History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 4

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762

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JESUIT MISSIONS AMONG THE IROQUOIS.

centuries ago." Dr. Shea at the same time offered to translate from the old " Relations " all that he could find applying to the Cayugas, and did so, carrying the history forward to 1679. It is from these " Relations " thus supplied by the courtesy of Dr. Hawley that we make up the record contained in this chapter.

It will be noticed that in the relations respect- ing the Cayugas, very little is said of their habits and modes of life, except as connected with their religious instruction. The reason for this is that full and minute descriptions, bearing upon the former subjects, had been given in previous " Relations " of the Huron missions.

These missionaries were educated men. They took careful notes of what they saw and heard ; made maps and drawings and made out full and elaborate reports of their operations, published in large and expensive volumes, which are exceedingly rare and interesting, as containing the first accounts we have of our native inhabit- ants .*

The first missionaries arrived in Canada in 1625. They came for a very different purpose from that which had actuated the previous set- tlers. The latter had come to traffic and make gain, and in carrying on their operations often deceived and swindled the red man. But the missionaries came to teach and christianize the heathen. The traders had come with guns and swords to inspire terror and to enforce obedience ; the missionaries were heralds of peace and good will. They came from the most enlightened nation of Europe to dwell among barbarians,- to learn their languages and usages so as to be able to instruct and influence them. They came from an old to a new country ; from a mild to a rigorous climate, and exchanged a life of com- parative ease and refinement in France for the privations and hardships of the wilderness among savages.

As showing the discomforts of the Indian homes of the fathers, we quote the following from the " Jesuits in North America," (Parkman's,) being a synopsis of the relation of Le Jeune, the first Indian missionary :

" Here among the lodges of bark were stretched innumerable strings of hide, from which hung to

dry an incredible multidude of eels. A boy in- vited him into the lodge of a withered squaw, (his grandmother,) who hastened to offer him four smoked eels on a piece of bark, while the other squaws of the household instructed him how to roast them on a forked-stick over the embers. All shared the feast together, his enter- tainers using as napkins their own hair, or that of their dogs."

But the discomforts of a Winter lodge, as described by the same author, were very great :

"Enter the hut, there in a space of thirteen feet square were packed nineteen savages,-men, women and children, with their dogs, -crouched, squatted, coiled like huge hogs, or lying on their backs, with their knees drawn up perpendicularly to keep their feet out of the fire. The bark covering was full of crevices, through which the icy blasts streamed in upon him from all sides, and the hole above, at once window and chimney. was so large that as he lay he could watch the stars, as well as in the open air ; while the fire in the midst, fed with fat pine-knots, scorched him on one side, on the other he had much ado to keep himself from freezing. At times, however, the crowded hut seemed heated to the tempera- ture of an oven ; but these evils were slight when compared with the intolerable plague of smoke. During a snow storm, and often at other times, the wigwam was filled with fumes so dense, stifling and acrid that all its inmates were forced to lie flat on their faces breathing through mouths in contact with the cold earth.'

So much for the discomforts of the missionary homes with the Indians. Another extract from the same excellent and graphic author, will show the horrid barbarities to which they were at all times exposed. Father Bressani, a missionary among the Hurons in 1644, was taken prisoner by the Iroquois and compelled to endure their relentless cruelties, which Mr. Parkman thus describes : " They split his hand with a knife between the little and ring finger, beat him with sticks until he was covered with blood." They then stripped him, and, though the weather was very cold, exposed him to it on the torture scaf- fold for two hours compelling him to sing. They then permitted the children to torture him by thrusting sharpened sticks into his bruised flesh, and also compelling him to dance, pulling out his hair and beard and burning his flesh with fire-brands, accompanied with the cry, " We will burn you to death." This was continued every evening for a week. After this they burned him with live coals and hot stones, greatly enjoy- ing his agony for hours. In this condition,

* On ancient worm eaten pages, between covers of begrimed parchment, the daily life of this ruined community (the Hurons its firesides, its funeral rites, its festivals, are painted with a minute and vivid fidelity .- Parkman's Jesuits.

