prisoners- he had had compassion on the [162] two captive Fathers, and had obtained them from the Anniehronnons in exchange for two fine collars of Porcelain beads, with the view of sending them back to us; but that soon afterward they had returned him his presents, had taken the two prisoners from him, and had burned them with all the fury imaginable.

"That poor Lazarus, whom I so named in Baptism, is highly respected in the village, and is the first prop that God has been pleased to give to this little Church, which is constantly increasing, for he attracts others to the Faith by the fervor of his discourses and of his example.

"The enemy of the Gospel, who cannot bear to witness its progress, has not failed to assail it with calumnies, in order to arrest its course. Our Faith is accused of killing all who profess it. The death of some Christians of Onnontagé gave rise to this delusion on the part of the Barbarians, and a speech delivered at a meeting by a Captain who is hostile to our Religion served to mislead them still more. Hence, not only did some natives of the countrywho considered it [163] safer to believe that man in authority among them, than to place any faith in the quite contrary experience of our old Hurons-not only did they beg me to excuse them from attending the prayers until their dread of me should decrease; but they also accused the Faith of the French of being responsible for all the ills with which the whole people or individual persons seemed to be afflicted. That is what an Apostate tried to make those Barbarians believe, naming the Dutch as his authority for what he said. He asserted that the children of the Iroquois died two years after their

la iambe, ou fe bleffoient le pied d'vne espine, ou deuenoient ethiques, ou vomiffoient l'ame auec le fang, ou eftoient attaquez de quelque autre malheur infigne.

Si noftre reputation est ici maltraittée, nostre vie n'y est pas plus en feureté. Vn guerrier de ma connoiffance eftant venu loger dans noftre cabane, ne nous donna pas peu d'exercice: car [164] eftant entré trois nuits de fuite dans vne efpece de poffeffion qui le rendoit furieux, il témoignoit en vouloir à ma vie, & il m'euft fans doute mal-traitté, s'il n'en eust esté empefché par nostre hofte.

Ie fus menacé de la mort d'vne façon plus fiere par vn ieune homme, lequel apres m'auoir entendu inftruire vn Catechumene fort malade, que ie voulois difpofer à la mort; me dit que i'eftois vn Sorcier dont il fe falloit deffaire, que ie faifois viure & mourir qui ie voulois, & qu'il m'eftoit auffi facile de guerir cet homme que de le mener au ciel. Ce reproche n'eftoit-il pas agreable?

Toutes ces difficultez que le Diable nous fufcite n'empefchent pas neantmoins que la Foy n'acquiere de iour en iour plus de crédit parmi les peuples, que ie ne fois par tout bien efcouté, que noftre Chapelle ne fe rempliffe de Catechumenes, & qu'enfin ie n'aye baptisé tous les iours des enfans ou des adultes.

Voilà ce que nous a mandé le Pere qui eut alors foin de cette Mission pendant [165] deux mois, & qui fut obligé de la quitter pour retourner ioindre fes trauaux à ceux de deux autres Peres à Onnontaghé, où ils eftabliffent le fondement & le Seminaire de toutes les autres Miffions des Iroquois.

Mais depuis ce temps là mefme le Pere y eftant

Baptism, and that the Christians either fractured their legs, or wounded their feet with thorns, or became consumptive, or vomited their souls with their blood, or were assailed by some other great misfortune.

"If our reputation be attacked here, our life is in no greater security. A warrior of my acquaintance, coming to lodge in our cabin, gave us no little trouble. [164] On three successive nights he became possessed in some way, and fell into a frenzy; he manifested an inclination to take my life, and would without doubt have done me an injury, had he not been prevented by my host.

"I was threatened with a still nobler death than this. A young man, after hearing me instruct a Catechumen who was very ill, and whom I wished to prepare for death, told me that I was a Sorcerer who should be got rid of; that I gave life or death to whomsoever I wished; and that it was as easy for me to cure that man as it was to lead him to heaven. Was not that reproach an agrecable one?

"All these obstacles that the Devil raises up against us do not, however, prevent the Faith from daily acquiring more credit among these peoples. I am listened to attentively everywhere, our Chapel is filled with Catechumens, and, finally, I daily baptize both children and adults."

That is what was written to us by the Father who then had charge of that Mission for [165] two months. He was compelled to leave it, to return and unite his labors to those of the two other Fathers at Onnontaghé, where they are establishing the foundation and the Seminary of all the other Iroquois Missions.

But, since that time, the Father has gone back

retourné accompagné de cinq ou fix François, & du plus confiderable du Bourg, qui l'eftoit venu prier de retourner chez eux, il y fut receu auec tout l'accueil imaginable. Ayant trouué la Chapelle en mefme eftat qu'il l'auoit laiffée, il y fit commencer les prieres le iour de fon arriuée, & les nouueaux Chreftiens & les Catechumenes firent bien-toft paroiftre tant de zele, que le Pere efcrit que cette Eglife n'est pas moindre dans fa naiffance que celle d'Onnontaghé.

He

there, accompanied by five or six Frenchmen and by the most notable man of the Village, who had come and begged him to return among them. He was received with the warmest welcome imaginable. found the Chapel in the same condition as he had left it; and on the very day of his arrival he began to hold prayers in it. The new Christians and Catechumens soon manifested so much zeal, that, as the Father writes us, that Church is not less vigorous in its birth than that of Onnontaghé.