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Gift of the
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It -I

The Abenaki Indian scouts on the the way to warn Father Rale
of the coming of the English soldiers

The MAKERS of MAINE
ESSAYS and TALES of EARLY
MAINE HISTORY, FROM the
FIRST EXPLORATIONS to the
FALL of LOUISBERG, IN
CLUDING the STORY of the
NORSE EXPEDITIONS.

BY
Herbert Edgar Holmes y LL. B.
STATE LIBRARIAN OF MAINE

THE HASWELL PRESS, Publishers
LEWISTON, MAINE
1912

TO THE
RIGHT REVEREND LOUIS S. WALSH, D. D.
BISHOP OF PORTLAND
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED IN RECOGNITION
OF HIS EFFORTS
IN BEHALF OF THE GREAT HISTORY
OF OUR
STATE OF MAINE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
% Maine's Position in History. 9
CHAPTER II.
The Sons of Eric. 17
CHAPTER III.
The Viking and the Catholic Caiarch. 23
CHAPTER IV.
The First Ejfpedition of the French. 33
CHAPTER V.
The Port Royal Expedition. AA
CHAPTER VI.
Marc Lescarbot.— His Character and Writings. 50
CHAPTER VII.
The First Frendh and Indiati Miancfe. 67
CHAPTER VIII.
De Poutf ittcourt and lescai'bdt lea-ve
Acadia and Return to France. 65
CHAPTER ^X.
Biard and Masse Are Chosen 'frorti
Jesuit Volunteers to Go to Aci«£a. 70
CHAPTER X.
How the Jesuit Relations Came to be
Written and Their Historical Vahie. 74
CHAPTER XI.
Father Biard Descrlbies His Voyage
across the Atlantic. ^
^CHAPTER XII.
Various Historical Authorities Oamp»ei. W

CHAPTER XIII.
Troubles and Disputes at Port [Royal. 101
CHAPTER XIV.
The Death of the Sagamore Membertou. 105
CHAPTER XV.
The First Mass Said in Maine. 110
CHAPTER XVI.
The Argall Outrage. 118
CHAPTER XVII.
The Jesuits Are Carried to Virginia
and England. 129
CHAPTER XVI II.
Miracles in Maiine. 133
CHAPTER XIX.
Waymouth's Voyage. — He Captures
Some Indians. 138
CHAPTER XX.
Strange Ill-Luck Pursues the English
Efforts to Colonize Maine. 146
CHAPTER XXI.
Ferdinado Gorges Become Lord of Maine. 153
CHAPTER XXII.
Some Interesting Laws and Prosecutions. 160
CHAPTER XXIII.
The First Deed from an Indian Chief and Herein
Concerning Our Titles to Our Lands. 166
CHAPTER XXIV.
Conduct of the English Towards the Indians
as Proven from English History. 173
CHAPTER XXV.
England's Title to Maine Obtained by
Treachery and Maintained by Violence. 180
CHAPTER XXVI.
An Eloquent Indian Chief. 185
CHAPTER XXVII.

The Civil War Between De La Tour and
Aulnay Charnisay. 190
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Interesting but Little Known History
of the Capuchin Missions in Maine. 197
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Famous Mission to the Abenakis
Indians. 201
CHAPTER XXX.
Father Druillettes' Diplomatic Mission
to Boston. 204
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Romantic History of Father Sebastian
Rale, S. J. 208
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Relentless Persecution of Father
Rale by the English. 214
CHAPTER XXXI II.
Father Rale's Influence Upon the Indians. 221
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Death of Father Rale. — ^Two Widely
Different Accounts. 226
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Some Reflections Upon the Cause and
Effects in History. 235
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Fall of Louisberg and the Part
Taken Therein by the Men of Maine. 242
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Looking Backward. 247

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
First — The Abenaki Indian Scouts on their way to warn
Father Rale of the coming of the English
Soldiers. — Frontispiece.
Second— The Norsemen Explore the Coast of Maine.
Third— Portrait of Samuel de Champlain.
Fourth — Father Biard S. J., and the French Soldiers take
possession of Mt. Desert Island and the
neighboring shore, and in honor of the Holy
Redeemer name the place St. Sauveur.
Fifth — Champlain's Map of Port Royal, Acadia, from
the works of Champlain published under
the auspices of Laval University, Quebec,
1870.
Sixth — Father Sebastian Rale S. J., preaching the true
faith to the Indians on the Bank of the
Kennebec.

Copyright, 1912
by
THE HASWELL PRESS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PREFACE
This series of historical essays and tales of history is offered
to the public with the hope that it may be found interesting read
ing, at least in parts. It is not consecutive historical narrative;
indeed, it may appear rather disconnected; but the attempt to
write a connected and consecutive history of Maine, or of any part
of the history of Maine is hereby expressly disclaimed. For that
reason it may, perhaps, be found interesting to other readers be
sides Maine people. The book covers a period of our history
which is of as much interest to a Canadian, and to a Westerner
as to the sons of Maine. For the matter of that, if it were of inter
est to none but sons of Maine, it would interest a very large number
of American citizens, for the sons of Maine are to be found in every
state in the union. The fact that it is a series of essays and tales
may recommend it to many readers, because, on that account it
may be read, a chapter here and a chapter there, as one chapter
or another treats of subjects of especial interest to particular per
sons. The series of essays appeared first in the Catholic Opinion.
a weekly published in Lewiston. It was received so kindly and
cordially that I was tempted to rewrite the series and publish the
same in the form of a book. I fell into the temptation, and here
is the result.
How it happened that I came to write these essays and tales
in the first place is this: I had always felt a bit of exasperation
every time I read, in the work of one or another historian, a slur,
a sneer, or an abusive statement about the French missionaries
and especially the Jesuits, who have done so much for the cause
of religion and civilization. Some historians, (we need not men
tion their names) are openly hostile to the Jesuits, frankly opposed
to taking any view of our early history which would be creditable
to the Catholic Church and her missionaries. Although I have
not mentioned the names of any of these yet, lest I may be charged
with drawing on my imagination or of being prejudiced mysieK
I will refer the reader, ior corroboration, to certain volumes of the

PREFACE
Maine Historical Society Collections, and to a certain, well known
history of Nova Scotia.
Other historians again, like Francis Parkman and John Fiske
(and I count Parkman the chief exponent of this class) give great
credit and high praise, enthusiastic praise, to the Jesuits, whenever
contemplation of the deeds of the Jesuits seems to fire their imagi
nation, but on the other hand, as if by way of compensation, we
find theni every now and then taking a sly dig at "the crafty and
unscrupulous Jesuit," almost as if they were forced to do it as an
act of homage to their native, in-bred prejudice and hostility to
the Catholic Church.
This characterization of the historians does not apply, of
course, to those who have written in the French language, Cana
dians mostly, concerning the history of New France, which neces
sarily includes the early history of our State of Maine. Nor would
it be expected to apply to such admirable historians as John Gil-
mary Shea, translator of Father Charlevoix's "History of New
France," and Father Campbell of the Society of Jesus who has
published a history of the Jesuits in North America.
What we Catholics object to, and what I have in mind, is
such false history, and false deductions from historical facts as
we find in "popular history," the kind of history taught to the
public school children, and even in the collections of the Maine
Historical Society in such articles of the Collections as that of
J. Wingate Thornton. It is a pleasure to be able to say, however,
that now and then a non-Catholic \\'riter has had the courage to
speak the truth about the Jesuit missionaries and the position
of the Catholic Church in the early history of Maine. Such a
man is the Hon. John F. Sprague of Dover, Maine, author of the
little history of the Jesuit mission to the Indians at Norridgewock
in which he tells the story of the life and death of the great and
good Father Sebastian Rale, S. J., who is at last coming into his-
own true position in history. This historian, Mr. Sprague, de
serves much credit, not only for his broadminded view of history
but for his sympathetic understanding and enthusiasm for the
great and romantic history of our State. An address of his, deliv
ered before the Bangor Historical Society March 4, 1912, deserves
to be preserved. A few of his words in this address, which I con
sider to be gems of historical statement, I will quote, if for no other
purpose than to impress upon my reader that' here in the'early
history of Maine is a great "field of ^romantic history as yet little
cultivated. :; "And peering through the mists of the past centuries

PREFACE
of American history we see them {the Jesuit missionaries) here on
the Penobscot, this advance guard of civilization, so strange and
remarkable, pioneers so unlike any that had gone before them.
By the side of the soldier with sword and musket that France
had sent to subdue a new world and erect the New France, marched
these fearless defenders of the faith with crucifix and prayer-book
full of the burning fires of pious zeal and a grim determination to
rescue from the bonds of Satan a whole continent of savages."
And again, another quotation from this address, as it expresses
a point of historical fact which I have made much of in the course
of these essays: "That piece of the new world, which Charles I
gave to Ferdinando Gorges, and which the Massachusetts colony
subsequently purchased, was bounded on the east by the Kennebec
River, and all that territory between the Kennebec River and the
St. Croix was originally a part of ancient Acadia. After Massachu
setts purchased it, however, theoretically, and from her point of
view, Penobscot River was the east line and later on it was exten
ded to the St. Croix; but these contentions of the colony wereal-
ways strenuously resisted by the governors of New France, even
after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. So ours was ever disputed
territory. These controversies were the cause of many of the
Indian wars throughout the Province of Maine, for the Indians
were as a rule loyal to the French. For several years after the
treaty, that wonderful character in the colonial history of Maine,
Sebastian Rale, from his mission at Norridgewock, with a bravery
and determination seldom equalled, continued his adherence to the
Acadian rights of New France to this territory. But in 1724 Mas
sachusetts decided to end it all by killing Rale and his devoted
Indian followers, and burning up his mission.
All of this story of these territorial contentions, which affected
eastern Maine as well as the whole colony of Massachusetts is
teeming with historical facts. Which have too long remained buried
in the debris of receding time."
Many more words I would like to quote from this address
but it is not necessary, for I believe that from the foregoing, I ha've
shown that at least one broad-minded non-Catholic historian has
the true appreciation of the grand history of this portion of our
American soil. And perhaps I have shown, further, that the ex
cuse and justification for my essays and tales of early Maine history
is, to borrow the quotation employed by Mr. Sprague in his
address,— "The harvest is plentiful, the laborers few."
It goes without saying that no one can write history, except

PREFACE
he be chronicling contemporaneous events, if that can be called
writing history, without quoting from some prior historical writing
which he considers authority. And it is in this quoting, and in
the deducing from the quotation, that we find and apply the true
test of the worth of the writings. If a writer will not take
the trouble to find and quote from the original and best authority
or will not faithfully and honestly deduce the facts from the origi
nal authority, then he fails himself to be authority to his readers.
Knowing this well, I have endeavored throughout these
essays to quote only from the original sources of history, except,
of course, where I have quoted from others than the originals mere
ly for the purpose of comparison or criticism. For the doings
of the Jesuits I have quoted from the Jesuit Relations. I con
sider them the best and only authority upon the question of the
acts of the Jesuits. And moreover, I do not understand how any
fair-minded man can read those Relations without being absolutely
convinced of the truth of every word written in them. Yet, as
I have said before, many respected historians have utterly disre
garded the authority of the Jesuit Relations in writing the history
of this period, and have traversed and contradicted the statements
of the Jesuit Fathers in their Relations, without any authority
for so doing, except their own presumptuous disbelief.
Most writers of history follow the practise of citing their au
thority for their various statements in foot-notes at the bottom of
the page I have preferred to reject that method entirely partly
because this book is not a history, as I have said, but chiefly be
cause I think it makes it easier for the reader to learn the author's
authority in the course of the text instead of having to continually
drop the text to refer to a foot-note.
When I first wrote the essays as a series of articles for the
Catholic Opinion, I did not have access to the edition of the Jesuit
Relations which combines the original with the English translation,
the edition edited by Dr. Thwaites of Wisconsin. I had only
the three volume edition in French published in 1858 at Quebec
by authority of the Canadian government. This is a very useful
edition, and is prized by historians, not only for its scholarship,
but also for the fact that it is becoming almost as rare and scarce as
the original Cromoisy edition of which it was intended to be a
reprint. Afterwards, when I was revising and rewriting the series
for publication as a book, I was able to get access to the Thwaites
edition and was thus enabled to compare and correct my own
translations with the translations made by the editors of this great

PREFACE
edition. I have also amplified my original quotations from the
Quebec edition of the Relations by quotations from the English
translations in the Thwaites edition. Following my rule not to
make use of foot-notes, I have not given credit to the Thwaites
edition for quotations in the course of the book; but I wish now to
express my indebtedness to this monumental and scholarly edition
for the great help that I have derived from it, especially in my
rewriting and revising of the original articles.
All historians, and particularly all who appreciate and admire
the Jesuit missionaries and their achievements, will owe a debt of
gratitude for many years to come to the learned, able and cons
cientious editors of this scholarly work.
There are several editions of Champlain's Voyages both in
French and in English, the one which I have used and quoted from
is the French edition published in Quebec in the year 1870, by La
val University. For the historical writings of Marc Lescarbot, without which
any writer of the history of this period would be sadly handicappe d
I was singularly fortunate. It happened that at the time when I
was revising the articles for publication, the Champlain Society
of Toronto was issuing, among other historical works, Lescarbot 's
"Histoire dela Nouvelle France" with both an English translation
and the original French text. Only two volumes joi Lescarbot
had been published, but they brought his history down to the
close of the Port Royal expedition and settlement in which he him
self had been an actor and participant. Therefore for all my quota
tions from Lescarbot's History of New France I am indebted to
the Champlain Society, and I hereby acknowledge my deb;, with
gratitude and pleasure.
The few quotations that I have made from the writings of the
Rev. Fr. Charlevoix S. J., have been taken from John Gilmary
Shea's fine edition of Charlevoix, but I have compared them with
the French edition published in Paris in the year 1744, more from
curiosity than otherwise, for no one will find any errors in Shea's
translation. In various places I have quoted from the writings of John
Fiske, from Hannay's History of' Nova Scotia, W.lliamson's His
tory of Maine, the Collections of the Maine Historical Society, and
one or two other historians, but usually for comparison with the
original historical authorities, to show how those writers have de
duced conclusions from historical facts different from what I 'be
lieve the facts warrant.

PREFACE
The material for the first few chapters which treat of the "voy
ages and discoveries of the Norsemen, is to be found in the Norse
Discovery of America, publishes by the Norroena Society. Like
wise, the English translation of the Letter ot Pope Alexander VI
is from the Flatey Book of the Norroena Society.
The quotations from Waymouth's Voyages are, of course
from Rozier's Narrative, and Uke the other material dealing with
the English voyages and settlements are easily accessible in many
different publications.
In conclusion, I will say that, even with all the historical writ
ings that have been published, the field of history comprised in
the period from the first explorations down to the final change of
sovereignty from France to England, and more, down to the Revo
lution, is a very fertile field, as yet but imperfectly cultivated.
It i s such an interesting and romantic period of our history, the
facts of history are so interrelated and intertwined with the events
which go to make the history of the other original colonies, of Can
ada, of the Great West, that there is plenty of room, and much
need, for work, for research, and for writing.
There are so many strange and interesting events, and strange
and interesting characters, and so little has been written about
them. There is Ferdinando Gorges' feudal fief of Maine; there are
the voyages of Captain John Smith which ended so disastrously
each" time. There is the romantic story of Claude and Charles
de la Tour, and the civil war waged for years between the younger
de la Tour and Aulney de Charnisay, like two barons of the Middle
Ages. And there is the story of the Castins, father and son, for
whom the town of Castine is named. On the religious side, there
is the Capuchin mission on the Penobscot and the Kennebec, about
which so little is yet known.
And finally, speaking of the religious side of our history, we
come back to what I began with, — the great history of the Catholic
Church in those days, the great work of the missionary priests for
the Indians which is still to be seen to-day, for such an anomoly
as a Protestant Indian in Maine is unheard of. This history has
been so much misrepresented and misunderstood for these many
years, until now, of late years, a better knowledge, a clearer light,
has come, and those great missionaries, and Druillettes, the
Bigots, Father Rale, have at last come into their own, and are
receiving a belated, but to make up, an enthusiastic credit from
Protestant writers. Protestant writers perceive and admit that
in the history of that period the Catholic Church and its mission-

PSEPACB
aries are bound up with the best of history, and not the worst, as
used to be taught.
I hope that this contribution to history may help to arouse
and keep alive an interest in and a love for the great and romantic
story of the early days of our beloved state, and the equally
romantic story of our beloved Church in those days. I know
my own limitations as a writer, and the limitations and weak
nesses of this series of essays and tales of history. It is with
trepidation that I offer it to the public. If I were intending it
it as a serious history, to be subjected to the critical scrutiny of
historical scholars, I would not at all dare to send it forth. But
as it is not intended as an end in itself, — a history, but only as a
means to an end, the arousing of interest in history, I do not fear
so much. I hope it will be received kindly by true scholars and his
torians, and that all who read it may find at least one chapter in it
which will prove interesting reading. My pride in and my loyalty
to the State of Maine, and my pride in and loyalty to the Cath
olic Church with its great history, of which the history of the early
days of Maine is only one chapter, is at once my excuse for its
weaknesses, and my justification for sending it forth with its
weaknesses, and in spite of its weaknesses.
To the Knights of Columbus, and to the members of the
Maine Catholic Historical Society, who have helped me with en
couragement and with subscriptions to the volume, and to all oth
ers who have helped in like manner, especially the members of the
Bar of Maine, I here tender my sincerest thanks.
THE AUTHOR.
At the State Library,
Augusta, Maine,
this second day of
December A. D. 1912.

"On the brow of the hill that slopes t,o meet
The flowing river and bathe its feet.
The bare washed rock, and the drooping grass.
And ..he creeping vine, as the waters pass;
A rude and unshapely chapel stands.
Built up in that wild by unskilled hands.
Yet the traveller knows it a house of prayer.
For the sign of the holy cross is there.
And should he chance at that place to be.
Of a sabbath morn or some hallowed day.
When prayers are made and Masses said
Some for the living, and some for the dead.
Well might that traveller start to see
Tall dark forms that take their way
From the birch canoe on the river shore
And the forest paths, to that chapel door.
Marvel to mark the naked knees.
And the dusky foreheads bending there.
While in course white vesture over these.
In blessing or in prayer,
Stretching abroad his thin, pale hands.
Like a shrouded ghost, the Jesuit stands."
— Whittier

CHAPTER I
MAINE'S POSITION IN HISTORY
This State of Maine. This land of the whispering
pines. This land of beautiful scenery, with its forests
of mystery, with its romantic history which so few
know, and so few have the sympathetic interest to
understand. People of Maine travel to other countries in search
of scenery. They go to Norway to see fiords. The
coast of Maine has its own fiords as beautiful and
majestic. They go to Switzerland for mountains and
lakes. The lakes and mountains of Maine are in every
respect as grand and inspiring. They travel to the west
and the Canadian northwest in search of primeval
wildernesses. In Maine there are vast forests, in many
of which the whole territory of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts could be set down, and it would require
the aid of a guide to find the borders of Massachusetts.
It was not so with the adventurous knights errant
of the ocean in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
They were greatly attracted by these shores. Let us
quote the following passage from De Puyster's "Dutch
in Maine," — "How few are alive to the glorious and
varied beauty of that zone of islands which commencing
with the perfection of Casco Bay, terminates with the
precipitous seal-frequented shores of Grand Manan.
Of all the archipelagoes sung by the poet, described by
the historian, and depicted by the painter, there is
none which can ©xceed in its union of charms these

10 The Makers of Maine
two hundred miles of intermingling land and ocean,
where lost in each other's embrace, the sea seems in
love with the land and the shore with the foam crested
waves." Rosier, historian of Weymouth's voyages (1605),
gives the following comments on a river explored by
Weymouth, formerly supposed to be the Penobscot,
but now thought to be the Kennebec from what is now
Popham Beach to Merrymeeting Bay. (Maine His
torical Coll.) "As we passed with a gentle wind up
with our ship in this river, any man may conceive
with what admiration we all consented in joy. Many
of our company who had been travellers in sundry
countries, and in most famous rivers, yet affirmed
them not comparable to this they now beheld. Some
that were with Sir Walter Raleigh in his voyage to
Guiana, in the discovery of the River Oronoque, which
echoed fame to the world's ears, gave reasons why it
was not to be compared to this, which wanteth the
dangers of many shoals, and broken ground, wherewith
that was incumbered. Others before that notable
river in the West Indies, called Rio Grande; some
before the.river of Loire, the river Seine and of Bordeaux
in France; which although they be great and goodly
rivers, yet it is no detraction from them to be accounted
inferior to this."
But it is not the purpose of this article to sing the
praises of Maine's natural beauty. It is our purpose
rather to call attention to some points of interest in the
early history of Maine, to correct some false impressions
which have been popularly held for many years, and to
prove a theory, which will be stated later.
It is unfortunately true that few even among
Maine people have any clear idea of the important
and interesting position which the history of this portion

MAINE'S POSITION IN HISTORY 11
of the country called Maine should occupy from the
time of the first explorations down to the time of the fall
of Quebec. It is also greatly to be deplored that the
history of the doings of the Jesuit missionaries and the
activities of the French and the Indians have been
consistently misrepresented in most historical writings,
especially in popular and public school histories.
The writer was lately making some inquiries as
to what course of Maine history was taught to the
children in the public schools and he was informed by
a young lady connected with the schools that the teach
ing of Maine history occupied a very unimportant
position because the history of Maine was subordinate
to that of Massachusetts "as Massachusetts was settled
first, you know." Oh, "Clio, Muse of History," turn
away your face in shame, — or rather hide your inex
tinguishable laughter behind your lace handkerchief.
Can it be that that fossilized falsehood is still stalking
at large through the public schools of Maine?
But we can gather fresh faith and hope and courage
when we reflect that more than half of the works which
masquerade under the name of history, purporting to
speak with the voice of authority, pretending to teach
the inquiring mind the truths of the past, cannot right
fully be dignified even by the title of historical romance.
For the romancer has a literary license to distort the
facts of history in a reasonable manner to suit the needs
of his plot, but many a writer of history has distorted
the facts to suit the needs of his argument. Sometimes
the cause is to be found in a state of mind which renders
him temperamentally unfitted to be an historian; but
often the historian is guilty of wilful misstatement
of facts. Much of written history is not history at all. And
the pity of it is that school children learn a great deal

12 THE MAKERS OF MAINE
of such history, which it takes them years to unlearn
after they have completed their courses in the schools.
Moreover it is doubtless true that the great majority
of the graduates of the American public schools have
neither the time nor the inclination in later years to
examine what they have learned of history and to correct
the wrong ideas which they have absorbed from false
historians and superficially informed public school
teachers. That this is a matter of special concern
to the Catholic people of the United States is plain
when we consider that the vast majority of the Catholic
children are still being educated in the public schools,
and probably must continue to be for many years to
come. Although the growth of the Catholic schools
in this country has been phenomenal, yet it cannot
keep pace with the growth of the Catholic population.
It is a matter of wonder to the student of history
that the plain facts of the early history of Maine have
been ignored by responsible writers. How many
school children can tell us, — no, let us leave the children
out of the discussion for the moment, — ^how many
public school teachers can tell us that the first incorpo
rated city in America was the city of Georgiana, founded
on the site of the present town of York? Ask such a
question to the average teacher, and it is a safe wager
that her thoughts will drift in the direction of St. Au
gustine, Florida. Where will you find it told in public
school history that Maine was once a County Palatine,
and is the only portion of American soil ever held by
a purely feudal tenure?
"Massachusetts was settled first," so the writer was
told in excuse for subordinating Maine history to Meis-
sachusetts history in the public schools. Indeed?
Then tell us why it was that the Pilgrims in that terrible
winter when they were in danger of death by starvation

MAINE'S POSITION IN HISTORY 13
sent a ship down to Maine to get provisions from white
men who had been living in the neighborhood of the
Kennebec for some years? Perhaps it is not of much
interest to anyone but a lawyer, but it is an important
and significant fact that in the town of York are pre
served the records of a court which sat there and admin- ,
istered the law under the English common law practise
at a time when the Massachusetts colonists had no
courts, when the legislature of the Massachusetts colony
called then as now the "General Court," administered
the laws as well as made them. You will find it told
in popular history that Samoset surprised the Pilgrims
with the greeting, — "Welcome, Englishmen," but pop
ular history is discreetly silent about the fact that Sam
oset was Lord of Pemaquid and learned his English by
years of friendly intercourse with the colonists in Main,e
long before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts Bay.
The labors of the Jesuit missionaries in Maine for
the advancement of civilization have been disregarded
and denied by partisan historians. Indeed they have
been vilified and slandered. The injustice of American
historians towards the Catholic church and its labors
in Maine is notorious and a crying shame. Few histo
rians have ever given any credit whatever to those
brave and devoted men; except that they cheerfully
give them the false credit of being the incitors of the
Indians to bloody attacks upon the English. There
are few of the present generation of men and women
who received their education in the public schools who do
not hold it an article of faith, as sanctified as the truths
of scripture, that the French priests, crafty, calculating
Jesuits, systematically incited the Indians to murder
the English settlers in Maine and to burn their dwellings.
Yet nothing is farther from the truth.
That the French settlers and their priests had an

14 The~.Makers OF Maine
influence upon the Indians, which the English had
not and could not acquire, is beyond dispute. Nor
is it to be wondered at when we consider the difference
in the conduct of the English and of the French toward
the natives. The accounts of Indian barbarities,
of murders and burnings, narrated by the English are
irreconcilable with the narratives of the Jesuit mission
aries. But the discrepancies are easily accounted for
when the attitude of the two nations is compared.
The policy of the French priests was conciliatory.
The English acted upon the maxim that it was no
sin to cheat an Indian. The French missionary treated
the Indian as a human being with a soul to save. The
first Englishman to discover the Kennebec A. D. 1602,
(not the first white man), one Captain Harlow, captured
two Indians and took them to England as a wild beast
show. The French, on the other hand, fraternized
with the Indians, adopted their customs, joined in
their hunting and fishing expeditions, and treated them
as equals to be respected. The French priests approached
them as missionaries with that never failing insight
which has characterized the Jesuit Order in all its
missionary undertakings. The Indians embraced the
Catholic faith, not so much because the ceremonies
of the church had charms for the simple minded children
of the forest, as prejudiced writers would have us believe,
but because the Jesuit priests were possessed of the
true missionary zeal and instinct, and in addition
exhibited broad minded common sense in approaching
the Indians with the truths of Christianity.
The foregoing statements are an outline which
it is the intention of the writer to develop in detail
and by logical steps later on. History is not a collec
tion, a compendium of isolated facts, a chronology
of wars, of lives and deaths of great men, of the rise and

MAINE'S POSITION IN HISTORY 15
fall of peoples. It is something more, it is philosophy.
As children, with undeveloped intelligence, with minds
like a fresh blotter pad waiting to absorb material,
we must learn history as a sequence of facts and a
list of dates; but as we advance in intelligence and in
crease in reasoning power, it is our duty to look beneath
the surface, to search for the reasons for things, to learn
the philosophy of history.
It would be natural to expect that tl^e coast of Maine
which first attracted so many adventurous Englishmen
should have been the cradle of our Northern civilization.
Here we should have looked for the seat of empire in
the North. Here, and not upon the sterile soil of
Massachusetts Bay should have been built the ports
of commerce and industry. But such are not the facts.
It is the writer's purpose to endeavor to prove that
the punishing hand of God is^to be traced, vaguely, darkly,
but certainly, in the history of Maine; that Maine
did not fulfil her early promise of greatness in history
for plain and sufficient reasons, patent to him who
will search and meditate, to be found in the doings
of the English settlers; that the opportunity was offered
here to the white man to give to the world an example
of Christian charity and Hberality, and it was rejected
with selfishness and scorn.

