RUIN OF THE HURONS.
St. Louis on Fire ? Invasion ? St. Ignace captured ? Brébeuf and Lalemant ? Battle at St. Louis ? Sainte Marie threatened ? Renewed Fighting ? Desperate Conflict ? A Night of Suspense1 ? Panic among the Victors ? Burning of St. Ignace ? Retreat of the Iroquois
More than eight months had passed since the catastrophe2 of St. Joseph. The winter was over, and that dreariest3 of seasons had come, the churlish forerunner4 of spring. Around Sainte Marie the forests were gray and bare, and, in the cornfields, the oozy5, half-thawed soil, studded with the sodden6 stalks of the last autumn's harvest, showed itself in patches through the melting snow.
At nine o'clock on the morning of the sixteenth of March, the priests saw a heavy smoke rising over the naked forest towards the south-east, about three miles distant. They looked at each other in dismay. "The Iroquois! They are burning St. Louis!" Flames mingled7 with the smoke; and, as they stood gazing, two Christian8 Hurons came, 379 breathless and aghast, from the burning town. Their worst fear was realized. The Iroquois were there; but where were the priests of the mission, Brébeuf and Lalemant?
Late in the autumn, a thousand Iroquois, chiefly Senecas and Mohawks, had taken the war-path for the Hurons. They had been all winter in the forests, hunting for subsistence, and moving at their leisure towards their prey9. The destruction of the two towns of the mission of St. Joseph had left a wide gap, and in the middle of March they entered the heart of the Huron country, undiscovered. Common vigilance and common sense would have averted10 the calamities11 that followed; but the Hurons were like a doomed12 people, stupefied, sunk in dejection, fearing everything, yet taking no measures for defence. They could easily have met the invaders13 with double their force, but the besotted warriors14 lay idle in their towns, or hunted at leisure in distant forests; nor could the Jesuits, by counsel or exhortation16, rouse them to face the danger.
Before daylight of the sixteenth, the invaders approached St. Ignace, which, with St. Louis and three other towns, formed the mission of the same name. They reconnoitred the place in the darkness. It was defended on three sides by a deep ravine, and further strengthened by palisades fifteen or sixteen feet high, planted under the direction of the Jesuits. On the fourth side it was protected by palisades alone; and these were left, as usual, unguarded. This was not from a sense of security; 380 for the greater part of the population had abandoned the town, thinking it too much exposed to the enemy, and there remained only about four hundred, chiefly women, children, and old men, whose infatuated defenders17 were absent hunting, or on futile18 scalping-parties against the Iroquois. It was just before dawn, when a yell, as of a legion of devils, startled the wretched inhabitants from their sleep; and the Iroquois, bursting in upon them, cut them down with knives and hatchets19, killing20 many, and reserving the rest for a worse fate. They had entered by the weakest side; on the other sides there was no exit, and only three Hurons escaped. The whole was the work of a few minutes. The Iroquois left a guard to hold the town, and secure the retreat of the main body in case of a reverse; then, smearing21 their faces with blood, after their ghastly custom, they rushed, in the dim light of the early dawn, towards St. Louis, about a league distant.
The three fugitives22 had fled, half naked, through the forest, for the same point, which they reached about sunrise, yelling the alarm. The number of inhabitants here was less, at this time, than seven hundred; and, of these, all who had strength to escape, excepting about eighty warriors, made in wild terror for a place of safety. Many of the old, sick, and decrepit23 were left perforce in the lodges24. The warriors, ignorant of the strength of the assailants, sang their war-songs, and resolved to hold the place to the last. It had not the natural strength of St. Ignace; but, like it, was surrounded by palisades.
381 Here were the two Jesuits, Brébeuf and Lalemant. Brébeuf's converts entreated25 him to escape with them; but the Norman zealot, bold scion26 of a warlike stock, had no thought of flight. His post was in the teeth of danger, to cheer on those who fought, and open Heaven to those who fell. His colleague, slight of frame and frail27 of constitution, trembled despite himself; but deep enthusiasm mastered the weakness of Nature, and he, too, refused to fly.
