The Life and Times of Kateri Tekakwitha Part 8

CHAPTER XII.

THE NEW COLONY OF CHRISTIAN INDIANS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE.--THE "GREAT MOHAWK" GOES TO CANADA.

Tekakwitha was quite old enough to have decided opinions of her own on whatever concerned her individual life. She had also proved in her recent struggle that she possessed sufficient strength of will to act upon her convictions. Some of these convictions she had never yet mentioned to any one, but she had for some time fully made up her mind to take a decided step. She was only waiting a favorable opportunity to declare her determination to become a Christian. She felt that this would not be an easy thing to do; for besides her strong propensity to shrink as much as possible from all observation, she saw that her uncle was becoming every day more bitter in his opposition to the teachings of the blackgowns.

The Feast of the Dead in 1669 was closely followed by a public renunciation, in the Mohawk country, of Aireskoi, or demon-wors.h.i.+p. This was accompanied by the burning of charms, turtle-sh.e.l.l rattles, and other badges used by the medicine-men. Similar ceremonies took place about the same time, among the Onondagas and in other parts of the Long House of the Five Nations. "Paganism had fallen. Aireskoi was disowned, and his name is not even known in our days among the Iroquois. The next step of the missionaries was to implant Christian truth and Christian feeling in their hearts."[49] This was another and more difficult task.

Though the Iroquois Indians of the Five Nations have not since wors.h.i.+pped any other than the Great Spirit or true G.o.d, known in the Mohawk language as Rawenniio; and though the sacrifices to Aireskoi ceased in the Mohawk Valley after the great Feast of the Dead, in 1669,--practically the life of the Mohawks was still pagan in almost every other respect. Father Pierron, at Tionnontogen, or Saint Mary's, and his a.s.sistant Father Boniface, who took charge of a small bark chapel called St. Peter's, which the Indians themselves built at Caughnawaga Castle, both continued their missionary labors with unabated zeal, but for some time they had only partial success. In 1670 eighty-four baptisms were recorded. That same year, in June, the great Onondaga chief, Garacontie, was solemnly baptized at Quebec. It was hoped that other chiefs of the Iroquois would soon follow his example.

Father Bruyas, who on first coming among the People of the Long House had been lodged three days in the cabin of Tekakwitha's uncle, came back from the Oneida country in 1671. He was made superior of the Mohawk mission in place of Pierron. This missionary, the painter of pictures and the inventor of games, received orders to return to Canada to take charge of a new village of Christian Indians which was then being formed on the south bank of the St. Lawrence. As the latter part of Tekakwitha's life was closely connected with the growth and development of this new Christian colony of Indians in Canada, and as we shall have occasion frequently to allude to it, some further account of it will not be out of place here. The site first chosen was at La Prairie de la Madeleine just across a broad swell of the river from Montreal on a tract of land belonging to the Jesuits and hitherto untenanted. The Canadians called this Indian settlement St. Francois Xavier _des Pres_; and a little later, when that same mission was moved up close to the great Lachine Rapids in the St. Lawrence River, it was known as St.

Francois Xavier _du Sault_, which last is in reality nothing more than the Indian name of Caughnawaga put into French and still meaning "At the Rapids." This Christian settlement was started by the temporary sojourn at La Prairie of several Oneidas and Mohawks, who had been on a visit to Quebec and Montreal. They were attracted to the spot by Father Raffeix, who built a little chapel there. It grew by accessions from among the Five Nations, and was encouraged by the French government, in the hope of thus gaining useful allies. Indians who came first from curiosity or for temporary shelter and hospitality afterwards settled there, with their families and friends. The Jesuit Fathers on their part were much pleased with the growth of this village, and took occasion to make of it a distinct settlement of Christian Indians. It soon became a general rendezvous for their converts from among the different nations and tribes of Indians, many of whom by residing there were quite withdrawn from the contagious pagan influences which surrounded them in their own country. All who went to live at St. Francois Xavier _du Sault_ were obliged to renounce, with solemn promises, these three things,--first, the idolatry of dreams; second, the changing of wives, a practice in vogue at Iroquois feasts; and third, drunkenness. Any one among them known to have relapsed into any of these practices was expelled at once from the settlement by the ruling chiefs. These were chosen by the Indians themselves from among the more fervent Christians. They were generally men who had ranked high in their own country, and who were attracted to the Praying Castle, as it was called, either from motives purely religious or on account of some bereavement or disappointment experienced in their old homes. Several of these Christian chiefs were famous characters in the history of the time. Two of them, Kryn and Hot Ashes, are closely connected with the life of Tekakwitha.