CHAPTER II
THE SONS OF ERIC
Not to Christopher Columbus, the great Genoese
navigator, but to Leif Ericson, son of Eric the Red,
belongs the credit and the glory of the discovery of
America. This is not the statement of a myth, of a
legend, but of an historical fact, too well proven to be
even so much as disputed by students of history to-day.
Nor is it in any way detracting from the memory of
Columbus one whit of all the credit that is his due.
A great society of American Catholics honors the memory
of the Christian navigator, keeps fresh and green in
the minds and hearts of its members the honor, the glory
that Columbus won. It is proud of its title, — the
"Knights of Columbus." But there is plenty of room
for another society of Christian American gentlemen,
named, let us say, the "Sons of Eric," to pay some
belated credit and honor where credit and honor is sadly
due. Nor would it be at all amiss from a Christian
or Catholic viewpoint for such a society to be organized.
No one can dispute that Leif Ericson and his followers
were fully as Christian and Catholic as Columbus and
his companions, though the gentle spirit of the knightly
and courtly Genoese would hardly be looked for in the
stern and warUke Vikings of the North. Their's was
a different character. Born, living and dying on a
cold and rockbound land, navigating a stormy, tem
pestuous ocean, carrying their lives in their hands
from day to day, their character and disposition not

The Sons of Eric 17
unnaturally reflected the conditions and the environment
in which they passed their lives. Wild pagans at first,
they embraced Christianity with a readiness almost
remarkable, and once Christianized, they never became
apostate, but clung to their faith, — a faith of militant
Christianity. To my nnind, far from discrediting Colunibus,
it makes him a greater man, to say that Atnerica was
discovered and settled by white men, European Chris
tians, long before his time. It is not to his credit to
assume that he stumbled upon an opinion that there
was land to the west of the ocean, and then stumbled
upon the land. It is more creditable to the memory
of one who was a learned man even for those days of
scholarship that he formed his opinion in regard to land
to the west by a chain of logical deductions based upon
study and research. He always spoke of his conviction
of the land to the west with as much certainty as if
his very eyes had looked upon it. At the Rabida
convent he gave the following reasons for his certainity, —
first the nature of things, meaning of course the fact
that the earth was round; second, the reports of nav
igators, and third the authority of learned writers.
By the reports of navigators he could have meant
nothing else than the facts which he learnt while on his
journey through the northern countries where he was
well received. We have it on the authority of his son,
Ferdinand, that he visited Iceland; and he was in
Iceland within 130 years from the time of the last
Norse visit to America. He must have talked with
many whose grandfathers knew personally of the land
in the west. By the authority of learned men, he
doubtless referred to the book written by Adam of
Bremen in the year 1072. In this book much was
written about the land to the west, called by the Norse-

18 The Makers of Maine
men, Vinland, the very name itself being used by Adam of
Bremen in his book.
This argument would be of little moment to us
who are interested in the early history of Maine, were
it not for the fact that the voyages of the Norsemen
to America, almost wholly, and the settlements of the
Norsemen in America, quite entirely, were confined
to the territory now known as New England; and
although we do not find as clear evidence of the footsteps
of the Norsemen in Maine as have been found in the
more southern New England States, yet it is incon
ceivable that navigators who skirted the shores of
Labrador, New Foundland, and Nova Scotia, and
who are positively known to have landed on the coast
of Massachusetts Bay, it is inconceivable, that they
sailed by the beautiful shores of Maine with averted
eyes, that they avoided the fine harbors and landlocked
anchorages of the coast of Maine. That we do not
find the vestiges of their presence here is but negative
evidence, and of no force whatever when we consider
that they did not build substantial houses, but from the
evidence of their own Sagas, temporary structures,
hastily and carelessly constructed.
Now, in order that we may have a clear idea of
how it came about that the Norsemen discovered New
England, let us take a -view of the history of the northern
countries in the ninth century. In that century Norway
was divided into thirty or so districts called "fylkes,"
governed by jarls, from whom we derive our modern
name of "earl." These rulers were in a manner elected
by the people. In the middle of the ninth century,
a jarl by the name of Harald Fairhair subjugated all
the other jarls and united Norway. His usurpation
was not popular, the northern races have never submitted
tamely to one man power. The result was a large

• The Sons of Eric 19
emigration to the British Isles, the Herbrides, the
Orkneys, the Shetland Isles, the Faroes, and to Iceland.
The more adventurous spirits went to Iceland and by
the beginning of the next century Iceland had nearly
100,000 population. Here the self-governing aspira
tions of the northern people found their fullest and
freest development, and for four hundred years a re
public flourished, brave men were born and lived, and
poets sang their deeds. This was the period of the pro
duction of the great Sagas, the hero worshiping poetry
of the Norse Vikings. The Norsemen were great sailors.
They loved the sea and no ocean was too stormy nor too
dangerous for these Vikings to navigate. It was not
long before they were sailing to Greenland. And let
us remember that Greenland is admittedly within the
western hemisphere.
Now we must make the acquaintance of a hero of
the Sagas, of undisputed bravery but of questionable
morality. His name was Eric the Red. In the middle
of the tenth century he was living in Norway. He well
deserved his name of "the Red," for besides his red hair
and beard, he was the proud owner of the reddest dis
position of all the fire-eaters who ever sailed the northern
seas. He lived in a perpetual quarrel with his neighbors
and finally, having committed the crime of murder, he
was forced to flee for his life. With his family he emi
grated to Iceland. Little time passed before he was
again in trouble. Again he moved westward, and this
time to the western world. To Greenland he went
with his household. This year is an important date,
the year 982, for it marks the first permanent settlement
of the New World. In the year 982, therefore, Green
land was inhabited by a family of white men, whose
head and chief was the progenitor of a noble race of
adventurous spirits, who have left the prints of their

30 THE Makers of Maine
their footsteps on the shores of New England. Eric
the Red succeeded in founding a colony in Greenland
which flourished for several hundred years,, in fact,
down to the time of the great "Black Plague," which
swept Europe. The Icelandic Sagas have preserved
for us many interesting accounts of the colony.
We know even the number of the Bishops
who resided in Greenland. Eric the Red had three
sons, their names are worth remembering, — they were
Leif Ericson, Thorvald, and Thorstein. In the year
1000 Christianity had been adopted as the religion of
of Norway. King Olaf Trygvason, one of the greatest
of kings, was on thie throne. In this year Leif Ericson
had journeyed to Norway, had met King Olaf and had
made a favorable impression on the great king. The
king asked Leif to accept Christianity, which he did,
and at the further persuasion of the king, he promised
to carry the religion to his family and friends in Green
land. The king also commissioned him to head an ex
pedition to the lands in the far west, rumors of which
had reached Norway, and Leif agreed to make a voyage
of exploration and discovery to the west of Greenland.
In the summer of the year 1000, a notable date in history
surely as important as the year 1492, Leif Ericson landed
on the wild shores of New Foundland. He explored
the country and finding it hilly and covered with flat
stones, he called the land Helluland, "of the flat stones."
Sailing south he came to Nova Scotia, which he found to
be heavily wooded. Therefore he called it Markland,
"of the woods." Again going south, skirting the shores
of the Gulf of Maine, he finally landed on the shore of a
bay into which emptied a river. He sailed up the river
crossing a lake and entering another river which he as
cended as far as his ships had sufficient depth of water.
This land he called Vinland, from the presence of grapes

The Sons Eric 21
found in abundance there. These names given to
New Foundland, Nova Scotia, and New England are
important, for they remained the accepted names of
the respective countries for 400 years, and frequently
appear in the Sagas.
Where is the particular spot at which Leif Ericson
landed and with his company spent the winter of 1000-
1001? If we knew positively we would have solved a
problem which has worried many an historian and
antiquarian. Probably the answer to that question
would also clear up the mystery of the ancient city of
Norumbega. Prof. E. N. Horsford, late of Harvard,
claimed to have definitely located the settlement of
Leif, and his successors, Thorvald, Thorfin and Gudrid,
his wife, and to have unravelled the mystery of Nor
umbega, which he dismissed with the simple explana
tion that it was an Indian corruption of the word, —
"Norvega," applied to this country by the Norsemen
who claimed it as a part of their native country by right
of discovery. Prof. Horsford was confident that he
had located the Vinland settlement of the Norsemen on
the banks of the Charles River in Massachusetts, neair
Cambridge, Cambridgeport, and Watertown. He be
lieved that he had everything definitely settled. But
his explanation proves too much. In one point alone
it seems to me that he gives scant credit to the foresight
and experience of the Norsemen. The strongest part
of his argument rests upon certain remains of ditches
which he found, which, he declares, were canals dug by
the Norsemen for the purpose of floating logs and timber
into the Charles River and from there to be shipped
home to Greenland. It is quite probable that the
Norsemen shipped timber from the heavily wooded
New England to the wood scarce Greenland, but it is
far from probable, that men who knew how to cut tim-

22 The makers of Maine
ber in the north countries in the winter season and haul
it on the snow and ice, and pile it up for the spring
freshets to float down the streams to the river and the
harbor, would ever undertake the unnecessary labor
of digging artificial canals to float the timber. The
description of the river and harbor in Vinland contained
in the Sagas applies to several places along the New
England coast; but to none better than to the
Kennebec River. And it would be strange that this
beautiful and romantic river, which appealed so strongly
to the Frenchmen and the Englishmen, who came along
five and six hundred years later, should not appeal
equally to the adventurous Norsemen.
But speculation is vain and idle. Suffice it to say,
that it is hardly conceivable that the Norsemen who
spent so many years in Vinland should not have been
as familiar with the Coast of Maine as they were with
the Coast of Massachusetts.
In the spring of the year 1001 Leif Ericson re
turned to Greenland. True to his promise to King Olaf
he preached the doctrine of the "White Christ" to the
Greenland colony, and with so much success that he
converted the whole colony, save only his own father.
That fiery old Viking, well named Eric the Red, refused
to accept the gospel of love, and declared that he would
die as he lived with his faith in Odin and Thor, and his
own good right arm, unshaken.

CHAPTER III
THE VIKING AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The next voyage to New England, the Norsemen's
"Vinland," according to the Sagas, occurred in the year
1002. This expedition was headed by Thorvald, broth
er of Leif Ericson, Thorvald landed at the camp of Leif,
but his stay was of short duration, for unfortunately he
was killed in battle with the Indians, whom the
Norsemen called, — "Skrellings." This is the way the
Saga tells the story of the brave and Christian death of
Thorvald, the first Viking and the first European Christ
ian to be buried in the soil of the New World. "So
great a drowsiness came over them that they fell asleep.
Then came a shout over them so that they all awoke.
Thus said the shout: Wake thou, Thorvald, and all
thy companions, if thou wilt preserve life, and return
thou to thy ship with all thy men and leave the land
without delay. They rushed out from the interior of
the frith an innumerable crowd of skin boats and made
towards them. Thorvald said then: 'We will put out
the battle skreen, and defend ourselves as well as we
can, but fight little against them.' So they did, and
the skrellings shot at them for the time but afterwards
ran away each as fast as they could. Then asked Thor
vald his men if they had gotten any wounds, they an
swered that no one was wounded. 'I have got a wound
under my arm,' said he, 'for an arrow fled between
the edge of the ship and the shield in under my arm,
and here is the arrow and it will prove a mortal wound

24 THE Makers of Maine
to me. Now I advise you that you get ready instantly
to depart but you shall first bear me to that cape where
I thought it best that we would live, — it was a true word
that fell from my lips when I said that I would dwell
there and not depart; there you shall bury me, and
there you shall set up two crosses, one at my head and
one at my feet, and you shall call the place Krossaness."
And so the spot was called, "Krossaness," Mount or
headland of the Crosses by the Norsemen for ever more.
So died a brave and Christian gentleman, his bones have
mingled with the soil of this New England. No man
to-day knows where that Krossaness, the Cape of the
Crosses is; but for all we know, it may be Cape Eliza
beth at the entrance of Casco Bay, or it may be any
other one of the many beautiful promontories which
extend out into the Atlantic from the bold and rocky
shores of Maine, which must have reminded the Norse
men so much of their Fatherland, Norway, with its
many friths. Indeed, the very use itself of the word
"frith" in the Saga, to my mind disposes of all argu
ments in favor of the southern shores along Massachu
setts Bay, for where else but on the coast of Maine will
you find anything approaching the scenery of the
Scandinavian Peninsular?
The next notable event in the settlement of our
New England by the Norsemen is the visit of the first
white woman, and the birth of the first white and
Christian child. There was living at that time in Green
land a noble woman by the name of Gudrid. She was
of an adventurous character, in her veins flowed the
blood of the progenitors, — or progenetrix, of nature's
chosen children, the unborn race of conquerors and em
pire builders. She married Thorfin Karlsefni. She
persuaded him to emigrate to Vinland. They went
accompanied by a large following. In the summer of

The Norsemen
explore the coast of Maine

THE Viking and the Catholic Church 25
the year 1008 a son was born to them. They named
him Snorce. This was the first child baptized in the
Christian faith in New England, and indeed, in all the
New Worid. After the death of her husband, Gudrid,
following a custom of the nobility of the north in rela
tion to widows, made a pilgrimage to Rome. History
relates that she attracted much attention in Rome, as
well she might, and that she was well received.
We know that the Holy, Roman Catholic Church
from the very first ages of Christianity has kept in close
touch with its children and its priests throughout the
world. We know further that the manuscript records
preserved in the Vatican prove beyond peradventure
that the Roman Catholic see of Greenland included all
the Norse settlements in the New World, — Helluland,
Markland and Vinland. The records are preserved
which show that at least one Catholic Bishop of Green
land, namely. Bishop Eric Upsfe, visited Vinland. No
one who knows anything of the history of the Catholic
Church will have the slightest doubt, from the fact
of the visit of this bishop, that CathoHc priests accom
panied the Norse voyagers and lived with them in Vin
land. The Church never left her children to shift for
themselves without the consolation of ordained priests
to administer the sacraments, especially the sacraments
for the dying. It is unanswerable that a bishop would
not make this journey unless there were priests there
ahead of him to blaze the path, to do the preliminary
work. Indeed, the fact of his visit is strong presump
tive evidence that there were numbers of priests in resi
dence there. The Sagas tell us that many voyages
were made down to the year 1347, the date of the last
voyage, and only|l45 years before the rediscovery by
Columbus. They tell us of the daily lives of the colon
ists and contain full descriptions of the country.

26 THE Makers of Maine
If I were to quote much from the Sagas to prove
that the voyages to Vinland were numerous and that
settlements were maintained there continuously for
more than three hundred years, it would extend this
narrative to too great extent, and I would be obliged
to sacrifice other later and interesting events. But
I shall quote the following part of the Saga of Eric the
Red relating to the voyage of Frydis, Helgi and Finn-
bogi, A. D. 1011. "Now people began again to talk
about voyages to Vinland, the Good, for voyages there
to appeared both profitable and of honor. The same
summer that Karlsefni went from Vinland, there came
a ship from Norway to Greenland; this ship carried
two brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi. They stayed for
the winter in Greenland. These brothers were Ice
landers. It is now to be told that Freydis, the daughter
of Eric, went from her home in Garde to the brothers,
Helgi and Finnbogi, and asked them to sail to Vinland
with their ships, and to go halves with her in all the
profits that might be made there. To this they agreed.
Then she went to Leif, her brother, and begged him to
give her the houses which he had built in Vinland; but
he answered that he would lend her the houses but
would not give them. So it was settled between the
brothers and Freydis, that each should have thirty
fighting men in the ship besides the women. But
Freydis broke this agreement and hid five men more,
which the brothers knew not of till they came to Vinland.
Now they sailed out into the sea, and the brothers
came there a little ahead and took up their abode in
Leif 's houses. But when Freydis came to the land, they
cleared out their ships and took their goods to the house.
Then said Freydis: "Why bring your things here?"
They replied, "Because we believed that the whole
agreement should stand good between us." Then said

The Viking and the Catholic Church 27
she, — "Leif lent the houses to me and not to you."
Then said Helgi, — "We brothers are easily excelled in
evil-doing by thee." Then they took out their goods
and made a separate dwelling, and set it further from
the shore, on the edge of a lake. Now winter began
and the brothers proposed to have sports and amuse
ments. So it was done for a time, but evil reports
and discords sprang up among them, and there was
an end to the sports and nobody came from one house
to the other, and so it went on for a long time during
the winter." The Saga goes on to tell how the expedition came
to a violent and bloody end through the evil temper
and avaricous disposition of Freydis, who persuaded
her husband to fall upon the brothers and their men
in their sleep and kill them. Freydis herself killed
the women of the Helgi, — Finn bogi party. Many
such quarrels and killings are related in the Sagas;
and it was on account of such occurrences, arising as
they no doubt did from the unbearable tempers and
fighting dispositions of the Norsemen, together with
the perpetual warfare with the native Indians, that
the Vinland settlements were never happy and pros
perous colonies. It is doubtless true that the Indians
would have treated the new comers in as friendly
a manner as they afterwards treated the French, and
would have lived in peace with them as they did with
their French brothers and allies centuries afterwards.
But it requires little reading of the Icelandic Sagas to
be persuaded that no race on the face of the earth
could live in peace with those fierce warriors. They
went looking for trouble and when they could not find
a common enemy to fight, they kept in fighting practice
by murdering each other.
One other Saga I desire to quote before leaving

28 The Makers of Maine
this subject. It is a fragment of the "Vellum Codex,"
supposed to have been written about the end of the
14th century. It is interesting as showing the
Geography of the time.
"Next to Denmark is the lesser Sweden, then is
Oeland, then Gottland, then Helsingeland, then Verme-
land, and the two Kvendlands, which lie to the north
of Bjarmeland. From Bjarmeland stretches unin
habited land towards the north, until Greenland begins
South of Greenland lies Helluland, next lies Markland
thence it is not far to Vinland the Good, which some
think goes out from Africa. It is related that Thorfin
Karlsefni cut wood here to ornament his house, and
went afterwards to seek out Vinland the Good, and
came there where they thought the land was but did
not effect the knowledge of it and gained none of the
riches of the land. Leif the Lucky first discovered
Vinland, and then he met some merchants in distress
at sea and by God's mercy saved their lives; and he
introduced Christianity into Greenland and it spread
itself there so that a Bishop's seat was established in
the place called Gardar. England and Scotland are an
island and yet each is a kingdom itself. Ireland is a
great island. Iceland is also a great island north of
Ireland. These countries are all in that part of the
world called Europe."
It would be interesting now to go back of the time
of the Norse discoveries of America, and speak of the
traditions of the Irish visits before the time of the
Norsemen. But, although I do not pretend to be
writing a history, yet I claim for all that I write the
basis of historical fact. So much of what has come
down to us relative to the voyages of the Irish to these
shores before the Norsemen is admittedly legend and
not history, that I hesitate to even mention it. It

The Viking and the catholic Church Sd
is undoubtedly true that the Irish visited Iceland be
fore the Scandinavians came there, and it is quite
probable that the bold, adventurous Irish sailors were
often driven out of their course in those stormy seas,
just as the Norsemen afterwards were, and very likely
saw the shores of the western continent, perhaps landed
there. But the tradition of a Great Ireland somewhere
to the south of Vinland, inhabited by white men speaking
the Irish language, the tradition of Bjorn Asbrandson
who was driven out of Iceland for his sins and was
discovered thirty years afterwards living in that land
to the south of Vinland, called Great Ireland, among
Irish speaking white men, as well as among' the natives,
the traditions of the Indian tribes that white men
once lived in Florida, and used iron instruments, all
these are traditions and not history. Romances might
be built upon them, but however interesting it is, the
tradition of the Irish speaking white men of "Ireland
ed Mikla," Ireland the Greater, is as much a tradition
as the voyage of St. Brendan from Ireland to the f ortu -
nate Isles in the sixth century.
There is so much evidence of the spread of Chris-
ianity and the authority of the CathoUc Church over
Ireland, Greenland and the lands to the west, that it
is unnecessary to quote at any length the numerous
documents preserved by the Vatican and made public
to the world within the last few years. But for the
purpose of our view of the state of conditions in these
western lands at the period of the Norse settlements
in New England, it may be interesting to our readers
to quote the following letter written by Pope Alexan
der VI. It was written during the period of the settle
ment of this country. The exact date of the letter of Pope
Alexander VI is uncertain, except that it was certainly
written during the early years of his pontificate. This

30 The Makers of maine
letter shows clearly that, in silver and gold, the
Norsmen were Very poor; but considering what they
had to contend against in all the centuries after they
were Christianized, and considering the great distance
of their country from Rome, the center of Christianity
and the heart of civilization, they were a great race and
a ^wonderful people. The letter is to me most
interesting. Allowing for the natural weakness of those
Norsemen who fell away from the faith, in the words
of the venerable Pontiff, not having had the minis
tration of priest or bishop for eighty years, — ^figure to
yourself the great faith of the majority of those warlike
adventurers who once each year gathered together to
venerate a "certain Corporate", — a mere piece of cloth,
blessed, upon which, one hundred years before, something
that no living man of them could have seen with his
own eyes, the consecrated Body of Christ had rested
for a few minutes during the celebration of the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass by the last priest who had lived
there. There was a faith and devotion equal to any that
inspired the noblest and bravest of Jesuits who followed
the Norsemen in New England five and six centuries
afterwards. There seems something fitting in the fact
that the Bishop-elect, Matthias, who was intending
to go to Greenland to take charge of the See of Garda,
should be as poor as the Norsemen to whom he was
going, — so poor that Pope Alexander ordered that all
Apostolic Letters be forwarded to him without charge
or expense. The closing words of the letter in their
simplicity speak volumes: — "Let it be done everywhere
gratis because he is extremely poor."
The letter above mentioned follow:
English translation of Letter of Pope Alexander VI.

The Viking and the Catholic Church 31
(Alexander VI.) (In the early years of his Pontificate.)
10. Since, as we have heard the Church of Garda
is situated at the extremity of the earth in the country
of Greenland, whose inhabitants are accustomed to use
dried fish and milk because of the want of bread, wipe
and oil, wherefore and also on account of the rare
shipping to said country due to the intense freezing of
the sea no vessel is believed to have put to land there
for eighty years back, or if it happened that such voyages
were made, surely, it is thought, they could not have
been accomplished save in the month of August, when
the ice was dissolved; and since it is likewise said that
for eighty years or thereabouts, absolutely no bishop
or priest governed that Church in personal residence
which fact, together with the absense of Catholic priests,
brought it to pass that very many of the diocese unhap-
ily repudiated their sacred baptismal vows; and since the
inhabitants of that land have no relic of the Christian
religion save a ceitain Corporate, annually set forth,
upon which, a hundred years ago, the Body of Christ
was consecrated by the last priest then living there;
— for these, then, and for other considerations. Pope
Innocent VIII, of blessed memory. Our Predecessor
wishing to provide a suitable pastor for that Church
at the time deprived of the useful solace of the same,
at the advice of his brethren, of whom We were t hen
one appointed bishop and pastor to that place Our
venerable brother Matthias; the latter was Bishop-
elect of Garda, a professed member of the Order of St.
Benedict, and had been announced, at Our urging,
white We were still in minor orders, as intending to sail
personally for said Church, inspired with great fervor
of devotion to lead back the soul of the strayed and
apostate to the way of eternal salvation, and to expose
his life to the greatest danger, freely and spontaneously,
to obliberate such errors. We, therefore, highly com
mending the pious and praiseworthy undertaking in
the Lord of said Bishop-elect, and wishing to succor
him in the above circumstances, because, as We have
likewise heard, he is sorely pressed by poverty, at Our
own instance and with the certain knowledge of the
advice and approval of Our brethren, commit to and

32 The Makers of Maine
order, in a circular letter to Our esteemed sons, the
scribes, solicitors, those who have charge of the seals,
the registrars, and all the other officials both of Our
Apostolic chancery and treasury, that, under pain of
excommunication, "lata sententia," ipso facto incurred
all and each of the Apostolic Letters, about and concern
ing the promotion of said Church of Garda, to be for
warded for said Bishop-elect, be forwarded by them
and caused to be forwarded in all and each of their
offices, everywhere gratis, for God, and without payment
or exaction of any tax, all contradiction ceasing; and
to the clerics and notaries of the Apostolic treasury
We commit and command, at like instance and knowl
edge and under said pain of excommunication, that they
freely hand over and consign these letters or Bulls to
said Bishop-elect, without payment or exaction of any
revenues, or even of small fees, or of the other claims
usually paid in similar cases, anything enacted to the
contrary notwithstanding. Let it be done everywhere
gratis because he is extremely poor. R.
As. Ma., Vice Chancellor. Jno. Datrarius, (Secretary.)

CHAPTER IV.
The First Expedition of the French
From this time on for five hundred years this
region — Estotiland, Drogeo, Norumbega, Maine,
faded from the memory of man; and the shadows of
ignorance and barbarity slowly deepened over it.
But the light of Christian faith had once been brought
to it. The cioss had once been planted in its soil,
and the ashes of a departed Christian rested in sanc
tified ground. True enough, we cannot conceive it to
be any part of the divine plan that the western natives
were to be Christianized by Thorwald and his band
of hard fighting, hard drinking Norsemen who had
barely ceased to worship Odin and Thor, Frigga and
Freyja, as gods and goddesses and begun to fear them
as demons and grisly ghosts. They were of the race
and time that used the sword to bring converts to the
font and regarded the baptism of blood more cheer
fully than the baptism of water. We must remember
that they were the followers of St. Olaf, king and
martyr, who died in a pitched battle trying to drive
instead of lead his rebellious freemen to the cross.
We must remember that this was only shortly after
the time of Charlemagne, who, great champion of the
Church though he was, knew only one effective
ultimatum, and that the one he gave to the Saxons
at Main Bridge, — "Christianity or Death."
But we may be permitted to imagine that the
planting of the cross in the soil of Maine by Thor-

34 The Makers of Maine
wald's men was prophetic; was, like the cross which
Constantine saw in the skies, a sign of what was to
come. Thorwald's wooden cross decayed and crumb-
bled and resolved itself into its original elements, but
the promise was there, and never departed. And
centuries after, when Europe was torn asunder with
religious turmoil, when the favorite children of the
Church turned upon their mother to rend her asunder
in their madness, the mystic light of Thorwald's
cross sent its beckoning, insistent beams far across the
stormy Atlantic to the souls of another generation
of Crusaders animated and inspired by a different zeal
and a more apostolic understanding, and its spiritual
message was received and answered.
Thus it was that the somber-garbed soldiers of
Ignatius Loyola, the Society of Jesus, the greatest
society, clerical or lay, that the world has ever known,
came to this land of strange and barbarous names,
to follow the light of the cross the Norsemen brought
to these shores. Strong words of description, you
will say, to call the Jesuits the greatest society the
world has ever known. I shall not try to defend the
use of them. It is not for me to attempt to add my
small measure of praise to this great order whose
members, both those exalted and those of low degree, —
are as silent as the dumb when the faintest word of
praise of their society is uttered in their presence.
Their work and labor, their marvellous deeds,
their great achievements, I shall mention in a succeed
ing chapter. The great and lasting good they nearly
accomplished, had it not been for greed and covet-
ousness, uncharitableness and illiberality, I shall try
to give full credit for. How the bitter religious tur
moil of Europe was transferred to this unfortunate
soil, from the time when Francis I of France said

The First Expedition of the French 36
that, — "He would like to see the clause in Adam's
will which made this continent the exclusive possess-
sion of his brothers of Spain and Portugal;" and
Queen Elizabeth granted a charter to Sir Htimphrey
Gilbert, — "to allow of the discovery of lands in Ameri
ca fatally reserved to England for the honor of her
majesty," I will endeavor to show faithfully, care
fully and in the spirit of fairness.
Strange beliefs were held and strange tales told
of this region in those days. Other enemies than
human ones inhabitated these rocky shores. Griffins,
hob-goblins, and demons roamed the forests of New
Foundland and Labrador. The superstitious sailors
heard the infernal cries of these beings echoing from
cliff to cliff.
Andre Thevet writes: "True it is, and I myself
have heard it, not from one, but from a great number
of the sailors and pilots with whom I have made many
voyages, that when they passed this way they heard
in the air, on the tops and about the masts, a great
clamor of men's voices, confused and inarticulate,
such as you may hear from the crowd at a fair or
market-place, whereupon they well knew that the
Isle of Demons was not far off."
Marc Lescarbot, who was far from credulous,
who was indeed rather skeptical for his time, relates
some wild tales which were told to him. I quote the
following which he sets forth:
"There is another strange thing worthy of record,
of the truth of which many savages have assured me.
It is that to southward, near Chaleur Bay, lies an isle
where lives a dreadful monster called by the savages
Gougou, which they told me had a woman's shape,
but very terrible, and so tall, said they, that the tops
of the masts of our vessel would not have reached

36 The Makers of Maine
her waist, so tall do they describe her, and that she has
often devoured, and still devours, many savages,
whom she puts in a great pouch when she can catch
them, and then eats them; and those who had escaped
the peril of this unchancy beast said that this pouch
was so large that she could have put our vessel in it
This monster, whom the savages call Gougou, makes
terrible noises in this island; and when they speak of
it, it is always with a strange and unequalled fear,
and many have assured me that they have seen it.
The said Monsieur Prevert of St. Malo himself told
me that on his way to explore the mines he had passed
so near the lair of this dreadful beast, that he and
all his crew heard strange hissing noises made by it,
and that the savages with him told him that it was the
same beast, and were so afraid that they ran every
where to hide themselves for fear that it had come to
carry them off; and I am led to believe their tale by
the general fear which all the savages have of it, and
the strange tales they tell of it, in so much that if
I were to set down all they tell, it would be thought
fabulous; but I hold it to be the haunt of some devil
who torments them in this fashion. This then is
what I have learned of this Gougou."
Yet Lescarbot dismisses with scant courtesy a
report of Jacques Carrier's, which he likens to one of
Pliny's stories of an unknown race of Mouthless Peo
ple once living near the source of the Ganges. He says :
"Nor do I give credence to the tale of Captain Jacques
Cartier when, in accordance with the report of the
savage, Donnacona, whom he brought into France to
tell it to the King, he speaks of certain people of the
Saguenay, whom also he affirms to have no mouth and
to takfe no food, with other tales void of common sense."
Having reached the beginning of the seventeenth

The First Expedition of the French 37
century in our view of Maine history, it is well to pause
and look around at general history, so that we
may see what was going along in the Old World at
this time. One of the most serious drawbacks that
I have invariably encountered in all historical writ
ings upon special subjects is the fact that the writer
apparently loses sight of the movement of contem
poraneous history in other countries than the country
of which he is writing, at least he certainly causes his
reader to lose sight of it. I would like for once to
read a work of special history which, as it proceeds
with its own course of narration, at the same time
keeps its reader continually informed of the contem
poraneous history of the rest of the world. The
writer who could do that, by subconscious suggestion,
as it were, would be the greatest historical genius
that civilization has ever produced.
In the course of Maine history we are viewing a
period which coincides roughly with the stormy per
iod of European politics extending from the Peace of
Augsburg (1555) to the breaking out of the Thirty
Years War (1618) that fearful war when for the first
time in history every nation in Europe was arrayed
in arms. It is the time when Henry IV was King of
France (he was assassinated in 1610.) It is the time
when, following the rise of Protestantism, dissenting
sects were springing up in multitudes, "hating each
other for the love of God." Two sects of Lutherans,
subscribers and non-subscribers to the Formula of
Concord, were gnashing their teeth at each other,
both at the Calvinists, and the Calvinists at both;
denying one another the liberty of conscience which
they had deserted Rome for refusing them. Yielding
to ignorant, and often godless, secular rulers the
authority in matters of faith which they had cursed

38 The Makers of Maine
and confusion worse confounded reached such a stage
that Phillip Melancthon, the ablest leader of thought,
the brightest spirit, the one sincere apostle of the re
formation, longed to die to escape the implacable
quarrels of the theologians.
It is the time of the rise (1540) and marvellous
growth of the Society of Jesus, who became the patrons
of education and learning, and the militant champions
of the faith, causing that movement called in history
the counter religious revolution, by which southern
and western Germany went back into the Church;
missions were extended to far Cathay, where Jesuits
taught astronomy to the Mandarins of China, disput
ed with the Japanese theologians, converted the fol
lowers of Brahma, preached the gospel in Abssinia,
carried the cross to Paraguay, and wrought miracles
in Brazil. One who reads and considers the historic rise and
progress of the Society of Jesus at this critical moment
in the life of the Roman Catholic Church, the marvel
lous achievements of its members in every phase of
human activity, in the courts and schools of Europe, in
the wilderness of America, in the jungles of Africa and
Central Asia in the innermost sanctuaries of the cen
turies-old learning and philosophy of the Far East,
the learning and philosophy of a race whose civiliza
tion was old when the Europeans were savages clothed
in the skins of beasts, barbarians fighting with stone
weapons, — facts whose truth is attested by the most
prejudiced anti-Catholic writers, — when one considers
these things with a fair and open mind, searching for
the truth, desiring to know it, one is forced to the
conclusion that this society was called into existance
by the Direct act of Divine Providence, because the dif
ficulties of incredulity are greater than those of belief.