Scarcely had the sun risen, and scarcely were the fugitives gone, when, like a troop of tigers, the Iroquois rushed to the assault. Yell echoed yell, and shot answered shot. The Hurons, brought to bay, fought with the utmost desperation, and with arrows, stones, and the few guns they had, killed thirty of their assailants, and wounded many more. Twice the Iroquois recoiled28, and twice renewed the attack with unabated ferocity. They swarmed30 at the foot of the palisades, and hacked31 at them with their hatchets, till they had cut them through at several different points. For a time there was a deadly fight at these breaches32. Here were the two priests, promising33 Heaven to those who died for their faith,—one giving baptism, and the other absolution. At length the Iroquois broke in, and captured all the surviving defenders, the Jesuits among the rest. They set the town on fire; and the helpless wretches34 who had remained, unable to fly, were consumed in their burning dwellings35. Next they fell upon Brébeuf and Lalemant, stripped them, bound them fast, and led them with the other 382 prisoners back to St. Ignace, where all turned out to wreak36 their fury on the two priests, beating them savagely37 with sticks and clubs as they drove them into the town. At present, there was no time for further torture, for there was work in hand.
The victors divided themselves into several bands, to burn the neighboring villages and hunt their flying inhabitants. In the flush of their triumph, they meditated39 a bolder enterprise; and, in the afternoon, their chiefs sent small parties to reconnoitre Sainte Marie, with a view to attacking it on the next day.
Meanwhile the fugitives of St. Louis, joined by other bands as terrified and as helpless as they, were struggling through the soft snow which clogged40 the forests towards Lake Huron, where the treacherous41 ice of spring was still unmelted. One fear expelled another. They ventured upon it, and pushed forward all that day and all the following night, shivering and famished42, to find refuge in the towns of the Tobacco Nation. Here, when they arrived, they spread a universal panic.
Ragueneau, Bressani, and their companions waited in suspense at Sainte Marie. On the one hand, they trembled for Brébeuf and Lalemant; on the other, they looked hourly for an attack: and when at evening they saw the Iroquois scouts44 prowling along the edge of the bordering forest, their fears were confirmed. They had with them about forty Frenchmen, well armed; but their palisades and wooden buildings were not fire-proof, and they had learned from fugitives the number and ferocity of 383 the invaders. They stood guard all night, praying to the Saints, and above all to their great patron, Saint Joseph, whose festival was close at hand.
In the morning they were somewhat relieved by the arrival of about three hundred Huron warriors, chiefly converts from La Conception and Sainte Madeleine, tolerably well armed, and full of fight. They were expecting others to join them; and meanwhile, dividing into several bands, they took post by the passes of the neighboring forest, hoping to waylay45 parties of the enemy. Their expectation was fulfilled; for, at this time, two hundred of the Iroquois were making their way from St. Ignace, in advance of the main body, to begin the attack on Sainte Marie. They fell in with a band of the Hurons, set upon them, killed many, drove the rest to headlong flight, and, as they plunged46 in terror through the snow, chased them within sight of Sainte Marie. The other Hurons, hearing the yells and firing, ran to the rescue, and attacked so fiercely, that the Iroquois in turn were routed, and ran for shelter to St. Louis, followed closely by the victors. The houses of the town had been burned, but the palisade around them was still standing48, though breached49 and broken. The Iroquois rushed in; but the Hurons were at their heels. Many of the fugitives were captured, the rest killed or put to utter rout47, and the triumphant50 Hurons remained masters of the place.
The Iroquois who escaped fled to St. Ignace. Here, or on the way thither51, they found the main 384 body of the invaders; and when they heard of the disaster, the whole swarm29, beside themselves with rage, turned towards St. Louis to take their revenge. Now ensued one of the most furious Indian battles on record. The Hurons within the palisade did not much exceed a hundred and fifty; for many had been killed or disabled, and many, perhaps, had straggled away. Most of their enemies had guns, while they had but few. Their weapons were bows and arrows, war-clubs, hatchets, and knives; and of these they made good use, sallying repeatedly, fighting like devils, and driving back their assailants again and again. There are times when the Indian warrior15 forgets his cautious maxims52, and throws himself into battle with a mad and reckless ferocity. The desperation of one party, and the fierce courage of both, kept up the fight after the day had closed; and the scout43 from Sainte Marie, as he bent53 listening under the gloom of the pines, heard, far into the night, the howl of battle rising from the darkened forest. The principal chief of the Iroquois was severely54 wounded, and nearly a hundred of their warriors were killed on the spot. When, at length, their numbers and persistent55 fury prevailed, their only prize was some twenty Huron warriors, spent with fatigue56 and faint with loss of blood. The rest lay dead around the shattered palisades which they had so valiantly57 defended. Fatuity58, not cowardice59, was the ruin of the Huron nation.
