THE PEACE BROKEN.
Uncertainties1 ? The Mission of Jogues ? He reaches the Mohawks ? His Reception ? His Return ? His Second Mission ? Warnings of Danger ? Rage of the Mohawks ? Murder of Jogues
There is little doubt that the Iroquois negotiators acted, for the moment, in sincerity2. Guillaume Couture, who returned with them and spent the winter in their towns, saw sufficient proof that they sincerely desired peace. And yet the treaty had a double defect. First, the wayward, capricious, and ungoverned nature of the Indian parties to it, on both sides, made a speedy rupture4 more than likely. Secondly5, in spite of their own assertion to the contrary, the Iroquois envoys6 represented, not the confederacy of the five nations, but only one of these nations, the Mohawks: for each of the members of this singular league could, and often did, make peace and war independently of the rest.
It was the Mohawks who had made war on the French and their Indian allies on the lower St. 297 Lawrence. They claimed, as against the other Iroquois, a certain right of domain7 to all this region; and though the warriors8 of the four upper nations had sometimes poached on the Mohawk preserve, by murdering both French and Indians at Montreal, they employed their energies for the most part in attacks on the Hurons, the Upper Algonquins, and other tribes of the interior. These attacks still continued, unaffected by the peace with the Mohawks. Imperfect, however, as the treaty was, it was invaluable9, could it but be kept inviolate10; and to this end Montmagny, the Jesuits, and all the colony, anxiously turned their thoughts. [1]
[1] The Mohawks were at this time more numerous, as compared with the other four nations of the Iroquois, than they were a few years later. They seem to have suffered more reverses in war than any of the others. At this time they may be reckoned at six or seven hundred warriors. A war with the Mohegans, and another with the Andastes, besides their war with the Algonquins and the French of Canada soon after, told severely11 on their strength. The following are estimates of the numbers of the Iroquois warriors made in 1660 by the author of the Relation of that year, and by Wentworth Greenhalgh in 1677, from personal inspection:—
1660 1677
Mohawks 500 300
Oneidas 100 200
Onondagas 300 350
Cayugas 300 300
Senecas 1,000 1,000
2,200 2,150
It was to hold the Mohawks to their faith that Couture had bravely gone back to winter among them; but an agent of more acknowledged weight was needed, and Father Isaac Jogues was chosen. No white man, Couture excepted, knew their language and their character so well. His errand was half political, half religious; for not only was he 298 to be the bearer of gifts, wampum-belts, and messages from the Governor, but he was also to found a new mission, christened in advance with a prophetic name,—the Mission of the Martyrs13.
For two years past, Jogues had been at Montreal; and it was here that he received the order of his Superior to proceed to the Mohawk towns. At first, nature asserted itself, and he recoiled14 involuntarily at the thought of the horrors of which his scarred body and his mutilated hands were a living memento15. [2] It was a transient weakness; and he prepared to depart with more than willingness, giving thanks to Heaven that he had been found worthy16 to suffer and to die for the saving of souls and the greater glory of God.
[2] Lettre du P. Isaac Jogues au R. P. Jérosme L'Allemant. Montreal, 2 Mai, 1646. MS.
He felt a presentiment17 that his death was near, and wrote to a friend, "I shall go, and shall not return." [3] An Algonquin convert gave him sage12 advice. "Say nothing about the Faith at first, for there is nothing so repulsive18, in the beginning, as our doctrine19, which seems to destroy everything that men hold dear; and as your long cassock preaches, as well as your lips, you had better put on a short coat." Jogues, therefore, exchanged the uniform of Loyola for a civilian's doublet and hose; "for," observes his Superior, "one should be all things to all men, that he may gain them all to Jesus Christ." [4] It would be well, if the application of the maxim20 had always been as harmless.
[3] "Ibo et non redibo." Lettre du P. Jogues au R. P. No date.
[4] Lalemant, Relation, 1646, 15.
299 Jogues left Three Rivers about the middle of May, with the Sieur Bourdon, engineer to the Governor, two Algonquins with gifts to confirm the peace, and four Mohawks as guides and escort. He passed the Richelieu and Lake Champlain, well-remembered scenes of former miseries21, and reached the foot of Lake George on the eve of Corpus Christi. Hence he called the lake Lac St. Sacrement; and this name it preserved, until, a century after, an ambitious Irishman, in compliment to the sovereign from whom he sought advancement22, gave it the name it bears. [5]
[5] Mr. Shea very reasonably suggests, that a change from Lake George to Lake Jogues would be equally easy and appropriate.