The First Expedition of the French 39
The introduction of the subject of the Jesuits is
not out of place because very soon it will be necessary
in the development of our subject to review the acts
of tjie Jesuits in Maine. And an understanding of
their relations with the Indians is very necessary to
an understanding of the history of Maine.
We come now to the history of an expedition
and a settlement, which makes one of the most interest
ing and romantic tales of all the history of this country.
Linked with the story is the name of one of the great
est, most energetic, and most determined men of all
the leaders whose names make a galaxy of bright
stars in the pages of history, — Sieur de Monts, and the
the settlement of Port Royal, now known as Anna
polis, Nova Scotia. To quote the words of Marc
Lescarbot in beginning his history of that period of
New France: — "In this book I wish to tell the story
of an enterprise at once the most valiant and the
least assisted and helped of all that we French have
attempted in the colonization of new lands over sea.
The Story centers round Monsieur de Monts, by
name Pierre du Gua, a nobleman of Saintonge."
Pierre du Gua, or as the name is now usually
spelled in historical writings, du Guast, was born in
Saint Onge about 1560 and fought on the Protestant
side in the religious wars. His life ambition, with
which one may say he seemed to be posessed, was the
settlement of the New World by Frenchmen. So
much is this accepted by historians as a historical
fact, that it is commonly believed that he died in 1611
broken-hearted as a result of his failure in New France;
but it is very doubtful that he died so early after the
Port Royal expedition. He was certainly alive in 1611.
King Henry IV on the eighth day of November
1603 issued to de Monts letters-patent creating him

40 The Makers of Maine
Lieutenant-General of the king in the lands of New
France from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degrees
of latitude, and giving him sole authority and juris
diction over them. In the letters-patent the lands
are called "La Cadie", — the earliest reference to the
name, "Acadia," in any public document. Cham
plain uses the name in his "Voyages," but spells it
always with an "r". There is a dispute as to the
origin of the name, some holding it to be a corruption
of "Arcadia"; it seems to me, however, that the most
likely origin is from the Micmac Indian; the ending of
the word is commonly found in the names of places in
the Micmac dialect, such as Passamaquoddy, and
Tracadie. The letters-patent make more interesting reading
than most of such documents. For instance, the King
evidently feared that it might be difficult for de Monts
to secure men enough for the expedition, for the letters
say: " ¦" * * * Shall establish garrisons of armed
men for their protection. For which purposes you are
permitted to make use of and to impress all vagabonds,
idlers and masterless men, both in town and country,
and all criminals condemned to perpetual banishment,
or to exile from the kingdom for at least three years,
provided always that the said impressment be with
the knowledge and consent and on the authority of
our officers." In order that de Monts might have an assured
monopoly of the traffic in furs, the king forbade any
competition under penalty of confiscation of vessels
and goods and a fine of 30,000 francs in addition.
The story of the de Monts expedition introduces
to our acquaintance another gentleman of France
whose personalty and career are interesting, — ^Jean
de Biencourt, Seignieur de Poutrincourt, or as he is

Samuel de Champlain

The First Expedition of the French 41
known in historical writings, simply, — de Poutrincourt.
He was descended from a family prominent in France.
He had a love of adventure and travel and was desirous
of possessing lands in the new world where he might
live with his family and make the future home of him
self and his descendants.
The expedition sailed from Havre de Grace in
two ships, on the seventh day of March, 1604, according
to Lescarbot, — on the seventh of April according to
Champlain, who is followed in the matter of this date
by Francis Parkman. This, as we well know now, is
the season of most stormy and dangerous passage in
the northern waters. The expedition found their
voyage no exception in this regard. Calling to our
edd even a very little imagination we can easily conceive
a picture of the dangers and risks these men took
in their little ships on these comparatively unknown
waters. If a great steamship of modern construction
is in constant danger of annihilation by ice bergs with
all the protection of modern ingenuity, what must
have been the danger that those adventurers exposed
their lives to, and what must have been the courage, love
of adventure, and high ambition which actuated them.
Marc Lescarbot offers his explanation of why
there is more ice in those waters than there is off the
coast of France in the same latitude, that the sea of
France is sheltered by the British Isles and the ice
bergs cannot reach it, whereas the broad Atlantic
has no such protection. Although we know wiser
reasons now, yet Lescarbot's explanation is not lacking
in ingenuity, and shows that he was a keen observer
and a good reasoner.
The two ships were separated during the course
of the stormy passage, and the ship carrying de Monts
and Poutrincourt made land at a harbor in the 44th

42 The Makers of Maine
degree of latitude, May 6th. This harbor is now
known as Liverpool. They named it Port Rossignol,
because when they arrived, they found a certain
Captain Rossignol there before them, bartering in
furs. They promptly confiscated his ship for violation
of the King's decree, of which poor Rossignol could
never have had opportunity of hearing; and in poetic
justice they consoled him by making his name famous.
As a matter of fact the river flowing into this harbor
is still called Rossignol River. After some weeks,
with the help of the Indians, they located their com
panion ship at the Bay of Islands.
A strange incident happened while they were
lying in St. Mary's Bay, — a part of the coast of Nova
Scotia still so called. The story is related by both
Champlain and Lescarbot, and Parkman repeats it.
It seems that two clergymen accompanied the expe
dition, one a Hugenot and the other a Catholic, secular,
priest, that is, — not belonging to any of the orders.
Fame has preserved the name of the latter because
of his almost miraculous escape from death. Monsieur
Aubrey was a young churchman who joined the ex
pedition much against the will of his family. On
the voyage he and his religious confrere, whom we must
rather call, his religious rival, had many a warm
dispute and wrangle about religion and theology.
While the ships were anchored in St. Mary's Bay
he accompanied a party for a little jaunt through
the woods. Having stopped at a spring to get a drink
of water, and leaving his sword behind in his hurry
to catch up with the rest of the party again, he went
back to find the sword. He not only could not find
the spring again, but he lost his sense of direction
in the woods, and became totally lost. At nightfall
he was missed and a search was instituted, but to no

The First Expedition of the French 48
avail. For several days they continued the search,
until at last they gave him up for dead. Sixteen days
afterwards two of the party were fishing near Long
Island, (still so called,) when they heard a feeble shout.
To their great surprise they found that it was none
other than Aubrey. They took him to camp, and fed
him carefully till he regained his strength. During
all those sixteen days he had lived on nothing but
berries. Lescarbot considered it a miracle. He cites
many other strange cases of persons fasting for many
days, but considers this case the most wonderful
of all because this young man had made no preparations
for such a fast, white in most other cases preparation
had been made, and usually they were sustained by
religious ecstasy.

CHAPTER V
The Port Royal Expedition
Now we come to the establishment of the settle
ment of Port Royal, famous in history. Champlain
and Lescarbot both describe Port Royal and its location.
Both were enthusiastic over its great natural beauty
and have left us glowing descriptions. An amusing
literary quarrel was carried on between the two writers,
amusing to us at this day, but no doubt very serious
to them. The two men were friends at first but a
coolness grew up in the course of time which ripened
into positive mutual dislike. The literary aspect of the
quarrel presents itself in disputes in their histories
as to the question who should have the credit of one
thing and another. Both agree that the settlement
was called Port Royal for the great natural beauty
of its location, but disagree on the subject of who
gave it its name. Champlain maintains that he did;
Lescarbot claims that it was de Monts. After Lescar
bot published his history, Champlain published another
edition of his own in 1632 and insisted upon his claim.
Pourtrincourt was so much pleased with the site of
Port Royal that he asked de Monts to give it to him,
which was done, and the King afterwards confirmed
the grant by letters-patent. Thus Jean de Biencourt,
Sieur de Poutrincourt, became Lord, Seigneur, of a
barony in the New World; and, as for many a year
the bounds of what we now call Maine were indefinite,
and as France always claimed it as a part of Acadia,

The ifoRT Royal ExpeIditioN 45
and England admitted the claim for the largest part of
it, so the Sieur de Poutrincourt became the first lord and
ruler having landed proprietorship and jurisdiction in
the country a part of which afterwards became the State
of Maine. We will consider the claims of Ferdinando
Gorges, and the County Palatine of Maine, later.
The confident words of Lescarbot as he writes of this
subject have a solemn sound to us now as we consider
what changes afterwards took place and reflect upon the
old proverb, — "Man proposes, God disposes." These
are Lescarbot's words: "M. de Poutrincourt received his
grant, and since then has taken out letters of confirma
tion from the King, and intends to retire thither with his
household, there to establish the name of Christ and of
France as far as his power shall extend and God grants
him the means." His ambition was lofty and noble, but
his power and means were limited. His reign as
Seigneur of Port Royal was brief.
The Frenchmen were very much impressed by the
River St. John, which, as Lescarbot and Champlain
agree, was so named becaus the exploring party
arrived in the river on the 24th of June, St. John's
day, a day now celebrated above all other holidays
in the year by the French of Canada and their de-
cendants who have made homes for themselves in
the States. Besides the beauty of its scenery, they
made much of its usefulness for navigation, once the
falls at the head of the harbor were safely negotiated
at the right stage of the tide. And the fishing was so good,
that, as they said, they could light a fire and put the
pot on to boil and by the time the water had reached
the boiling point they could have enough fish caught
to fill the pot.
Above all other points, however, the strategic
location of Port Royal for purposes of communication

46 The Makers of Maine
with the St. Lawrence valley and Quebec in time
of peace as well as war, was noteworthy. Here the
foresight of these explorers and adventurers is seen
to be remarkable. In six days they could reach Gaspe
and the Bay of Chaleur, almost entirely by water,
being obliged to carry their canoes only a few miles,
and in eight days, Tadousac. So, as Lescarbot
said, in from fifteen to eighteen days they could get
news to their countrymen who lived along the St.
Lawrence, whereas it would have taken a month to
do so by sea. This fact should be remembered in con
sidering the history of the tide of war which rolled back
and forth over our country of Maine and Acadia, be
tween the English and the French for so many long
years. Under the direction of Champlain an encampment
was made on the island which was named St. Croix,
in modern times known as Dochet Island; but a few
years ago, the year of 1904, renamed St. Croix. It
is located near the mouth of the St. Croix river. Les
carbot criticized Champlain severely for this choice
of a camp, and it is quite generally agreed that in
this he was right. Champlain was a great warrior
and a great leader, but in many respects he did not
show good judgement and foresight. Certainly
Lescarbot was right in his opinion that an island was
no place to start the founding of a colony; it was a
poor situation from the point of view of cultivating
the soil, and poor again from the point of view of a
strategic position for defense in time of war.
The remarkable difference in the attitude of
the Indians towards the French, their very friendly
attitude, in contradistinction to their attitude toward
the English, an attitude on the whole of enmity, except
in the few instances of alliances for purposes of warfare,

The Port Royal expedition 47
was early shown in the treatment of Jacques Cartier
during his voyages. The next impressive instance
we find is in the case of the de Monts expedition.
It seems as if the natives at once accepted the
French as their friends and brothers, and regarded
de Monts himself with great respect and reverence,
as almost a superior being. They made him judge in
their disputes and quarrels. They brought him dis
putes for adjudication, laid their cases before him, pro-
produced their witnesses, made their arguments, and
accepted his decree of judgement as final, and obeyed
implicity his decisions.
When winter came on Poutrincourt departed for
France with the two ships leaving de Monts and his
lieutenants with their followers to get through that
first and most terrible winter as best they could. We
have read of the sufferings of the Pilgrims in their
first winters on the shores of Massachusetts Bay, and
Francis Parkman and other writers have told the
tale of the troubles and sufferings of the members of
the de Monts company. But if one would read a
vivid account of what that first winter really was,
he should read Marc Lescarbot's own story in his
History of New France. There we find not only the
tale told at first hand by one who knew, but we read
history, written by a master hand of literature and
told with all the graces of good literature and pol
ished rhetoric. Here is a man whose name is little
known to the general reader, in comparison with the
names of Champlain, Charlevoix and the other great
Frenchmen who were, at once, doers of things, leaders
of men, and writers of history. But no abler man,
brighter spirit, braver leader, and master of letters,
ever set his foot upon this western land. Had it not
been for him and his brave spirit and bright mind.

48 The Makers of Maine
this company of de Monts would have probably
perished in that terrible winter when out of a com
munity of seventy-nine, thirty-five died before spring.
In Champlain's history of this expedition a more full
and carefully detailed account is written of the plague
of scurvy which swept over the camp. But Lescarbot
discusses the epidemic, its causes, and its remedies
in a very skillful manner according to the light he had
on the subject from a pathological point of view. His
innate good sense and good judgement told him that
what was needed to fight off scurvy was not merely
fresh vegetables, but plenty of out-door exercise
and work.
Charlevoix, than whom no one was better qualified
to form a correct judgement of Lescarbot, except, of
course, Champlain, who was not on friendly terms with
him, says: "Marc Lescarbot, an advocate from
Paris, a man of ability, strongly attached to M. de
Poutrincourt, had had a curiosity, quite unusual
in men of his profession, to see the New World ; and he
was highly instrumental in putting and retaining
things in this happy state. He encouraged some,
he touched the honor of others, he won the good will
of all, and spared himself in naught. He daily in
vented something new for the public good. And
there was never a stronger proof of what advantage
a new settlement might derive from a mind cultivated
by study, and induced by patriotism to use its know
ledge and reflections. We are indebted to this advo
cate for the best memoirs we possess of what passed
before his eyes, and for a history of French Florida.
We there behold an exact and judicious writer, a man
with views of his own, and who would have been as
capable of founding a colony as of writing its history."
This is all the higher praise for Lescarbot coming

The Port Royal Expedition 40
as it does, from a Jesuit, for whose order Lescarbot
showed but little love. It is a great pity that
Lescarbot could not have remained longer in New
France or made other voyages to different parts of it,
for there is no historian of that period whose writings
are so valuable as history and so interesting and
pleasing as literature.

CHAPTER VI
Marc Lescarbot— His Character and Writing
As soon as the weather permitted, after the hard
winter which the company had passed at St. Croix,
de Monts ordered an exploring expedition along the
coast to the west and south. Lescarbot's story of
this journey is especially important and interesting
to us who are engaged in the study of Maine history,
for two reasons in particular. First Lescarbot's
description of the coast of Maine is interesting of it
self, and it is remarkable how well his understanding
of what he saw compares with the true facts as we
know them now. And second, he discusses the old
traditions of the mythical Norumbega, and disposes
of them summarily, and, as we also know now, with
almost wonderful certainty and unerring judgement.
He was without doubt naturally of a skeptical turn
of mind, but with his skepticism he applied a clear
and careful reasoning sense. He gives the name,
Norumbega to the Penobscot River, but , dismisses
with scant courtesy the tales of the wonderful city
called Norumbega situated somewhere on the river.
His quotation from the book published at Douay in
1607, entitled the General History of the West Indies,
is as follows: "Further northward is Norumbega,
known well enough for a fine city and a broad river,
though the origin of the name in unknown; for the
savages call it Agguncia. At the mouth of this river
is an island well suited for fishing. The region along

Marc Lescarbot 51
the seacoast abounds in fish, and towards New France
wild beasts are found in great numbers; it is well suited
for hunting, and the inhabitants live in the same man
ner as those of New France." Lescarbot says that if
this fair town ever existed, he would fain know who
has destroyed it in the last eighty years.
The company followed the coast line of Maine
very closely, entering the mouth of the Kennebec riv
er, called by the French "Kinibeki," exploring Casco
Bay, and proceeding some distance down the shore
of New Hampshire and Massachusetts; but they
returned satisfied that there was no better place to
found a permanent settlement than where they were.
It seems that de Monts would have preferred to make
the settlement at some place further south, about six
degrees of latitude south of St. Croix, but as they
could not find a suitable location, they decided to
transfer the camp from St. Croix to Port Royal.
On the coming of a certain M. du Pont from
France with aid for the colonists, de Monts decided to
return. Lescarbot went back to France with de
Monts. Champlain stayed on at Port Royal. Evi
dently the new man, du Pont, was in command, for
we read that he put Champdor6, their sea-captain
and pilot, in irons, considering him to be responsible
for the shipwreck of their long boat.
The sound judgement and foresight of Lescarbot
is shown not least in his strong indictment of the
Frenchmen for their disinclination to work at tilling
the soil. He says that in those days this employment
was regarded as degrading for a gentleman, it being
the work of peasants and serfs. He, however, looks
upon it as the noblest and most independent of all
work, "the pursuit of our first fathers, of the kings

62 The Makers of Maine.
of old, and of the greatest captains in the world."
Lescarbot was many years ahead of his tiines.
De Monts found Poutrincourt ready and willing
to go back to New France, and at the request of Pout
rincourt, Lescarbot agreed to go with him, to our
own great and lasting gratitude, for as I have said be
fore, we owe more to Lescarbot for his interesting
historical writings than to any other man of those
times. With all his genius, however, it must not
be assumed too readily by the reader that he was so
far ahead of his time as to be a man of our own way
of thinking in all things. This is a common error of
many, — to magnify the ability, and foresight, and
liberality of certain men whose names adorn the pages
of history, and whom we take to our hearts, and place
upon a pedestal in our regard high above all other
men of their time, because we see in their character
something akin to our own ideal. No man in all
history was altogether ahead of his day. Lescarbot
was no exception to this rule. He had much of the
gentleman's contempt for the common people. Thus
in speaking of the trouble into which the sailors of
the ship "Jonas" got themselves at the port of La
Rochelle, before sailing to New France, he says: "But
the common people is a queer beast. In this connec
tion I remember the so-called Peasants' War,in the midst
of which I once found myself, when I was in Quercy.
It was the most bizarre thing in the world to see this
clutter of folk, all wearing wooden shoes, whence they
had got the name of Clackers because their shoes,
hobnailed behind and before, went clack at every
step: This motley mob would hear neither rhyme
nor reason, everybody was master, some were armed
with a sickle at the end of a stake, others with some
rusty sword, and so accordingly."

Marc Lescarbot 53
Another phase of Lescarbot's many sided char
acter is strange and interesting. He was certainly a
Catholic and at times devout. Certainly he seems
to take a pleasure in displaying his training in the
study of the Bible, for he quotes from Scriptures
very freely. Yet, it must be that he had conceived
some prejudice against the clergy, and especially
against the Jesuits in his college days. He takes
pleasure in giving a sly dig to certain priests now and
then, as for instance, when relating the extraordinary
escape from death by starvation and exposure of the
young churchman who was lost in the woods of Nova
Scotia for some time, which I have written about,
he slyly says that the poor fellow had never prepared
himself by his way of living for such a long fast.
Writing of the stay in La Rochelle while getting
ready for the voyage to New France, he says: "And
since I am undertaking to write a narrative of events
in the manner in which they took place, I will say that
it is a shame to our religion that the Protestant minis
ters of La Rochelle pray to God daily in their meetings
for the conversion of these poor savage tribes, and
also for our own safety, and that our Churchmen do
not do the like. In truth we asked neither the one
nor the other to do so, but in this the zeal of each is
manifest. At length, shortly before our departure
I took thought to ask Monsieur le Cur^ or the vicar
of La Rochelle, if one of his colleagues could not be
found who would be willing to come with us; which
I hoped could easily be done, for there were plenty of
them about, and furthermore, as we were in a seaport
town, I thought they would have been glad to sail
the billows. But I could get nothing out of them,
and was given as excuse that none would go on such a
voyage, unless impelled by great zeal and piety and

CA The Makers of Maine
that I would do well to address myself to the Jesuit
Fathers. This we could not then do, since our vessel
was almost loaded. In this connection I have fre
quently heard M. de Poutrincourt say, that when he
was at court after his first voyage; a court Jesuit asked
him what hopes could be cherished for the conversion
of the tribes of New France, and whether they were
numerous. To this he replied that one might win one
hundred thousand souls for Jesus Christ, giving a
definite number instead of speaking vaguely. This
good father, making light of the number, thereupon
exclaimed with wonder, "Is that all?" as if such a
matter was not worth one man's time. And yet
were there the hundreth part thereof or even less,
it should not be left to perish. The Good Shepherd
having among an hundred sheep one that had gone
astray, left the ninety-nine in order to go in search
of the hundreth (Matt. XVIII., vv. 12,13.) We are
taught, and I hold it true, that if there had been but
one man to save, our Lord Jesus Christ would not
have disdained to have come for his sake, as He has
done for the sake of us all. And so we must not hold
these poor tribes so cheap, even though they do not
swarm in numbers as in Paris or Constantinople."
In these statements and reflections Lescarbot
shows himself a little insincere; first, because when he
wrote the later editions of his History of New France,
he knew something of the great work the Jesuits were
doing in the New World; second, because he knew
that, for all the fervid prayers of the French Protes
tant Ministers in their churches in old France, they
were not knocking on the doors of New France to do
missionary work in that fertile field. Moreover,
Lescarbot's relation of the conversation had by Pout
rincourt with a certain Jesuit at court (whom, by the

marc Lescarbot ss
way, the editors of the Champlain society edition of
Lescarbot's history say was the celebrated Pere Cotton
confessor of Henry IV) shows clearly that Lescarbot
wilfully misinterpreted the Jesuit Father's reply to
Poutrincourt's estimate of one hundred thousand
Indians waiting to be saved. We ourselves now know
that was an exaggeration of the number, and the wise
Jesuit suspected likewise, and we can easily enough
picture to ourselves his smile and raising of his eye
brows as he replied,^"So! one hundred thousand, is
that all?"
And again, we read with wonder Lescarbot's
extraordinary request that the Church permit him to
carry with him to the New World the blessed bread
of the Eucharist, that he, a layman might feed him
self upon it, and administer it to others of the company
who might want to receive it while there, no priest
being with them to celebrate the holy Sacrifice of the
Mass. If he had been an ignorant, unlearned man,
one might overlook the matter; but he was not merely
an educated and well informed man, but as we know
well, and as his writings prove, if we had no other
evidence, he was a man well trained in theology and
Church history, far beyond the attainments of the
ordinary layman of his times, or of any time. These
are his words upon this matter: —
"Seeing that I had made no progress by asking
for some one in orders to administer to us the sacra
ments, whether during our journey, or after we had
landed, I bethought me of the ancient custom of the
Christians on their journeys, who took with them the
blessed bread of the Eucharist, and this they did be
cause they did not everywhere find priests to adminis
ter this sacrament to them, since the world was at
that time full of paganism or of heresy. In so much

56 The Makers of Maine
that it was well called the viaticum, the provision for
the way, since when they went on their way, they
carried it with them; and yet I agree that this term is
to be understood spiritually. And considering that
we might be brought to this necessity, since only one
priest had remained in the plantation of New France
(and his death was announced to us on our arrival, ) I
asked if they would do unto us as to the ancient Christ
ians, who were not less wise than we. But I was told
that this was done in those days for considerations
which no longer exist. I pointed out that Satyrus
the brother of St. Ambrose, when on a sea-voyage,
made use of this spiritual medicine (as we read in
the funeral oration pronounced by the said St. Am
brose) which he carried in orario, which I take to mean
in a cloth of linen or taffeta; and well for him that he >
did, for when shipwrecked he escaped on a broken
plank of his vessel. But herein I was put off, as in
everything else. This gave me cause for wonder, and
it seemed to me to show the great- rigor to pUt us in
worse condition than the early Christians. For the
Eucharist is in no way different today from what it
was then, and if they held it precious, we did not in
tend in asking for it to pay it less regard."
Those words, showing as they do a mind well in
formed, show also a great insincerity, for he knew well
that his request could not be granted, and he asked it
only for the purpose of having it refused.

CHAPTER VII
The First French and Indian Alliance
I have once before spoken of the courage of these
early explorers to brave the dangers of the northern
Atlantic in every season of the year with these small
ships. Lescarbot did not seem to reahze any danger; but
he Appreciated the courage of the sailors. He says:
"But I cannot pass unnoticed the wonderful courage
possessed by good sailors amid these conflicts of wind
storm and tempest. While the ship is borne aloft
upon n[iountains of water, and thence glides down as
it were into the most profound depths of the world,
they climb upon the rigging not only to the cross-trees
and to the top of the main-mast, but also without a
ladder to the top of another mast which is attached
to the former, holding on merely by the strength of
their arms and legs entwined about the top-mast
rigging." It is interesting to us, and we read with
a smile, Lescarbot's puzzled atternpt to account for
what we know was the Gulf Stream. He says: "But
here in passing I must notice a matter which seems to
me wonderful and meet for investigation; about this
same day, June 18th, we found for the space of three
days the water of the sea quite warm, and our wine in
the hold was the same, though the air was no warmer
than before." He ascribes the phenomenon to the ice
bergs, which, as he says.huddle the warm waters together
in a region by themselves. But as usual, liberal-
minded as he is, he says: "Such is my opinion, which
does not hinder anyone else from having his own."

