce, and to divide the expenses necessary for the war with the Iroquois. We earnestly solicit you to listen to them, and to act with them as you would with us, and with that frank- ness that is as natural to the English as to the French. We cannot doubt that God will bless your arms and ours, since they will be employed in the defence of Christian savages who are your allies as well as ours, against infidel barbarians who have neither God nor faitlı. They do not évince the slightest justice in their proceedings, as you will learn from our deputies, who will assure you of our sincere desire that Heaven will always bless your provinces and bestow on you its favors.
"Drawn up in the Chamber of the Council established by the King at Quebec, in New France, June 20, 1651."
Arrived at Boston, Father Druillettes forwarded a letter to the Commis- sioners for Connecticut and New Haven, requesting a conference at Boston. In this letter he advanced several arguments to persuade the English Colonies to join with the French 'in a war against the Iroquois, alleging that it was a just war, inasmuch as the Mohawks had broken solen covenants made for the continuance of peace ; that they conduet their wars with great cruelty ; that it was a holy war waged in behalf of Christianized Indians, who were
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persecuted and cruelly treated on account of their religion when captured by the Mohawks ; that the war was a matter of common concern, as the inroads of the Mohawks tended to the destruction, or, at least, to the great disturbance of trade in which the French and the English of Massachusetts and Plymouth Colonies were mutually interested. It was further represented that the French had no convenient passages either by land or by sea to carry on war against the hostile Indians. Therefore in the name of the Governor and Council of New France and of the Christian Indians, he petitioned the Englishi colonies to join in the war, and promised a "due consideration or allowance for charges" (expenses). In the event, however, of the English refusing to actively participate in the war, Father Druillettes besought for the French the privilege of enlisting volunteers among the English colonists; that they be furnished with food supplies for the service, and that they might pass through the English jurisdiction by land and water, as occasion would require.
Father Druillettes' request for a conference at Boston was refused on the plea of inconvenience. To his arguments and petitions he received unfavor- able replies from the Commissioners for Connecticut and New Haven Colonies. Nothing daunted, Father Druillettes, Mons. Godefroy and suite, in the com- pany of the Commissioners of Massachusetts, visited New Haven in Septem- ber, 165 1, only thirty-seven years after Adriaen Block sailed upon the waters and gazed upon the beautiful shores of Connecticut. The reverend ambassa- dor presented his credentials to the Commissioners with a commission addressed to himself, whereby he was empowered to preach tlie Christian religion to the Indians.
Father Druillettes immediately opened negotiations. He was an orator of very graceful and persuasive address1 and improved his abilities to the utmost to persuade the Commissioners that the English Colonies should give aid in the war against the Mohawks. If, however, the Commissioners did not wish to engage actively in war against the Indians, he solicited the privilege of recruiting volunteers and asked for the grant of a passage by land and water through their jurisdiction. He requested also, that the baptized Indians and catechumens be taken under the protection of the United Colonies. These favors granted, Father Druillettes promised in return a treaty establishing free trade between the French and the English.2
The efforts of the eloquent Jesuit availed nothing. Sincere in his 1110- tives, calm in the expression of his views, manly and straightforward in the presentation of his petition for aid, pleading only for the welfare of his Indian charges, with no thought of personal gain, we can imagine his disappoint- ment when he realized the futility of his efforts. Standing before the venerable Commissioners in his "black gown," his rough belt encircling his body, his rosary hanging by his side ; the first of the sacerdotal order to tread the soil of Connecticut; a member of a society whom every Puritan was taught to regard as the advance guard of Anti-Christ; an honored fellow of a body of
1 Trumbull's Hist. of Conn .; Hollister's Hist. of Conn.
2 Acts of the Com. of the U. Col.
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men whom an insensate legislation threatened with fines, imprisonment and death for the sole crime of being priests of the Catholic church; this humble, saintly priest, the cultured ambassador, presented a striking picture as he stood before the Commissioners, whose co-religionists held his creed in abom- ination; indeed, says a historian, "he must have been the fruitful theme of conversation at New Haven for many days."1 Father Druillettes' Indian converts and neophytes were refused the protection he sought for them, and were left a prey to the marauding, bloodthirsty Iroquois. "In vain did the governor of Canada call on New England for aid .. The Puritan felt unable 0 to help the Papist; and the Commissioners of the United Colonies, alleging
that the Mohawks were neither in subjection to, nor in any confederation with themselves, turned a deaf ear to the appeal."2 The Commissioners dis- played a more liberal spirit towards the Dutch four years later. When they heard that the Indians had taken inany Dutch prisoners, they agreed to send "two or three meet messengers to endeavor their redemption;" but their intercession was not required.