The lamps burned all night at Sainte Marie, and its defenders stood watching till daylight, musket60 385 in hand. The Jesuits prayed without ceasing, and Saint Joseph was besieged61 with invocations. "Those of us who were priests," writes Ragueneau, "each made a vow62 to say a mass in his honor every month, for the space of a year; and all the rest bound themselves by vows63 to divers64 penances65." The expected onslaught did not take place. Not an Iroquois appeared. Their victory had been bought too dear, and they had no stomach for more fighting. All the next day, the eighteenth, a stillness, like the dead lull66 of a tempest, followed the turmoil67 of yesterday,—as if, says the Father Superior, "the country were waiting, palsied with fright, for some new disaster."
On the following day,—the journalist fails not to mention that it was the festival of Saint Joseph,—Indians came in with tidings that a panic had seized the Iroquois camp, that the chiefs could not control it, and that the whole body of invaders was retreating in disorder68, possessed69 with a vague terror that the Hurons were upon them in force. They had found time, however, for an act of atrocious cruelty. They planted stakes in the bark houses of St. Ignace, and bound to them those of their prisoners whom they meant to sacrifice, male and female, from old age to infancy70, husbands, mothers, and children, side by side. Then, as they retreated, they set the town on fire, and laughed with savage38 glee at the shrieks71 of anguish72 that rose from the blazing dwellings. [1]
[1] The site of St. Ignace still bears evidence of the catastrophe, in the ashes and charcoal73 that indicate the position of the houses, and the fragments of broken pottery74 and half-consumed bone, together with trinkets of stone, metal, or glass, which have survived the lapse75 of two centuries and more. The place has been minutely examined by Dr. Taché.
386 They loaded the rest of their prisoners with their baggage and plunder76, and drove them through the forest southward, braining with their hatchets any who gave out on the march. An old woman, who had escaped out of the midst of the flames of St. Ignace, made her way to St. Michel, a large town not far from the desolate77 site of St. Joseph. Here she found about seven hundred Huron warriors, hastily mustered78. She set them on the track of the retreating Iroquois, and they took up the chase,—but evidently with no great eagerness to overtake their dangerous enemy, well armed as he was with Dutch guns, while they had little beside their bows and arrows. They found, as they advanced, the dead bodies of prisoners tomahawked on the march, and others bound fast to trees and half burned by the fagots piled hastily around them. The Iroquois pushed forward with such headlong speed, that the pursuers could not, or would not, overtake them; and, after two days, they gave over the attempt.
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1
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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dreariest
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| 使人闷闷不乐或沮丧的( dreary的最高级 )； 阴沉的； 令人厌烦的； 单调的 | |
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4
forerunner
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| n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先 | |
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5
oozy
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| adj.软泥的 | |
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sodden
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| adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑 | |
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7
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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8
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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11
calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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12
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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13
invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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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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15
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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16
exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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18
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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19
hatchets
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| n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 )；恶毒攻击；诽谤；休战 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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smearing
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| 污点，拖尾效应 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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23
decrepit
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| adj.衰老的，破旧的 | |
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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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entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scion
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| n.嫩芽，子孙 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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28
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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29
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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30
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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hacked
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| 生气 | |
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breaches
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| 破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背 | |
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33
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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35
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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36
wreak
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| v.发泄；报复 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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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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39
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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40
clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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41
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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42
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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43
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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45
waylay
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| v.埋伏，伏击 | |
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46
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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48
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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49
breached
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| 攻破( breach的现在分词 )； 破坏，违反 | |
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50
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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51
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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52
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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53
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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54
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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55
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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56
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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57
valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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58
fatuity
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| n.愚蠢，愚昧 | |
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59
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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60
musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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61
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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63
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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64
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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65
penances
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| n.（赎罪的）苦行，苦修( penance的名词复数 ) | |
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66
lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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67
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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68
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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69
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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70
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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71
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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72
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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73
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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74
pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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75
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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76
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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77
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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78
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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