SUFFERINGS OF THE JESUITS.

bruised, burned, and lacerated as he was, they compelled him to undergo a march of several days, when they suspended him by the heels, and afterwards placed food for the dogs upon his body that cruelly hurt him in biting it off. He was finally liberated, sold to the Dutch, regained his strength and rëentered the missionary field.

Theirs was a rare and heroic self-sacrifice, and they devoted themselves to their appointed work with marvellous zeal and fidelity. They were, in a large degree, successful in winning the con- fidence of the red men, though some of them were submitted to the torture and the flames and most of them carried their lives in their hands. While they were sincerely and enthusiastically devoted to the work of evangelizing the Indians, it cannot be denied that many of them exerted a strong political influence in behalf of his most catholic majesty, the King of France, by allying the various savage tribes among whom they dwelt, to the French interest.

The French missions were maintained for nearly a century, and of many of the tribes, little has been or can be known, except what is sup- plied by their " Relations."

In 1645-'6, Father Jerome Lallemant, compar- ing the different Iroquois Nations, said that "the Cantons of the Cayugas and Senecas surpass them all by the excellence of the soil, the beauty of the country and the mildness of the climate. The inhabitants, being influenced by these super- inducements, have always shown themselves the most tractable of all the Iroquois."

The first mission founded among the Cayugas was in 1656, and soon after the establishment of the Onondaga mission. The latter was the first Iroquois mission and had had a favorable begin- ning ; a chapel had been built, a school opened, and a fort projected for the defense of the nation from its enemies.

The missionaries at Onondaga now arranged to extend their labors to the Cayugas and Senecas. The Cayugas had been represented in the first missionary council at Onondaga, where they were received with much formality. The coun- cil, though engaged in important ceremonies, adjourned them until the following day in honor of their distinguished guests with whom they exchanged complimentary presents. Saonchi- ogwa, the head chief of the Cayugas, was very cordial to the "Black Robes," as the priests

were called, and assured them of his desire to take them as brothers, understood to be a mark of the highest confidence, and was so accepted by the missionaries. The next day the several nations represented in the council, engaged in formal replies to the speeches and presents of the missionaries, and with their songs of wel- come. *

After the Onondagas had bestowed and ex- plained the presents, Saonchiogwa, chief of the Cayugas, replied in a long, eloquent and saga- cious speech. In behalf of his nation and him- self, he thanked the French for having adopted them, and pledged himself that they should never dishonor the proud distinction. They bad never been adopted except by persons of rank ; but adoption by the French was the crowning glory of all their alliances. He closed by striking up a song, both new and pleasing, in which all his companions joined, keeping time by striking their mats, while he danced violently. The im- port of his exclamations was a warm approval of the whole proceedings, which he emphasized by a present of beads.

In pursuance of the wishes expressed by this council, six Jesuit fathers left Quebec, May 17th, 1656, and with them came also several laymen. A council was convened at Onondaga soon after their arrival and the alliance heretofore made, was confirmed by the distribution of additional pres- ents. A few weeks later a representative Cayu- gan, in behalf of his nation asked that one of the fathers might be sent to them. He assured them that such was the desire of all his people, and that a chapel would be built for their use.

This request was granted. Father Menard was sent to the Cayugas, and Chaumanot to the Senecas. They arrived among the Cayugas in August, 1656, from whence, after a short stay, Chaumanot proceeded to his work among the Senecas, Menard remaining among the Cayugas. To preserve the alliance which had been formed with the French at Onondaga, "to keep bright

* " They sang, -- " Happy Land ! Happy Land ! in which the French are to dwell !" which was responded to by the Onondagas, led by their chief : " Glad Tidings ! Glad Tidings ! It is well that we have spoken together. It is well that we have a heavenly message. I salute thee. My brother, I salute thee. It is well you have come to us. O, the charming voice. O, the charming voice thou hast." They added this: " Farewell to war ! Farewell to the hatchet ! Until now we have been enemies ; henceforth we are brothers, yes, we are truly brothers,"

FIRST MISSION AMONG THE CAYUGAS.

the chain of friendship " with the Indians, annual presents must be exchanged. This Menard con- sidered a very agreeable necessity, as, in the dis- tribution of these.presents, it opened the way for him to proclaim to them the faith here, in a way similar to that which had so well succeeded at Onondaga.