As we have seen, Father Druillettes had confidently relied upon the co-operation of three of the English Colonies, Massachusetts, Plymouth and Connecticut, and had hoped also to be successful with the colony of New Haven. "The principal Magistrate in the Colony of Connecticut, Mr. Win- throp," wrote Father Druillettes, "was the first to write to Quebec in regard to this commerce. He is much in favor of the French and will, probably, do all in his power to help this expedition, particularly after having received the letter, which I wrote to him, requesting him to complete what his father had begun. As for the Governor 3 of Kwenopeia (Quinnipiac), every- body says that he is very reasonable. It is quite probable that if he does not ac- tively interest himself in this matter, at least, he will not oppose it, knowing especially that Boston and Plymouth, which are influential colonies, or, as it were, the guide of the others, are strongly in favor of it."
LETTER OF FATHER GABRIEL DRUILLETTES TO JOHN WINTHROP, ESQUIRE.
TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SEIGNEUR, JOHN WINTHROP, ESQUIRE, AT PEQUOTT RIVER. Distinguished and Most Honorable Sir-As in consequence of the deep snows of winter I was debarred from the pleasure of seeing you, and from communicating to you orally and at length the great hopes reposed in your singular kindness by the most illus- trious Governor of New France in Canada, at Kebec-who appointed me his Envoy to all the magistrates of your New England-I now approach you by letter in order to beseech and implore you, by that spirit of exceeding benevolence toward all, but especially toward our New France, which Sieur Winthrop, whose memory is both happy and grate- ful to all, bequeathed to you, the heir to all that he possessed, not to refuse your protec- tion to the cause that has brought me to these shores. That cause is the same as that which your Father, of most grateful memory, by the letters which he sent, in the name of your commonwealth to Monsieur our Governor in New France, at Kebec, took up as far back as the year 1647, and which he would have long since brought to a happy conclusion
1 Hollister.
? Broadhead's Hist. of New York.
3 Theophilus Eton. Edward Hopkins was Governor of the Colony of Connecticut.
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had not death prevented him, as I have learned from many responsible persons. This, I believe, was wrought by God, most good and great with the design of making us indebted to you for the happy issue of the cause, the beginning and origin whereof we owed to your most honorable Father. After having orally explained the whole mat- ter to the Governor of Boston and Pleymouth, I desired with all my heart to travel to the country wherein you now reside; and it was not so much the troublesome snows that prevented me as the authority of several persons of importance, to whom I owe deference and who dissuaded me therefrom, which recalled me from Pleymouth to Boston. So great was the hope held forth to me by your kindness toward Strangers, however Barba- rian they may be, that to me-who have lived for the past nine years among Barbarians, whom it has been my duty to instruct in their forests, far from the sight of Europeans- it seemed that you would have nothing to dread from my barbarism. Nay, more, I saw nothing that I might not hope for from your well-known kindness and your unusually Compassionate and Conscientious feelings toward the Savages who are Catechumens of the Christian Faith and Profession. These are, in truth, beyond all other mortals, that Hundredth Sheep straying and forsaken in the Desert, which alone the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 15th), after having left the ninety and nine others, anxiously seeks, and, having found it, joyfully places on his shoulders ; that is to say, he who burns with the most ardent zeal toward the same Lord Jesus Christ must likewise embrace, with the most tender affection of his heart, that hundredth sheep in which alone that best of Shepherds, the Lord Jesus, seems to place his whole delight. Now, this most tender affection of your heart toward your delight, because it is that of Christ our Lord -I mean toward the Barbarian Catechumens-easily leads nie to believe that the testimony shown by this letter of my gratitude and of my confidence in you, however small it may be, will not be displeasing in your sight. Wherefore suffer that I implore by letter your protection, in which, after God, I consider that nearly all my hopes rest, in favor of the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ-in other words, of the defense of the Christian against the Moaghs. These not only have long harassed the Christian Canadians near Kebec, and most cruelly tortured them by slow fire, out of hatred of the Christian faith, but they even intend by a general massacre to destroy my Catechuinens dwelling on the banks of the Kenebec River, because they have been for many years allied to the Canadian Christians. It is chiefly for this reason that our most illustrious Governor of Kebec commanded me to offer you in his name the most ample Commercial advantages and considerable compensation for the expenses of the war, in order to obtain from New England some Auxiliary troops for the defense of the Christian Canadians (which he has already begun against the Moaghs), and which, through his affection for the Christian savages, he wishes to promote at the same time and by the same undertaking in favor of the Akenebek Catechumens, their allies, who are inhabitants of New England, and the special clients of Pleymouth Colony.