From Lake George they crossed on foot to the Hudson, where, being greatly fatigued23 by their heavy loads of gifts, they borrowed canoes at an Iroquois fishing station, and descended24 to Fort Orange. Here Jogues met the Dutch friends to whom he owed his life, and who now kindly25 welcomed and entertained him. After a few days he left them, and ascended26 the River Mohawk to the first Mohawk town. Crowds gathered from the neighboring towns to gaze on the man whom they had known as a scorned and abused slave, and who now appeared among them as the ambassador of a power which hitherto, indeed, they had despised, but which in their present mood they were willing to propitiate27.
There was a council in one of the lodges29; and while his crowded auditory smoked their pipes, Jogues stood in the midst, and harangued30 them. 300 He offered in due form the gifts of the Governor, with the wampum belts and their messages of peace, while at every pause his words were echoed by a unanimous grunt31 of applause from the attentive32 concourse. Peace speeches were made in return; and all was harmony. When, however, the Algonquin deputies stood before the council, they and their gifts were coldly received. The old hate, maintained by traditions of mutual33 atrocity34, burned fiercely under a thin semblance35 of peace; and though no outbreak took place, the prospect36 of the future was very ominous37.
The business of the embassy was scarcely finished, when the Mohawks counselled Jogues and his companions to go home with all despatch38, saying, that, if they waited longer, they might meet on the way warriors of the four upper nations, who would inevitably39 kill the two Algonquin deputies, if not the French also. Jogues, therefore, set out on his return; but not until, despite the advice of the Indian convert, he had made the round of the houses, confessed and instructed a few Christian40 prisoners still remaining here, and baptized several dying Mohawks. Then he and his party crossed through the forest to the southern extremity41 of Lake George, made bark canoes, and descended to Fort Richelieu, where they arrived on the twenty seventh of June. [6]
[6] Lalemant, Relation, 1646, 17.
His political errand was accomplished42. Now, should he return to the Mohawks, or should the Mission of the Martyrs be for a time abandoned? 301 Lalemant, who had succeeded Vimont as Superior of the missions, held a council at Quebec with three other Jesuits, of whom Jogues was one, and it was determined43, that, unless some new contingency44 should arise, he should remain for the winter at Montreal. [7] This was in July. Soon after, the plan was changed, for reasons which do not appear, and Jogues received orders to repair to his dangerous post. He set out on the twenty-fourth of August, accompanied by a young Frenchman named Lalande, and three or four Hurons. [8] On the way they met Indians who warned them of a change of feeling in the Mohawk towns, and the Hurons, alarmed, refused to go farther. Jogues, naturally perhaps the most timid man of the party, had no thought of drawing back, and pursued his journey with his young companion, who, like other donnés of the missions; was scarcely behind the Jesuits themselves in devoted45 enthusiasm.
[7] Journal des Supérieurs des Jésuites. MS.
[8] Ibid.
The reported change of feeling had indeed taken place; and the occasion of it was characteristic. On his previous visit to the Mohawks, Jogues, meaning to return, had left in their charge a small chest or box. From the first they were distrustful, suspecting that it contained some secret mischief46. He therefore opened it, and showed them the contents, which were a few personal necessaries; and having thus, as he thought, reassured47 them, locked the box, and left it in their keeping. The Huron prisoners in the town attempted to make favor with 302 their Iroquois enemies by abusing their French friends,—declaring them to be sorcerers, who had bewitched, by their charms and mummeries, the whole Huron nation, and caused drought, famine, pestilence48, and a host of insupportable miseries. Thereupon, the suspicions of the Mohawks against the box revived with double force, and they were convinced that famine, the pest, or some malignant49 spirit was shut up in it, waiting the moment to issue forth50 and destroy them. There was sickness in the town, and caterpillars51 were eating their corn: this was ascribed to the sorceries of the Jesuit. [9] Still they were divided in opinion. Some stood firm for the French; others were furious against them. Among the Mohawks, three clans53 or families were predominant, if indeed they did not compose the entire nation,—the clans of the Bear, the Tortoise, and the Wolf. [10] Though, by the nature of their constitution, it was scarcely possible that these clans should come to blows, so intimately were they bound together by ties of blood, yet they were often divided on points of interest or policy; and on this occasion the Bear raged against the French, and howled for war, while the Tortoise and the Wolf still clung to the treaty. Among savages55, with no government except the intermittent56 one of councils, the party of action and violence must always prevail. The Bear chiefs sang their war-songs, and, followed by the young men of their own clan52, and by such 303 others as they had infected with their frenzy57, set forth, in two bands, on the war-path.
[9] Lettre de Marie de l'Incarnation à son Fils. Québec, … 1647.
[10] See Introduction.