He found, however, in fact, great antipathy not only against the faith but against their own persons also. These dislikes had come to the Iroquois through the Hurons, among whom the black-robes had labored for many previous years. The Hurons insisted that the missionaries brought with them sickness and misfortunes .*

And so strong were their antipathies that the first presents which Menard bestowed were una- vailing, and worthless, but the principal men of the nation, from motives of policy, did not break with the missionary ; but set their Huron slaves at work to build a bark chapel, which at the end of two days was completed and ready for occu- pancy.

The fathers spread the floor with " beautiful mats," and arranged two images in the chapel, one of our Lord and the other of our Lady. The effect, Menard relates :

" So greatly surprised our barbarians that they came in crowds to consider it, and gaze upon the countenances and movements of the two images. I thus had abundant opportunities to explain our mysteries ; and so inquisitive were they about the images, that each day was but one asking and answering of questions from morning till night ; the result of which was that they were so sub- dued in spirit, that in a few days we had many converts, not only of the Hurons and slaves, but also from the natives of the country.

" Many brought their children to me for bap- tism, and aided me in teaching them the prayers by repeating them after me ; and, in a short time grace brought such marvellous changes that the

little children, who, at the first, made me the con- stant object of their ridicule and sport now ren- dered me the offices of good angels, conducting me into the cabins, attending me wherever I vis- ited, and giving me the names of those I baptized, as well as those of their parents, that which these barbarians are accustomed to carefully conceal from us, believing that we record their names that we may send them to France and there pro- cure their death by magic."

The first person whom father Menard deemed worthy of baptism was a man eighty years old, and as he relates, "nigh unto death," and in whom he found " all the dispositions of a soul chosen for heaven." The second was a cripple deformed by a cancer, by whom the father was received with joy, and who was so assiduous in his appli- cation to the work assigned him by the priest, that he speedily administered to him the sacred rite. The chief interest, however, which sur- rounded this second case, was that the now suffer- ing Iroquois had been a renowned warrior, and was one of the party one thousand strong who, on the 16th of March, 1649, had attacked, captured, and burned the Huron town of St. Ignace, and on " that same day had slain with his own hands eight Hurons and taken five others prisoners," and had bought of the Mohawks the two captive fathers, Brebeuf and Lallemant, who were in the town at the time of its capture, in order to restore them to liberty. They returned the wampum belts, however, which had been the price of the freedom of the captives who were " burned with all imaginary fury .*

This second convert was much esteemed by the Cayugas, and his conversion to the Christian faith led many others to embrace it ; not only by his influential example, but "through the zeal of his discourse." But Menard met the difficulties

* " The persecutions of the Jesuit priests among the Hurons, had been marked by deeds of peculiar cruelty, originating mainly in a belief in their power as sorcerers and conjurers, Pierre Chaumanot was emerging from a house at the Huron town called by the Jesuits St. Michael, where he had just baptized a dying girl, when her brother, standing hidden in the doorway, struck him on the head with a stone. Chaumanot, severely wounded, staggered without falling when the Indian sprang upon him with his tomahawk. The bystanders arrested the blow. Francois Le Mercier, in the midst of a crowd of Indians at the town of St. Louis, was assailed by a noted chief, who rushed in raving like a mad man, and, in a tor- rent of words, charged upon him all the miseries of the nation. Then taking a brand from the fire, he 1hrust it into the Jesuit's face, and told him that he should be burned alive."-Parkman on Jesuits.

