USA > New York > Franklin County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 14
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 14
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* See Appendix, note B of this work.
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CHAPTER II.
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ST. REGIS.
N a beautiful and elevated point which juts into the St. Law- rence, where that river is crossed by the forty-fifth parallel of latitude, and between the mouths of the St. Regis and Racquette rivers, stands a dilapidated and antique looking village, whose mas- sive and venerable church, with tin covered spire; whose narrow and filthy streets, and the general appearance of indolence and poverty of its inhabitants, and especially tlie accents of an unaccustomed language, almost convey to the casual visitor an impression that he is in a foreign land.
Such is the Indian village of St. Regis, whose origin and history we are about to relate. Its founders in selecting this site, evinced the pos- session of a taste at once judicious and correct, for it may well be ques- tioned whether the shores of the St. Lawrence, abounding as they do in charming and lovely localities, affords anywhere a spot that will surpass this in beauty of scenery, or pleasantness of location. The village stands on a plain, moderately elevated above the river, which having for more than forty miles been broken by cascades and dangerous rapids, here becomes tranquil.
To the west, the ground swells into a gentle hill, which overlooks the village and river to a great distance; beyond which it again descends into a spacious plain, which for time immemorial has been the favorite ground for ball-playing, a pastime to which the natives are strongly attached, and in which they engage with much zeal.
The surrounding fields, are an open common, without separate enclos- ures, and are used as a public pasture by the inhabitants. Around the cabins of the villagers are usually small enclosures, devoted to the culti- vation of corn, and culinary vegetables, which by the right of occupancy have come to be considered the private property of individuals, and as such are bought and sold among the natives, although the law recognizes no such private ownership, and holds them all as tenants in common, denying them the right of buying or selling land, except to the govern- ment.
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Opposite to the village, lay several very fertile and beautiful islands, which are owned and cultivated by the villagers, and upon which is raised the grain upon which they subsist, and the grass which serves for their cattle during the winter months. The public points in the village, and the summits of the hill are crowned by the cross, which indicates the religious faith of the greater part of the inhabitants, and reminds us that the colony owes its origin to a religious movement. Such is St. Regis, as it appears to the stranger; a village which under Anglo- Saxon enterprise, would ere this have attained a preeminence equal to any place on the river, but which now exhibits nothing but an air of decay and litstlessness, peculiar of the Indian character, when it assumes the habits of civilization.
To one who traverses the streets, and observes the general aspect of its inhabitants, a leading trait will be noticed as their controlling principle, and he will recognize INDOLENCE in every feature, and in every action.
With this preliminary, we will proceed with our account of the origin of this village, which was formed by an emigration from the mission at Caughnawaga, or the Saut Saint Louis, about nine miles above Montreal. The latter at a remote period of American history, in its turn, was formed by a portion of the Mohawk tribe of Indians, who were induced by the French to emigrate to their vicinity and embrace the Catholic faith.
We will reserve for the appendix,* such notices as we may find, con- nected with this people, previous to the founding of St. Regis, and com- mence our account with a traditionary narrative upon which is based the causes that led to the measure.
About a hundred and thirty years ago, three children, (a girl about twelve or thirteen years of age, and two younger brothers,) were playing together in a barn, in the town of Groton, Massachusetts, and being absent from the house longer than was expected, their mother became solicitous about them, and went to find them. The girl was lying on the floor, with a limb broken, and the boys were missing.
She related that seeing some Indians coming, she fled to the upper part of the barn, and fell by accident from the beams above, and that they had seized the two boys, and carried them away. The stealthy manner of this seizure, and, the time that had elapsed, forbade pursuit, with any hope of success, and the distracted parents were left to mourn the loss without consolation or hope. The probable motive for the seizure of these children, was the expectation [that a bounty would be
* See Appendix Note C of this work.
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offered for their ransom; or perhaps they might be exchanged for French prisoners.
