"Spring is not far ... Spring is not far ..."

For fear that God should cut me off at the root, as a fruitless tree, I have prayed him that he still suffer me to stand, this year; and I have promised him that I would yield him better fruits than in the past."

Father Gabriel Lallement had received a hatchet- blow on the left ear, which they had driven into his brain, which appeared exposed; we saw no part of his body, from the feet even to the head, which had [page 147] not been broiled, and in which he had not been burned alive,—even the eyes, into which those impious ones had thrust burning coals.

[40] Meanwhile, a part of the Hurons, who are called Atinniaoenten (that is to say, the nation of those who wear a Bear on their coat of arms), having armed in haste, were at hand the next morning, the seventeenth of March, about three hundred warriors,—who, while awaiting a more powerful help, [page 131] secreted themselves in the ways of approach, intending to surprise some portion of the enemy.

Be this as it may, Your Reverence sufficiently sees that we have need of extraordinary help from your holy Sacrifices and Prayers, which we very humbly pray you to grant us, and which we confidently expect from your goodness and charity toward us.

I made a visitation at the hospital.

On Annunciation Day the Cross

Thou seest plainly that we treat thee as a friend, since we shall be the cause of thy Eternal happiness; thank us, then, for these good offices which we render thee,—for, the more thou shalt suffer, the more will thy God reward thee. "

About 1,800 persons have been baptized during the year, not including those baptized by Daniel at the destruction of St. Joseph.

their attention, and give his disciples a better opportunity to escape

FEAST OF THE DEAD

The whole Village assembles in the Cabin; the weeping is renewed; and those who have charge of the ceremonies get ready a litter on which the corpse is placed on a mat and enveloped in a Beaver robe, and then four lift and carry it away; the whole Village follows in silence to the Cemetery. A Tomb is there, made of bark and supported on four stakes, [page 269] eight to ten feet high

They also punish Sorcerers severely, that is, those who use poisoning, and cause death by charms; [155] and this punishment is authorized by the consent of the whole Country, so that whoever takes them in the act has full right to cleave their skulls and rid the world of them, without fear of being called to account, or obliged to give any satisfaction for it.

since their lewdness and licentiousness hinder them from finding God, it is very easy for the Devil to thrust himself in and to offer them his services in their pressing necessities, causing them to pay him a homage that is not due him, and having intercourse with certain more subtle minds, who extend his influence among these poor people.

We have received and are receiving every day so many favors from Heaven that we have reason to hope for this one as well, if it is for the glory of God.

Add to all this, that our lives depend upon a single thread; and if, wherever we are in the world, we are to expect death every hour, and to be prepared for it, this is particularly the case here. For not to mention that your Cabin is only, as it were, chaff, and that it might be burned at any [page 93] moment, despite all your care to prevent accidents, the malice of the Savages gives especial cause for almost perpetual fear; a malcontent may burn you down, or cleave your head open in some lonely spot. And then you are responsible for the sterility or fecundity of the earth, under penalty of your life; you are the cause of droughts; if you cannot make rain, they speak of nothing less than making away with you. I have only to mention, in addition, the danger there is from our enemies; it is enough to say that, on the thirteenth of this month of June, they killed twelve of our Hurons near the village of Contarrea, which is only a day's journey from us; that a short time before, at four leagues from our village, some Iroquois were discovered in the fields [65] in ambuscade, only waiting to strike a blow at the expense of the life of some passer-by.

We endeavor to gain for ourselves the friendship of all these Peoples, in order to obtain them for God.

As to death, I believe that all of us would have been very glad to submit to it for the defense of the Cross.

almost every time they return, she begins to make the sign of the Cross, and to pray to God in a loud voice.

oniondechouten

There is in our village a little Christian girl named Louyse, who at six months began to walk alone; the [page 13] parents declare they have seen nothing like it, and ,attribute it to the efficacy of Holy Baptism

Brébeuf closes his account with an expression of much hope for the future success of their labors

An embassy of Island savages (from the Allumettes) visits the Hurons, attempting, but in vain, to incite them to an attack on the Iroquois. Brébeuf takes this opportunity to win, for himself and his brethren, the friendship of these Islanders,—giving them a canoe and other presents.

Hurons are duly grateful.