* Brebeuf was led apart and bound to a stake, He seemed more concerned for his captive converts than for himself, and addressed them in a loud voice, exhorting them to suffer patiently, and prom- ising heaven as their reward. The Iroquois, incensed, scorched him from head to foot to silence him ; whereupon, in the tone of a master, he threatened them with everlasting flames for persecuting the worshipers of God ; as he continued to speak with voice and countenance unchanged, they cut away his lower lip and thrust a red-hot iron down his throat. He still held his tall form erect and defiant, with no sign or sound of pain ; and they tried another means to overcome him. They led out Lallemant, that Brebeuf might see him tortured. They had tied strips of bark, smeared with pitch, about his naked body. When he saw the condition of his superior, he could not hide his agitation and called out to him with a broken voice, in the words of St. Paul, " we are made a spectacle ot the world, to angels and to men." Then he threw

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE INDIANS.

common to all the early French missionaries. He said :

" Our faith is accused of being the murderer of all who profess it ; and the death of several christians of Onondaga, having given occasion for this delusion of the savages ; and the speech of a certain chief, an enemy of our religion, made at a council, served to excite still more their prejudices. So that not only many natives of the country, judging it was safer to believe what this man of authority among them said, than to put faith in the totally opposite experience of our ancient Hurons, have begged me to regard it well for them to omit attendance at prayers until their fear of me should abate ; but also they accuse the faith of the French of all the evils, both public and private, with which they are afflicted. Thus it is, that a certain apostate endeavored to make these barbarians believe, citing the Hollanders for proof of what he said, when he asserted, that the children of the Iroquois died two years after their baptism; and that the christians, either broke a leg, or pierced their foot with a thorn, or became emaciated, or vomited up the soul with the blood, or were attacked with some other signal malady."

In learning the Iroquois language, father Me- nard had for teachers three brothers, given him " by the providence of God," of good natural dis- positions, kind, patient and assiduous as teachers ; and he was so rapidly instructed in the language by them as soon to be able to reciprocate their kindness by giving them religious instruction, of which with the aid of the images, he was able to give them an apprehension.

The superstitious notions of the Indians often put the lives of the missionaries in jeopardy. Menard was accused of being a sorcerer, that he had over the people the power of life and death ; that he could if he so willed, heal the sick, and if they died he was responsible for their death. Some of the more suspicious sought to rid the

nation of so powerful and dangerous a guest, but were restrained by others. Menard, at this his first visit, gained many converts, but at the end of two months, for reasons not explained in the " Relations," left for Onondaga. He, however, returned to the mission after a brief absence, accompanied by several Frenchmen, and also by many prominent Cayugas, who had visited him at Onondaga to urge his return. He found his chapel in the same condition in which he had left it and at once resumed his labors and reported that his prospects of success were as good as those of Onondaga. The first missions among the Cayugas and Onondagas were, however, of short duration. The Mohawks became jealous of the French, and the Oneidas murdered three of the colonists. The French retaliated and ill blood was excited. A conspiracy, involving the complete destruction of the colony, was disclosed to the French by a christian Indian, and in Feb- ruary, 1658, the colony secretly fled to Canada .*

A war followed between the French and the Five Nations, lasting about two years. Through the influence of Garacontie, the chief sachem of the Onondagas, and a firm friend of the mission- aries, an embassy headed by the chief of the Cayugas, Saonchiogwa, was dispatched to Mon- treal to negotiate a peace. They arrived in July, 1660, without previous notice to the French that they wished for peace. Presents were brought

himself at Brebeuf's feet ; upon which the Iroquois seized him, made him fast to a stake, and set fire to the batk that enveloped him. As the flame rose, he threw his arms upward with a shriek of supplication to heaven. Next they hung around Brebeuf's neck a collar made of hatchets, heated red-hot ; but the indomitable priest stood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd who had been a convert of the mission, but now was an Iroquois by adoption, called out, with the malice of a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they had poured so much cold water on those of others. The ket- tle was accordingly slung and the water boiled, and poured slowly on the heads of the two missionaries. " We baptize you," they cried, " that you may be happy in heaven, for nobody can be saved without a good baptism." Brebeuf would not flinch ; and in a rage they cut strips of flesh from his Jimbs and devoured them before his eyes. Other revolting cruelties followed and the horrid scene closed .- Condensed from Parkman's Jesuits.