As afterwards appeared, these boys were taken by Caughnawaga In- dians to their village near Montreal, where they were adopted as their own children, growing up in habits, manners, and language, as Indians, and in due time they married the daughters of chiefs of that tribe. The names of these chiefs were Sa-kon-en-tsi-ask and Ata-wen-ta.
But they possessed the superiority of intellect, and enterprise, which belonged to their race, and this led to a series of petty quarrels, growing out of the jealousy of the young Indians of their age, which disquieted the village, and by the party spirit which it engendered, became a source of irritation and trouble in the settlement, and of anxiety on the part of their missionary, who labored in vain to reconcile the difficulties between them.
Failing in this, he advised the two young men, (one of whom they had named Ka-re-ko-wa) to remove with their families to a place by them- "selves, where they might enjoy tranquility, and be beyond the reach of annoyance from their comrades.
This advice they adopted; and taking with them their wives, and fol- lowed by their wives' parents, these four families departed in a bark canoe, with their effects, to seek in a new country, and in the secluded recesses of the forest, a home.
They coasted along up the St. Lawrence, and at length arrived at the delightful point on which the village of St. Regis now stands, where they landed and took possession.
The name of these youths, was TARBELL, and their descendants have always resided at St. Regis, and some of them have been distinguished as chiefs and head men of the tribe. One of these named Lesor Tar- bell, and a son of his name, was a prominent chief, about fifty years since, and very much esteemed by the whites, for his prudence, candor, and great worth of character.
The name of Tarbell, is said to be very common in Groton, to this day. Another traditional version of the account, differs in some particulars from that just related, and is as follows :
Three lads, and an elder sister, were playing together in a field, when they were surprised by a small party of Indians. One of the boys es- caped, but the rest were seized, and marched that day about fourteen miles into the woods towards Canada, when it coming on dark, they came to a halt, and camped for the night. Thinking their prisoners se- cure, the Indians were less watchful than usual, and finally all fell asleep.
The girl, about twelve years old, kept awake, and seeing the rest asleep, her first thought was to awaken her brothers, and attempt to es-
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cape, but fearing to disturb the Indians, should she attempt this, and thus prevent any possibility of escape, she crept carefully out from among them, and struck off in the direction of her home, which she at length reached after undergoing great hardship.
One of the lads on growing up went off to the north west, the other married, and subsequently with his wife, and one or two other families, moved off, and made the first settlement at St. Regis.
From the abundance of partridges which the thicket afforded, they called it, AK-WIS-SAS-NE "where the partridge drums," and this name it still retains .*
These families were living very peaceably together, and had made small clearings for corn fields, when they were joined by Father Anthony Gordon, a Jesuit from Caughnawaga, with a colony of these Indians in 1760.
The year of this settlement is known by the fact that they were met near Coteau du Lac, by Lord Amherst, who was decending the St. Law- rence, to complete the conquest of Canada. Gordon named the place ST. REGIS.
With the belief that a biographical sketch of this saint, would be ac- ceptable to our readers, in connection with this account, we will take the liberty of inserting it as it is given by a catholic author.
"JEAN FRANÇOIS REGIS, of the society of Jesus, was born Jan. 31, 1597, at Foncouverte, a village in the diocess of Narbonne in Lauguedoc, France, and was a descendant of an ancient and noble family. At an early age he became strongly impressed with religious sentiments, and while a youth, was one of the first to enter the Jesuit School at Beziers, where he led a very exemplary life. At the completion of his earlier studies, he undertook the charge of instructing menial servants in Tour- non. In 1631, his studies being finished, he visited Foncouverte to
* Another and equally consistent explanation of the adoption of this name, is given :
In the winter time, the ice from the rapids above, coming down under the firm ice at this place, often occasions a sort of tremor or earthquake in miniature, and is attended with a noise very much like the drumming of a partridge. A particular account of the singular phenomena of the ice in the rapids, will be given in our account of the town of Massena.