Kryn, the "great Mohawk," has already been mentioned in connection with the battle of Kinaquariones. His Christian name was Joseph, and his Indian name Togouiroui. He was also called the conqueror of the Mohegans. He dwelt with his wife at Caughnawaga on the Mohawk, and they had "an only daughter whose bright disposition made all in the town love her." After some difficulty with his wife on account of this child, he deserted her and went off for a long journey. The mother, it seems, had been converted by Father Boniface, and had declared herself a Christian just six months before she was thus deserted. Soon after the departure of her husband she was severely tried by the death of her daughter. This little girl had been her only consolation and hope after she was forsaken by Kryn. Her friends now blamed her for adopting strange customs, saying it was that which had made her husband leave her and which had caused the death of her child. In spite of all this, Kryn's wife became more devoted than ever to her new faith. She was seen going to the little bark chapel of St. Peter's every night and morning, and often received the sacraments from the hands of Father Boniface. First as a.s.sistant to Pierron, and now under Bruyas, he still carried on the mission at Caughnawaga. In course of time he became very successful in winning the Mohawks of that place to Christianity. Thirty adults were baptized within a short time. After the morning and evening prayers at the chapel, a choir of children sang hymns in the Iroquois language; and every Sunday the primitive Christian love-feast, or ceremony of blessed bread, took place in the cabin of a pious Mohawk woman.

At Christmas time the little bark chapel at Caughnawaga was aglow with lights and bedecked with evergreens. All day long the people of the Turtle village, much changed in mind since the torture and murder of Isaac Jogues, stole silently in and out of St. Peter's rustic shrine.

The cross, considered uncanny and strange in the days of Goupil, had at last become a familiar sign among the Turtles in the Mohawk Valley. The crowd that gathered at the chapel door on Christmas day looked up at it again and again as they stood out in the snow and the cold December blast, waiting patiently for an opportunity to enter. There in the chapel Father Boniface had placed a fair little statue of the infant Jesus lying in his wretched manger on the straw. This Christmas crib was a strange and wonderful sight to the simple Indians. Those who had become Christians told and retold the Bethlehem story in all its details to the curious people who gathered about the image of the little Christ child to gaze and wonder. Tekakwitha saw and heard all that was going on at the chapel, but said nothing; her aunts were there also, and her adopted sister. Tegonhatsihongo, whose Christian name was Anastasia, would of course be present on such an occasion, and also the family of Kryn. The wife of the "great Mohawk," having chosen her part and received baptism, now maintained her ground with courage. Deserted and childless, she held firmly to her new-found faith, notwithstanding the abuse she received from friends and neighbors. "Soon after this storm,"

says good Father Boniface, "G.o.d rewarded her fidelity; for in place of the little girl whom he had taken from her, He gave her back her husband a Christian."