58 The Makers of Maine
In the long period of history which ractends from
the first settlements of the French and of the English,
the period commonly called the Colonial, we read a
great deal about the "French and Indian Alliances"
although of course it is not denied that there were
certain alliances between those of the Indian nations
who were hostile to the French allies, and the English.
It is undeniable, however, that the French and the
Indians were allies during those many years from the
earliest time to the fall of Quebec. It is interesting,
therefore, to find the first alliance and fix its date.
I think that Marc Lescarbot relates the history of that
first alliance; and that the date was the summer of
the year 1606, and the place, one of the Islands of
Casco Bay. De Poutrincourt contracted the alliance
in behalf of the French. Lescarbot devotes but
few words to the fact in pjissing, but from his few
words we can see that it must have been made in all
due form and with all the usual ceremonies. We will
quote the words of Lescarbot: "Let us return to M.
de Poutrincourt, whom we have left on the island of
St. Croix. After holding a review there, and treating
tenderly the Indians who were present, he went in
four days to Pentegoet (the Penobscot River), which
is the spot so well known under the name of Norum
bega. So long a time for the journey there is not
needed, but he halted on the way to refit his boat,
for which purpose he had brought with him a lock
smith and a carpenter and store of planks. Sailing
through the islands at the mouth of the river he came
to Kinebeki (now the Kennebec), where his boat
was in danger through the swift currents caused by
the nature of the place. On this account he did not
stop, but passed on to Marchin Bay (now Casco Bay)
so called after an Indian Chief, who at the arrival of

The First French and Indian Alliance 59
the said gentleman began to cry out in a loud voice,
"He! He!" to which a like cry was made. He re
sponded by asking in his own tongue, 'who are ye?'
and was told that they were friends. Thereupon, to
win him over, M. de Poutrincourt made a treaty of
friendship with him, and gave him presents of knives,
hatchets, and matachiaz, i.e., scarves, nacklaces, and
armlets made of chaplets, or of tubes of white and
blue glass, whereat he was well content, and also at
the alliance, which the said M. de Poutrincourt made
with him, seeing clearly how firm a support it would
be to him."
Here, then, in Casco Bay was the first of that
long line of alliances which were of so much advantage
to the French, and such an obstacle to the English,
indeed so hateful were they to the latter that for
many generations, even down to within the memory
of those now living the descendants of those English
settlers have been taught as children, and in turn
passed the lesson on to their children, generation by
generation, that the French and Indians were allies
by the very nature of their character and disposition,
than the one were as cruel and blood-thirsty as the
other. Thus do ancient enmities perpetuate themselves
in the minds of the people, and hatred and prejudice
become history.
Let us turn now to a pleasanter reflection in
spired by reading Lescarbot's relation. On the same
journey in which the alliance was made, Poutrincourt's
company made a discovery which greatly pleased
them. At the mouth of the Saco River they came
upon an island on which they found grape-vines
growing in great profusion. This was a glad sight
to the Frenchmen, lovers of wine as they were. It
was the first time that they had found the grape of

60 The Makers of Maine
any quality. We know that this island was the one
now called Richmond, and it has long been noted for
its vines. It will be remembered that the Norsemen who
sailed along this coast so many centuries before were
likewise impressed by the discovery somewhere on the
coast of good grapes, so much so that the Saga pre
served the story of how the German, who was one of the
company, came running, crying "Weintrauben, wein-
trauben," and the others thought that he had mo
mentarily lost possession of his sanity. From this
discovery the Norsemen named the country, "Vinland"
and we know not but this spot at the mouth of the
Saco may be the identical neighborhood in which the
Norsemen made their settlement.
Another event occurred on this journey of Pout
rincourt's company which carries us back in memory
to those ancient Norse vikings. The French had
one of the very few fights with the Indians that Lescar
bot was obliged to relate. The company had pro
ceeded farther south along the coast, when, an acci
dent happening to the long boat, Poutrincourt was
obHged to have it hauled up on shore for repairs.
The harbor was bad, being full of shoals and dangerous
currents. A large company of Indians appeared on
the scene, and as their manner was so apparently
hostile, the French did not attempt any friendly over
tures, but drove them away summarily. After the
boat was repaired, Poutrincourt ordered all the men
aboard, as the hostile Indians were still in the neigh
borhood. Five of the company disobeyed orders and
remained in camp on the shore the night before the
morning on which they were intending to make their
departure. Early at dawn the Indians came silently
and fell upon the sleeping and defenseless five. Two

The First French And Indian Alliance 61
were killed|outrightl,before the alarm could be given.
The other three ran to the shore crying out to their
friends in the boat. The man on guard in the boat,
hearing the out-cry, gave the alarm, — "To arms, to
arms, our friends are being murdered." At once the
men in the boat leaped from their beds, and without
taking time to dress, but snatching up their arms,
they piled into the skiffs and pulled to the shoie as hard
as they could. Although but ten reached the shore
from the first skiff, the Indians did not dare to face them,
but turned and made oft as fast as they could. Lescar
bot says that they were terrified by the fierce appear
ance of the French, likening them to the faithful of
God to whose faces he gives a mysterious aspect which
strikes terror to their enemies. But it is not at all un
likely that the savages concluded on the instant that
the white men, who were so ready to fight that they
leaped to the conflict in their shirts, would prove in
vincible, and that it would be a hopeless contest to
oppose them. De Poutrincourt decided that it would
be useless to pursue them, so he had graves dug for those
who had been kilted. Two were killed at once, as just
related, two died later from their wounds, and the
fifth, as Lescarbot well says, would have been far
better to have fallen then, because he was the man,
Du Val, who lived to join the settlement later at Que
bec, and was hanged there by order of Champlain for
being the ring-leader in the conspiracy against Cham
plain. The story of the conspiracy is related by Cham
plain himself in his book and Lescarbot also tells it in
his history. They buried the dead and erected a cross at the
grave; which, to Lescarbot's great horror, the savages
pulled down as soon as the boat got away from shore, and
not content with that sacrilege, they desecrated the grave.

62 The Makers of Maine
dug up the dead bodies, took off the clothes from the
bodies and putting the clothing on their own persons
danced about with great glee. These Frenchmen,
however, were men of determination, for they at once
put back to the shore, drove the Indians off, placed the
bodies back in the grave and again set up the cross.
This time probably, it remained, for the Indians had no
further reason to desecrate the graves, having obtained
the clothing which satisfied them.
The thought brought to our minds by this relation
is that almost exactly six hundred years before, and
almost in (this exact spot, surely within a compara
tively few miles, the. Norsemen engaged in battle
with the ancestors of these bloodthirsty savages, who
attacked strangers without cause, and from pure
enmity only, and, as the Sagas tell the story, one Norse
man was kilted ; but he was the leader, a brave man who
died Uke a Christian, — ^Thorwald son of Eric. And
Thorwald's last command to his followers was to bury
him on the promontory and to place at the head of his
grave a cross, so that all travelers might see that there
lay the ashes of a Christian soldier. Many years
passed since that cross was set up, many years passed
since it decayed and crumbled; and now a second cross
is set up in the same region to mark the resting place
of another Christian; but unhappily in the stormy
period of history which is beginning, many such crosses
are to be erected over the country before the wars oc-
occasioned by the coming of a higher civilization than
existed before should be finished and peace reign.
Let us consider a tale that lightens the history of
fights and death, trouble and hardship which accom
panied all these early expeditions. I have said that
Lescarbot was a genius in many ways. As Charle
voix truly said, he was as competent to found a colony

The First French and Indian Alliance 63
as to write the history of one; but it was in the field of
letters, the domain of the fine arts, that his genius
shown the most brightly, for his patron saints were
the Muses, and although it is true enough that he did
much to keep the company of Frenchmen in good spirits
by his inventions under the patronage of the Muses,
yet it cannot be doubted that he was most happily en
gaged when he was writing a poem to dedicate to New
France, or an ode on the birthday of some one of the
Royal Family, or best of all an impromptu theatrical
entertainment to enliven the company and give every
body a laugh.
For instance, when it was time for de Poutrin
court to be expected home at Port Royal from this
journey down the coast which has been described,
(Lescarbot did not accompany that exploring expedi
tion, but by request of de Poutrincourt remained at
the fort), he wrote and got up a little theatrical enter-
entertainment in honor of the event of the leader's
return. As he says: "I bethought me to go out to
meet him with some jovial spectacle, and so we did."
And we may be sure that it was jovially received, for
the verses are preserved to us, Lescarbot having put it
among the various poems which he wrota and published
under the tittie, "Muses of New France." He called
this one, "Neptune's Theatre."
During the winter that now followed, he kept
up the spirits of all by writing a number of "jovial
spectacles," in which all had to take part. But most
interesting was his "Ordre de Bon Temps," which is
so famous that no historian who pretends to write
any account at all of the, Port Royal settlement ever
fjiils to allude to it. This Order had two objects, to
keep up the spirits of all during the long winter in the
wilderness, and to make sure that they had a good

64 The Makers of Maine
table bountifully suppUed with the best, and cooked in
the best manner possible. He gives Champlain credit
for proposing the idea, but it was he who took charge
and made it a success. All belonged to the order, and
each man took his turn at acting as Chief Steward
for a fortnight. And, as he says, there was no
caf6 in Paris, however celebrated, that served a better
table .The dinner in the evening was the chief meal
of the day, and was every day made sort of banquet.
They all march in to the table each man carrying a
dish, the Chief Steward at the head with his wand of
office, and the collar of the Order about his neck.
After the dinner the Chief Steward handed over to his
successor in office the collar of the order with great
pomp and ceremony, each drinking to the other.
It would be interesting to copy for the reader
some of the verses composed by Lescarbot during his
residence at Port Royal, but as they are written, of
course, in French, no translation could be given which
would convey the true spirit of the original, for our
historian, as has been intimated, was something of a
real poet, and no mere rhymster.

CHAPTER VIII
De Poutrincourt and Lescarbot Leave
Acadia and Return to France
Now we come to the closing days of the de Monts
and de Poutrincourt expedition and attempt at settle
ment, and the return to France, which obliged Lescar
bot, with great regret, to leave this country which he
had learned to love better than his own "belle France."
The beautiful season of spring had come, and on the
morning of Ascension Day they received the bad new s
from France.
The learned editors of the Champlain Society
edition of Marc Lescarbot's History of New France,
have made an error in a foot-note explanatory of the
date of Ascension Day. It should be said to their
credit that it is the only error that they have made in
the whole edition, and they deserve the lasting grati
tude of all students of the history of this period
for their scholarly work; but this error is so glaring as
to be almost laughable. They say that Ascension Day,
the date of which in that year Champlain has fixed as
May 24th, is the day "often called Holy Thursday."
If they had said that it is the day often called Christ
mas, they could not have been farther from the truth.
To return, our Frenchmen learned that their
company had been dissolved "contrary to honor and
duty," as Lescarbot puts it. The Dutch, it seems,
had during the previous year, led by a French traitor
named La Jeunesse, carried off the furs from the St.

66 The Makers of Maine
Lawrence, which resulted in loss to the company, and
they could no longer furnish the money needed for the
support of the colony. And further, the King's
Council had revoked the ten years' monopoly of de
Monts. The blow was all the harder, for if they could
have been supported but one year longer the colony
would have then paid for itself, and would no longer
require assistance. It wanted only one more year
to get on its feet.
Great as was the regret of the French, that is, of
the leaders of the expedition, their grief at leaving was
not to be compared with the grief of the Sagamore
Membertou and his followers, who had learned to love
the Frenchmen, and were depending on them as allies
against their enemies, the Armouchiquois Indians.
Lescarbot says: "He (de Poutrincourt) was ready to
say adieu to Port Royal, when on a sudden Membertou
and his band arrived, victorious over the Armouchi
quois. And since I have given a description of this war
in French verse, I shall not fill my paper with it, being
desirous rather to cut short my tale than to seek new
matter. At the request of the said Membertou he re
mained yet a day longer. But it was piteous at his
departure to see the tears of these poor folk, whom
we had always kept in hope that some of us would
remain with them. At last they were compelled to
promise them that next year we would send households
and families to dwell permanently in their land, and to
teach them trades in order to help them to live like us,
which promise did in some sort comfort them."
And so also with us, although there are many more
interesting happenings which we would like to discuss,
it is time to cut short our tale of this expedition, for
there are many more interesting and strange events
which happened later. And especially, with the com-

De Poutrincourt and Lescarbot Leave 67
ing of the Jesuit Fathers, a new period of history
begins. Many reasons have been ascribed by various
writers of the history of the de Monts — de Poutrin-
ocurt expedition for the failure of the colony; and of
the failure of the later settiement. It .is especially
interesting to compare the Port Royal colony with
that of the Pilgrims which came later and succeeded.
Doubtless, the failure may be ciscribed to more than
one cause. But the strongest assurance of the success
of a colony is the presence of women, the wives and
mothers of the men who come to make homes in a new
land; and likewise the greatest weakness of a colony,
the most certainly is it doomed in advance, is the ab
sence of those same women.
The names of de Monts, de Poutrincourt, and Les
carbot, become very familiar to us in readihg the his
tory of this period. We know a good deal about the
character of these men from their writings, as well as
from the writings of others who followed soon after
them. But, one of the greatest puzzles of the history
of this period is to determine satisfactorily whether we
are to count these men on the side of the Catholic
Church or against it. De Monts, we know, was a
Calvinist, but as to de Poutrincourt and Lescarbot, —
they are assumed by historians to have been Catholics;
their acts, however, considered as a whole throw much
doubt on that assumption. Charlevoix, the Jesuit writ
er of a history of New France, and himself one of the
actors in that greatest of dramas enacted in this half
of the world, speaks very confidently of de Poutrincourt,
He says: "M. de Poutrincourt was a very worthy
man, sincerely attached to the Catholic religion; but
the calumnies of the so-called Reformers had produced
an impression on his mind, and he was fully determined

68 The Makers of Maine
not to take them (the Jesuit Fathers) to Port Royal."
We not only have good reason to doubt Father Charle
voix' sincere statement that Poutrincourt was attached
to the Catholic religion; but, as I have mentioned be
fore, we know that he could not have been acquainted
with the later editions of Lescarbot's History of New
France, or he would have seriously moderated his ex
travagant praise of Lescarbot. He seems from his
writings not to have fully appreciated the conspiracy
that existed among de Monts, de Poutrincourt, and
Lescarbot, to discredit the Jesuit Fathers, prevent
them from coming to the new country, and in very
truth, prevent the Indians from being converted to
Catholicity. This conspiracy shows itself to careful readers of
history in various aspects. To refer again to Lescar
bot, — whose history we reiterate is one of the most in
teresting and on the whole reliable of all the histories
written in those days, you will remember how he rather
hypocritically rebuked the Jesuit Father Cotton, con
fessor to the King, for disbelie-ving the exaggerated
number of Indians waiting to be converted in the new
world. You will also remember that he, a well educated
man, and exceptionally well read in theology, asked to
be allowed to carry the consecrated host of the sacrament
of the Eucharist with him on the journey to the new
world, he, a layman, knowing that such athing had
never been done since the first years of Christianity.
And finally, as I will mention in more detail later, he
addressed a letter to the authorities of the Church
in which he gave a list of the extraordinary baptisms
which had been administered to the Indians during
his residence at Port Royal, while the only priest who
was with them was the secular priest, Flech6, about
whom Lescarbot writes in the most flippant and dis-

De Poutrincorrt and Lescarbot Leave 69
respectful manner. That list of baptisms had been
almost a standing joke of historians ever since; and we
have good reason to believe that De Monts, de Poutrin
court, Lescarbot and Flech6, considered the whole
matter of the baptisms as a huge joke, especially so,
when we read the names of Saints and Biblical characters
which were conferred on the unsuspecting and ignorant
savages.

CHAPTER IX
Biard and Mass£ are Chosen from Jesuit
Volunteers to go to Acadia
We read, in Fr. Charlevoix' History of New France
that the King, on confirming the grant of Port Royal to
de Poutrincourt, notified de Poutrincourt that it was
time to labor for the conversion of the Indians, and
that it was his wish that the Jesuits should be taken
over there. Fr. Cotton, confessor to the King, was a
Jesuit. He notified his superiors of the wish of the
king. At once many of the order volunteered for the
service in the new world, but only two were selected.
The names of these two Jesuits figure on many pages
of history. No reliable history has ever been written,
by Catholic or Protestant, which does not pay high
credit to those two men, not only for their labors, but
for the romance of their life in this new and strange
country and for the sufferings which they were fated
to undergo. The two were Father Peter Biard, then
professor at Lyons, and Father Ennemond Mass6, so-
cius (as Charlevoix says) of Father Cotton.
We shall quote from their "Relations" later,
words which will describe their experiences from the
very beginning in France through their toils in Acadia,
their unhappy captivity at the hands of the English,
their unmerited sufferings in Virginia, their long and
miserable voyages and their final deliverance from their
enemies. Their own words telling in simple and
unaffected manner the obstacles which were thrown

BAIRD and MASSfi 71
in their way from the very first in their native country
of France by their own countrymen will be related;
but for the moment, let us turn to the relation of Charl
evoix and de Champlain.
Charlevoix says: "Father Biard, at the commence
ment of the year ((1608), proceeded to Bordeaux,
where he was assured the embarkation would take place.
He was much surprised to see no preparation there;
and he waited in vain for a whole year. The King,
informed of this, reproached de Poutrincourt sharply,
and the latter pledged his word to the King that he
would no .longer defer obeying his orders. He actually
prepared to go; but as he said nothing of embarking the
missionaries, Fr. Cotton paid him a visit, to bring him
to do so in a friendly way. Poutrincourt begged him
to be good enough to postpone it till the following year,
as Port Royal was by no means in a condition to receive
the Fathers. So frivolous a reason was regarded by
Father Cotton as a refusal, but he did not deem it ex-
pediant to press the matter or inform the king. M.
de Poutrincourt accordingly sailed for Acadia; and with
a view of showing the court that the ministry of the
Jesuits was not necessary in the conversion of the heath
en, he had scarcely arrived before he sent the king a
list of twenty-five Indians baptized in haste."
As these chapters are tales of history, rather than
a detailed and consecutive history of the period, and the
writer's intention has been throughout to select events
and especially characters, of history, which are inter
esting and romantic, let us now present another strapge
and interesting character, who from his whole Jife'spent,
as it was in this land, we may justly say: was one of the
makers of what is now-Maine: THis man is the young
Biencourt, son of de Poutrincourt. At the time when
his, father appointed him vice-admiral and vice-govern-

72 The Makers of Maine
or general of the Port Royal Colony, he was only nine
teen years of age. But in every respect save years,
he was a man fitted to lead and command. We might
say, however, that as a leader he had one fault, — he
was hot tempered, and had conceived a prejudice
against the Jesuit Fathers, which helped to make the
lives of Fathers Biard and Mass6 very hard and dis
agreeable. In February 1610 Poutrincourt sailed again to
Port Royal, not taking the Jesuits, as I have just before
mentioned, in the quotation from Charlevoix. Mem
bertou and his Indian subjects had kept everything
at Port Royal in good order during the absence of the
French, the buildings were preserved, and even the fields
had been kept up by the Indians. This latter fact- is
the strongest proof of the devotion of these Indians
to the French, for as a rule the Indians had little regard
for cultivated fields, the chase being their preferred mode
of obtaining a livelihood, they looked down upon regu
lar cultivation of the soil as beneath a warrior and a
savage gentleman.
The next July Poutrincourt sent his son, Biencourt,
back to France to obtain more supplies. The assasin-
ation of Henry IV in the meantime, made great changes,
and was certainly a severe blow to the success of the
French colonization of Acadia. When Biencourt re
turned, from France to Port Royal he carried the Jesuit
Fathers, Biard and Mass6 with him, much againstfhis
will, as will be shown later from the relation of the
Jesuits. We may say now that during all the period of
the residence of these Fathers in Acadia, Biencourt
kept up a continual quarrel with them, except at one
time just before the Jesuits sailed from Port Royal
to found their new colony at St. Sauveur, which ended
so quickly and so disastrously at the hands of the pirate.

BAIRD and MASSfi 73
Argall; at that time, as is related by the Jesuits, Bien
court made peace with them, and made his confession
and received communion.
This young man was the first of the French settlers
here to spend his whole life in this land and to die here
as a settled colonist. His life must have been one
long romance, and it is a great pity that no account of
it has been preserved to us. But no account was ever
written. He and his friend who shared the life in the
wilderness with him, Charles de la Tour, were men of
action, not writers, and they had no inducement, as
had the Jesuits, to commit to writing their daily lives.
The name of La Tour afterwards figures much in the
history of this land but it is not known
that he ever so much as wrote one
letter to friends in France telling of the life of himself
and Biencourt among the Indians. When the Port
Royal colony was finally abandoned by Poutrincourt,
his son, Biencourt, refused to return to France with
his father. He and his friend wandered about from
place to place in the wilderness, living with the Indians.
Being natural leaders, they probably became leaders
of the Indians. They lived their life and died their
death.

CHAPTER X
HOW THE Jesuit Relations Came to be
Written and Their Historical Value
In the preceding chapters mention has frequently
been made of the Jesuit missionaries, and I have prom
ised to point out the important influence which their
coming had upon the course of Maine history. I come
now to the stage when it becomes necessary to develop
the subject in some detail.
It is to be presumed that most of my readers are
familiar with the histories of Francis Parkman, especially
his "Pioneers of New France," and his "Jesuits in North
America." It is certainly worth one's white to read
both of these books. But it is equally certain that it
would, not be wise to place them in the hands of school
children. For, although Parkman will always receive
great credit for his scholarly researches and for his
interesting style of writing, yet his well known anti-
Catholic prejudices forbid his books being used as
manuals for students of history. He pays many en
thusiastic compliments to the Society of Jesus for its
remarkable attainments, but it would seem as though
the ill-natured devil of bigotry which lurked ever in
the background, in the recesses of his brilliant mind,
could not be kept in check by his better nature, his
instinct of the scholar, but it continually leaps forth
to grasp every opportunity, to take advantage of every
opening, to cast the ,poisoned dart of black and ugly
religious hatred at that Order whose members he admits

The Jesuit Relations 75
to be heroes and saints. Whenever there is a dispute
among the witnesses as to the motives which actuated
a Jesuit, he seems irresistably impelled to believe the
worst. Whenever the contemporaries of a Jesuit
differed in their opinion of his character, as in the case
of Father Biard, he eagerly sides with the traducer
and defamer.
Yet his writings abound in expression of enthusiastic
admiration of the Society. No stronger words of com
mendation could be used than the opening words of the
second chapter of his "Jesuits in North America," —
"It was an evil day for new-born Protestantism when
a French artilleryman fired the shot that struck down
Ignatius Loyola in the breach of Pampeluna. A proud
noble, an aspiring soldier, a graceful courtier, an ardent
and daring gallant was metamorphosed by that stroke
into the zealot whose brain engendered and brought
forth the mighty Society of Jesus."
Francis Parkman, like all other historians who write
concerning this period of history which we are consider
ing, to obtain his material was obliged to go back to
the writings of the Jesuit Fathers, the so-called "Jesuit
Relations." These are the sources, the fountain heads.
No other information is in existence. Indeed, it is
no exaggeration to say that the "Relations" are of
incalcuable value to American historians. If they had
never been written, or if they had been destroyed before
being published, that interesting and important period
of our history would be at this day absolutely a closed
book. The historian, Bancroft, says: "not a cape was
turned, not a river entered, but a Jesuit led the way."
And fortunately for history, the rules of the Society
required every Jesuit missionary to write a daily account
of his doings and send regular reports to his superior.

76 The Makers of Maine
Annually, between the years 1632 and 1673, the superiors
made up a narrative, or "Relation," which they for
warded to the Provincial of the Order in France.
It should be remembered that the writers of these
"Relations" were men of trained intellect, acute ob
servers, and practised in the art of writing. They
had left the most highly civilized country of their
times to go into the heart of the American wilderness
and win to the Christian faith the fiercest savages
known to history. To gain these savages it was first
necessary to know them intimately — their speech,
their habits, their very manner of thought
The style of the narratives is always simple and
direct. Never does the narrator descend to self-glori
fication or dwell upon the details of his continual martyr
dom. We gain from his pages a vivid picture of life
in the primeval forest as he lived it; we seem to see
him upon the long canoe journeys, squatted among
his dusky companions working his passage at the paddles,
and carrying cargoes upon the trail. We see him
the patient butt and scorn of the savage camp, some
times deserted in the heart of the wilderness to make
his way alone as best he can. We find him in some
far-away Indian village working against hope to save
the unbaptized, facing the jealous rage of his rival, the
"medicine man," and at last meeting the martyr's
end with the fortitude of the saint. Then, consider that
the "Relations" were written for the most part in
Indian camps subject to every conceivable distraction.
Myriads of mosquitos tormented the writer, he was
surrounded by squalor and filth, his ears were deafened
by the shrieks of children, the scolding of squaws and
the foul talk of the Indian men. Often he was fatigued
with excessive labor and lack of proper food," suffering
from wounds and disease, mistreated by his hosts who

The Jesuit Relations 77
often acted more like 'jailors than hosts, and who in
their ignorant superstition regarded the art of writing
as magic which might bring calamity upon the camp.
The "Relations" have always been a rare collec
tion, highly prized by collectors of books. They were
published in France under the direction of the Provincial
of the Order. They commence with Father Le Jeune's
"Brieve Relation du (1632) ; and after that a duodecimo
volume, bound in vellum, was issued annually from the
press of Sebastien Cramoisy, Paris, until 1673 when
they were discontinued. This is the famous and very
rare Cramoisy Edition of forty volumes. In 1858 the
-Canadian government reprinted the Cramoisy in three
large octavo volumes; these also are now rare. Dr.
John G. Shea, author of the History of the Catholic
Missions among the Indian Tribes of the United States,
complied by Cramoisy series during the years 1857-1866,
but the edition was limited to one hundred copies, and
it is now difficult to obtain.
Parkman tells his readers of the great difficulties
under which he labored in getting together the material
for his own histories from the "Relations," for many
of the "Relations," he says, he had to rely upon translated
copies made for him in Paris and Rouen. He deserves
credit for his labors, but if he had been content to
quote from the "Relations," and had kept his personal
point of view and his religious prejudices out of sight,
his histories would have greater value.
It has often happened in the history of Christianity
that the propgaation of the faith would have suffered a
grievous set-back and failed temporarily, in spite of
the energy of men, had it not been for the piety and
self-sacrifice of women. The history of the bringing
of the Christian faith to the Indians is one of those
examples. The name of Madame de Guercheville,

t8 The Makers of Maine
belongs with those of Biard, Le Jeune, and de Brebeuf.
If it had not been for her energetic efforts in raising
money to defray the expenses of sending the first Jesuits
to this country, the conversion of the Indians would
have been deferred for many years.
Madame de Guercheville was one of the famous
beauties of the court of France, she was also one of the
most influential women in France and a devout Catholic.
It was she who fitted out, with her own money and the
money that she raised by subscription, the ship which
carried the first Jesuits to Acadia and Maine. I will
quote the words of Father Joseph Jouvency from his
"Initium Canidicae Missionis et Primi Fructusi"
"Already was the undertaking progressing very
favorably when Henry IV,more solicitous for religion than
for commerce, resolved, in the year 1608, to introduce
Christian rites into this part of the New World, and asked,
members of the Society to undertake this Apostolic enter
prise. Upon being informed of the plan of the King, and
ordered to choose as soon as possible energetic priests
who could lay solidly the foundation of so great a work.
Father Coton, the confessor of the King, informed the
Commander of the Society. From the whole number,
not only of youths but also of old men, who sought
this laborious duty, there were chosen Father Peter
Biard, of Grenoble, a professor of theology in the College
of Lyons, and Father Enemond Mass6, of Lyons. The
unforseen death of the King delayed this auspicious
enterprise, and diminished the enthusiasm of the friends
of the Society, who were providing a ship and other
necessaries for the voyage. But the pious Coton,
unconquered by adversity, brought in the authority
of the queen, in order that he might overcome the
difficulties in his way. As a result, the time was set
for their departure, and the Fathers hastened to Dieppe,

The Jesuit Relations 79
in order that they might sail thence for New France.
But, behold, suddenly an unexpected obstacle. Their
ship belonged to Poutrincourt, a French nobleman;
it was, however, subject to the control of two Calvin-
istic merchants, since they had incurred no light expense
toward providing her with equipments. As soon as
they heard that members of the Society were to be
embarked upon her, they refused to allow her to leave
the port. The authority of the queen was invoked;
her commands were reiterated. They answered that
they would not refuse admission to any other sort of
priests, but that they were unwilling to have anything
to do with our men. When Coton saw that the stub
bornness of the rascals could not be overcome, he ap
proached the matter by another way. There was a
lady distinguished not less for piety than for birth,
Antoinette de Guercheville. This woman was as
solicitous for the interests of the mission as for her own ;
and since she had acquired an uncommon influence
among many, because of her reputation for integrity,
she quickly collected a large sum of money, by means
of which the heretical merchants were repaid the amount
which they had spent in equipping the ship, so although
the merchants were disappointed and unwilling, the
Fathers were admitted. But because of the interven
ing delay, they did not sail until the 26th of January,
when the storms of winter caused a raging sea. On
this account the voyage was of four months duration,
although ordinarily of two, and was terrible because of
disease within and tempests without."
Thus came the Jesuits to Maine. The adventure
of these men, together with Fr. Biard's own comments
on them, I shall relate further on.