On the occasion of the author's visit to St. Regis in June 1952, the natives desired to give him a name, and proposed among others, that of their village. Objections being made, they decided upon, O-kwa-e-sen, a partridge, they regarding that bird somewhat as a national emblem, like the eagle to the United States. The idea was doubtless suggested by the par- ticular inquiries made about the origin of their village. The custom of naming those who have business with them in common, and in former times when the drinking of rum was more prevalent, the ceremony of christening and adoption was conducted with excessive de. monstration of joy. At present it consists in singing and shouting around the candidate, and the shaking of hands. At times a rude dance is performed, but this people have lost every recollection of the national feasts and dances, which are still maintained among the pagan party of the Iroquois at Onondaga and other Indian settlements, in theinterior of the state.
They informed the author that they should consider him as belonging to the Ro-tis en-na- keh-te, or Little Turtle band, that being the smallest and feeblest one among them.
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settle some family affairs, and there attracted much notice from the zeal with which he preached to the people, and solicited alms for the poor. He spent several years in missionary labors in France, always conspicu- ous for his zealous labors among the poor, over whom he acquired great ascendency. This excited such persecution from the higher classes, that he solicited an appointment as a missionary to the Hurons, and Iroquois of Canada, but finally remained at home, much to his own disappointment. He continued his labors among the lower classes till his death, Dec. 31, 1640, at the age of 43 years, of which 26 were spent as a Jesuit. This tomb at La Louvase, in Languedoc, is regarded by the catholic population of France, as a shrine, and miracles are believed by them to have been performed at it. He was cannonised by pope Clement XII, in 1737, at the joint request of Kings Louis XV of France, and Philip V, of Spain, and of the clergy of France, assembled at Paris, in 1735. His festival accurs on the 16th of June. [See Butler's Lives of the Saints, 18mo edition, vol. vi, p. 261, 287.]
A painting of St. Regis, exists in the church at the mission of that name. It was presented by Charles X, as hereafter stated.
It is not known how long the four families had been residing at this place, when they were joined by the others, nor the numbers of the latter, further than the vague tradition that "there were many canoe loads." Probably they numbered several hundred souls.
The cause assigned for this emigration, was a desire to get the natives away from the corrupting influences of rum, and the train of vices to which they were particularly exposed from their proximity to Montreal. It was hoped that by this means being withdrawn from the temptations to which they were constantly liable, that a benefit would be derived.
In our account of Picquet's mission, we have seen that the missionaries at the Indian establishments felt and deplored the contaminating influence of the Europeans, and that the mission of St. Louis, was for this cause obliged to be moved some distance up the river, to get the natives out of the way of the moral miasm of Montreal, and the further emigration to St. Regis, may without doubt be attributed to the same cause.
In these acts, these ecclesiastics evinced a commendable regard for the moral welfare of their flocks, which challenges our admiration. In order that the end desired might not be defeated, it was considered essential that the new colony should be made up of a native population entirely; that no military post should form a part of them, and that traffic especially in spirituous liquors should be entirely interdicted.
Among the first duties of Gordon was the erection of a church, which was built of logs and covered with barks. .
This humble and primative temple of worship, was made to serve the double purpose of a church and a dwelling, and one end of the hut was partitioned off for the residence of their priest.
There being no bell, when the hour of worship arrived, an Indian went through the village from hut to hut, and announced with a loud voice
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the hour that they might assemble for prayer. This practice reminds one of the Mahomedan custom, of proclaiming the hour of prayer from the Minarets of mosques.
In about two years this church was burned, and with it the first two years of the parish records.
The first record extant, bears date Feb. 2, 1762, when Margarita Theretia an Abenika woman, married, and of unknown parentage, was baptized.
Since that date, the parish records are very perfect, they have been kept in the Latin and French languages.
Soon afterwards a small wooden church was erected on the ground now occupied by the priest's garden, which was furnished with a small cupola, and contained a bell.
It has been generally believed that this bell was the same as that taken in 1704, from Deerfield, in Massachusetts, but after careful inquiries, the author has artived at the conclusion that that celebrated bell never was at St. Regis, but that it is none other than the smaller of the two that hangs in the steeple of the charch of St. Louis, in Caughnawaga.
