On the twenty-ninth of March, we solemnly baptized in our little Chapel Joseph Oatij; François petit Pré[43] was his Godfather, and many were present. We had been instructing him a long time, and hence he replied [191] personally to the questions I put to him in the Huron tongue. This good young man was of a very sickly constitution; we had gained him by continual assistance, which had twice saved his life; so that he willingly put in our hands the care of his soul, which went happily to God on the fourteenth of April, after having been fortified by the Sacrament of extreme Unction.
Nous auons sur tout admiré sa patience, & sa tranquillité d'esprit, principalement depuis le baptesme. A peine auions nous commencé à l'instruire, qu'il commença à dire fort souuent & de iour & de nuict; Iesus ayez pitié de moy. Marie & Ioseph secourez moy.
We especially admired his patience and tranquility of mind, especially after his baptism. Scarcely had we begun to instruct him when he began to say very often, both by day and by night, "Jesus, have pity on me! Mary and Joseph, help me!"
Finalement le vingtiesme d'Auril, ie baptisay à Oënrio vne femme fort vieille. Elle deceda le vingt-quatriesme; [192] du commencement que ie l'abborday, & que ie luy demanday si elle vouloit aller au Ciel ou en Enfer: elle ne respondoit autre chose, sinon qu'elle iroit où son fils voudroit. Mais luy ayant esté [142] dit que son pere feu Ioachim Tsindacaiendoua estoit allé au Ciel: I'y veux donc aller, dit-elle.
Lastly, on the twentieth of April, I baptized at Oënrio a very old woman, who died on the twenty-fourth. [192] At first, when I talked to her, and asked her whether she wished to go to Heaven or to Hell, she did not answer, except to say that she would go where her son wished. But having told her that her father, the late Joachim Tsindacaiendoua, had gone to Heaven, she said, "Then I wish to go there!"
Ce sont là les fruicts que nous auons recueilly de nos visites, & instructions particulieres. Ie croy que la moisson eust esté plus grande, si i'eusse peu abandonner nostre village, & parcourir les autres. Plaise à nostre Seigneur accepter ces petites premices, & nous donner les forces & les moyens d'en faire dauantage. On en a instruit beaucoup d'autres, qui demandoient le Baptesme fort instãment. Mais ne les voyant pas en dãger de mort, nous les auons reseruez pour vne plus grãde instructiõ.
These, then, are the fruits that we have gathered from our visits and private instructions. I believe the harvest would have been greater if I could have left our village, and visited the others. May it please our Lord to accept these few first fruits, and give us strength and opportunities to gather more of them. We have instructed many others, who asked very urgently for Baptism; but not seeing them in danger of death, we have kept them back for further instructions.
[193] Enuiron le mois de Decembre les neiges commencerent à prendre pied, & les Sauuages se rendirent sedentaires dans le village. Car tout l'Esté, & tout l'Automne, ils sont la plus-part ou dans des cabanes chãpestres à prendre garde à leurs bleds, ou sur le lac à la pesche, ou en traite; ce qui n'est pas vne petite incommodité pours les instruire. Les voyãt donc ainsi reünis, au commencemẽt de ceste année, nous resolusmes de prescher publiquement à tous, & leur faire cognoistre le sujet de nostre venuë en leur Pays, qui n'est pas pour leurs pelleteries, mais pour leur annoncer le vray Dieu, & son fils Iesus-Christ, Sauueur vniuersel de nos ames.
[193] About the month of December, the snow began to lie on the ground, and the Savages settled down in the village. For, during the whole Summer and Autumn, they are for the most part either in their rural cabins, taking care of their crops, or on the lake fishing, or trading; which makes it not a little inconvenient to instruct them. Seeing them, therefore, thus gathered together at the beginning of this year, we resolved to preach publicly to all, and to acquaint them with the reason of our coming into their Country, which is not for their furs, but to declare to them the true God and his son, Jesus Christ, the universal Savior of our souls.
Nous faisons cette Instruction ou Catechisme en nostre cabane: car nous n'auons point encore d'autre Eglise capable. C'est le plus souuent [194] que nous pouuons: car leurs festins, leurs danses, & leurs ieux, les occupent tellement, qu'on ne les assemble pas comme l'on veut.