* The colony was under the command of Dupuys, who, relying implicitly upon the good faith of the Indians, had neglected to pre- serve his canoes. To construct new ones in view of the Indians would advertise them of his intentions and bring their hatchets upon the settlements at once. He, therefore, had small batteaux made in the garrets of the Jesuit's houses, and kept them concealed when finished. A young Frenchman had been adopted into the family of a chief and acquired great influence over the tribe. By their customs an adopted son had all the privileges of a son by birth. When Dupuys had a sufficient number of batteaux finished, this young man went to his fuster father, and, in a solemn manner, related that he had dreamed the previous night that he was at a

feast where the guests ate and drank everything that was set before them. He asked the old chief to permit him to make such a feast for the tribe. The request was granted and the feast was spread. Many Frenchmen were present, and with horns, drums and trum- pets, kept up a continual uproar. The French, meanwhile, were diligently embarking and loading their batteaux, undisturbed by the feasting savages. At length the guests, who had been eating and drinking for hours, ceased gormandizing to take some repose. The young Frenchman commenced playing upon a guitar, and, in a few minutes, every red man was in a profound slumber. He then joined his companions, and before morning the whole colony was far on the way toward Oswego .- Lossing's Field Book of the Revo- lution, Vol. I, p. 229.

FATHER ETIENNE DE CARHEIL.

as pledges of the desired peace, and they were explained in an eloquent and adroit speech by Saonchiogwa, which he concluded thus : " A black-gown must come with me, otherwise no peace, and on his coming depend the lives of twenty Frenchmen."

The proposals were accepted and Father Le Moyne who seven years before had first visited Onondaga and subsequently all of the Five Na- tions and was therefore well known to them, was sent with them. He was received at the mis- sion house of the Onondagas, by the sachems of the Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. The proceedings of the embassy were ratified, and Le Moyne visited different parts of the missionary field, spending a month with the Cayugas, where, by the aid of a French surgeon who accompanied him, he successfully treated patients sick with the small pox.

Le Moyne thus speaks of the reasons which led him to visit the Cayugas : " The Iroquois, of - Cayuga, who are less cruel and whom we have found more affectionate (than the other Iroquois nations,) especially in view of our sympathy for the remnant of the Huron church among them, were moved with compassion at our troubles, and in order to give protection to the father, invited him to come and instruct them until the danger should have passed. The father was rejoiced at this offer, more for the sake of the salvation of these barbarians, than for any consideration of personal safety, and went to serve them for some weeks. He was received with public acclama- tion, and found an ample field for the exercise of his zeal."

The missions were now interrupted by eight years of war between the Iroquois and the French at the end of which the faithful Garacon- tie succeeded in his desire for the reestablish- ment of the missions. He went himself to Que- bec on this errand, and, in October, 1668, re- turned with fathers Milet and de Carheil. Father Etienne de Carheil arrived at Cayuga on the 6th of November, 1668. A chapel was built for him and the mission dedicated to St. Joseph. Of this mission he writes : " The church begins already to grow. It numbers among its converts not only women and children, but also warriors, two of whom are among the most noted, one because he bears the name of the Burgh of Cayuga, which he maintains with honor, and the other in conse-

quence of his riches and valor. *

* Beside the town of Cayuga, which is the seat of the mission, there are two others under his charge, one four leagues from there, and the other nearly six leagues. The last two are situated upon a river (Seneca,) which, coming from the region of the Andastague, descends at four leagues distant from Onondaga, on its way to empty into Lake Ontario."

Father de Carheil found it very difficult to overcome their superstitions. He framed a prayer in ridicule, "according to their notions," addressed to the beaver, which the Cayugas re- garded as the " Master of their life."

" We must pray," said he, " to the Master of our life ; and since this beaver is the Master of thy life, let us offer him a prayer : Thou, O, beaver, who canst not speak, thou art the Master of the life of me who can speak! Thou, who hast no soul, thou art Master of my life, who has a soul."

Visiting a sick person, with the design of bap- tizing her, he is invited to a feast, the Indian panacea for disease, at which everything must be eaten as a means of curing the invalid. He thus rebukes the practice : " I do not see, my broth- ers, that I can heal her by making myself sick by over eating, and by a remedy which the mas- ter of our lives forbids ; since it would make two persons sick instead of one."*

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History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 4

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 762

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762