About fifteen years since, a bell belonging to the church of St. Regis, was broken up at Ogdensburgh, for recasting, and the Indians were very jealous lest some part should be abstracted, and are said to have appointed some of their number to watch the operation, and see that every part was remelted. This metal now forms a part of the larger bell in the church at St. Regis.
That the Deerfield bell could not have been taken directly to St. Regis, is evident, from the fact that fifty-six years elapsed between its capture and the founding of St. Regis.
The latter place was first begun by emigrants, in 1760, from Caugh- nawaga, the larger portion of the tribe remaining behind. It can scarcely be believed, that those that remained would allow themselves to be deprived of the only bell their church possessed, especially as the mission at the Saut St. Louis has been continued without interruption.
While on a visit to Caughnawaga, in October, 1852, the author found in the village a direct and consistent tradition of the bell, which is still used in their church, and among the records in the hands of the priest, a manuscript in the French language, of which we shall give a transla- tion. The bell is a small one, and once possessed an inscription, which has been effaced.
The legend purports to have been found some fifteen years since, in an old English publication, and is regarded by the priest of the mission (Rev. Joseph Marcoux), who has for many years resided there, as in the main points reliable. If this view of the subject be correct, the legend loses none of its interest, except being transferred from the church of
8
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St. Regis to the church of the Saut St. Louis. This village is on the south side of the St. Lawrence, opposite the village of Lachine, at the head of the Saut St. Louis, and nine miles above Montreal.
Legend of the Bell of Saut St. Louis (Caughnawaga), near Montreal.
" Father Nicolas having assembled a considerable number of Indians who had been converted to the catholic faith, had established them in the village which now bears the name of the Saut St. Louis, upon the River St. Lawrence. The situation of this village is one of the most magnificent which the banks of that noble river presents, and is among the most picturesque which the country contains.
The church stands upon a point of land which juts into the river, and its bell sends its echoes over the waters with a clearness which forms a striking contrast with the iron bells which were formerly so common in Canada, while the tin covered spire of the church, glittering in the sun- light, with the dense and gloomy forests which surround it, give a cha- racter of romance to this little church, and the legend of its celebrated bell .*
Father Nicolas having, with the aid of the Indians, erected a church and a belfry; in one of his sermons explained to his humble auditors, that a bell was as necessary to a belfry, as a priest to a church, and ex- horted them to lay aside a portion of the furs that they collected in hunting, until enough was accumulated to purchase a bell, which could only be procured by sending to France. The Indians exhibited an inconceivable ardor in performing this religious duty, and the packet of furs was promptly made out, and forwarded to Havre, where an eccle- siastical personage was delegated to make the purchase. The bell was accordingly ordered, and in due time forwarded on board the Grande Monarque, which was on the point of sailing for Quebec.
It so happened that after her departure, one of the wars which the French and the English then so often waged sprung up, and in conse- quence the Grande Monarque never attained her destined port, but was taken by a New England privateer, brought into the port of Salem, where she was condemned as a lawful prize, and sold for the benefit of her captors.
The bell was purchased by the village of Deerfield, upon the Connec- ticut river, for a church then about being erected by the congregation of the celebrated Rev. John Williams.
When Father Nicolas received news of the misfortune, he assembled
* The old church of Caughna waga, was in 1845 replaced by the present large and substan- tial stone edifice, erected with funds given the Indians for that purpose in consideration of lands which the government had appropriated to itself, as having belonged to the Jesuits, but for which they awarded the value, on its being proved that this mission had never belonged to that order. In 1830, a large bell was presented by the English government to the church, and hangs by the side of the time honored and venerable relic which forms the subject of the legend. The latter originally bore an inscription in the Latin language, but this has been effaced by the chisel, probably by its New England owners, to prevent any identification by those for whom it was originally intended. Adjoining the church, stands the priest's house, which still presents the same appearance as when Charlevoix the traveler abode in it. The room is still pointed out in which he lived, and the desk on which he wrote a portion of that history which has made his name celebrated as a historian.