CHAPTER XI
Father Biard Describes His Voyage
Across the Atlantic
I closed the last Chapter in which I wrote concerning
the embarking of the first Jesuits at Dieppe for the
voyage to these shores in January 1611, with a quota
tion from the Relations of Rev. Fr. Jouvency, S. J.,
in which he told how Madame de Guercheville bought
out a share of the Huguenot merchants of Dieppe who
had refused to allow Jesuits to sail in their ships, and
made a present of it to the Society of Jesus. I will
commence this chapter by quoting the closing words
of the letter of Fr. Biard S. J. to the Very Rev. Claude
Aquaviva, General of the Society at Rome, written on
the eve of his departure from Dieppe:
"So now, my Very Reverend and good Father, you
see how entirely the malice of the evil one and of his
tools has been turned to our advantage. At first we
asked only a little corner in the vessel at their price.
Now we are masters of it. We were going into a dreary
wilderness without much hope of permanent help; and
we have already received enough to begin laying the
foundation. We were to enrich the heretics by a portion
of our alms; and now they, of their own accord, refuse to
profit by an occasion which would benefit them. But I
believe a great source of their grief is nothing else than
the triumph of the Lord Jesus; and may heaven grant
that he always triumph. Amen."
In his next letter, to the Rev. Fr. Christopher

Father Biard Describes His Voyage si
Baltazar, Provincial of the Society at Paris, Fr. Biard
relates the incidents of the stormy and dangerous pas -
sage from Dieppe to Port Royal.
It is wonderful to contemplate, the courage and daring
of these early explorers and navigators and priests.
Reflect that the vessels in which Champlain, De Monts,
Poutrincourt, de Biencourt, and the Jesuits crossed
the Atlantic many times, by what we call the northern
course, or what navigators call the Great Circle Track,
were no larger than Gloucester fishing boats, little
schooners which we have all seen tied up to the wharves
in Portiand or anchored at Marblehead, vessels in which
we would hesitate to intrust our lives for a voyage
to the Banks of Newfoundland. This ship in which
Frs. Biard and Masse came over — "La Grace de Dieu,"
was so small and so deeply laden that the voyagers
could lean over the sides and wash their hands in the
sea. What men these explorers ^nd missionaries were.
Nor were they less remarkable for their imagination
and foresight than for their courage and daring. We
take much credit to ourselves that we have such wisdom
and foresight that we will expend many millions to
build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Consider
for a moment that Samuel de Champlain, three hundred
years ago, conceived and proposed the project of a
ship canal across Panama. "By such a route" he said,
"the voyage would be shortened by more than 1500
leagues, and from Panama to the Strait of Magellan
it would be one island."
And this was no dream of Champlain's based on
sailor's tales, like some of his stories about the griffins
with the heads of an eagle and the tails of an alligator
which haunted the jungles of Mexico. To the contrary,
it was the result of investigation and study on the spot.

82 The Makers of Maine
But to return to Father Biard. After hair-breadth
escapes from shipwreck by storm and by collision with
icebergs, they came to the Great Banks. Fr. Biard con
fesses frankly and naively that he was much surprised
that the banks were not sand-banks or mud-banks as
he thought in France, but great sub-marine plateaus
thirty-five and forty fathoms deep. He says: "On
i'appelle banc parceque c'est la premierement ofl ven-
ant des abismes de I'ocean Ton trouve terre avec la
sonde. Or, sur le bord de ce grand banc, les vagues
sont I'ordinaire fort furieuses, trois ou quatre lieuses
durant, et ces trois ou quatre lieues on appelle les Ac-
ores." Fr. Biard's idea of the location of the
Azores is rather vague. His notions of geography
might seem laughable to us; but if we should reprint,
with these tales some of the maps drawn by Champlain
of the regions which he had visited, perhaps Fr. Biard
would be the more readily excused for having a con
fused idea of the location of places which he had never
before visited.
On the Feast of Pentecost, a very significant date,
they landed at Port Royal. They found there a settie
ment of about twenty persons, and all nearly starved.
Fr. Biard says: "We all wept at this meeting, which
seemed almost like a dream. "
As I have mentioned, the secular priest, Fr. Jesse
Fleche, whom Poutrincourt had taken with him to
Port Royal, had baptized about one hundred and
forty-one Indians, without proper instruction. Les
carbot, whose writings always give one the feeling that
he is laughing in his sleeve, called it a masterpiece
("chef d'ouevre.") Fr. Biard expresses regret at such
unseemly haste. He writes that as regards Christ,
faith, the commandments of God, prayer and the
sacraments, they know nothing, nor did they know the

Father Biard Describes His Voyage 83
sign of the cross or the very name of Christian. "Itaque
nunce vulgo sciscitantibus nobis," he says in his letter
to the General of the Order in Rome, January 31, 1612,
"Christianus es? negat optimus quisque, scire se quid
rogetur. Mutata interrogatione quaerentibus, bapti-
zatus es? annuit vero ac propemodum sese jam Nort-
mannum propuntiat." (The Indians always called
the French Normans. )
Fr. Biard, although regretting the haste in baptiz
ing Indians, nevertheless speaks kindly of the secular
priest, Fleche. . He says that the worthy man had
shown great friendUness to the Jesuits and thanked
God for their coming, for he had resolved to return to
France at the first opportunity, and was now free to
do so. Lescarbot, in his "Relation Derniere" gives us a
Ust, a strange sort of baptismal registry of the one hun
dred and forty or so Indians baptized by Fr. Fleche in
one year. It is amusing to read the list of names of
the great ones of France conferred upon the savages.
Membertou, the chief, they named Henry, after the
King. His wife and children received the names of
of the Queen of France and the royal children. Then
follows a list which reads like a catalogue of all the
noble families of France. Imagine a naked, dirty and
bedaubed savage named — Monsieur the Prince of Con-
d6, another. Monsieur the Duke de Nevers, another
Monsieur the Prince de Joinville, and an ugly squaw bear
ing the names of Madame the Countess de Soissons,
Madame, the Duchess of Guise, and so on.
Parkman, in his "Jesuits in North America" com
ments at considerable length and with pooriy suppres
sed glee upon the fact that the first Jesuits found it
impossible to convey to the savage mind any conception
of the abstract ideas of faith, charity, justice, etc., and

84 The Makers of Maine
plainly wants his readers to infer that they were lacking
in common sense not to know that a savage people
would have no such words in their language, because
they could form no such concepts in their minds. He
holds Father Biard up to ridicule for trying to find in the
Indian language words for faith, justice, wisdom,
charity. Trinity. To give to his readers such an im
pression is quite unftiir. The Jesuit understood the
limitations of the Indian mind and the Indian language.
These are his own words on the subject. "It is true
that Monsieur de Biencourt, who understands the
savage tongue better than any one else here, is filled
with earnest zeal, and every day takes a great deal of
trouble to serve as our interpreter. But somehow, as
soon as we begin to talk about God, he feels as Moses
did — ^his mind is bewildered, his throat dry, his tongue
tied. The reason for this is that the savages have no
definite religion, magistracy or government, liberal
or mechanical arts, commercial or civil life, they have
consequently no words to describe which things they
have never seen or even conceived. Furthermore,
rude and untutored as they are, all their conceptions
are limited to sensible and material things; there is
nothing abstract, internal, spiritual or distinct." Let-
tre au R. P. Provincial at Paris, Jan. 31, 1612. He
thinks it doubtful if they even have any word for "I
believe," — "Enfin, nous en sommes 1^ encore apr^s
plusieurs enquestes et travaux, k disputer s'ils ont
aucune parole qui corresponde diroictement k ce mot
'Credo,' je croy."
Could any statement be clearer? And is there any
excuse for Parkman, to ingeniously place the matter in
such a light that the reader would inevitably draw the
inference that the Jesuits seriously tried to find Indian
words corresponding to the words faith, trinity, etc?

Father Biard Describes his Voyage . 85
Concerning the nature of the red man's spiritual
beliefs before he began to feel the influence of Christian
teaching the following quotation from Father Jouvency
S. J., although it conveys no really new information to
the average reader, may be of interest as proof that the
Jesuits, from the first, understood the Indian mind
and the limitations of his thought. "There is among
them no system of religion, or care for it. They honor
a deity who has no definite character or regular code of
worship. They perceive, however, through the twi
light, as it were, that some deity does exist. What
each boy sees in his dreams, when his reason begins to
develop, is to him thereafter a deity, whether it be a
dog, a bear, or a bird. They often derive their principles
of life and action from dreams; as, for example, if they
dream that any person ought to be killed, they do not
rest until they have caught the man by stealth and
slain him. It is wearisome to recount the tales which they
invent concerning the creation of the world. Soothsayers
and worthless quacks fill with these the idle and
greedy ears of the people in order that they acquire
an impious gain. They call some divinity, who is the
author of evil "Manitou" and fear him exceedingly.
Beyond doubt it is the enemy of the human race, who
extorts from some people divine honors and sacrifice.
Concerning the nature of spirits, they go none the less
astray. They make them corporeal images which
require food and drink. They believe that the appointed
place for souls, to which after death they are to retire,
is in the direction of the setting sun, and there they
are to enjoy feasting, hunting and dancing; for these
pleasures are held in the highest repute among them."
Father Biard soon decided that the work of con
verting the adult Indians must proceed slowly ; that above
all it was necessary that he himself and his co-workers

86 The Makers of Maine
must learn the language thoroughly first and then he
must depend upon good fortune, or the act of God, for
favorable opportunities to make impressions, as for
instance, when an Indian should fall dangerously ill
and the native "medicine man" had failed to cure him.
But in the meantime, the wise Father did not fail to
work among the children and within the period of the
first year here he was able to write that it comforted
him to see those little savages, though not yet Christ
ians, yet willingly, when they are here carrying the cross
marching in good order in the processions and funerals
which occurred. Thus, as he said, they became accus
tomed to act as Christians, so that in time they became
such in reality.
In October of the year 1611 Father Biard and
Monsieur de Biencourt, with a company of men made
a journey to the rivers St. John, St. Croix, and Penobscot
(called then Pentagoct). Their object was to get. news
of what the English were doing in these parts, and
Biard's purpose was to further the interests of his
mission. While on the St. John River, Father
Biard saw for the first time, the Northern Lights.
Twilight had ended and the stars had begun to appear
when suddenly toward the north a part of the heavens
became blood-red, and this Hght spreading little by
little, in vivid flashes, moved directly over the Indian
settlement and there stopped. The red glow was so
brilliant that the whole river was tinged and made lu
minous by it. The phenomenon appeared and disap
peared in periods of eight minutes. The French con
sidered the display prophetic, and the Indians declared
that it meant war.
Arrived at the Kennebec they learned that Captain
Platrier of the French ship Honfleur, had been taken
prisoner by two English ships and his release had only

Father Biard Describes His Voyage s?
been effected by means of presents which amounted to
ransom. Biencourt instructed Captain Platrier and
his people that they must oppose the usurpation of the
English. "For, he said, "It is well known to all, that
the Great Henry, may God give him absolution, in
accordcince with the right acquired by his predecessors
and by himself, gave to Mons. de Monts, in the year
1604, all this region from the 40th to the 46th parallel
of latitude. Since this donation, the said Seigneur de
Monts, himself and through Monsieur de Poutrincourt,
my very honored Father, his lieutenant, and through
others, has frequently talcen actual possession of all
the country; and this, three or four years before the
English had ever frequented it, or before anything
had ever been heard of these claims of theirs."
They inspected the English fort at the mouth of
the Kennebec which had been abandoned, and then
sailed up the river. They paid a visit to Meteournite,
Chief of the Armouchiquois (called by the English the
Massachussetts.) The chief received them in his
royal regalia. Father Biard made presents of crosses to
the Indians. They seemed to be much pleased with
his visit and brought their children to him for his bless
ing. Biencourt erected a cross, bearing the arms of
France on the spot where the English had settled in
1608 and which they had abandoned. Then the com
pany sailed back to Port Royal. Father Biard writes that
he was very glad to be back among these our friendly
Indians again, "for," he says, "among these we are no
more obliged to be on our guard than among our own
servants; and thank God we have never yet been de
ceived by them."
From then till he learns to speak the native lan
guages, he writes to his superior, his daily occupations-

88 The Makers of Maine
are, to say Mass, to solemnly sing it Sundays and holi
days, together with vespers, and frequently the pro
cession, to offer public prayers morning and evening, to
exhort, console, administer the sacraments and bury the
dead. He chronicles one important and interesting
event in history. I will quote his own words: "If
the ground of this New France had feeling, as the poets
pretend their goddess Tellus had, doubtless it would
have experienced an altogether novel sensaion of joy
this year, for, thank God, ha-ving had very successful
crops from the little land that we tilted, we made from the
harvest some hosts, and offered them to God. These
are, as we believe, the first hosts which have been made
from the wheat of this land." Lettre au R. P. Provin
cial a Paris 31 Janvier 1612.

CHAPTER XII
Various Historical Authorities Compared
' It is related that the prayer of the founder of the
Society of Jesus was that the order and its members
might always be persecuted by the World. Whether
this tradition be true or not, it is indisputable that the
Order and most of its eminent members have been
continuously and systematically persecuted, vilified
and defamed. It is only within quite recent
times that writers of American history have begun to
give to the Jesuits credit for their achievements as the
pioneers of civilization and Christianity in this country.
One can go farther and say that it is only within the last
fifty years that writers have ceased to misrepresent
and falsify the truths of history for the base purpose
of defaming and traducing the Jesuit Order and the
work of its members. In the records of the Maine
Historical Society, no longer ago than 1857, we find
in Volume V of the Collections of the Maine Historical
Society, page 175, the following argument to excuse the
fact that the record of Episcopalian Maine as compared
with Puritan Massachusetts is a blank.
"The French, not less mercenary, but more crafty,
early won the savage heart, and turned it against the
English, infused with the animosity of rehgion. The
Jesuit did not carry civilization to the Indian, for he
adopted the life of the savage; not the gospel, for he
supplanted the pow-wow; the new superstitions were
scarcely better than the old diabolisms; it was almost

90 The Makers of Maine
an apostasy; he did not "preach the gospel," but de
based it to a few manipulations. Father Du Moine
revisiting the Iroquois in the summer of 1653, says
that he "baptized little skeletons, who awaited, per
haps only this drop of the precious blood of Jesus
Christ;" and the natives, with superstitious awe,
thought that he, like their own wizards, "had to do with
the de-vil." Such was the Christian faith |;he poor
savage gained from this zealous priesthood. The
Indian was better than his teacher. By the superiority
of civilization the Jesuit became the head of the tribe.
Of implicit faith, disciplined to self-negation in the
school of Loyola, the progeny of the Inquisition, and
envenomed with its deadly hatred, unscrupulous mas
ters of intrigue, these men of France, instigated the
savage to hostilities to the English heretics, whom
they represented as the enemies of the true God.' They
waked the deadly warhoop, incited the stealthy Indian
to fire the planter's solitary cabin with the midnight
torch and scatter the brains of the helpless inmates
with the tomahawk, and at their feet were laid the
bloody trophies of the scalping knife. The promised
boon of these ghastly deeds was Heaven." (Collection
of the Maine Historical Society, Volume V. Subject,
Ancient Pemaquid.) It seems now to us impossible
of belief that a few short years ago such awful, ghastly
falsehoods could be written as history. Yet, to this
day, such history is being taught to children.
We know that the best authority for the writer of
history who treats of the French voyages, explorations,
and settlements in Acadia is to be found in the "Rela
tions of the Jesuits," and the history written by Cham
plain, and Lescarbot's history; yet such is the perver
sity of human nature, when one's prejudices and prior
convictions are concerned, that we find some historians

Various Historical Authorities 91
deliberately misstating the facts in total disregard of
the writings of the Jesuits, and the writings of Cham
plain and Lescarbot; and others again taking Lescar
bot only as authority for certain of their statements,
in preference to the Jesuits and Champlain, whenever
Lescarbot treats events fronl a different viewpoint to
that of the others, and especially, since it is the fact, as we
well knew, that Lescarbot was bitterly prejudiced
against the Jesuits, and, as we have good reason to be
lieve, was a Catholic for political reasons only, and at
heart really a Cal"vinist.
Lescarbot, in his "Relation Derniere" gives his version
of the Jesuits' engagement to come to New France, in
in these words: "When he (Biencourt) was presented
to the Queen, she was wonderfully pleased to hear about
the conversions of several savages, who had been
baptized before the departure of Sieur de Sainct Just,
an account of which I published and presented to her
Majesty. There upon the Jesuits offered themselves to
aid in the work. The Queen favored the plan and re
commended them. I should have been glad, if before
their departure someone had suggested to her
Majesty a thing which she would willingly have done,
namely, to send some presents of food and clothes to
these neophytes and new Christians, who bear the
names of the dead King, of the Queen Regent, and of
my Lords and Ladies, the children of France. But
everyone looks out for his own interests. Sieur de
Sainct Just, after his report had been made, meant to
obtain protection for the beaver trade, believing that
considerations of a religious nature would easily secure
this for him. However, he could not obtain it. And
seeing that the affair was dragging on, and that he
must go and relieve his father, having been ordered to
so arrange affairs as to be back in four m onths, he took

92 The Makers of Maine
leave of the Queen, who sent with him two Jesuits for
the conversion of the savage tribes over there. But
as Sieur de Poutrincourt had taken an able man at
his departure, it seems to me that these men (who can
be more useful at home) were in too much of a hurry
for the best interests of the Sieur; because the delay,
which took place on their account, was very detrimental
to him and caused a dissolution of his partnership. In
such undertakings the State must be founded first,
without which the Church cannot exist, as I have said
before." In another part of his writings he speaks of Father
Fleche's baptising one hundred and forty-one Indians
in less than a year as a "chef d'oeuvre." In the above
quotation he says that the Queen should have been
asked to send food and clothing to these "neophytes
andfnew Christians," Doubtiess if he had been writing
in English and was familiar with modern slang, he
would have called them "near-Christians." His dis
like of the Jesuits and his animosity did not soften with
the passing of time; but after he left Port Royal and
returned to France, there was written and published in
Paris a controversial pamphlet under the title of "Fac
tum du Proces entre Jean de Biencourt et les P^res
Biard et Mass^, Jesuites." This publication was
anonymous, but its authorship was generally ascribed
to Lescarbot, and it seems that the Jesuits, and par
ticularly Father Biard, were satisfied that Lescarbot was
the writer. From the foregoing, we get the ideas and opinions
of Lescarbot on the subject of the coming of the Jesuits.
A little farther on I will quote from Champlain's clear
and interesting account; so that the reader may finally
see for himself what are the true facts as proven from
the great original historical authorities. He may

Various Historical Authorities Compared 93
then know what authority, or rather, lack of authority,
there is for the treatment accorded by the great majority
of English writing historians to the subject of the
Jesuits in America.
Even Bancroft, fair as he wished to be, disregards
the authority of the "Relations of the Jesuits." As
an example of the historians of lesser note, what we might
call the minor historians, let us consider the "History
of Acadia," written by James Hannay in 1879. This
book on the whole is very interesting reading, and it
is a useful contribution to the historical works of the
Province of Nova Scotia. In so far as the histories
of Nova Scotia treat of the early days of Acadia, they
are interesting to us who are dealing with that period
as a part of the early history of Maine.
Hannay writes of the trouble between Poutrin
court and his son, Biencourt, on the one hand, and the
Jesuit Fathers, Biard and Mass6, on the other, including
the part taken by Madame de Guercheville in the
active events of this time. He says: "As the year
closed (at Port Royal) their prospects looked gloomy
enough; but relief speedily came, for on the 23rd of
January, 1612, a vessel arrived with supplies. This
vessel had been sent in pursuance of an agreement
which Poutrincourt and Robin had made with Madame
de Guercheville, who had already exerted herself so
strenuously to promote the mission of the Jesuits.
She advanced a thousand crowns for supplies, but
Poutrincourt soon discovered that he had called in an
ally who would fain become his master. This ambi
tious women had indeed formed the design of establishing
in Acadia a sort of spiritual despotism, of which the
members of the Order of Jesus should be the rulers
and she the patroness. To carry out this plan, it might
be necessary to disposses Poutrincourt, or, at all events,

94 The Makers of Maine
to obtain possession of the rest of Acadia. She had
abundance of influence at court, and the Queen and
her adviser, Concini, held views similar to her own.
She quickly proceeded to put her plans into operation.
Finding that the whole of Acadia, except Port Royal,
belonged to De Monts, she obtained from him a release
of his rights, and immediately obtained a grant of it
from the King himself. She did not doubt that Pou
trincourt's necessities, and the burden of the chargt
which the Jesuit mission inflicted on the trade of the
colony, would speedily compel him to abandon Port
Royal to her also. He did not purpose at that time
to return to Port Royal, but put the vessel, which he
sent with supplies, in charge of one Simon Imbert,
who had been a long time his servant, and in whom
he had entire confidence. Madame de Guercheville,
with equal forethought sent out another Jesuit, named
Gilbert du Thet, who went in the vessel, ostensibly
as a passenger, but in reality as a spy upon Imbert,
and to look after her interests." (Page 95, Hannay's
History of Acadia.)
There we see the effect of constitutional prejudices
which blind the historian to the truth, and drive him
to draw inferences which the facts do not warrant,
and then to state his inferences as sober facts of history
which become, to the unsuspecting reader, in very
truth facts of history. Where could this historian
find authority for his statement of fact that Madame
de Guercheville had formed the design of establishing
in Acadia a "spiritual despotism?"
We know what Father Biard says about this matter
in his Relations, but now let us see what the only other
writer, who has any claim to be regarded as original
authority, has to say. Samuel de Champlain says:
"The Reverend Father Christofle Balthazar, Provincial,

Various Historical Authorities Compared 95
commissioned the Fathers Pierre Biard and Ennemond
Mass6 to go with Sieur de Biencourt. The King,
Louis the Just, caused to be delivered to them five
hundred crowns promised by the King, his father,
and several rich ornaments given by Madame de Guer
cheville and Madame de Sourdis. When they arrived
at Dieppe there was some discussion among the Jesuit
Fathers and the merchants, which caused the Fathers
to retire to their college of Eu. (We know what it was, —
that the Huguenot merchants utterly refused to allow the
Jesuit Fathers to sail in the vessel. )
"When Madame de Guercheville knew this, she was
very indignant that the tradesmen had been so pre
sumptuous as to have offended and thwarted these
fathers, and said that they ought to be punished; but
their only chastisement lay in their not being admitted
to the expedition. And knowing that the equipment
would not go above four thousand livres, she took up
a collection in the court, and by this kind action she got
this sum, with which she paid the merchants who had
troubled these Fathers and cut them off from all associa
tion with them ; and with the rest of this sum and other
large property, she established a fund for the mainten
ance of these Fathers, not wishing them to be a charge
to Sieur de Poutrincourt. She also arranged that
the profits that came from furs and fish, which the ship
should bring back, should not revert to the benefit of the
associates and other merchants, but should go back
to Canada, in the possession of Sieur Robin and Sieur
de Biencourt, who should use it for the support of Port
Royal and the French who were living there.
"In reference to this it was decided and ordained
that since this money of Madame de Guercheville,
had been designed for the benefit of Canada, the Jesuits
should take part in the profits of the association of

96 The Makers of Maine
Sieur Robin and Sieur de Biencourt, and share with
them. "It was this contract of partnership that spread
about so many rumors, complaints and outcries against
the Jesuit Fathers, who in that and everything else
are justly governed according to God and to reason to the
shame and confusion of those who envy and malign them.
"On January 26, 1611, the same Fathers embarked
with this Sieur de Biencourt whom they helped with
money to get the ship off, and to alleviate the great
want that they experienced in this voyage; since in
coasting along the shores they stopped and sojourned
in several places before arriving at Port Royal, which
was on June 12th, 1611, Whitsunday, (as we have
seen before. Marc Lescarbot fixes the date more nearly
correct as May 22nd.) And during this voyage these
Fathers had a great scarcity of provisions and of other
things, according to the accounts of the pilot, David
de Bruges, and the captain, Jean Daume, both of them
of the so-called reformed religion, who confessed that
they found these good Fathers quite different from what
they had been described.
"As Sieur de Poutrincourt was seeking in France
every means of aiding his son, Madame de Guercheville,
who was pious, virtuous, and very much devoted to
the conversion of the savages, having already collected
some funds, communicated with him in regard to the
matter, and said that she would very gladly join the
company, and that she would send some Jesuit Fathers
with him for the aid of Canada. The contract of
partnership was approved, this lady being empowered by
her husband, Monsieur de Biencourt, first equery of
the King and Governor of Paris.
"By that contract it was fixed that she should
at this time give a thousand crowns for the cargo of the

various Historical Authorities Compared 97
ship, provided that she should share the profit that
this voyage should yield, and of the lands that the
King had given Sieur de Poutrincourt, as set down in
the original of the contract. This Sieur de Poutrincourt
reserved for himself Port Royal, and its lands; not in
tending that they should be included in the common
stock of the other lordships, capes, harbors, and pro
vinces that he said he had in this country near Port
Royal. This lady requested him to produce titles
to show that these lordships and lands belonged to
him and how he possessed so large a domain. But he
excused himself by saying that his titles and papers
were in New France. When this lady heard this,
as she was suspicious of Sieur de Poutrincourt and
wished to guard herself against being taken by surprise,
she made a contract with Sieur de Monts that he should
cede back to her all the rights, deeds and claims that
he had or ever had had in New France derived from the
gift made him by the late Henry the Great. Madame
de Guercheville obtained letters from his Majesty,
now reigning, in which the gift was made anew to
her of all the lands in New France from the Great
River as far as Florida, excepting only Port Royal,
which was what Sieur de Poutrincourt possessed then,
and nothing else.
"This lady gave money to the Jesuit Fathers to
put into the hands of some merchants at Dieppe, but
this Sieur de Poutrincourt inveigled these same fathers
into giving him four hundred of this thousand crowns.
He sent in charge of this expedition an employee of his
called Simon Imbert Sandrier, who acquitted himself
rather badly in the management of this equipped and
freighted ship. He left Dieppe December 31st in the
height of winter and reached Port Royal, January 23rd,
the next year, 1612."

98 The Makers of Maine
Those are the words of Samuel de Champlain,
a truthful writer, whose veracity in matters historical
has never been questioned by any well informed histor
ian. If the writers of modern times, more particularly,
those who have writ-ten in the English language, are
right in their statements, criticisms, and innuendos
derogatory to the Jesuits and to Madame de Guerche
ville, then not only the Relations of the Jesuits, that
great body of writings acknowledged to be the very
source and fountain head of historical data, are un
trustworthy, but even Samuel de Champlain is not to
be trusted. But such a conclusion is unbehevable.
Therefore, we may be certain that Madame de
Guercheville, who occupies the unique position in his
tory of being the only woman possessed of sovereignty
over the lands of the New World, the woman who was
the feudal suzerain of a great fief, was, as Champlain
says, a pious and virtuous woman, much devoted to
the conversion of the Indians; and that, instead of
going into the venture for gain, she was actuated by
the highest of motives, and at a great personal sacrifice.
She not only strained her own resources, but had to
use her influence with her court friends to obtain aid.
It is also quite plain that de Poutrincourt had planned
to cheat the lady by "doing" her out of her money and
deceiving her as to the lands which he possessed and of
which he would make her a partner and part owner.
It was only by her own shrewdness, or by the shrewd
advice of some one who knew Poutrincourt better than
she did,, that she protected her interests by getting
a release from de Monts of his patent, and having the
release confirmed to her by the King. Moreover,
instead of the Jesuit Brother Du Thet being sent along on
the ship as a spy, as our English writers would have us
believe, du Thet was as much an infant in business as

Various historical Authorities Compared 99
the Fathers Biard and Mass6, who allowed de Pout
rincourt to "do" them out of four hundred crowns of
Madame de Guercheville's money. According to
Champlain, the boot should be put on the other leg,
for it was the worthy Simon, de Poutrincourt's "em
ployee," who went along, in the capacity of "super
cargo" as it was called in later times, armed with secret
insti notions from de Poutrincourt to take every means
of getting the better of the Jesuits and putting them in
as bad and false a light as possible.
Whatever may be said against Gilbert du Thet
by writers who are prejudiced against the Jesuits, not
one of them has ever been able to suppress the magi-
ficent fact that he was the hero of the short but bloody
fight thrust upon the French by the pirate Argall at
St. Sauveur, that he fought like a soldier-priest of the
Crusading times, and died the first Jesuit martjr in the
New World.
To sum the case up, we have the testimony of
Champlain, that the two gentlemen who were highest
in command on board the ship, the pilot, David de
Bruges, and the Captain, Jean Daume, both Huguenots,
or of the reformed religion, confessed that they found
the good fathers quite different from what they had
been told to expect.
I have made considerable of this circumstance;
indeed, it may seem to the reader that the game is not
worth the chase. But I must remind you, my dear
friend reader, you who have felt enough interest to
follow along to this point, that this period, which we
are considering, is one of the most important, most
vital to the history of our early days, of all. For here
we come to the threshold of a great and momentous
epoch. The coming of the Jesuit missionaries marks
the beginning of a new period of history. All writers

100 The Makers of Maine
of history agree upon that, — all from Bancroft and
Parkman down to the composer of the smallest school
history. All agree that the work done by the Jesuits
throughout this region, whiph is now our State of Maine,
throughout the great Dominion of Canada, and
throughout the broad valley of the Mississippi, broad
as a continent itself, was wonderful, romantic,
and of lasting effect. And, therefore, it follows that
if the first steps of this great Society of Jesus, the first
steps boarding the vessel, sailing across the ocean,
and landing upon the American soil, are marked with
dishonesty, deceit, and chicanery, as so many writers
wish us to believe, then a cloud of suspicion rests
upon the Society and its members always afterwards.
So, I have quoted freely from those contemporaneous
writers of history who lived at the time, and who should
know, and did know best, to prove that the Jesuits,
from the very beginning, from their first step aboard
a ship, have been maligned and vilified. Such facts,
taken in connection with so many others of like kind,
lead one to believe that there may be some truth in the
old tradition which I mentioned in the beginning of
the tale of the Jesuits.

