Two things among others have aided us very much in the little we have been able to do here, by the grace of our Lord; the first is, as I have already said, the good health that God has granted us in the midst of sickness so general and so widespread. For our Hurons have thought that, if they believed in God and served him as we do, they would not die in so large numbers.
La seconde est l'assistance temporelle, qu'on a rendu aux malades. Ayans apporté pour nous quelques petits rafraichissemens, nous leur en donnions, à l'vn vn peu de prunes, à l'autre vn peu de raisins; aux autres quelque autre chose. Les pauures gens venoient [200] de fort loin pour en auoir tous leur part.
The second is the temporal assistance we have rendered to the sick. Having brought for ourselves some few delicacies, we shared them with them, giving to one a few prunes and to another a few raisins, to others something else. The poor people came [200] from great distances to get their share.
Nos François ayant assez heureusement reüssy à la chasse pendant l'Automne; nous en portions quelque morceau à tous les malades. Cela leur gagnoit le cœur. Veu principalemẽt, qu'ils mouroient n'ayãt ny chair ny poissõ, pour affaisõner leur sagamité. Adioustez que tous nos François se sont Dieu mercy comportez si vertueusement, & si paisiblemẽt dedãs & dehors, pẽdant toute cette année, qu'ils ont attiré la benediction du Ciel. Nous deuons aussi beaucoup au glorieux sainct Ioseph espoux de nostre Dame, & protecteur des Hurons, dont nous auons touché au doigt l'assistãce plusieurs fois. Ce fut vne chose remarquable, que le iour de sa feste, & durant l'Octaue, les commoditez nous venoient de toutes parts.
Our French servants having succeeded very well in hunting, during the Autumn, we carried portions of game to all the sick. That chiefly won their hearts, as they were dying, having neither flesh nor fish to season their sagamité. Add that all our French have borne themselves, thank God, so virtuously and so peaceably on all sides, during the whole year, that they have drawn down the blessing of Heaven. We owe much also to our glorious saint Joseph, spouse of our Lady, and protector of the Hurons, who has rendered us tangible aid several times. It was a remarkable thing that on the day of his feast, and during the Octave, accommodations came to us from all sides.
[150] [201] Auant que de finir, ie diray seulement ce mot de Louys de saincte Foy, que i'aymerois mieux taire, n'estoit qu'il peut seruir pour reconnoistre plus iudicieusement cette Nation. C'est qu'il n'est pas tel qu'il deuroit estre, & que nous l'eussions souhaitté; neantmoins nous en auõs encore bonne esperance. Il fut pris l'année passée par les Hiroquois en la défaite commune, & emmené prisonnier. Il luy en a cousté vn doigt; ce coup de foüet deuroit estre bastant pour le remettre en son deuoir. Son Pere ne fut pas pris: il se sauua à la fuite, mais en fuyãt il patit à bon escient dedans les bois, où il demeura, à ce qu'il dit, trente iours, combattu de trois puissans ennemis; scauoir est du froid, car c'estoit au Printemps, & il estoit nud & sans feu: de la maladie, car il demeura comme perclus des deux iambes & [202] n'en est pas encore guery; & en fin de la faim. A propos de laquelle il raconte vne chose remarquable, si elle est vraye. Il dit qu'ayant demeuré dix ou douze iours sans manger, & priant Dieu, duquel il auoit ouy parler à son fils, il vit comme vn pot de grais tel qu'il en auoit veu à Kebec, remply d'vne très suaue liqueur, & oüyt vne voix, qui luy disoit, Saranhes, aye bon courage, tu n'en mourras pas; prens, boy de ce qui est dans ce pot afin de te fortifier: ce qu'il fit, & en fut merueilleusement soulagé. Que peu apres il rencontra en vn arbrisseau vn sachet de bled, dont il sustenta petitement sa vie, iusques à ce que quelques Sauuages de la Nation neutre, l'ayant fortuitement trouué, l'enleuerent en leur village.
[201] Before drawing to a close, I shall say only this one word about Louys de saincte Foy, which I would prefer not to say were it not that it may help to make this Nation more correctly known; it is this,—he is not such as he ought to be, and as we had wished. Nevertheless, we still have good hope. He was taken prisoner last year by the Hiroquois, in the common defeat, and carried away a captive. It cost him a finger. This severe stroke ought to suffice to bring him back to duty. His Father was not taken; he escaped by flight, but in fleeing he suffered in good earnest in the woods, where he remained, according to his account, thirty days struggling against three powerful enemies,—namely, cold, for it was Spring, and he was naked and fireless; sickness, for his two legs were powerless, and [202] he has not yet recovered; and, lastly, against hunger, in reference to which he relates a remarkable story, if it be true. He says that, having gone for ten or twelve days without eating, and praying to God, of whom he had heard his son speak, he saw what seemed a pot of grease, such as he had seen at Kebec, full of a very savory liquor, and heard a voice that said to him, "Saranhes, be of good cheer; thou wilt not die; take, drink what is in the pot and strengthen thyself," which he did, and was marvelously solaced by it. A little later, he found in a thicket a small bagful of corn, with which he barely sustained life until some Savages of the neutral Nation, having accidentally found him, brought him to their village.
Cét homme m'a témoigné qu'il desiroit se conuertir, luy & toute sa [203] famille, & cooperer à ce que tout son village seruist à Dieu, comme nous. Mais c'est [152] vn esprit deslié aussi bien que son fils, ie ne me fie pas encore en luy. Nostre esperance est en Dieu, & en nostre Seigneur Iesus-Christ, qui a respandu son sang pour le salut des Hurons, aussi bien pour le reste du monde.
This man has declared to me that he and his whole family were desirous of being converted, [203] and of helping to bring the entire village to God's service. But his is a crafty spirit, as well as his son's, and I do not trust him yet. Our hope is in God, and in our Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for the salvation of the Hurons, as well as for the rest of the world.
C'est sur cét appuy, & non sur nos industries, que nous esperons de veoir vn iour icy vne Chrestienté florissante. Les esprits certes y sont dociles & flexibles, ie ne voy que la liberté des femmes qu'ils changent à plaisir, & quelques superstitions difficiles à abolir. Car d'ailleurs ils n'ont point d'auersion de la Foy, ny de la Loy Chrestienne; ils recourent volontiers à Dieu en leurs [204] necessitez: viennent faire benir leurs bleds auant que de les semer, & demandent ce que c'est que nous desirons d'eux. Nous n'auons à apprehender que nos pechez & imperfections, & moy sur tous. Certes ie me sens extremement i[n]digne de cét employ; mais enuoyez nous des saincts, ou faites enuers Dieu nostre Seigneur, que nous soyons tels qu'il desire. Mille recommandations aux saincts sacrifices de vostre Reuerence, & de tous nos Peres & Freres.