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his Indians, related to them the miserable condition of the bell, retained in purgatory in the hands of heretics, and concluded by saying, that it would be a most praise worthy enterprise to go and recover it.
This appeal had in it as it were a kind of inspiration, and fell upon its hearers with all the force of the eloquence of Peter the Hermit, in preaching the crusades.
The Indians deplored together the misfortune of their bell, which had not hitherto received the rite of baptism: they had not the slightest idea of a bell, but it was enough for them, that Father Nicolas, who preached and said mass for them, in their church, said that it had some indispens- able use in the services of the church.
Their eagerness for the chase was in a moment suspended, and they assembled together in groups, and seated on the banks of the river, conversed on the unhappy captivity of their bell, and each brought for- ward his plan which he deemed most likely to succeed in effecting its recovery.
Some of their number, who had heard a bell, said that it could be heard beyond the murmur of the rapid, and that its voice was more harmonious than that of the sweetest songster of the grove, heard in the quiet stillness of evening, when all nature was hushed in repose.
All were melancholy, and inspired with a holy enthusiasm; many fasted, and others performed severe penances to obtain the deliverance of the bell, or the palliation of its sufferings.
At length the day of its deliverance approached. The Marquis de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, resolved to send an expedition against the British colonies of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The com- mand of this expedition was given to Major Hertel de Rouville, and one of the priests of the Jesuit college, at Quebec, was sent to procure the services of Father Nicolas to accompany the expedition.
The Indians were immediately assembled in the church; the messen- ger was presented to the congregation, and .Father Nicolas in a solemn discourse pointed to him as worthy of their veneration, from his being the bearer of glad tidings, who was about departing for his return to Quebec, to join the war. At the end of the discourse, the whole audi- ence raised with one voice the cry of war, and demanded to be led to the place where their bell was detained by the heretics.
The savages immediately began to paint themselves in the most hide- ous colors, and were animated with a wild enthusiasm to join the expe- dition.
It was in the depth of winter when they departed to join the army of M. de Rouville, at Fort Chambly. Father Nicolas marched at their head, with a large banner, surmounted by a cross, and as they departed from their village, their wives and little ones, in imitation of women of the crusades, who animated the warriors of Godfrey of Bouillon, they sang a sacred hymn which their venerated priest had selected for the occasion.
They arrived at Chambly after a march of great hardship, at the moment that the French soldiers were preparing to start on their march up Lake Champlain.
The Indians followed in their rear, with that perseverance peculiar to their character. In this order the Indians remained, following in silence, until they reached Lake Champlain, where all the army had been ordered to rendezvous. This lake was then frozen and less covered by snow than the shores, and was taken as a more convenient route for the army. With their thoughts wrapped up in the single contemplation of the unhappy captivity of their bell, the Indians remained taciturn
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during this pensive march, exhibiting no symptoms of fatigue or of fear ; no regret for their families or homes, and they regarded with equal indif- ference on the one hand the interminable line of forest, sometimes black from dense evergreens, and in others white from loads of snow; and on the other, the bleak lines of rocks and deserts of snow and ice, which bordered their path. The French soldiers, who suffered dreadfully from fatigue and cold, regarded with admiration the agility and cheerfulness with which the Indians seemed to glide over the yielding surface of the snow on their snow shoes.
The quiet endurance of the proselytes of Father Nicolas formed a striking contrast with the irritability and impatience of the French sol- diers.
When they arrived at the point where now stands the city of Burling- ton, the order was given for a general halt, to make more efficient arrangements for penetrating through the forests to Massachusetts. In leaving this point, de Rouville gave to Father Nicolas the command of his Indian warriors, and took the lead of his own himself, with compass in hand, to make the most direct course for Deerfield. Nothing which the troops had thus far suffered could compare with what they now endured on this march through a wild country, in the midst of deep snow, and with no supplies beyond what they could carry.
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