Kryn, in his wanderings, had by chance strayed into the new village at La Prairie; there he met Father Fremin, who with Pierron and Bruyas had formerly been Tekakwitha's guests. Kryn listened to all that Fremin had to say to him, having known and respected him during his brief stay in the Mohawk country, when the mission was first begun after De Tracy's expedition. The "great Mohawk" resolved to become a Christian; furthermore, he decided that the best way for him to remain a Christian, and to become a good one, would be to join the new Indian settlement in the land of the French.[50] He was a natural leader of men, bold and uncompromising; he had a large following among his own people on the Mohawk. His next move, therefore, after becoming a Christian, was to return to his old home to find his forsaken wife, and to announce publicly the views he had embraced during his absence. The people gathered with interest and amazement to hear what their old leader had to say. None dared oppose him when he proclaimed his determination to leave everything that could draw him back to his old manner of life, and offered to lead all who would follow him to La Prairie, on the bank of the St. Lawrence. He gave his friends but brief time to consider his words and to make hurried preparations for a journey; then, at break of day, the wild gathering-cry of the "great Mohawk" resounded once more, as of old, through the streets of Caughnawaga Castle. All knew it well, for time and time again it had called them out to battle. With a strange thrill and start of alarm they heard it once more; but only those in the village who were baptized, both men and women, or who meant soon to become Christians, rallied about him now; nor even all of these, for in that case Tekakwitha would have been of the number. A band of thirty or forty gathered at his call, and with a sad, hurried farewell to their friends, their homes, and the valley, they turned and followed in the footsteps of Kryn, who thus led them away into exile. Shea well calls these Indians "a n.o.ble band of pilgrims for religion's sake."

Tekakwitha's adopted sister probably went either with this band or with those who accompanied Father Boniface to Canada a little later; for soon after this event we learn that she was living at St. Francois Xavier du Sault with her husband; that they were both Christians, and that Anastasia Tegonhatsihongo also dwelt there and in the same cabin with them. The health of Father Boniface was completely broken down by the hards.h.i.+ps he had undergone among the Mohawks; so he too left Caughnawaga. He went to Canada in June, 1673, taking many of his neophytes with him as far as the Sault; he died at Quebec the next year, surrounded by his old comrades and friends.

The people of Albany and Schenectady, at the time of these migrations, had too much to do at home to give more than a sidelong glance at what was occurring at the neighboring Indian castle; otherwise the Dutch and English settlers of the province would probably have shown some inclination to resent on the part of the French their efforts to attract the Mohawks to the vicinity of Montreal, as it was likely to interfere with their influence among the redmen, and above all with their highly prized rights in the fur-trade. Some time before this, the Albanians had succeeded in bringing about a treaty of peace between the Mohegans and the Mohawks. Thereupon these last had begun to indulge very freely in the purchase of liquor at Fort Orange; they even carried kegs of it with them to their fis.h.i.+ng-villages. This filled the pockets of the Dutch settlers, but it also brought on a severe form of illness among the Mohawks,--a quick and fatal fever,--which gave much occupation to the blackgowns, especially as the services of the medicine men were at this time often rejected; thus the influence of the missionaries was still further increased. Next, there was a disturbance in the government. The Dutch, taking the English by surprise, in 1673, regained possession of the province; that very year a large band of the Mohawks left for Canada. To make matters worse for the interests of the Albanians, a vessel with supplies for the Indian trade, which they were for a long while expecting from Holland, did not arrive; this caused them to put a higher price on the goods they were accustomed to sell to the Mohawks, many of whom on that account turned to Canada for their purchases.

In 1674, when Tekakwitha was in her eighteenth year, and when Boniface, after having resigned his charge at Caughnawaga, was slowly dying at Quebec, the English came once more into power at Albany, and governed the city thenceforth. During these various changes Tekakwitha's uncle kept up his connection with his Dutch neighbors, invariably trading at Albany. He was angered almost beyond endurance at the departure of Kryn and of Boniface with so many of his townspeople. He joined with those who bitterly accused Bruyas, their only remaining blackgown, of a plan to break up the nation. Bruyas protested that he had had nothing at all to do with the affair, and threw the responsibility of the migration mainly upon their own chief the "great Mohawk," whose example so many had followed. He took occasion at the same time to remind those who remained of their vices, which he said were driving away the n.o.blest of their tribesmen. He succeeded in pacifying them for a time; but soon a.s.sendase, an aged and important chief at the capital of the Mohawk country, delighted the heart of the missionary, and at the same time rearoused the hostility of the unbelieving Indians, by becoming a Christian. In 1675 a.s.sendase died at Tionnontogen, to the great grief of Father Bruyas. About the same time Father James de Lamberville arrived to take charge of St. Peter's chapel and the mission of Boniface; it included both the Turtle Castle of Caughnawaga on the Cayudutta and the adjacent Castle of the Bears called Andagoron. This castle was no longer on the south side of the river, but since De Tracy's expedition had been rebuilt on the north bank opposite to its old site. It was to Father de Lamberville that the niece of the Mohawk chief spoke out the words that had long lain nearest to her heart.

