Scarcely had the meal commenced, when I saw arriving the first plunder they had made at my house. It was natural that I should be moved. Indeed, I showed it; so that the captain said to me, as an excuse for himself, that the King of France had first declared war against the King of England, and that in consequence of it the French had already taken, pillaged, and burned an English post named Campo, near Cape Breton, and that several persons, including children, had been smothered in the flames.
I answered him that, without wishing to enter into the detail of the affairs of Europe, our respective kings being to-day at war, I did not take it amiss; but was only surprised that he should have come to attack Oyapoc, which was not worth the trouble.[11] He replied that he himself exceedingly regretted having come here, as this delay might cause him to miss two merchant vessels, richly loaded, which were on the point of sailing from the harbor of Cayenne. I then said to him that, since he saw for himself how inconsiderable was this post, and that he had scarcely any thing to gain from it, I prayed him to accept a reasonable ransom, for my church, myself, my negro, and every thing belonging to me. This proposition was reasonable, but was, nevertheless, rejected. He wished that I should treat with him for the fort and all its dependencies. But I bade him observe that this was not a fit proposition to make to a simple priest; that, besides, the Court of France had so little regard for the post that recent news from Paris had apprised us that it would be abandoned as soon as practicable. “Well,” said he, in a spiteful way, “since you do not wish to entertain my proposition, we must continue our depredations, and make reprisals for all that the French have done against us.”
They continued, therefore, to transport from our houses furniture, clothes, provisions, all with a disorder and confusion that was remarkable. What gave me the deepest pain was to see the sacred vessels[12] in these profane and sacrilegious hands. I collected myself for a moment, and, awakening all my zeal, I told them what reason and faith and religion inspired me to say in the most forcible manner. With words of persuasion I mingled motives of fear for so criminal a profanation. The example of Belshazzar was not forgotten; and I am able to say to you with truth, my Reverend Father, that I saw many moved, and disposed to return these articles to me; but cupidity and avarice prevailed, and on the same day all the silver was packed up and carried aboard the vessel.[13]
The captain, more susceptible of feeling than all the others, as he had always seemed to me, told me that he would willingly yield to me what he was able to return, but that he had no control over the will of the others; that all the crew having part in the booty, he was not able, as captain, to dispose of any but his own share; but that he would do all that was in his power to induce the others to agree to what I proposed. This was to pay them at Cayenne, or at Surinam (a Dutch colony, which was not far distant, and where, they told me, they wished to go), or even in Europe by bills of exchange, for the value of the silver in the sacred vessels. But he was not able to obtain any thing.
Some time afterwards, the first lieutenant asked me, through an interpreter, “what induced me to surrender myself to them?” I replied to him, “that the persuasion I was under that some of our soldiers had been wounded had determined me to remain for their relief.” “And did you not fear being killed?” he added. “Yes, without doubt,” I said; “but the fear of death is not capable of stopping a minister of Jesus Christ, when he should discharge his duty. Every true Christian is obliged to sacrifice his life rather than commit a sin; and I should have thought that I was guilty of a very great one, if, having charge of souls in my parish, I had entirely abandoned them in their peril. You know, indeed,” I continued, “you Protestant people, who pride yourselves so much on reading the Scriptures, that it is only the hireling shepherd who flees before the wolf when he attacks the sheep.” At this discourse they looked at one another, and seemed to me to be entirely astonished. This lesson is, without doubt, something a little different from that of their pretended Reformation.
For myself, I was all the while uncertain with regard to my own fate, and I saw that I had every thing to fear from such people. I addressed myself, therefore, to the holy guardian angels, and I began a Novena[14] in their honor, not doubting but they would cause something to turn to my advantage. I prayed them to assist me in this difficult emergency in which I found myself; and I should say here, to give a higher sanction to this devotion, so well known and so established in the usage of the Church, what I have recognized in my own particular case, that I have received each day the signal blessings of God, through the intercession of these heavenly spirits.
However, as soon as night approached,—that is to say, towards six o’clock, for that is the time at which the sun sets here during the whole year,—the English drum commenced beating. They assembled on the Place, and posted their sentinels on all sides. That being done, the rest of the crew, as long as the night lasted, did not cease eating and drinking. For myself, I was constantly visited in my hammock, since they feared, without doubt, that I would try to escape. In this way they were mistaken; for two reasons detained me. The first was, that I had given them my parole, by which I had again constituted myself their prisoner, and I could not go out of their hands except by means of exchange or ransom. The second was, that, as long as I remained with them, I had some slight hope that I might recover the sacred vessels, or at least the vestments and other furniture of my church. As soon as it was day, the pillage recommenced, with the same confusion and the same disorder as the day before. Each carried to the fort whatever happened to fall into his hands, and threw it down in a pile. One arrived wearing an old cassock; another in a woman’s petticoat; a third with the crown of a bonnet on his head. It was the same with those who guarded the booty. They searched in the heap of clothes, and when they found any thing which suited their fancy,—as a peruke, a laced chapeau, or a dress,—they immediately put it on, and made three or four turns through the room, with great satisfaction, after which they resumed their fantastical rags. They were like a band of monkeys or of savages, who had never been away from the depths of the forest. A parasol or a mirror, the smallest article of furniture a little showy, excited their admiration. This did not surprise me, when I learned that they had scarcely any communication with Europe, and that Rodelan was a kind of little republic, which did not pay any tribute to the King of England, which elected its own governor every year, and which had not even any silver money, but only notes for daily commerce; for this is the impression I gained from all they told me.[15]
In the evening, the lieutenant informed himself of every thing which related to the dwellings of the French along the river,—how many there were of them, at what distances they were, how many inhabitants each had, &c. Afterwards, he took with him ten men, and one of the young Frenchmen who had already served as guide to surprise us; and, after having made all the necessary preparations, they set out, and went up the river. But they found nothing, or very few articles, because the colonists, having been warned by our fugitives, had placed all their effects in concealment, and particularly their negroes, who, more than any thing else, excited the cupidity of the English. Finding themselves thus disappointed in their hopes, they spent their anger on the buildings, which they burned, without, however, injuring the plantations. This, however, caused us to suspect that they had some intentions of returning.
As to those of us who were in the fort, we spent this night very much like the preceding,—the same agitations, the same excesses on the part of our enemies, and the same disquietude on our part. The second lieutenant, who was left in command, did not lose sight of me, fearing, without doubt, that I wished to profit by the absence of the captain and the first lieutenant to make my escape. I had a great deal of difficulty in reassuring them on this point, and could not convince them. People of this kind, accustomed to judge others by themselves, are not able to imagine that an honorable man, that a priest, was able and obliged to keep his parole in such a case.
When the day dawned, he seemed a little less uneasy on my account. Towards eight o’clock, they all placed themselves at table; and, after a miserable repast, one of them attempted to enter into a controversy with me. He put many questions to me about Confession, about the worship which we gave to the Cross, to images, &c. “Do you confess your parishioners?” he presently asked me.