CHAPTER XIII
Troubles and disputes at Port Royal
Father Biard's acts while at Port Royal, and after
wards while a prisoner in the hands of Captain Argall
aboard ship and in Virginia, and his character for honor
and priestly sanctity have been the subject of much argu
ment and dispute among historians. Francis Parkman,
author of the "Jesuits in North America," accepts and
eagerly swallows all the evidences against the Jesuit
as quite conclusive that he was dishonorable, deceitful
and crafty, and embodied in himself all the fabulous
worst features of the crafty, unscrupulous Society of
Jesus. Everybody who reads the relations of this Jes
uit forms his own opionion of his character, and the
prior convictions and prejudices of the student natural
ly enough affect seriously the opinion that he forms.
After reading the Relations of Father Biard I have,
for myself, formed the opinion that Father Biard was an
honest man, a man of honor, a priest imbued with a lofty
realization of the great burden of responsibility which
rested upon him by reason of his calling; but, like all
of us, his fellow men, he was human, and he had his
weaknesses and faults. I believe that his particular
weakness was a physical cowardice; that he was physi
cally a coward and had a mortal fear of death by violence,
and that this fear throws light upon some of his acts
when captured by the English and carried a prisoner to
Virginia and England; and explains what might
otherwise be thought to have been double-dealing and
treachery toward Biencourt.

102 The Makers of Maine
There was never any good feeling and friendliness
between Biencourt, head of the Port Royal colony,
representing the secular authority, the State, in the
lands of New France, and Father Biard, representing the
Church, in the same domain. They had nothing in
common. Biencourt was not even a Catholic — if
he was anything he was a Huguenot, or French Calvin
ist. But of all things, he hated the Jesuits and feared
the growth of their influence. And Father Biard, on his
part, understood the motives that actuated Biencourt
and his father, Poutrincourt, in founding and keeping
alive the Port Royal colony. And moreover, clearer-
visioned and more far seeing than Biencourt, he per
ceived the seeds of failure, the cause of decay in the
mercenary and unpatriotic motives by which Biencourt
and his companions were actuated. Not De Monts,
the founder and first leader of Port Royal. De Monts
was a high-minded, patriotic gentleman, and thought
to advance the glory of France in the New World. But
Poutrincourt, who held Port Royal under De Monts,
was actuated by no such motives. De Monts sank a
fortune in his efforts to plant the flag and authority of
France securely in this part of the world. Poutrin
court, and his active, able, ambitious son, Biencourt,
reckoned to found a fortune in these lands.
Father Biard sums it up clearly in his Relation of the
year 1616, in the Chapter "Quel Moyen ily pent Auoir
d'aider Ces Nations a leur Salut Eternel." These are
his words: "Now , after considering the whole subject
thoroughly, the result of all these opinions, sentiments,
experiments, arguments and conjectures of the wise
can hardly be otherwise than this: namely, that
there is no probability of ever being able to convert or
really help these Nations (the Indians) to salvation,
if there is not established there a Christian and Catholic

Troubles and Disputes at Port Royal 103
colony, having a sufficiency of means to maintain it,
and upon which all the countries depend, even as to
provisions and temporal needs. Such is the result and
conclusion of our investigations. Now how can these
colonists and emigrants be sheltered, provided for,
and kept together there? This is not the place to go
into details about it or even to enumerate the chief
points. I shall only suggest that it is great folly for
small companies to go there, who picture to themselves
Baronies, and I know not what great fiefs and demesnes
for three or four thousand ecus, for example, which they
will have to sink in that country. It would be still
worse if this foolish idea would occur to people who flee
from the ruin of their families in France; for to such
covetous people it invariably happens, not that, being
one eyed, they would be kings among the bHnd, but that
blind, they would go to throw themselves into a wretched
pit; and possibly instead of a Christian stronghold,
they would found a den of thieves, a nest of brigands,
a receptacle of parasites, a refuge for rogues, a hot
bed of scandal and all wickedness."
Father Biard hit upon one of the reasons why the
English colonies here sur"vived and finally won out
over the French; a subject which I shall develop later
when I come to sum up what I have called the philos
ophy of the history of Maine.
As an example of the petty annoyances to which
the Jesuit Fathers were subjected by Poutrincourt, the
head of the civil authority, let me mention the following.
I have already spoken of the great difficulty which the
Fathers had in their work of conversion, by reason of
their ignorance, at this early day, of the native language,
and the impossibility of finding and securing the services
of any native interpreter who had enough intelligence
to give workable equivalents for words and phrases

104 The makers of Maine
expressing ideas such as faith, charity, sorrow, etc. An
expedient presented itself by which it appeared they
might be able to extricate themselves from these per
plexities and obstacles. There was a young man by
the name of Du Pont who had come over from France
with the company of settlers, and had got himself
into bad favor with Biencourt, had been obliged to
leave the settlement and live with the Indians. This
young man had learned to speak the language fluently.
Father Biard thought that with his assistance he could
prepare a little catechism of Christian instruction. The
priest decided to go in search of Du Pont in the woods,
and cross the "French Bay," now the Bay of Fundy,
in a canoe, rather than not to avail himself of this chance
of doing good to the Indians. But the Sieur de Bien
court (so the Father writes) was very much opposed
to this decision, taking great offense at the mere propo
sal of it, and absolutely refused to allow it. Father
Biard was obliged to yield to him, to have peace.
In the next chapter I shaill narrate one more event
of importance which happened to the Jesuits before
their labors among the Indians ceased for the time,
an interesting occurence because it is in the nature of
a miracle, and was so regarded by Father Biard ; at least
if it was not actually a miracle, it partook of the mirac
ulous. As I am not a theologian, I do not pretend to
understand the theological distinctions between miracles
actually so, and events of a supernatural character
which are not deemed absolute miracles; therefore
I will relate the occurrence without comment in the
next chapter; before closing the history of this first
Jesuit mission upon the soil of what is now the
State of Maine.

CHAPTER XIV
The Death of Sagamore Membertou
In the last chapter I promised to relate an event of
a miraculous nature which happened during the sojourn
of the Jesuits, Father Biard and Father Mass6, at Port
Royal. Perhaps, to call it a miracle is an unfortunate use
of words, for, I presume that theologians would quickly
distinguish the occurence from what is properly known
as a miracle. Rather, let us say that the event furnishes
an evidence of the supernatural effect, sometimes
made e-vident to the senses of men, of the administering
of a sacrament.
In the year 1611, the great Sagamore Membertou,
for many years chief of a large and powerful tribe,
died at an advanced age, after having been converted
and received into the Church. His was probably the
only sincere conversion worked by the secular priest,
Jesse Fleche who preceded the Jesuits. Father Biard
found this Indian already a Christian when he arrived at
Port Royal. Perhaps, by reason of his eminent and ex
ceptional intelligence, he was the more easily brought
to see the superior reasonableness of the Christian
doctrine to the senseless and childish myths which
the savages believed and which later Protestant writers
have ignorantly sought to dignify by the name of the
"Indian Religion," which was no religion at all. Perhaps
it was the act of God, to make this Sagamore serve as
a striking example to his savage followers.
These are the words of Father Biard, describing the

106 The Makers of Maine
last days of Membertou: "This good savage, having
confessed and received Extreme Unction, told Sieur de
Biencourt that he wished to be buried with his fathers
and ancestors. Father Biard was very much opposed
to this proposition, admonishing him that it was not
lawful for him, a Christian, to wish to be buried with
heathens, who were condemned; especially as in doing
so he would cause great scandal, inasmuch as, when the
savages heard and saw that he had not wanted to be
buried with us, they would readily entertain the suspi
cion that he had been a Christian only in appearance.
In any case that all this would always seem like
contempt for Christian burial, etc. Sieur de Biencourt
replied for Membertou that they would have the burial
place blessed and that such a promise had been made to
Membertou. Father Biard answered that that would not
do; for, in order to bless the said place, they would have
to disinter the pagans who were buried there, which
would cause them to be abominated by all the savages,
and would savor too much of impiety. These reasons
did not avail, because the sick man, believing that
Sieur de Biencourt was on his side, persisted in his
determination. In order to make them understand
that this affair was of greater importance than they
thought, Father Biard informed them that the inter
ment would take place without him, and he wanted
them to understand it from that time on, protesting
that he would have nothing to do with any such coun
sels and decisions, and thereupon he departed. How
ever, so the sick man would not think that what was
mere duty and charity was anger, he returned in
less than an hour afterwards, and began again to wait
upon him as before. God looked kindly upon his good
intentions, for the next morning the savage, of his own
free will, changed his mind, and said that he wanted to

The Death of Sagamore Membertou i07
be buried in the common burying ground of the Christ
ians, to prove his faith to all, and to be able to partici
pate in the prayers which he had there seen offered.
He died a very good Christian, and his death greatly
saddened the Jesuits, for they loved him, and
were loved by him in return. He had often said to
them: 'Learn our language quickly, for when you
have learned it, you will teach me, and when I am taught
I will become a preacher like you, and we will convert
the whole country.' The savages have no recollection
of ever having had a greater or more powerful Sagamore.
Speaking of the matter of learning the Indian
language, and I have already mentioned this matter
before, I desire to quote the words of Father Biard
on this point, as they graphically describe the immense
difficulties under which a missionary, to any savage
and barbarous people, labors. "It would be
hard to understand the great difficulties
which they here encountered; the principal one being,
that they had neither teacher nor interpreter. To
be sure Sieur de Biencourt, and some of the others, knew
a little of it very well, enough for trade and ordinary
affairs, but when there was a question of speaking
about God and religious matters, there was the diffi
culty, there, the "not understand.' Therefore, they
were obliged to learn the language by themselves, inquir
ing of the savages how they called each thing. And
the task was not so very wearisome as long as what
was asked could be touched or seen; a stone, a river,
a house, to strike, to jump, to laugh, to sit down. But
when it came to internal and spiritual acts, which cannot
be demonstrated to the senses, and in regard to words
which are called abstract and 'universal, such as, to
believe, to doubt, to hope, to discourse, to apprehend,
an animal, a body, a substance, a spirit, virtue, vice.

108 The Makers of Maine
sin, reason, justice, etc.; for these things they had to
labor and sweat, in these were the pains of travail.
They did not know by what route to reach them, al
though they tried more than a hundred; there were no
gestures which would sufficiently express their ideas,
not if they would use ten thousand of them. Mean
while our gentlemen savages, to pass away the time,
made sport of their pupils, always telling them a lot
of nonsense. And yet if you wanted to take advantage
of this fun, if you had your paper and pencil ready to
write, you had to set before them a full plate with a
napkin underneath. For to such tripods do good
oracles yield; without this incentive, both Apollo and
Mercury would fail them; as it was they even became
angry and went away, if we wished to detain them a
little. What would you have done under the circum
stances? For in truth, this work cannot be understood
except by those who have tried it. Besides, as these
savages have no formulated religion, government,
towns, nor any trades, so the words and proper phrases
for all those things are lacking; Holy, Blessed, Angel,
Grace, Mystery, Sacrament, Temptation, Faith, Law,
Prudence, Subjection, Authority, etc. Where will you
get all these things that they lack? Or, how will you
do without them? O God, with what ease we make
our plans in France. And the beauty of it is, that
after having racked our brains by dint of questions
and researches, and after thinking that we have at
last found the philosopher's stone, we find that only
a ghost has been taken for a body, a shadow for a sub
stance, and that all this precious Elixir has gone up in
smoke. They often ridiculed instead of teaching
us, and sometimes palmed off on us indecent words,
which we went about innocently preaching for beau-

The Death of Sagamore Membertou 109
tiful sentences from the Gospels. God knows who
were the instigators of such sacrileges."
The foregoing plain and truthful picture of the
"noble Indian" character may furnish food for thought
to a few of the numberless American people who have
conceived the idea that the primitive Indian was a
simple, clean-minded, upright Hving, honest child of
the forest, until he degenerated under the baleful in
fluence of the white men, especially the Frenchmen.
The writings of Champlain and of the later Jesuit
missionaries who worked in Canada and around the
region of the Great Lakes in the West,, and down the
valley of the Mississippi, are full of much plainer des
criptions of the unpleasant and disagreeable character
of the natives.

CHAPTER XV
The First Mass Said In Maine
The first Mass that ever was said in the country
of what is now the Province of New Brunswick, and the
first administering of the sacraments of Penance and
Holy Eucharist, took place in the Fall of the year 1611.
Biencourt and a ship's company, together with
Father Biard went on an expedition to the west
to trade with the Indians living on the Kennebec river
for corn and what other food they could get to help
through the famine which they knew would come upon
them during the next winter at Port Royal. On the
way, Biencourt determined to hunt up the Maloans,
(people from Malo in France) who were poaching,
as we would say now, upon the lands and waters owned
by Biencourt's father, Poutrincourt. These people
gave the men who had rightful grants from the Crown
great trouble, as they hunted and fished, and what
was a worse offense, traded with the Indians, over the
lands reserved by lawful grant, illegally and wrongfully,
¦without permission and without making compensation.
Biencourt sailed up the St. John River several leagues
and came upon their encampment. Their commander,
Captain Merveille, was away at the time, but came
into camp during the night, and was immediately
taken prisoner by Biencourt. The next morning
a peace was patched up between Biencourt
and the Maloans and the latter agreed to recog
nise the superior tide and authority of Biencourt

The First Mass Said In Maine in
and to make compensation for their illegal trading.
Father Biard then said Mass and Captain Merveille
made his confession to the Father and received com
munion together with three of his men.
However, to us who are studying the early history
of Maine, it is of greater interest to know that the first
Mass said on the soil of the State of Maine was said
in the month of October, 1611, on an island in the
Kennebec River, three leagues from its mouth. It
is a pity that Father Biard leaves us no description
of that island by which we can identify it today from
among the great number of islands in the lower Kenne
bec. It lies between Bath and the sea, about three
leagues from the mouth of the river, and imagination
must supply the rest. The Jesuit relates it in these
words: "We arrived at the Kinibequi towards the end
of October. Kinnibequi is a river near the Armou
chiquois, in latitude forty-three and two third degrees,
and southwest of Port Royal about seventy leagues or
thereabouts. It has two quite large mouths, one
distant from the other at least two leagues; it is also
cut up by numerous arms and branches. Besides,
it is a great and beautiful river ; but we did not see good
soil there any more than at the St. John River. They
say however, that farther up, away from the sea, the
country is very fine and life there agreeable, and that
the people till the soil. We did not go farther up
than three leagues; we whirled about through so many
eddies, and shot over so many precipices, that several
times it was a great miracle of God that we did not
perish. Some of" our crew cried out at two different
times that we were lost ; but they cried too soon, blessed
be our Lord. The savages cajoled us with the hope
of getting corn; then they changed their promise of

112 The Makers of Maine
corn to that of trade in beaver skins. Now while this
trading was going on. Father Biard had gone, with a
boy, to an island near by, to celebrate Holy Mass. "
The company traded with the Indians and once
came near to having trouble with them, but the peace
was not disturbed, and they sailed away leaving behind
them a good opinion in the minds of the Indians. It
seems that these Indians had good reason to fear and
hate the white men because (as I have stated in a
former chapter) the English in 1608 had abused them
shamefully. Father Biard, says: "These people do not
seem to be bad, although they drove away the English
who wished to settle among them in 1608 and 1609.
They made excuses to us for this act, and recounted
the outrages they had experienced from the English;
and they flattered us, saying that they loved us very
much, because they knew we would not close our doors
to the savages as the English did, and set our dogs
upon them." This is a different description from what
has come down to us from the English "writers as I
shall show later.
March 12th, 1613, a ship was fitted out and sailed
from the port of Honfleur, France, for the Jesuit mission
in New France. It was the intention to take up the
two Jesuits at Port Royal, Fathers. Biard and Mass6, and
remove them to new headquarters to be founded at a
point on the Penobscot River in Maine, called Kades-
quit, not far from what is now Bangor. "But," as Father
Biard says, "dieu en disposa autremente." And indeed
He ordained so much "otherwise", that the entire his
tory of Maine has resulted differently. If the intentions
of the Jesuits and Madame de Guercheville
their financial backer, had been carried into effect
identically as planned, who can say today what would
have been the history of Maine? Under what flag

The First Mass Said in Maine 113
would we be li-ving? What language would we be
speaking and writing as the official language of the
State? One hundred and fifty years of conflict between
France and England for the possession of this land might
have been avoided. The citadel of Quebec might to-day
be the French Giberaltar of the west. The farmers of
Maine, in language, laws, customs, and religion, might
be indistinguishable from the "habitants" of the Province
of Quebec. The American Revolution, if it had hap
pened at all, might have meant to us no more than the
distant clash of arms of Virginia planters and New York
merchants with their English cousins, white we with
friendly sentiments towards both sides might have
looked on in pity and regret.
This is a childish dream that you are telling us and
not history, the reader is saying to himself by this time.
Have patience. Permit me to assure you that it is a
solemn fact of history that the simple fact that a dense
fog happened to settle down on the coast of Maine for
several days and nights during the latter part of the
month of May in the year 1613 preventing a ship com
manded by one Captain La Saussaye having on board
four Jesuits and a crew of some thirty or forty men,
from finding the mouth of the Penobscot River, changed
the whole course of the history of Maine irrevocably.
This ship sailed from France under the command
of Captain La Saussaye carrying Father Quentin S.
J., and Brother Gilbert du Thet S. J., and a company
numbering forty-eight persons. It was well freighted.
Besides provisions, it carried horses and cattle, tents
and munitions of war. May 16th, after two months
at sea, they landed at Cap de la Heve on the coast of
Acadia. Here Mass was said and a cross was erected
upon which was placed the coat of arms of Madame la
Marquise de Guerche-ville as a sign of having taken

114 The Makers of Maine
possession of the coast in her name. As I stated in
the preceding chapter, Madame de Guercheville was now
the owner of all New France from the St. Lawrence
to Florida, with the exception of Port Royal, by royal
grant from the crown of France. Putting to sea again,
they came to Port Royal. Here they found only five
persons, the two Jesuits, and three others. Biencourt
and the rest of his company were off on an expedition.
After five days at Port Royal they set sail again for the
coast of Maine, with Fathers Biard and Mass6 on board.
As I have said, they were aiming for a point on the
Penobscot River, where it was their intention to found
new headquarters for the mission. But when off
Grand Manan Island they ran into a dense fog in which
they were lost for two days and two nights. They offered
prayers and vows to God, and, as Father Biard says,
— "in his goodness He hearkened to us, for when even
ing came on we began to see the stars, and by morning
the fog had all disappeared. We recognized that we
were off Mount Desert, an island which the savages
call Pemetiq. The pilot turned to the eastern shore
of the island, and there located us in a large and beauti
ful port, here we made our thanksgiving to God, raising
a cross and singing to God his praises with the sacrifice
of the holy Mass. We called this place and port Saint
Sauveur." A quarrel arose between the sailors and the
others as to the point to which the sailors had agreed
to ship. The pilot maintained that no ship had
ever sailed up the Penobscot to Kadesquit, and he ab
solutely refused to immortalize himself by being the
discoverer of a new route. While the dispute was in pro
gress, the Indians on the shore signaled the ship with
smoke. When they learned that Father Biard was
aboard they urged the company to locate at this point,

The First Mass Said In Maine iifl
praising it very highly. Father Biard was not impressed
by their praises as he had set his determination upon
reaching the place on the Penobscot called Kadesquit.
When they found that they could not prevail upon him
to stay by their praises of the location, they resorted
to an argument which was unanswerable by the priest,
and which shows how quickly and shrewdly they esti
mated the missionary zeal of the Jesuits. They pretend
ed that their Sagamore was very sick and in danger
of death. "If thou dost not come (they said) he will
die without baptism and will not go to heaven; thou
¦wilt be the cause of it, for he himself wishes very much
to be baptized." Fr. Biard at once went -with them;
and to his chagrin found that the great Sagamore was
ill ¦with a cold.
However, after considering the situation the voy
agers decided that they would do well to locate their
fort and settlement at this place which they had called
St. Sauveur, being impressed by the natural beauty of
the scenery. We children of Maine can appreciate
with what pleasure they must have ¦viewed the romantic
shores of Mt. Desert Island. It calls for the pen of a
poet to do justice in words to the beauty of the scenery
of this part of the coast of Maine. The ¦writer is not a
poet. But fortunately most of the readers of these
articles are familiar ¦with the shores of this State and
appreciative of the charm of its varying coast line, the
skies continually changing, ¦with glimpses of blue more
brilliant than the famed skies of Sicily, views of green
hills of romantic beauty constrasted with the darker
green of the foliage, a shore line changing in a few miles
into the subUme grandeur of great cliffs their grayrock
seamed ¦with bands of brown and red. The pen of the
Jesuit is plain and matter of fact, his descriptions are
characterized by a certain naive simplicity rather than

116 The Makers of Maine
enthusiasm, but even his sober style is enlivened by
the impression which the ¦view of this shore made upon
him. He says: "This place is a beautiful hill rising
gently from the sea, its sides bathed by two springs;
the land is cleared for twenty or twenty-five acres, and
in some places is covered with grass almost as high as a
man. It faces the south and east, and is near the
mouth of the Pentegoet (the Penobscot), where several
broad and pleasant rivers, which abound in fish, dis
charge their waters; its soil is dark, rich and fertile;
the port and harbor are as fine as can be seen, and are
in a position favorable to command the entire coast;
the harbor especially is as safe as a pond. For besides
being strengthened by the great island of Mount De
sert, it is still more protected by certain small islands
which break the currents and the winds and fortify the
entrance. It is situated latitude 44 1-3 degrees, a posi
tion still less northerly than that of Bordeau."
I transcribe this statement more especially for the
benefit of those readers who are particularly familiar
with the spot now known with fair certainty to have
been the exact position where St. Sauveur was located
where the cross was erected and Mass celebrated for
the first time on the shore near Mt. Desert Island
(but not the first Mass in Maine as I have shown in
the preceding chapter), and where the first Jesuit
was martyred in the State of Maine.
Father Biard then proceeds to say these significant
words: "With the beginning of work also began the
quarrels, a second sign and augury of our ill luck. The
cause of these dissensions was principally that La Saus
saye, our captain, amused himself too much in culti
vating the land, while all the chiefs of the enterprise
were urging him not to employ the laborers for that
purpose, but to get to work without delay upon the

The Firsx Mass Said in Maine ii7
houses and fortifications, which he did not •wish to do.
From these disputes sprang others, until the English
brought us all to an understanding with each other, as
you will hear immediately."

CHAPTER XVI
The Argall Outrage
The readers of these essays are all familiar ¦with
the locatidn of Jamestown, Virginia, and how far dis
tant it was from St. Sauveur on the coast of Maine.
Surely then, there was plenty of room for both ambi
tious nations to live in peace and security in this vast
extent of territory. Or as Father Biard says, "Judge if
they have any good reason for quarreling •with us."
I have now, in the course of this narrative reached the
point where I must relate the story of a foul, cold-blood
ed murder committed by Englishmen in a time of pro
found peace between France and England. The story
is an old one, an oft-told tale, familiar to all readers of
history. But perhaps I can relate some details taken
from the narrative of one of the eye-witnesses of the
affair, which may interest the reader because my infor
mation is from the original sources.
The English from Virginia were accustomed every
summer to send an expedition to the region of the Gulf
of Maine and the Banks to get a supply of codfish.
A ship commanded by Captain Argall was making for
this place as usual in the summer of 1613 when it hap
pened to be caught in this same fog which turned the
French ship under La Saussaye to its new settlement
of St. Sauveur instead of to its original objective, a
point up the Penobscot. This Captain Argall was a
crafty, unscrupulous, pitiless adventurer, who had al
ready gained an unenviable reputation as a commander

The Argall Outrage ii9
of illicit trading vessels, and who was then fresh from
his despicable exploit of abducting Pocahontas, the
young Indian princess, and carrying her a prisoner to
Jamestown. Fr. Biard, however, in his Relation,
does not give him credit for one weak excuse for this
attack upon St. Sauveur, which in all fairness in writ
ing history should be mentioned. He was sailing under
a commission from Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of Vir
ginia, with authority to expel any intruders upon' the
domains of King James of England (if anybody could
then or can now define the limits of that domain.
With him were an admirable company, from the
Virginia Colony, of ruined younger sons, disreputable
gentlemen, and hangers-on of London taverns and
gambling-houses. Unfortunately, some Indians passing near
his ship supposed that he was a Frenchman looking
for his compatriots, and they, actuated by friendship
for the French, informed him of the presence of the
French at St. Sauveur, and upon being questioned by
him, in signs, as to the number of French, gave him to
understand that the company was weak in number.
With great glee he directed the Indians to pilot him to
his friends and compatriots, the French. When the
EngUsh discovered the French settlement they began to
clear their ship for action. When the Indians saw the
the mistake that they had unwittingly committed,
they wept and cursed the English and leaped overboard
and swam ashore.
Father Biard describes the astonishment of the
French as this English ship bore down upon them
showing every sign of hostility, while they them
selves were totally unprepared. With these expressive
words he describes the appearance of the British ships:
"Le nauire Anglois venoit plus viste qu'vn dard, ayant

120 The Makers of Maine
vent a souhait, tout pauis de rouge, les pauillons d'An-
gleterre fiottans, trois trompettes & deux tambours
faisants rage de sonner." The French were taken wholly
unaware. Their ship was deprived of half its sailors, an
had only ten men to defend it, and of these none under
stood naval warfare. Besides, as it was summer and
they were not anticipating any attack from a nation
with whom France was at peace, the ship was entirely
disarranged, even the sails had been taken down and
were being used for awnings. Their commander. La
Saussaye was on shore, and did not go aboard upon the
approach of the English, and although the Jesuit writer
does not say so in words, the inference must be clearly
drawn from his narration that La Saussaye ran away.
The English fired one terrible volley.
Let me quote Father Biard for the rest: "Captain
Flory cried, 'Fire the cannon, fire,' but the cannoneer was
not there. Now Brother Gilbert du Thet, who in all his
life had never felt fear or shown himself a coward, hearing
this command and seeing no one to obey it, took a match
and made us speak as loudly as the enemy. Unfortu
nately, he did not take aim; if he had, perhaps there
might have been something worse than mere noise.
The English, after this first and furious volley, came
alongside of us, and held an anchor ready to grapple
our bits. Captain Flory very opportunely paid out
more cable, which stopped the enemy and made them
turn away, for they were afraid if they pursued us we
would draw them into shallow water; then seeing our
vessel fall back, and thus being reassured, they again
began to approach us, firing off the muskets as before.
It was during this second charge that Brother Gilbert
du Thet received a musket shot in his body and fell
stretched out across the deck. Captain Flory was also
wounded in the foot, and three others in other places.