He therefore hopes that, in the same manner as your Colony of Kenetigouk subdued the ferocity of the Naraganses, in favor of its dependents who live on the Pecot River- that is to say, the Moliighens-so likewise the colony of Pleymouth will undertake to wage war, with the consent of the Assembly called that of the Commissioners, against the Moaghs, the most cruel enemies of their Akenebek dependents, as well as of their allies, namely. the Canadian Christians near Kebec.
This twofold commission of mine, to wit: in the name of Monsieur the Governor of New France, at Kebec, and separately in the name of the Savages, both the Christians and the Akenebek Catechuinens, after having been summarized and translated into the English tongue from my barbarous Latinity, will be joined to my present letter, I think by a man who is an excellent friend of mine, and to whom, with that object, I gave a copy to be sent to you. For this reason I add nothing further; but I implore you to display your kindness toward the Barbarians and your signal compassion toward the poor of the Lord Jesus ; not to disdain in your General Assembly-which, I hear, is usually held in the month of June in Hartford-to expose the whole matter at length ; to urge it upon your magistrates, and, finally, to recommend a favorable settlement of the
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whole affair to the two personages who are called the Commissioners of your Colony, when they go to the place where the Assembly of the Commissioners is to be held. Meanwhile, wheresoever on earth I may be detained by the Lord Jesus, who has called ine to devote my life and death to labors among the Barbarians, who need instruction, I shall live and die the most devoted servant, in the Lord Jesus, of your entire Family, and above all, Distinguished Sir, of yourself, in the Lord Jesus, for whom, because it is for his brethren, the Christian Barbarians, I execute this Commission.
GABRIEL DRUILLETTES, S. J., Priest and Instructor at Kenebek.
The visit of Father Druillettes to New Haven suggests a query which is of capital interest to the Catholic historian, as well as to the entire Catholic body of Connecticut : Did he, during his sojourn there, offer the Holy Sacri- fice of the Mass? If he did, he was the first to celebrate the divine mysteries in the State. The records, however, give no answer. But the silence of Father Druillettes should not be construed as favoring a negative answer. As the saying of Mass was of daily occurrence when favorably situated, it is probable that the ambassador would not regard a Mass celebrated even in a strange locality as an unusual event. But few actors in daily events ever realize that they may be making history, and, therefore, frequently fail to place the facts on record ; so that Father Druillettes might have offered the Holy Sacrifice and make no mention of the fact in his Narrative.
When at Boston the year previous Father Druillettes was the guest of Major-General Gibbon, who, says the priest, "gave mne the key of an apart- ment in his house where I could easily perform my devotional exercises." 1 There is strong probability that he said Mass on this occasion. Whether he celebrated the divine mysteries in New Haven would depend, in a measure, upon the lodgings placed at his disposal. An ambassador, it is consistent to believe that the authorities of the colony assigned him to apartinents befitting his dignity. Such being the case, it is within the range of probability to say that Father Druillettes said Mass, not once only, but daily during his sojourn in New Haven. An eminent Jesuit authority 2 says : " As the Jesuit mission- aries of those days were accustomed to travel with all the requisites for private celebration and under difficult circumstances, I should incline to the opinion that he (Father Druillettes) did celebrate in Connecticut." Father Druillettes was a holy and zealous priest, a true missionary. The all-absorbing desire of his heart was the conversion to Christianity of the Indians committed to his care. Consumed by this desire he would employ every legitimate ineans to bring the red children of the forest under the benign and salutary influences of the Gospel. But the inost precious means at his disposal to effect thie con- version of the Indians was the Mass. Nowhere else could he plead so effectu- ally, pray so devoutly, and exercise his zcal so fervently as at the altar where the Blood of Christ is offered to the Eternal Father for the souls of men. A holy priest, fully conscious of human frailty, Father Druillettes would ascend the altar daily, and would regard that day as lost wherein was not offered up
1 " Narrative of Father Druillettes."