FOOTNOTES:

[49] Shea's History of the Catholic Missions, chap. xiv. p. 267.

[50] Kryn became strongly attached to his Canadian friends. He sided with them in the war which broke out some years later between the French and the English colonies. The ma.s.sacre at Lachine in 1689 roused the old warrior who had conquered the Mohegans (in 1669) to aid in avenging his white allies. On Schenectady, in 1690, fell the b.l.o.o.d.y act of retribution. Kryn was there. Later that same year, on a war-party near Salmon River, he was killed.

CHAPTER XIII.

TEKAKWITHA MEETS DE LAMBERVILLE.--IMPOSING CEREMONY IN THE BARK CHAPEL.

Tekakwitha was eighteen years old, and was still cla.s.sed among the pagan or infidel Indians, as distinguished from the Christians. She had injured her foot severely; she could not now leave the cabin, and sat idle one bright sunny day while the other women were hard at work in the corn-fields down by the river. She was unable to walk as far as the spring in the cove just below the castle, and bring up the daily supply of water for the lodge; nor could she gather f.a.gots enough to prepare the evening meal, though she knew that all would return at dusk hungry and weary from their work. A few women, with some old people burdened with ailments of various kinds, were also in the village. Two or three of these had strayed into the chief's cabin, and were sitting with Tekakwitha when Father de Lamberville, who had been only a short time in the Mohawk country, pa.s.sed slowly along through the rows of long, low bark-covered houses forming the Turtle Village. Caughnawaga was well-nigh deserted by its people that day, and seemed fast asleep, so still were its streets. The missionary was taking advantage of this occasion to visit the old and the sick who chanced to be in their cabins, that he might instruct them at his leisure. He had no thought of entering the lodge of Tekakwitha. He knew that the chief who lived there disliked the Frenchmen who came down from Montreal; and besides, he supposed the house would be empty as usual at such times. Its inhabitants were known to be busy and thrifty people; they were doubtless at work in the fields. He pa.s.sed close to the doorway of the cabin with eyes downcast, intent on his own quiet thoughts. He wore the long black ca.s.sock of his order, and carried a crucifix in his girdle like those worn by the three who had lodged with the chief when he lived at Gandawague on Auries Creek. The shadow of De Lamberville falling across the open doorway caused Tekakwitha to look up, and she saw him moving calmly on outside in the sunlight. Darkness brooded over the Mohawk girl where she sat, far back in the depths of the dreary cabin.

Her heart was weary with waiting. It may have been that her mother's spirit hovered about just then, and renewed its prayer; or, whatever may have caused it, the blackgown's train of thought was disturbed. He raised his eyes; he stood a moment at the doorway, and "il fut pousse a y entrer," says the old ma.n.u.script,--a sudden irresistible impulse caused him to enter. Lo! at the blackgown's approach the petals of this Lily of Caughnawaga opened wider than ever before. Those who were present on that eventful day saw for the first time to the innermost depths of Tekakwitha's soul, far down to its golden centre, enfolded so long in shadowy whiteness that no one suspected its hidden growth of beauty. Chauchetiere says:--

"There he found Tekakwitha. Never was an encounter more fortunate on the side of the girl, who wished to speak to the Father, and who dared not go to seek him; on the side of the Father, who found a treasure where he expected to find no one."

Charlevoix tells us that Tekakwitha--

"could not dissemble the joy which this visit caused her, and hastened to open her heart to the Father in the presence even of two or three women who were keeping her company, and to testify to him her earnest desire of embracing Christianity.