The warriors of one of these bands were making their way through the forests between the Mohawk and Lake George, when they met Jogues and Lalande. They seized them, stripped them, and led them in triumph to their town. Here a savage54 crowd surrounded them, beating them with sticks and with their fists. One of them cut thin strips of flesh from the back and arms of Jogues, saying, as he did so, "Let us see if this white flesh is the flesh of an oki."—"I am a man like yourselves," replied Jogues; "but I do not fear death or torture. I do not know why you would kill me. I come here to confirm the peace and show you the way to heaven, and you treat me like a dog." [11]—"You shall die to-morrow," cried the rabble58. "Take courage, we shall not burn you. We shall strike you both with a hatchet59, and place your heads on the palisade, that your brothers may see you when we take them prisoners." [12] The clans of the Wolf and the Tortoise still raised their voices in behalf of the captive Frenchmen; but the fury of the minority swept all before it.
[11] Lettre du P. De Quen au R. P. Lallemant; no date. MS.
[12] Lettre de J. Labatie à M. La Montagne, Fort d'Orange, 30 Oct., 1646. MS.
In the evening,—it was the eighteenth of October,—Jogues, smarting with his wounds and bruises60, was sitting in one of the lodges, when an Indian entered, and asked him to a feast. To refuse would have been an offence. He arose and followed 304 the savage, who led him to the lodge28 of the Bear chief. Jogues bent61 his head to enter, when another Indian, standing62 concealed63 within, at the side of the doorway64, struck at him with a hatchet. An Iroquois, called by the French Le Berger, [13] who seems to have followed in order to defend him, bravely held out his arm to ward3 off the blow; but the hatchet cut through it, and sank into the missionary's brain. He fell at the feet of his murderer, who at once finished the work by hacking65 off his head. Lalande was left in suspense66 all night, and in the morning was killed in a similar manner. The bodies of the two Frenchmen were then thrown into the Mohawk, and their heads displayed on the points of the palisade which inclosed the town. [14]
[13] It has been erroneously stated that this brave attempt to save Jogues was made by the orator67 Kiotsaton. Le Berger was one of those who had been made prisoners by Piskaret, and treated kindly by the French. In 1648, he voluntarily came to Three Rivers, and gave himself up to a party of Frenchmen. He was converted, baptized, and carried to France, where his behavior is reported to have been very edifying68, but where he soon died. "Perhaps he had eaten his share of more than fifty men," is the reflection of Father Ragueneau, after recounting his exemplary conduct.—Relation, 1650, 43-48.
[14] In respect to the death of Jogues, the best authority is the letter of Labatie, before cited. He was the French interpreter at Fort Orange, and, being near the scene of the murder, took pains to learn the facts. The letter was inclosed in another written to Montmagny by the Dutch Governor, Kieft, which is also before me, together with a MS. account, written from hearsay69, by Father Buteux, and a letter of De Quen, cited above. Compare the Relations of 1647 and 1650.
Thus died Isaac Jogues, one of the purest examples of Roman Catholic virtue70 which this Western continent has seen. The priests, his associates, praise his humility71, and tell us that it reached the 305 point of self-contempt,—a crowning virtue in their eyes; that he regarded himself as nothing, and lived solely72 to do the will of God as uttered by the lips of his Superiors. They add, that, when left to the guidance of his own judgment73, his self-distrust made him very slow of decision, but that, when acting74 under orders, he knew neither hesitation75 nor fear. With all his gentleness, he had a certain warmth or vivacity76 of temperament77; and we have seen how, during his first captivity78, while humbly79 submitting to every caprice of his tyrants80 and appearing to rejoice in abasement81, a derisive82 word against his faith would change the lamb into the lion, and the lips that seemed so tame would speak in sharp, bold tones of menace and reproof83.
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1
uncertainties
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| 无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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rupture
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| n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂 | |
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5
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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envoys
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| 使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份 | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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inviolate
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| adj.未亵渎的，未受侵犯的 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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recoiled
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| v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 )；退缩；报应；返回 | |
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memento
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| n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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miseries
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| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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harangued
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| v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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contingency
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| n.意外事件，可能性 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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46
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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47
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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48
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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49
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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50
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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51
caterpillars
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| n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带 | |
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52
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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54
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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59
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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bruises
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| n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 ) | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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hacking
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| n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动 | |
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66
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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edifying
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| adj.有教训意味的，教训性的，有益的v.开导，启发( edify的现在分词 ) | |
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hearsay
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| n.谣传，风闻 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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74
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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75
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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76
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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77
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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78
captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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79
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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80
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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81
abasement
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| n.滥用 | |
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82
derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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