2 Rev. E. I Devitt, Gonzaga College, Washington, D. C., a letter to the author. II-8
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the august Victim. To prevent such spiritual loss and to enjoy the sweet consolations of the Mass, he would carry from place to place the vestments, sacred vessels, linens, and the matter for the Sacrifice. The faithful Guerin was with him to fill the role of acolyte. In a word, all the circumstances point to the conclusion that the reverend ambassador stood before an humble altar in New Haven and petitioned the Most High in behalf of His beloved children.
CHAPTER XXII.
FATHER DRUILLETTES' SUCCESSORS.
FTER the departure of Father Druillettes from New Haven, over twenty years elapse ere we discover trace of any other priest in Connecticut. About 1674 the Rev. Jean Pierron, a priest of the Society of Jesus, made a missionary tour throughout New England, expounding the tenets of the Catholic faith to the Indians. There is a well-grounded tradition that he traversed Connecticut, and it is certain that he went as far south as Maryland and Virginia in the arduous but glorious quest for souls.1
Father Pierron arrived in Canada from France on June 24, 1667. Eager to begin immediately his missionary labors, he set out from Quebec on July 14th following with two Jesuit companions for the Mohawk missions in the State of New York. The scene of his labors was "Tionnontoguen," the capital of the Mohawk nation. By dint of industry and perseverance he soo11 became sufficiently conversant with the Mohawk language to address his savage hearers intelligently. To impress more deeply his teachings upon the minds of the Indians, he made use of sinall paintings, the work of his own hands.
"His representations of a good and a bad death had marvellous success. While he was one day explaining the mysteries of the faith, he saw some old men and women close their ears with their fingers. When he questioned them, they replied that they had heard nothing. He profited adroitly by this incident to represent the death of an old woman, who would not listen to the Missionary, nor look at Paradise. A demion was by her side, who had taken her fingers and forced them into her ears. As soon as the missionary had exhibited and explained this picture, no one dared again to reply : "I did not hear." 2
Father Pierron also translated the Ten Commandments and several prayers into Iroquois verse, that the Indians might be more readily im- pressed by singing them.
As the Indians were greatly addicted to the vice of gambling, Father Pierron introduced a game in which they were instructed in the principal doctrines of the church. The game was "From point to point," meaning from birth to death and eternity.
The greatest evil Father Pierron had to contend with was, as the Indians
1 Broadhead's " History of New York," Vol. II.
2 " The Pilgrim of Our Lady of Martyrs." Sept., 1898.
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expressed it, "a foreign demon." This demon was liquor, which the English supplied in the form of rum from the West Indies, and the French in the form of brandy from Rochelle. To eradicate the evil several sachems pre- sented a petition and a letter from Father Pierron to Governor Lovelace requesting his aid in stopping the vicious traffic. Lovelace at once honored the petition and wrote to Father Pierron : "I have taken all the care possible, and will continue it under the most severe penalties, to restrain and hinder the furnishing of any excess to the Indians. And I am very glad to learn that such virtuous thoughts proceed from infidels, to the shame of many Christians. But this must be attributed to your pious instructions ; you, who, being well versed in a strict discipline, have shown them the way of mortifi- cation, as well by your precepts as your practice."
Father Pierron left the Mohawk missions in 1671 and returned to Quebec. The winter months of 1673 were spent in Acadia. It was after this he trav- eled through the New England Colonies, and going, as has been said, as far as Virginia. Of this experience he wrote that he saw nothing " but desola- tion and abomination among those heretics." At Boston "the uncommon knowledge he exhibited " caused him to be suspected of being a Jesuit, though he was "much esteemed." He was desirous of founding a mission among the Indians of Maryland, but his superior, Father Dablon, not wish- ing to encroach upon the jurisdiction of the English Jesuits, transferred him to the Seneca missions in New York. Here ended Father Pierron's mission- ary labors in the Colonies, as hostilities having broken out between the Senecas and the French, he retired to Canada. He returned to Europe in 1678.
In 1683, nine years after Father Pierron visited Connecticut, we catchi a glimpse of two priests, the Rev. Thomas Harvey, S. J., and the Rev. John Gordon, D.D., who traveled overland from Nantasket to New York. In their journey they passed through Connecticut to the Sound, which they crossed to Long Island, and thence proceeded to their destination. They probably entered the State at Windham county and took shipping for Long Island at New London. Father Harvey and Father Gordon had been commissioned as chaplains to the troops stationed in New York, and accompanied Colonel Thomas Dongan, a Catholic, who had been appointed Governor of that Colony. They arrived at Nantasket on August 10, 1683, and reached New York on the 25th. There is no record that they performed any sacerdotal functions during their passage through the State.
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