She added that she would have great obstacles to overcome in order to succeed in her intention, but that nothing should deter her. The ardor with which she spoke, the courage she evinced, and a certain air, at once modest yet resolute, which appeared on her face, proved to the missionary that his new proselyte would be a Christian of no common order; therefore he instructed her in many things of which he did not speak to all whom he was preparing for baptism. G.o.d doubtless establishes between hearts, the possession of which he has specially reserved to himself, a sort of spiritual sympathy which forms, even in this life, the sacred bond which is to unite them eternally in glory. Father de Lamberville, whom I well knew,"

continues Charlevoix, "was one of the holiest missionaries of Canada, or New France, as it was then called, where he died at Sault St. Louis, as it were in the arms of Charity, worn out with toils, sufferings, and penance. He has often told me that from the first interview he had with Tegahkouita, he thought he perceived that G.o.d had great designs upon her soul; however, he would not hasten her baptism, but took all those precautions which experience had taught to be so necessary, in order to be certain of the savages before administering to them the sacrament of regeneration."

As soon as Tekakwitha had recovered from the wound in her foot, which had occasioned her encounter with the blackgown, she began to attend the morning and evening prayers at the chapel, in accordance with Father de Lamberville's advice. As often and as regularly as the sun rose and set, she was now to be seen on her way to St. Peter's. Chauchetiere says:--

"At first they did not give her any trouble; they let her go and come to say her prayers like the others; and some have believed that if this cabin was not opposed to prayer when Catherine was in it, it might have come from the good custom which the mother of Catherine, that good Algonquin of whom we have spoken, retained there up to the time of her death, and these infidels were accustomed to see praying."

So far as Tekakwitha was concerned, the winter which followed these events pa.s.sed quietly away in preparation for her baptism. She performed her usual duties in the cabin, and her aunts did not molest her on the subject of religion. According to one account, they had become Christians themselves, though this is contradicted elsewhere. The young girl was present at the instructions given to catechumens, and learned all the prayers with great facility and a marvellous avidity, in the hope that the Father would hasten her baptism.

"The missionaries before the baptism of adults took care to inform themselves, secretly, of their manners and conduct.

Father de Lamberville questioned all who knew Tegahkouita, and was greatly surprised to find that none, even among those who ill-treated her, could say anything to her discredit. This was the more flattering to her, since the savages are much addicted to slander, and naturally inclined to give a malicious turn to the most innocent actions."

The missionary found no one who did not give a high encomium to the young catechumen. He hesitated no longer to grant what she so ardently asked. Easter Sunday, 1676, was appointed for the day of her baptism.

The Christians of Caughnawaga Castle were pleased to learn that at last the blackgown had resolved to baptize Tekakwitha. Nearly a year had pa.s.sed since she first asked to be made a Christian. All knew her worth.

When the glad news of Father de Lamberville's decision was made known to Tekakwitha, her countenance became radiant with joy. Her aunts gave their consent to the step their niece was about to take. We are not told what her uncle said or did at the time. Perhaps he was intent on other important affairs just then, or he would probably have put some obstacle in her way. He certainly dreaded, above all things, the possibility of seeing his niece enticed away to Canada in the footsteps of her adopted sister. Perhaps he felt quite sure of keeping Tekakwitha with him, as she showed no desire to join a band of Kryn's followers who set out from the Mohawk Valley shortly before the appointed Easter day arrived. Like those who had gone with the "great Mohawk" on a former occasion, these pilgrims were bound for the Praying Castle on the St. Lawrence River. In the band were many friends and neighbors of Tekakwitha, so that in part at least her heart must have gone with them to Canada. The Praying Castle of St. Francois Xavier was no longer at La Prairie, as when Kryn first visited it, but had been moved this very year a few miles up the river close to the great Lachine Rapid or Sault St. Louis, and was henceforth called Caughnawaga. The older village of the same name in the Mohawk Valley was astir with expectation when Easter Sunday arrived, in the year 1676.[51] The young catechumen whom the blackgown De Lamberville esteemed so highly, the one of whom no word had been said in disparagement, every act of whose life was as clear and fair as the day, was eagerly awaiting the hour of her baptism.