Father Biard, S. J., and the French soldiers take possession of Mt. Desert Island and
the neighboring shore, and in the name of the Holy Redeemer, name the place St. Sauveur

The Argall Outrage 121
which made them signal and cry out that we surrend
ered, for it was e-vidently a very unequal match."
In this way it was that the first Jesuit to lose his
life in Maine came to his death fighting like a brave
man. In a few words, quoted from Father Biard in his clear
and simple style, free from exaggeration and rhetorical
flourish, I have related the history of Argall's outrage.
Thus did bloody Argall, in his lawlessness, strike the
first blow, which brought on the long series of battles
and wars between France and England in the new world,
which lasted for one hundred and fifty years, deluged
Maine and Canada with blood, cost the lives of thous
ands of English and French and countless numbers of
Indians, occasioned numerous acts of treachery and
cruelty, martyred many missionary priests, retarded the
peaceful advance of civilization and Christianity, and
gave rise to bitterness, disputes and lies, the influence
and effect of which have been felt in history from that
day to this.
Captian Argall, knowing well that his act was un
warranted by the conditions existing in Acadia and
Maine and unjustifiable in international law; that his
attack upon the French ship was nothing less than
piracy; and that the destruction of the fortifications
and burning of the camps on shore would furnish France
•with a "casus belli" against England; de^vised a shrewd
and cunning scheme to make his act appear excusable if
not entirely justifiable and to shift to La Saussaye the
burden of pro'ving his case. As I have stated. Father
Biard insinuates, although not charging in so many
words, that the French commander of the expedition
preferred his own personal safety to the hazards of the
unequal battle, and hid himself in the woods while the
fight was on. After that short and bloody encounter

122 The Makers of Maine
was over La Saussaye could not be found. Therefore
Argall took advantage of his absence to pick the locks
of his trunks ; he abstracted the commissions and royal
patents, afterwards putting everything back in its
place, fastening the trunks again. The next day La
Saussaye returned, and Argall received him with court
esy, and asked him to show his commission from the
French king. La Saussaye answered that his authority
would be found all correct and regular in his trunks
He proceeded to open them, when, of course, they were
not to be found. At this, Argall pretended to fly into
a terrible rage. "How now," he said, "are you imposing
on us? You give us to understand that you have a
commission from your king, and you cannot produce
any evidence of it. You are outlaws and pirates, every
one of you, and you merit death."
Then the English plundered the Frenchmen, not
only their goods, but even the very clothes they wore.
The poor Frenchmen were reduced to a pitiable state.
It was then that the Indians showed their good will
and friendship towards them, as well as their means per
mitted. Father. Biard says: "Now it is impossible to
imagine the anxiety we endured at that time, for we
knew not which way to turn. From the English, we
expected only death or at least slavery; but to remain
in this country, and for so many men to live among the
savages in their way for a whole year, looked to us like
a long and miserable death. These good savages,
having heard about our misfortune, came and offered
to do their best for us, promising to feed us during the
winter, and showing a great deal of sympathy for us.
But we could hope for nothing better than they had;
also we could see no prospect of finding any other ex
peditions in such a desert."
Those are the words of Father Biard. Those

The Argall Outrage 123
words are the original authority for all the history that
may be written upon the battle of St. Sauveur. I
do not know of any other original source. I have never
heard that Argall ever wrote a history, or any record of
the battle. Therefore, every ¦writer, who has since
written the tale, has either taken his authority second
hand, or he has been obliged to take the story from the
relation of Father Biard. Yet, in spite of the fact that
this relation is the original and only authority, it seems
that it is impossible for some ¦writers, and able and
noted writers at that, to relate the story truthfully, in
accordance with the facts, and without insinuations
and innuendos which change the facts. As an example
of this inability of most English writers of history to
¦write of any event in which the Jesuits were actors with
truthfulness and sincerity, let us quote from the histori
cal ¦writings of John Fiske. Fiske ranks high as a •writer
of American history. In his work "New France and
New England," published in 1902, he relates the Argall
incident in the following words:
"When the Jonas arrived on the Acadian coast, the
chief of the expedition, a gentleman of the court named
La Saussaye, set up a standard bearing Madame de
Guerche-ville's coat of arms. At Port Royal he picked
up a couple of Jesuits and thence stood for Penobscot
Bay, but first he entered Frenchman's Bay at Mount
Desert, and dropped anchor there, for the place attract
ed him. Presently a spot was found so charming that
it was decided to make a settlement there. It was on
the western shore of Somes Sound, between Flying
Mountain and Fernald Cove. Scarcely had work be
gun there, when a sloop of war came into the sound,
carrying fourteen guns, and at her masthead was flying
the little red flag of England. She was commanded by
young Captain Samuel Argall, who had come all the

124 The Makers of Maine
way from James river to fish for cod, but incidentally
Sir Thomas Dale, who was then governing Virginia
under the title of High Marshall, had instructed him to
look out for any Frenchmen who might have ventured
to trespass upon the territory granted by King James
to the Virginia Company. Argall had picked up some
Indians in Penobscot Bay who told him of the white
men at Mount Desert, and from their descriptions he
recognized the characteristic shrugs and bows of French
men. When his flag appeared in Somes Sound, the
French commander. La Saussaye, with some of the more
timid ones, took to the woods, but a few bold spirits
tried to defend their ship. It was of no use. After
two or three raking shots the English boarded and
took possession of her. The astute Argall searched
La Saussaye's baggage until he found his commission
from the French government, which he quietly tucked
into his pocket. After a while La Sausaye, overcome
by hunger, emerged from his hiding-place and was
received with extreme politeness by Argall, who ex
pressed much regret for the disagreeable necessity under
which he had laboured. It was a pity to have to dis
turb such estimable gentlemen, but really this land
belonged to King James and not to King Louis. Of
course, however, the noble chevalier must be acting
under a royal commission, which would lay the whole
burden of the affair upon the shoulders of King Louis
and exonerate the officers who were merely acting under
orders. So spake the foxy Argall, adding with his
blandest smile that, just as a matter of formal courtesy,
he would like to see the commission. We can fancy the
smile growing more grim and Mephistophelean as the
bewildered Frenchman hunted and hunted. When
at length it appeared that La Saussaye could produce
no such document Argall began to bluster and swear.

The Argall Outrage 126
He called the Frenchmen pirates, and confiscated all
their property scarcely leaving a coat to their backs.
Then, as he had not room enough for all the prisoners,
he put La Saussaye, with one of the Jesuit fathers and
thirteen men, into an open boat and left them to their
fate, which turned out to be a kindly one, for after a
few days they were picked up by a French merchant
ship and carried back to the Old World."
From the foregoing, would not a reader of history
draw the inference, and carry away with him the idea
that Argcdl and his company of Englishmen were
strictly within their rights, and that the Frenchmen
were trespassers upon the domains of the English King?
Would not one also carry away the impression that
Argall was only a shrewd and able English commander,
using justifiable means of deception for the advancement
of the interests of his King? I venture to say that
such is the impression that most readers of history
have of that event, which is rightiy called, by those
who know the truth, — "the Argall outiage."
Indeed so worthy and credible and dignified a
historian as Bancroft, himself, describes the St. Sauv
eur affair contrary to the truth in some particulars.
Why he does so, it is hard to understand. For instance
he says, that the English, under Argall, bombarded the
French fort at St. Sauveur. We know, from the reading
of the Jesuit Relation, that the French had no time to
erect intrenchments, much less a fort, and, besides, we
know that the French commander. La Saussaye, act
ually did not take ordinary military precautions. In
addition, Bancroft has made the further and inexcu
sable error of saying that Argall put a part of the French
company, after the fight, on board French vessels.
Whereas, we know that the truth was that La Saussaye,
Father Mciss6, and thirteen others were merdlessly

126 The Makers of Maine
cast off in an open boat; but they made their way east
ward, as best they could by the aid of oars, coasting
along this shore until they came to the southern part of
Nova Scotia, where they found a trading vessel in
which they secured a passage to St. Malo.
While we are upon the matter of misstating history,
a point that I have mentioned before, and shall have
to mention again, I desire to call attention to the error
made by Williamson, the Historian of Maine, whose
history is reckoned to be the best authority, it is not
out of the way to mention it now. As the location of
the St. Sauveur settlement, which was broken up by
Argall, was on the shore of what is now called, on maps
of Maine, Frenchman's Bay. The truth is that the
name Frenchman's Bay was given to this inlet of the
sea long after the time when the French were at St.
Sauveur. Yet, Williamson relates that the name
was given to these waters for the reason that a French
priest, Nicholas d'Aubri, was lost here on an island.
For his authority he refers to SuUivan, the Historian
of the District of Maine, who tells the story with the
important difference that he locates the scene on the
west side of what is now the Bay of Fundy, which, as
we have learned before from Champlain's History, and
Lescarbot's History, was called French Bay by De
Monts, but not because of d'Aubri's adventure. Wil-
Uamson has confused the whole matter. The truth is,
as we have shown before, the first French expedition
named what is now the Bay of Fundy, "French Bay,"
and it was there that this French priest was lost, and
not years afterwards at what is now Frenchman's Bay.
The statement of SuUivan, in his History of the
District of Maine, that "there were anciently many
French settlements on that part of the Bay which is
opposite to the Banks of Mount Desert, as well as on

The Argall Outrage 127
the island itself," is a gratuitous assertion. In fact,
the only ancient settiement upon this bay was that of
St. Sauveur in 1613, as we have just related.

CHAPTER XVII
The Jesuits are Carried to Virginia
and England
Argall di^vided the captive iFrench. He placed
fifteen in one of their boats to make their way back to
France as best they could, and fifteen he took with him
to Virginia; in the latter company Father Biard was in
cluded, and fifteen had made their escape when the
attack was made and were on shore with the pilot.
This latter company later joined the fifteen that Ar
gall had sent adrift, and after many vicissitudes they
arrived safely at St. Malo in France. Father Biard relates
the adventures of himself and his comrades in Virginia.
They were not welcomed there. The good priest was
sadly disappointed in Sir Thomas Dale, Governor of
Virginia, "Marshall of Virginia," as he calls him. He
was told that Dale was a great friend to the French as
he had been a soldier and pensioner of Henry the Great.
"But," says Father Biard, "our preachers did not take
their text from the Gospels. For this charming Mar
shall, who had the fibre and character of a Frenchman,
as they said, when he heard an account of us, talked
nothing but ropes and gallows and of having every one
of us hanged. We were badly frightened, and some
lost their peace of mind, expecting nothing less than to
ignominiously walk up a ladder to be let down disgrace
fully by a rope."
However, they were saved from death by no other
than Argall himself, who alleged his promise and word

Jesuits Carried to Virginia and England 129
given to them in Maine that they should suffer no harm.
It was decided that Argall should return to Maine and
Acadia, taking Father Biard and his companies with
him, and should plunder and burn and destroy all the set-
tiements of the French. They went first to St. Sauveur;
completed the destruction of the fortifications there, and
tore down the cross. Then they searched for the De
Monts settiement on the St. Croix. Argall desired Father
Biard to guide them, but his refusal, as he says, "caused
him to be in complete disgrace with Argall and in great
danger of his life." Argall did not attempt to force Father
Biard to guide him to Port Royal, after his refusal to point
out the St. Croix settlement and Father Biard claims that
Argall captured an Indian Sagamore who showed him the
way to Port Royal. It seems that some of the French
who were around and about Port Royal believed that
Father Biard guided the English to the settlement. And
Francis Parkman, the historian, author of "Pioneers of
New France," and "The Jesuits in North America," ac
cepts the belief, as he readily accepts every aspersion upon
the character of a Jesuit. It is true that Father Biard
passes over the incident of the capture of the Sagamore
with less comment than he usually indulges in; he does
not give the name of the Sagamore; and although he
knpw and admits that some of the French charged him
¦with treachery, he does not reply and defend himself
fully and carefully as he usually does in reference to
other false charges against the Jesuits. Yet it is diffi
cult, in view of his whole career of probity and honor,
to believe that he could have been guilty of such a base
act of treason and disloyalty to his countrymen.
The English burned and destroyed the Port Royal
settlement, and looted the place even to the extent of
taking away the boards, bolts, locks and nails. No-

130 The Makers of Maine
vember 9th, 1613, the English sailed away from Port
Royal, intending to return to Virginia.
Father Biard was aboard a ship commanded by one
Lieutenant Turnel. The ships were sepau-ated in a great
storm, and the ship commanded by Turnel was obliged
to make its way to the Azores. These islands were in
habited, by Catholic people. Turnel, whom Father
Biard now calls, "the Captain," because he was in
command of the vessel which was separated from
Argall's command during the storm, believed with the
other Englishmen, that Father Biard was a traitor to the
French and at heart a Spaniard, if not one by birth. I
will quote the following conversation from Biard's Re
lation: "Once when he was feeling very repentant, he called
Father Biard and held with him the following conversa-
tion,which I here insert almost word for word; for this
Captain spoke good French, and many other common
languages, besides Italian and Greek, which he under
stood very well; he was a man of great intelligence
and a thorough student. 'Father Biard,' (said he)
'God is angry at us, I see it clearly; he is angry at us,
I say but not at you; angry at us because we went to
make war on you without first giving you notice, which
is contrary to the rights of nations. But I protest
that it was contrary to my advice and my inchnation.
I did not know what to do, I had to follow, I was merely
a servant. But I tell you I see very clearly that God's
wrath is kindled against us, but not against you, although
on your account; for you do nothing but suffer.' The
Captain pausing here, you may judge whether or not
the Jesuit failed to make a suitable answer. The Cap
tain took up another phase of the question. 'But,
Father Biju-d,' (says he) 'it is strange that your
countrymen from Port Royal should accuse you

Jesuits Carried to Virginia and England i31
thus.' The Father answers: 'But, Sir, have you ever
heard me slander them?' 'By no means,' he says,
'but I have clearly observed that when evil things
are said of them, both before Captain Argall and be
fore me, you have always defended them, of which I
am a good witness.' 'Sir,' (the Father says) 'draw
your own conclusions from that, and judge which have
God and truth on their side, whether the slanderers
or the charitable.' 'I know that very well,' says the
Captain, 'but, Father Biard, did not charity make you
lie when you told me that we should find nothing but
misery at Port Royal?' 'Pardon me, answers the
Father, 'I beg you to remember that I told you only
that when I was there I saw and found nothing but
misery.' The foregoing relation of this conversation may
throw more light upon Father Biard's character than
pages of argument. And I consider the question
important, because, upon whether we accept the Jesuit's
relation of the attack of the English and their actions,
or the version that has come down to us from the English
depends entirely our ¦view of this period of history
and the right and wrong of all the acts of hostility
between the English and the French and Indians which
occurred afterwards.
While the ship was at the Azores the Jesuits re
mained hidden in the hold of the vessel for three whole
weeks, so that they would not be discovered by the
Catholic people of the Azores, who would have wrecked
summary vengeance upon the English for keeping
Catholic priests prisoners.
Upon their arrival in England, the Jesuits were
treated with great consideration, were entertained 'by
gentlemen holding official positions and were sent back
to France ¦with great honor. Father Biard relates

132 The Makers of Maine
his experiences, and tells his impressions of the English
Church and Churchmen. The following is an interest
ing excerpt from the "Relations," as showing the Jesuit's
observations of religious institutions with which he was
not familiar and concerning which he had doubtless
been misinformed before his visit to England.
"Now during this sojourn all kinds of people went
to see them and some from a great distance, through
curiosity to see Jesuits dressed in their robes, as they
were then and always have been until their return to
France. Ministers, Justices, gentlemen, and others
came to confer with them, even, a Lord of the Great
Council wished to have the pleasure of pitting four
Ministers against them in debate. I say Ministers,
to make myself intelligible to the French, for in Eng
land they call them Priests. And the chief one in the
debate was an Archdeacon, for the English still have a
great many things in common with the Catholic Church,
as the Order of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Arch
bishops, Bishops, Priests, Archpriests, Archdeacons
Curates, Canons, etc; the Episcopal laying on of
hands in the ordination of Priests and lesser orders,
and in the confirmation of children; the Chrism and its
ceremonies, the sign of the Cross, the Image of this
and of other things ; the Psalmody and usual forms
of worship, the prescribed Saints' days^ the Vigils,
Fasts, Lent, Abstinence from meat on Friday and Sat
urday; priestly robes and consecrated vessels. And
those who condemn all these things, as the CaMnists
of France and of Scotland do, and calf them damnable
superstitions and inventions of the anti-Christ, are by
the English called Puritans, and are detested by them as
abominable plagues."

CHAPTER XVIII
Miracles In Maine
In closing his "Relations" of the year 1613, Father
Biard writes an account of some occurrences of a mira
culous nature which happened during his period of ser-
•vice as a missionary priest in New France. I shall
briefly relate the facts as he tells them, without discus
sion or comment, leaving the matter to my readers
for their own opinions. The Jesuit was informed that
at Baye Ste. Marie there was an Indian woman at the
point of death who desired to see him. He took a guide
and went to the woman. They found that she had
been afflicted with a disease for three weeks and was
now stretched out by the fire in the manner in which
the savages placed their sick when their cases became
hopeless. He instructed her in the truths of religion
as well as he could and prayed for her, and left her a
cross to hang about her neck. The next day he returned
and found her well and happy and engaged in heavy
work carrying burdens.
A second happened at Pentagoet (the Penobscot
River). Father Biard was there in company with the
Sieur de , Biencourt, and according to his custom was
visiting the sick. The Indians showed him one who
was not expected to live, ha^ving been sick for three
months'; This Indian was in the thoeres of a violent
attack, speaking only with difficulty and bathed in a
cold perspiration,^ the jforerunner of death. The priest
prayed for him and had him kiss a cross, which he left

184 The Makers of Maine
with him and then departed. A day or two afterwards,
Biencourt was trading in his boat, and this Indian came
to him in company with others, and was well and happy
displaying his cross, and with great demonstrations
of joy expressed his gratitude to Father Biard.
The third is as follows: Father Biard went with
Sieur de la Motte to St. Saveur. Coming towards the
cabins of the Indians they heard cries and loud lamen
tations. Having asked their guide what it meant he
replied that some one was dead and this was the mourn
ing. Approaching nearer they met a boy who said
to the preist: "Someone is dying. Run fast, perhaps
you can baptize him before he really dies." They ran
Eis fast as they could, and when they arrived they found
the savages drawn up in a line as if on parade, and in
front of them walked a distracted father holding his
dying child in his arms. Father Biard asked the father
if he would be willing to have his child baptized. The
poor simple fellow said not a word, but placed the child
in the priest's arms. Father Biard called for water at
once, and putting the child in the arms of Sieur de la
Motte, as his godfather, baptized him, calling him
Nickolas. the name of the Sieur. The Indians crowded
around in silence as if expecting some great miracle
to follow. Father Biard prayed to God that these
poor heathens might be enlightened, and then he gave
the child to its mother who was there. The mother
immediately offered the child the breast, and he began
at once to receive nourishment. The savages fell to
their knees in astonishment. The child recovered
rapidly and in a month was perfectly healthy. The
Indians looked upon Father Biard as more than a man.
Is it at all doubtful, then, that Father Biard was
telling the litteral truth when he wrote, speaking of
what results had been accomplished by the Jesuit

Miracles in Maine i36
missionaries in their sojourn at Port Royal and their
travels and work among the Indians in Acadia and
Maine up to the time of the destruction of St. Saveur
and Port Royal by Argall and his Englishmen?—
"But yet, on the other hand, it is a great result
that the French have won the confidence and friendli
ness of the savages, through the great familiarity and
intercourse which they have had with them. For
the foundation must always be laid before raising the
capital; that is, we must make them citizens, or good
hosts and friends before making them brothers. Now
this confidence and this intimacy is already so great that
we live among them with less fear than we live in Paris.
For in Paris we cannot sleep without having the door
well bolted; but here we close them against the wind
only, and sleep no less securely for keeping them open.
At first, they fled from us, and feared us ; now they wish
us with them. When we first disembarked and ¦visited
St. Saveur, and pretended that we did not like the place,
and that we thought of going elsewhere, these simple
natives wept and lamented. On the .other hand, the
Sagamore of Kadesquit, called Betsabes, came to per
suade us, with a thousand promises, to go to his place,
having heard that we had some intentions of making
a settlement there. Is it a small thing to have such
a foundation of justice in our colonies, and this so sure
pledge of great success? And we must not conclude
that other nations have borne this friendship as well
as we, for we are eye-witnesses to the fact that these
savages, having, (as they supposed) some advantage
over the English, threw themselves uponjthem ¦with
fury, thinking, I believe, to get revenge for jthe injury
that had been done to us; but they were not successful
in their attack. Likewise.'^towards the end of the year
1611, the Hollanders merely wished to land at Cape de

136 THE Makers of Maine
la*^ Heve to take in some fresh water, our savages cissailed
them .fiercely, and made away with six of them, among
whom was the captian of the ship. It seems to me that
we will be unworthy of this friendship, if we do not so
act that it will avail them in learning to love Him from
Whom we receive all our blessings."
In closing this discussion and narration of the Port
Royal mission of the French, which, as I have stated
many times (because I desire the reader to bear it
in mind continually), included what is now the State
of Maine, or at least by admission of the English them
selves, all of Maine as far to the West as the Kennebec
and Androscoggin rivers, I will briefly mention the
leading points of the argument of Father Biard sustaining
the contention to the title of that French to Maine is
far better than the title of the English. Later, in dis
cussing the English claims to title, I shall have occasion
to again refer to this argument (a Jesuit argument
and therefore a diabolically ingenious distortion of lo
gic according to the deluded and misled descendants
of the Puritans of New England.)
The English (so says Father Biard) do not dispute
with the French all of New France. They grant a New
France bounded by the shores of the Gulf and River of
St. Lawrence, and not extending further South than a
line drawn across the northern part of the State running
through what is now Frederickton, N. B., Houlton
Me., Mt. Katahdin and the northern shores of Moose-
head Lake; the English claiming these bounds, at the
time Father Biard wrote, by a patent of King James'
grant, whose words are these: "We give them all the
lands up to the 45th degree which do not actually be
long to any Christian Prince." At that very time the
French were in possession of this region, as is attested
by the writings of Champlain and Lescarbot.

Miracles In Maine 137
Now, says Father Biard, it is true and acknowledged
by all that the Bretons and Normans first discovered
the great Banks and New Foundland in the year 1504
and continually fished and traded there ever after
wards. In addition, Fr. Biard claims by reason of Jacques
Cartier's voyages and discoveries, and argues that if
the English contention is correct, that their sailing
up the James River of Virginia gave them dominion over
a region, not merely seven or eight leagues on each side
of the river, but thirty or forty times further than the
human eye can see, then Cartier's last voyage in 1534
up the St. Lawrence gave the French an equally sound
claim to the same amount of territory on each side of
the St. Lawrence. •
Also, employing and invoking the argument of
common knowledge and common consent of the world.
Father Biard argues that all the maps in Europe repre
sented New France as extending south as far as the
38th or 39th parallel, that is, to the southern part of New
England, to Long Island Sound.
This chapter closes the story of the first Maine
mission. In other essays I shall take up the thread
of the English settlements and the •writings of the
Englishmen which throw light upon this period of
Maine history, so that the reader may compare the two
peoples and their records in Maine. And we shall try
to look at the history of this epoch of stirring time and
stirring deeds through the eyes of the adventurous
Englishmen who were struggling to get a foot-hold upon
this much sought, much desired domain. Again, later
we will come back to the French and their missionary
priests in Maine at a somewhat later period.

CHAPTER XIX
WEYMOUTH'S Voyage— HE Captures
Some Indians
In the first chapter which I wrote on this subj ect
I mentioned the voyage of Captain Waymouth, the
Englishman, to these shores, in the year 1605, and
in speaking of the romantic scenery of Maine, so little
appreciated by the present inhabitants of this state, I
quoted from Rosier (historian of Waymouth's voyage)
the description of the scenery on and about the Ken
nebec. Waymouth's voyage in 1605 is of some im
portance in the history of the English settlements in
Maine and the English claim of title; therefore, I de
sire to treat of it now at greater length.
Captain Waymouth was a British naval officer who
had been engaged for some time prior to his voyage to
Maine in the unavailing search for the famous north
west passage to India. Upon his return from the Arc
tic regions he was engaged to undertake another voyage
ostensibly for the same purpose, but actually for the
purpose of finding some spot suitable for the establish
ing of an English colony. It may seem strange to
my readers that there should have been any necessity
for concealing the object of such a voyage, but the fact
is that at that time there existed such a jealousy among
the maritime nations of Europe, that these enterprises
of discovery were conducted with the most profound
secrecy. It was a part of Captain Waymouth's duty to keep

WAYMOUTH'S Voyage 139
a diary, or "log," of his voyage — nautical statistics,
observations, and all the facts necessary to give his
employers full information of the value of his discover
ies. This journal was kept by James Rosier. And so,
as we got our facts for the story of the French settle
ment of Acadia, our historical data, from the "Rela
tions des Jesuites" — daily narrations of the life of the
French adventurers and their missionary priests, now
we get our facts for the history of the doings of these
Englishmen from an equally reliable original source, —
Rosier's Journal of Waymouth's Voyage.
For a long time it was believed that Waymouth
sailed up the Penobscot River; but I think that it is
now quite universally admitted that that belief was
erroneous, and that the truth is that he explored the
Sagadahoc and the Androscoggin.
Mr. George Prince, the historian, in his edition of
Rosier's Narrative of Waymouth's Voyage, argues that
Waymouth sailed up the Georges River; his strongest
objection to the Kennebec is that the mountains which
the voyagers saw from the coast could not have been
the White Mountains; but must have been the high
hills back of Camden. His argument does not ap
peal to me as being convincing.
His ship, the "Archangel," was fitted out by the
Earl of Southampton and Lord Arundel, and sailed
from England March 5th, 1605. On the 17th of May
they discovered Mongehan Island, which they named
St. George's, and anchored on the north side of the
island. I think all the readers of these essays are fa
miliar with the location on the map of Monhegan. It
is well known as a summer resort at the present time.
Rosier says: "From this point we might discern the
mainland from the west, southwest, to the east, north
east; and a great way (as it then seemed, and we after-

140 THE Makers of Maine
wards found it) up into the main we might discern very
high mountains, though the main seemed but lowland."
Now it will be noticed that the writer does not give the
course as to the direction of these very high mountains;
and without doubt for a purpose, because as I have
stated, it was the intention of the promoters of the
voyage to publish the journal and thereby to arouse
interest in England and to induce emigration, but it
was not their intention to inform the world of the exact
location of their proposed settlement until the time was
ripe for so doing. But these Englishmen were familiar
enough with high hills and with mountains in the
British Isles, so that they would not be so impressed by
the Penobscot and Camden hills as to dignify them by
the expression "very high mountains." Is it at all
unlikely that the very high mountains that they saw in
the distance were the White Mountains of New Hamp
shire? Especially when we ourselves know that the
White mountains can be distinctly seen on a clear day
from off the coast of Maine.
"The next day being Whitsunday," says the his
torian, "because we rode too much open to the sea and
winds, we weighed anchor about twelve o'clock, and
came along to the other islands more adjoining to the
main, and in the road directly with the mountains,
about three leagues from the first island where we had
anchored." If they proceeded towards the shore in
the direction of the White Mountains until they "came
along to other islands more adjoining to the main,"
then they came along to what is now Squirrel Island
and the other islands, in that neighborhood which are
now summer resorts. "We all praised God," says
Rosier, "for his unspeakable goodness in directing us
into so secure a harbor; in remembrance whereof, we
named it Pentecost Harbor." This "Pentecost Harbor"

WAYMOUTH'S VOYAGE 141
is nothing else than our Boothbay Harbor. A sig-
nificent evidence of this is that they relate that when
they surveyed all the islands about they found upon
one of them a sandy cover where small vessels could an
chor, and near by, a pond of fresh water which flowed
over the bank. This description fits Squirrel Island
perfectiy. On Thursday, May 30th, Captain Waymouth took
a boat and thirteen men and started on a tour of dis
covery, leaving fourteen men on board the ship. After
their departure, three canoes with Indians came down
to the ship. The Indians were invited on board,
they came and traded with the Englishmen. The next
day Waymouth returned and reported withjgreat ela
tion that he had discovered "a great river which trended
into the mtiin about forty miles," an excellent river,
suitable for trade and commerce ;and for the establish
ing of a colony.
Now comes the narration of the despicable act of
kidnapping the Indians. Before starting out on the
voyage, of exploration up the river which the Captain
discovered, he formed the resolution to take with him
back to England when he returned, five or six of the
natives, that "they might be taught habits of ci^viliza-
tion." We know very well that he never was actuated
by any such phlanthropic motives; that his intention
was to exhibit them as curiosities to the English people
and thereby to help in arousing interest in this new field
for English adventure. And that he succeeded in
arousing some kind of interest in England with his Indian
savages is attested by no less an authority than Shakes
peare, himself, who says in the Tempest, Act II, Sec. 2
— "when they would not give a doit to relieve a lame
beggar, they would lay out ten to see a dead Indian."
It seems that these Englishmen had a comfortable way

142 The Makers of Maine
of saving the Indian's soul and making money with
his body, like the pious Pilgrims afterwards at Ply
mouth, who •wrote home to their brethren in England
and Holland, urging them to come out to this country
where much heavenly credit could be stored up for
the life in the next world and "muche gainful plunder"
could be accumulated for the present life. Three of
these Indian "guests" were sent to Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, Governor of Plymouth in England; and al
though we have the greatest respect for the memory of
this energetic patron of the English colonists in New
England for his disinterested efforts in their behalf, yet
we feel inclined to skeptically smite when Gorges
writes, — "this accident must be acknowledged the
means under God of putting on foot and gi^ving life to
all our plantations."
Rosier writes that one morning an Indian of super
ior rank appeared, coming from the eastward and with
him in the canoe were six others. They brought an
invitation from the Bashaba at Penobscot for Captain
Waymouth to come there and trade; but the Captain
had strong suspicions that their design was to rescue
the five whom he had secreted in the hold of his ship,
so their presence on board was not encouraged.
On Tuesday, June 11th, they peissed up the river
with the ship about twenty-six miles. This would
bring them to anchor just opposite the present city of
Bath. In the first chapter I have quoted Rosier's de
scription of the sail up the river which he maintains
to be superior in every respect to the Loire, the Seine,
the Bordeaux, and the Rio Grande. Going ashore
for a time, he says: "In our progress we passed over
very good ground, pleasant and fertile, fit for pasture,
for the space of some three miles, ha-ving but little wood,
and that oak, like that which stands left in our pasture

WAYMOUTH'S Voyage 143
in England, good and great, fit timber for any use.
It resembled a stately park with many old trees, some
with withered tops, and some flourishing with their
green boughs."
Now, it is a strange thing, that during thisijvery
summer of 1605, while Captain Waymouth was ex
ploring the coast and the river at this point, the French
expedition of De Monts, with Champlain and Les
carbot and the other French gentlemen, was exploring
the very same territory, as I have stated in detail be
fore. It would seem as though, if they had not met,
they 'might at least have come across some signs of
each other's presence. But Rosier says: "For this,
by the way, we diligently observed that no place
either about the island or up in the main, or along
the river, we could discover any token or sign that ever
any Christian has been before, or which either by cutting
wood, or digging for water, or setting up crosses, a thing
never omitted by any Christian traveller, we should
have seen some mention of it." Is he telling the
truth? It may be. For I may mention here that the
English then, and for a long time afterwards had a
mistaken notion of the Kennebec River, a mistake
which the French did not make. Waymouth, going
up the river from Boothbay Harbor to Merrymeeting
Bay, and then continuing, from there goes to the west
up the Androscoggin, thinking that it is the same river,
quite ignorant of the real Kennebec which is closed
from view by the projecting of a long neck of land.
Neither Waymouth nor George Popham knew of such
a river although they had been told of it by the Indians.
Waymouth went up the Androscoggin, first to the
falls at what is now Brunswick. Rosier says, in regard
to the beauty of the river: "I cannot by relation suf
ficiently demonstrate. That which I can say in general

144 The Makers of Maine
is this: what profit or pleasure soever is described and
truly verified in the former part of the river, is wholly
doubled in this."
On the 16th of June they set sail for their return
to England and July 18th they arrived at Dartmouth
harbor, with their furs and skins, their five Indians,
and^their glowing accounts of the country. At about
the same time of their arrival in England, Lord Arun
del and the Earl of Southampton transferred their
interests in the expedition to Lord Chief Justice Popham
and Sir Ferdinando Gorges, two gentlemen who were
well and favorably known in England at the time,
and whose names have figured prominently in history
ever since. The new company petitioned the Crown
for Letters Patent, and a charter was granted for two
colonies, the London Company and the Plymouth
Company; also called the South Virginia and the North
Virginia Companies. The London, or South Virginia
Company, established the Jamestown, Virginia, Colony,
April 27th, 1607. Thus we see that we sons of Maine
are able to say with perfect truth and without exagger
ation that the attractive scenery, the fertile soil, and the
natural resources of the country aboUt the Sagadfihoc
and the Androscoggin Rivers, so glowingly described
by Captain Waymouth and his companions, were
the magnets which drew Englishmen across the ocean
and caused the estabhshment of the ancient and proud
Virginia Colony, and that Maine, so falsely called "the
daughter of Masachusetts," is really, in fact, the cause
of the existence of all the thirteen original colonies of
America, in a way, the Father of the great English-
speaking American nation. You may call this exag
geration, if you will. You may say that it is taking
a violent poetic license with sober history; that it is
allowing imagination to run riot with judgement. But

WAYMOUTH'S Voyage 146
I hold to my opinion, nevertheless, that giving credit
honestly to cause and effect, I have made no exaggera
tion.