The Indian girls on that Easter morning, ready, as always, for a pageant or ceremonial of any kind, crowded about the door of the rustic chapel, inside and out. Some of them carried their little brothers or sisters tied to their backs on cradle-boards. Some were gorgeous with bright-colored blankets and beads. Proudly they tossed their heads, these Mohawk girls, sure at least of their share of admiration from the young braves, notwithstanding that the old chief's niece was for the moment attracting more attention in the town than usual. What did her wonderful reputation for virtue amount to, after all? Much hard work, some of them thought, and a scant allowance of fun or excitement. But for once all eyes were centred on the quiet maiden, as she issued from her uncle's lodge, and with two companions, also ready for baptism, neared the door of the chapel. It was easy to see that most of the people of Caughnawaga respected and honored her on account of her virtue. There was a time when the Iroquois had vaunted the chast.i.ty of their women, and on that account held their heads higher than any other race of Indians. On this glorious Easter day the Mohawks seemed to realize, at least in a general way, that the maiden Tekakwitha, whom they knew to be as strong in will as their own flint rock and as pure at heart as their crystal spring, had caught up the beautiful crown that was fast falling from them. They felt that she at least, while she lived, could be trusted to hold it securely above the mire into which they were sinking faster and faster.

On the day of Tekakwitha's baptism, the light which the blackgown brought with him to the Mohawk country beamed with unquenchable brightness from her quiet but joyful face, and glimmered in scattered reflections on the faces of the crowd through which she pa.s.sed. There men and women, warriors, hunters, jugglers, boys and girls of every age,--in a word, all who were in the village had gathered into groups to watch what was taking place at the chapel of St. Peter. The blackgown took care to render the baptism of an adult, and especially of such a noteworthy one as the niece of the chief, as impressive as possible; it was conducted with all due solemnity.

Never before had the Christians of Caughnawaga been more generous with their gifts. They had offered their richest furs[52] to adorn the chapel in honor both of Easter day and of Tekakwitha's baptism. The walls were hung with beaver and elk skins. There were bear-skin rugs and buffalo hides, embroidered in many colors, both under foot and on every side.

Belts of wampum festooned the rafters. Blossoming branches of shrubs and cl.u.s.ters of frail little wild-flowers that grew in the ravines near by, decorated the altar. The entrance door was embowered in green. The approach to the chapel was through an avenue of budding trees, which had been planted there by the missionaries, to give an air of seclusion and dignity to the sacred portal. In them the birds were building their nests, and kept up a continual fluttering, chirping, and trilling. The blackgown's well-trained choir of Indian boys and girls, already within the chapel, were watching for Tekakwitha to enter. When the three catechumens appeared at the door, Father de Lamberville, in surplice and violet stole, advanced to meet them. St.u.r.dy Mohawk boys who had learned to serve at the altar, attended him. The ceremony began at the chapel door. Katherine was the Christian name to be given to Tekakwitha. Clear and distinct were the words of the priest, as he asked the following questions: "Katherine, what dost thou ask of the Church of G.o.d?" Then came the short sweet answer, "Faith." "What doth faith lead thee to?"

"Life everlasting," was the response. The blackgown, still using the words of the time-honored ceremonial, continued: "If then thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. Thou shalt love the Lord thy G.o.d with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself." This exhortation sank deep into the soul of Tekakwitha. Fervent and recollected in spirit, she strove to catch the meaning of each word and sign. Father de Lamberville went on with the sacred rite. Breathing on her thrice, as she stood with head bowed down, he exorcised the Evil One, saying: "Go out of her, thou unclean spirit!

give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete!" She raised her head at these words, and he signed her forehead and breast with the cross. Then he blessed the salt, the symbol of wisdom, and laid it on her tongue.

Again he bade Satan begone. They now entered the little church. They stood close by the font. He touched her ear with spittle, saying the mystic word of Christ: _Ephpheta_, that is, "Be opened!" Then she renounced the devil with all his works and pomps, and was anointed with the oil of the catechumens. She made her profession of faith in the words of the Apostles' Creed. After that the priest changed his violet stole for a white one, and poured the water of baptism on her head, saying at the same time the brief, essential words of the sacrament: "Katherine, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

The people watched each of these ceremonies with rapt interest. When it was all over, Katherine Tekakwitha turned from the font with a white cloth on her head, which the priest placed there in token of innocence, bidding her carry it unsullied before the judgment-seat of G.o.d; and she bore in her hand a lighted taper, the symbol of faith. She seemed quite unconscious of earth, and bright with angelic joy. The Mohawks could almost believe they were looking at a blessed spirit rather than at one of themselves. The choir of Indian children, silently waiting their turn, now filled the chapel with joyous melody, and made it resound with the sweet words of an Iroquois hymn, prepared for them by their missionaries. The birds outside, stirred to blither singing by the sound of voices within, warbled their richest notes. The great forest that sheltered the bark-covered shrine was alive with music, strange and rapturous, like the strains heard by Saint Cecilia in her vision. De Lamberville, entranced, stood at the altar and listened, like one in a dream. Each breath he drew was a fervent prayer for his Indian flock. He was quite alone among them,--the only pale-face at Caughnawaga Castle,--but he felt no isolation. He had given his life to these people, and his heart vibrated in perfect accord with the Iroquois music. If he thought of his home in France and the glorious Easter anthems he had heard at St. Eustache and Notre Dame, it was not with vain regret, but only with the calm a.s.surance that if his friends across the sea could hear these Indians singing in their forest chapel and could see the face of this Mohawk girl lit up with the joy of her baptism, they would not feel that he was throwing away his life and talents among barbarian tribes. The path of his duty lay clearly before him.

"Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." These words were ever ringing in the missionary's ears. It was in fulfilling this command that he had found the Lily of the Mohawks ripe for Christianity. He felt that he had gathered rich fruit with but little effort, and his next thought was how to keep it safe and bring it to its highest perfection for the Master of the Vineyard, whom he served.

From the time of her baptism Katherine Tekakwitha's life resembled in many respects the lives of the early Christians. Chauchetiere thus speaks of her baptismal name:--

"Several Indians bore this name before and after her, but not one of them so worthily as the Blessed Catherine Tegakouita. La Prairie de la Magdeleine possesses the precious remains of one named Catherine Ganneaktena, from Oneida, who was the foundation stone of the mission.... Another Catherine died at the Sault at the age of thirteen, having lived innocent as an angel, and died as a victim of virginity. These two Catherines would have served as models for all the Christian Indian women at the mission of the Sault, had not Catherine Tegakouita arisen to s.h.i.+ne like a sun among the stars."

FOOTNOTES:

[51] Chauchetiere mentions Easter Sunday, 1675, as the date of Kateri Tekakwitha's baptism. Cholenec and others give the date as above, 1676.

[52] This description of the chapel at the time of Tekakwitha's baptism is taken princ.i.p.ally from a ma.n.u.script of Rev. Felix Martin, ent.i.tled "Une Vierge Iroquoise."

CHAPTER XIV.

PERSECUTIONS.--HEROIC CALMNESS IN A MOMENT OF PERIL.--MALICE OF TEKAKWITHA'S AUNT.

After her baptism, Katherine Tekakwitha was supremely happy. Her deft hands were as busy as before, providing for the general comfort in her uncle's lodge. Besides this she went back and forth twice each day to the chapel, where the blackgown a.s.sembled his dusky flock for morning and evening prayers. On Sundays she heard Ma.s.s at the same bark-covered shrine of St. Peter, and later on in the day she joined in chanting the prayers of the chaplet with alternate choirs of the Christian Indians.