CHAPTER XX
Strange ill-luck pursues the English
Efforts to Colonize Maine
The South Virginia, or London Company expedi
tion was a success and Jamestown, Virginia, was the
result. But strange mishaps befell the ships first sent
out to found the northern colony, which Wcis
to be establishd in the region explored by Waymouth.
The first ship sent out was commanded by Captain
Chalounge. The colony was placed on board, and also
two of Waymouth's Indian "guests" to act as pilots
when they arrived at the shores of Maine. |But ill-
luck, or perhaps (who knows) the judgement of Divine
Providence, offended by the Englishmen's inhumanity.
seems to have pursued every attempt to establish an
English colony in Maine, every attempt that is to say,
with which the fact of the stolen Indians was in any
way connected. As for instance, witness the following:
The ship commanded by Captain Chalounge was under
orders to follow a due westerly course to Cape Breton,
and then to set the course for the Sagadahoc. But
Captain Chalounge, without cause, disobeyed orders,
and changed his course to go by way of the Western
Islands. He was captured by a Spanish fleet, his crew
and the colonists made prisoners, and the object of the
voyage was frustrated. Two of Waymouth's Indians, as
I have said, were on board this vessel.
Second instance: A few days after Chalounge sailed.
Lord Chief Justice Popham fitted out another ship as

ILL-LUCK OF English Colonists 147
aid for the first, with a few more colonists and ad
ditional supplies. On board were two more of |Way-
mouth's Indians. This ship sailed direct to Sagadahoc.
Of course, upon their airrival they found no signs of Cap
tain Chalounge 's company, consequently they elected to
return to England. But the Plymouth, or North Vir
ginia Company Wcis so much encouraged by the glow
ing descriptions of the members of this expedition, even
more favorable than the report of Captain Waymouth,
that it fitted out two more vessels, one commanded by
George Popham, brother of the Lord Chief Justice,
and the other commanded by Raleigh Gilbert, nephew
of Sir Walter Raleigh — "two as noble and gallant com
manders as ever faced the dangers of the elementsj^or
of man," (to borrow the words of an enthusiastic
writer.) This expedition also carried two of Way
mouth's Indians.
Now it would seem as though at last success would
crown their efforts. But their record is one of disaster
and failure. They sailed from Plymouth, England,
May 31st, 1607. On August 17th they barely escaped
destruction on the lee shore of Seguin. They landed
at the mouth of the Kennebec, at the spot where Fort
Popham now stands. They spent one year there but
the winter was one of extraordinary severity. Their
governor, George Popham, died. Raleigh Gilbert re
turned to England. The colony was left without a
head. The members became disheartened and dis
couraged. They broke up and dispersed. Some re
turned to England, some went to Virginia, and there is
a French tradition to the effect that some made their
way to the neighboring regions of Monhegan and Pem-,
aquid. It seems that these settlers explored the valley of
the Androscoggin for some distance. They relate that

148 The Makers of Maine
on the 25th of September, 1607, Captain Gilbert with
seventeen men left the mouth of the river to search
for the headwaters of the Sagadahoc. They came to
a flat, low island, "where was a great cataract or do^wn-
fall of water, which runneth by on both sides of the
island, very shoal and swift," This description fits
Pejepscot Falls at Brunswick. They carried their
boat around the falls and went a league further up and
camped for the night. The next day they went another
league and could go no further on account of the falls.
This can be no other than the Little River Falls at Lis
bon. Some of them went further by land till they
came to an Indian settlement at the junction of a small
river. This corresponds to the Sabattus River. Here
they erected a cross.
|%! Although this Popham and Gilbert colony for a
year cannot be counted as a permanent settlement in
Maine, as the Jamestown settlement is counted in Vir
ginia yet as a political event, its importance can not
be overestimated. I have stated in this essay that the
voyage of Waymouth in 1605 was the means of estab
lishing the first English colony on the American conti
nent. Now I will say that the Popham and Gilbert
colony on the Sagadahoc was the means of establishing
the title of England as against France to the whole
New England territory. Without this colony it would
have been impossible for England, under her own laws,
to have made out any claim to priority of title to New
England. For it was a maxim of EngUsh law that
"prescription without possession does not give title."
In the year 1624 M. Tillieres, the French Ambassador.
represented to the English government that France,
claimed the territory of New England as a part of New
France (and not unjustly, as I have shown in a pre
ceding chapter in which I recited the claim of France as

Ill-Luck of English Colonists 149
stated by Father Biard, S.J.) The English government
made a full reply to the statement of the French ambas
sador, and in no part of the reply is any mention what
soever made of the colony of the Pilgrims at Plymouth.
The English argument is based almost entirely upon the
settlements at the mouth of the Kennebec in 1607.
In addition it may be said that, although the set
tlement of 1607 did not continue permanently at Fort
Popham, yet from that year on there was never a time
when Englishmen were not living in Maine along the
coast and for a few miles inland. Two ships came
over in 1607 carrying the Popham colony — the "Gift
of God," and the "Mary and John." During the year
of 1607, another ship was built by the colonists at Fort
Popham, the "Virginia of Sagadahoc," which, by [the
way, was the first ship built on this continent by Eng
lish hands. When the colonists at the end of the year
returned to England they returned in the "Mary and
John," and the "Virginia of Sagadahoc." The ship
"Gift of God," with forty-five men, remained behind.
What became of these men and -their ship is doubtful,
but the weight of e^vidence tends to prove that they
went to Pemaquid and Monhegan and became those
scattered settlements of Englishmen along the coast
of Maine to whom the Pilgrims at Plymouth in the
winter of 1622, at the hour of need, turned for food
to save themselves from starvation, and from whom
Winslow says: "we not only got a present supply of
food, but also learned the way to those parts for our
future benefit.
In the year 1614 Captain John Smith, of school
boy-history fame, built seven fishing boats at Monhe
gan, and while his men went on a fishing expedition, he
himself explored the coast. He writes: "On this
voyage I tooke the description of the coast as W€ll by

150 The Makers of Maine
map as •writing and called it New England; but mali
cious minds amongst sailors and others, drowned that
name with the echo of Nusconcus, Canaday and Pema
quid; till at my humble suite our most gracious King
Charles, then Prince of Wales, was pleased to confirm
it by that title, and did change the barbarous names
of their principal harbors and habitations for such
English, that posterity may say. King Charles was their
Godfather." The names of two great Christian men stand forth
in clear relief amidst the dimness and uncertainty
of the early history of Maine — ^Samuel de Champlain,
Pioneer of New France, — Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Pio
neer of New England. In imagination one can picture
each as the embodiment of the highest type of civiliza
tion of his own country. Each was inspired by a lofty
ambition, by pure patriotism, and by a prophetic in
sight into the future. In former chapters I have related
more or less of the adventures of Champlain along
these shores, although I have not pursued his career
into Canada, as, however interesting it may be, it is
no part of the subject of history which we are discussing.
I have called the one, pioneer of New France and the
other pioneer, of New England. Of course, it is under
stood that we are speaking of the same country — ^what
is now New England — ^what the French called New
France. Just as the English arms won and the English
flag stayed, so the English name overcame the French
name and remains the name of the country today.
Gorges conceived the ambition of building up an
English civilization on the shores of Maine, and amidst
all political distractions at home, he never lost sight of
his ambition, and kept up a legal occupancy of Maine.
Upon the return of Captain John Smith, after his voy
age to Monhegan in 1614, Gorges fitted out another

iLL-LUCK OF ENGLISH COLONISTS 151
expedition to found another colony in Maine, this one
to be headed and commanded by Smith himself. We
cannot doubt that if this colony had once landed on
this shore, under the leadership of John Smith, neither
the severity of the climate nor the enmity of the Indians
nor the encroachments of the French, would ever have
dislodged it. Smith was an indomitable, a dauntless
man. His whole life is a romance and this voyage
and expedition simply make another chapter of •vivid
interest. The expedition was a failure, but through
no fault of Smith's. It seems as though Fate
were at war with him, and as though Fate were
forced to put forth its best endeavors and strain itself
to defeat this hero.
The expedition sailed in March 1615; immediately
this was the signal for all the furies to be let loose. He en
countered a terrible storm and was almost shipwrecked.
He put back into Plymouth and sailed again in June with
another ship. He was out a few days when he was over
taken by an English pirate. His officers begged him to
surrender as the pirate was of superior force. He refused ;
and without being obliged to fight the pirate, he "bluffed"
him, as the saying is now, and made his escape. Soon after
this event he met a French pirate in two ships. Again
his cowardly officers wanted to surrender and refused
to fight. Smith threatens to blow up the ship •with
himself and all on board, and attacks the French pirates
and drives them off. Next he meets a fleet of French
war ships, nine of them. This is too much even for
John Smith. But again his monumental nerve and
bluff got him through without surrender; when his offi
cers mutiny and refuse to proceed with the voyage.
Smith goes on board the flag ship of the French Admir
al, with no less a purpose than to get aid from the French
commander to subdue his own mutineers. But while

162 The Makers of maine
he was aboard talking with the Frenchman a strange sail
came into view and the French Admiral gave chase
carrying poor Smith along with him. Smith's ship
made its way back to England and reported Smith
killed by the French, to the great despair of Gorges.
But Smith is not so easily put "hors du combat." He
was two months a prisoner and forced to help fight the
Spaniards. One night while off the coast of France in
a terrible storm he jumped overboard and swam until
he was tossed up on an island more dead than alive.
The pCcisants helped him to get back to England. And
strange to say, the very night that he escaped from the
French ship, this ship was wrecked in the storm and all
hands were lost.

CHAPTER XXI
Ferdinando Gorges Becomes
Lord of Maine
In the public school histories, used in the schools
at the time when the writer was at the age when it is
dteemed fitting by the educational powers-that-be to
, inscribe upon the clean and fresh tablets of the minds
of the children under their charge, misstatement, mis
information, and distortion of facts, under the sacred
name of history, it was related as historical truth, that
Massachusetts was the mother of Maine, and that
Maine was first settled in 1630, at and about the present
town of York, in York County, by immigrants from
mother colony of Massachusetts. No well informed
student of history today believes any such glaring
falsehoods. But unfortunately many citizens of Maine
are not as well informed in history as they should be;
many have not progressed beyond the stage of the
above-quoted public school histories.
I have made it plain in the preceding chapters that
not only was Maine settled before Massachusetts, and
that settlers remained along the coast of Maine and
as far inland as twenty to thirty miles, from the year
1607 onward indefinitely; but also I have demonstrated
that Waymouth's voyage to the Kennebec in 1605,
and the Popham and Gilbert settiement at the mouth
of the Kennebec in 1607, were the first mo-vements of
the great English influx of settlement which culmi
nated in the thirteen original American States, and
were the prime causes of that English immigration.

154 The Makers of Maine
The historians, who have been looked upon as the
most authoritative, have ignored the importance of
Maine in Early history. Even Bancroft does not
give proper credit for the settlements before the year
1620 and onwards to 1630. Governor Sullivan, how
ever, in his history of Maine, on the authority of
Sylvanus Davis, Councillor, says that in 1630 there
were eighty-four families, not counting the fishermen
at Merrymeeting Bay, Sheepscot and Pemaquid, and
as many more inland. Williamson's History gives a
table of the several plantations at that time; in it are
the following: Piscataqua settlement, 200. York,
150. Saco, 175. Casco and Pejepscot (Brunswick),
75. Kennebec, 100. Sagadahoc, Sheepscot, Pema
quid, St. Georges and Islands, 500. From this we can
see that at the time when we have been led to believe
that Maine was a barren wilderness, inhabited only
by ro^ving bands of Red Men, there were at least 1500
white people between York and the Penobscot river.
I have said I consider that history shows
that Sir Ferdinando Gorges was one of the greatest
men of his time in all Europe. Although he was a
royalist, a high-churchman, and no sympathizer with
the peculiar religious tenets of the Pilgrims and Puri
tans, he saw that Maine was, and must be fated to be
for many years, the English frontier, and that it must
be held as a bulwark against the encroachments of
the French. He was a broadminded, liberal, generous
man. He aided the Massachusetts Puritans in every
possible way, although at home he was politically at
war with that party. Many conflicting grants had
been made by the Crown, grants of land which over
lapped one another and caused continual conflict and
litigation. Therefore Gorges made a drastic and heroic
move in the game of politics.

Ferdinando Gorges 155
In the year 1639, King Charles I, at the solicita
tion of his well beloved and loyal subject. Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, granted the most notable charter ever given
to a subject by his Prince since the days of chivalry.
He confirmed all the territory from the Piscataqua to
the Sagadahoc and extending 120 miles inland, now for
the first time named and recognized legally as the
"Province of Maine," to Gorges as a County Palatine
of which Gorges was the Lord or Count Palatine. As
every student of history, and especially of the history
of feudal law, knows, the name "Palatinate" takes us
back to the days of Charlmagne and the Mero-vingians.
During the Middle Ages the title of Lord or Count
Palatine belonged to a feudal lord who held a frontier
pro^vince with royal judicial powers. It is not neces
sary to enumerate here the powers of government and
administration of justice which it carried. The Pala
tinate charter which Gorges received may be read in
full in Sullivan's History of Maine. Nothing like it,
before or since, is to be found in all the history of the
American nation. By it Gorges became the feudal
lord of the soil of Maine, and Maine was a fief. The
new Lord of Maine established his government and set
up his general court at what is now York, which he
named Georgiana, and which was, as I have stated be
fore, the first incorporated city in America. This
court was established in the year 1640. I have not
the slightest doubt that if Gorges could have left, or
would but have left, the life of political turmoil which
he was li-ving at this time, and had come over here to
preside over his Pro-vince of Maine, his Fief or Pal
atinate, he would have made a success of the govern
ment of it, and Maine would never have fallen under
the dominion of Massachusetts. But Gorges was a
devoted Royalist, who followed his king to the bitter

156 The Makers of Maine
end. He died in 1647; King Charles was beheaded in
1649. Folio-wing his death, of course his little kingdom
here fell to pieces. The inhabitants of Maine began
to quarrel among themselves and the quarrels grew in
bitterness. Massachusetts looked on with greedy eyes,
determined to seize the Province.
It cannot be doubted that the predominating reas
on why Massachusetts, with its semi-religious govern
ment and its narrow, illiberal, selfish Puritanism
would not, and felt that it could not permit the Pro
vince of Maine to exist any longer as an independent
colony, was that the dominant turn of mind of the
English settlers in Maine was Episcopalian, High
Church, Royalist, rather easy-going and broad minded,
and dangerously friendly to the French Roman Cath
olics who were their neighbors in the east. Randolph's
report, 1676, says: "The inhabitants of New Hamp
shire, Maine, and the Duke's Pro^vince were holding
a friendly correspondence with their French neighbors,
while Massachusetts was entertaining a hatred towards
them." It is easy to believe that, had Massachusetts hon
orably left the men of Maine ialone to work out their
own problem of government in their own way, the
High Church Englishmen of Maine would have given
to the world an example of religious liberality and pro-
gressiveness equalled only by Lord Baltimore's Cath
olics in Maryland, the first instance of religious toler
ation in America. That my readers may not think that
this ¦view is exaggerated if not chimerical, let me quote
the words of a writer in the Boston Courier of May,
1851 — Lorenzo Sabine, who published a series of ar
ticles on the Public Lands of Maine. Sabine says:
"But I cannot leave this part of the subject •without
commending the indomitable spirit evinced by Mas-

Ferdinando Gorges i57
sachusetts in her struggles to root out Gorges and the
cavahers of his planting, out of Maine, and to put] in
their places the humbler but purer Roundheads of her
own kindred. Had she faltered when dukes and lords
signed parchments that conveyed away her soil; had
she not sought to push her sovereignity over men and
territories , not originally her own; had she not broken
down French seignories and English fiefdoms, Maine,
east of Gorges' eastern boundary, the Kennebec,
might have continued a part of the British Empire to
this hour." It is hard to conceive that fifty years
ago such sentiments were entertained. The logic of
the writer's argument deserves about as much respect
as his sympathetic "view of the compatriots of those
regicides, whom he calls "tha humbler but purer
Roundheads." After the death of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, 1647,
the people of Maine, and by this expression is meant
the EngUsh settiers, seemed to lose heart and confi*
dence in their future, and in themselves. They appear
to have lacked independence and self-reliance. One
might almost imagine that the "fief," the Palatinate
of Maine was taken seriously and deeply to heart, and
that the people had become in fact and in truth serfs,
unable to govern themsel"ves and dependent upon some
feudal lord to govern them. And as a matter of fact, .
when the High Court of Chancery in England in the
year 1677 rendered a decision that the acts of Massachu
setts in taking military possession of Maine were
iUegal, and that the Province of Maine had descended
as a fief to the heirs of Gorges, and when Massachusetts
in obedience to that decision purchased Maine outright,
both soil and government, from the Gorges heirs, for
the sum of 1250 pounds sterling, then Massachusetts
became the feudal Lord-Palatine of the Province of

168 The Makers of Maine
Maine — another strange anamoly in the history of this
country. It was poetic justice that the people of this
Province /should have become the personal property of
the Massachusetts colony. Before they were purchased
for 1250 pounds they were continuaUy petitioning
somebody else to come and govern them.
Hubbard, a minister of Cambridge, in his "Gener
al History of New England," written in 1680 — , (a rare
and curious narrative, and not characterized by any
amount of fairness and impartiality) says: "But, in
fine, the inhabitants of all these Plantations at Piscata
qua and in the Pro^vince of Maine, ha^ving wearied
themselves with endless contentions and strifes, and
having tried all conclusions of government, both by
patent and combination, and finding neither sufficient,
in any tolerable degree of comfortable order, to main
tain and support the grandeur of authority, like those
mentioned in the Prophet, 'they took hold of the skirt
of Massachusetts.' "
I have stated in the last chapter that beginning with
the time of the grant of this region to Sir Ferdinando
Gorges as a County Pelatine, Maine was known as
the "Province of Maine," and continued to be called
by that title during the many years that it was subject
to the government of Massachusetts. It is time now
that I call attention to the very common mistake and
misunderstanding which has obtained for many years
and which still obtains. There is a belief quite gener
ally held that the name Maine is of French origin; and
this delusion is held all the more dear by those students
of history whose sympathies are with the claims of the
first French settiers to the soil of Maine and who believe
(as I do myself) that the claim of France to this terri
tory was sounder in international law and more just
than was the claim of England. But, nevertheless.

Ferdinando Gorges 159
it is not true that this territory was named Maine in
honor of Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I, who
had as a dower the Pro^vince of Maine in France. In the
first place the French princess was not possessed of the
Province of Maine in France, for that Pro-vince belonged
to the Crown. And in the second place, those who
accept the explanation of the na ne as of French origin
lose sight of the fact that great changes have taken
place in English spelling since the first half of the seven
teenth century. And especially is this true in the matter
of the final "e" on adjectives and nouns in the language.
Many adjectives were once spelled with a final "e"
which are not so spelled now, and vice versa. And
the same may be said of nouns. It is in contradis
tinction to the al nost innumerable number of islands
along the coast, which were much frequented long before
the mainland was settled, or hardly visited. It is
not easy to make the point clear. But if the reader
should happen to devote a great deal of time to reading
the narratives of Hakluyt and Captain John Smith,
and Rosier, he would after a time begin to feel himself
one of those early voyagers who cruised so much among
the islands of the coast of Maine, always calling at
Monhegan for water and to pick up the shipping news,
and looking at the coast, and inland from the coast
as "the Main."

CHAPTER XXII
SOME Interesting laws and Prosecutions
One thing we can give Massachusetts credit for
in her treataient of the people of Maine and her govern
ment of the Province. She did not make any attempt
to extend her terrible witchcraft laws to this Province.
We fortunately escaped being stained by that black
and ugly blot. There never were any prosecutions for
¦witchcraft in Maine. One Maine minister, however,
was prosecuted for witchcraft, but not in any court
in Maine. The Rev. George Burroughs, formerly a
minister at Falmouth, was afterwards prosecuted at
Salem and was found guilty of holding at arms length
a seven-foot gun by his finger inserted in the muzzle;
and also of carrying a barrel of molasses by the bung-
hole. To one who recalls the fact of history that
molasses, after it had been fermented and transformed
into a seductive, but villianous smelling liquor called
rum, was a favorite drink of Massachusetts men, both
clerical and lay, in those days — the reading of the account
of the above mentioned trial might seem significant.
Anyway, the unfortunate minister of the gospel WEis
con-victed and executed.
In addition to the credit which we must give her
for not extending her witchcraft laws to Maine, we
must allow her some credit for acts of positive -virtue
as well as for negative -virtue. Her first act after
taking charge of the Pro-vince of Maine was to compel
all the coast towns to make good roads. And the

Some interesting Laws lei
matter of good roads has been a bone of contention
in Maine, between the people with progressive disposi
tions and those -with conservative dispositions, from
that day to this. Also, it may be a matter of interest
to know that a prohibitory law was enacted in Maine
in the year 1690, as follows: "In the Court of Sessions
of the Peace for the Province of Mayne held at York,
July 15th, 1690. Ordered, That from henceforth
there shall not be any Rum or other strong Liquor
or FUp sold unto any Inhabitant of the Town by any
Ordinary keeper therein, directly or indirectly, except
in case of great necessity."
If •witchcraft laws were not enforced by Massa-
dausetts in Maine it may cheerfuUy be conceded that
other sumptuary laws were enforced here. For in
stance the year 1665 all the towns from the Isles of
Shoals to North Yarmouth were indicted "for not
attending the court's order for making a pair of Stocks,
Cage and Ducking-stool." It has always been a source
of wonder to the writer that the penalty for violating
the Uquor prohibitory law had not been made the
public "Stocks," or the "Cage."
A study of the old records of the court at York leads
one to the conclusion that the crime of "lese-majesty"
was recognized in fact, if not by name, under the juris*
diction of Massachusetts in Maine in those days. One
Thomas Booth was con-victed of slandering the persons
constituting the government of the Massachusetts
Ccdony by calling them a "company of Hypocritical
Rogues, that feared neither God nor King." For this
outrageous remark he was fined five pounds sterling.
He very probably was telling the truth, for it seems a
remarkable fact that the crime of "lese-majesty" is
almost invariably committed by telUng the truth
about the powers that be. In 1670 one Thomas Taylor

162 The Makers of Maine
was sentenced for abusing Captain Raynes, a man
in authority, by "theeing and thouing of him." In
1665 Jonathan Thing was convicted of speaking "dis-
cornfully of the Court," and saying that he did not care
for the Governor, and he was sentenced to have twenty
lashes on the bare back. One William Wardell when
required to contribute to the support of Harvard College
replied "that it was no ordinance of God's" and he
was arrested for it.
Although we cannot today feel any sympathy
for such laws, yet we must admit that those men "good
Pharisees" though they may have been, were actuated
often by lofty motives. Compulsory education and
compulsory contributions to the cause of education.
Does it not seem that these founders of our New England
civilization were prophetic and foresaw for the genera
tions that were to come long after their own death a
great Republic based upon universal suffrage requiring
universal enlightenment to maintain universal liberty
against the encroachments of the power of wealth
and special privilege? A Republic whose problems
we ourselves, after many generations of have come and
gone, have not yet worked out the half?
Some of the judgments of that court at York we
at this day can heartily acquiese in. For instance
one Thomas Withers, in 1691, was convicted of "sur
reptitiously indeavoring to pervert the pro-vidence
of God and privileges of others by putting in several
Votes for himself to be an officer at a Town meeting
when he was intrusted by divers freemen to vote for
other men." He was fined, piUoried and disfranchised.
If acts of corruption of the ballot were met with as
stern justice as that now, we would hear less of social
ism as the panacea for all the ills of the body politic.
Massachusetts had now obtained full control

Some interesting Laws i63
of the government of the English in Maine ; and we now
come to the beginning of the Indian Wars. In J.
Wingate Thornton's article on "Ancient Pemaquid,"
in Volume V of the Collections of the Maine Historical
Society, we read the following, which we may accept
as the usual statement of the English point of view:
"But tragic and fearful events were now rapidly
approaching: the gathering clouds hushed every thought
but that of personal safety; at first, mere whisperings
of danger startled the defenseless planter; the unwonted
smiles and silence of the natives were of portentous
meaning; but ere thought had become action, escape
was too late, and every settlement yesterday in security
and peace, was now laid waste by indiscriminate slaugh
ter; a thrill of horror, of awful fear, a faintness, swept
over the heart of New England, as if the heathen had
God's commission against them, robbing them of their
children, destroying their cattle, making them few in
nu-mber, and their highways desolate. Various were
the causes assigned^ for this war, some attributed it to
an imprudent zeal in christianizing the Indians, but
certainly this was not true of Maine; some, to vagrant
Jesuits, who had for years gone from Sachem to Sachem,
to exasperate the Indian against the English, and to
bring them into a confederacy; and that they were
promised supplies from France and other parts to
extirpate the EngUsh nation out of the continent of
America. This is in harmony with all history, and
doubly confirmed by the fact that the eastern tribes
were always in alliance with the French who, be it
remembered, were here solely by the will of the mer
cenary Stuarts, and against the will of the people. On
their memory rests this stain of blood and crime."
That, as I said, is the statement of the English
view, the statement which has been taught to the des-

164 THE Makers of Maine
cendants of those EngUsh settlers and is still taught
in most of the public schools down to this day, as the
truth of history. In the course of my narrative I shall
endeavor to present the facts of the wars which followed
without going too much into detail, that the reader
may judge for himself, whether it is in harmony with
all history that the Jesuits were the real instigators
of those wars, and upon their memory rests the stain
of blood and crime.
Pemaquid usually called in historical writings,
"Ancient Pemaquid," was the English fortress and
stronghold of the debatable country east of the Kenne
bec, which France claimed as indisputably part and
parcel of Acadia, and which England disputed as part
oif New England ; her claim being based upon the voyages
and settlements which I have mentioned and discussed
at some length in previous chapters; but in fact and in
historical truth her claim can rest only upon the act
of Captain ArgaU at St. Sauveur, that unwarranted
and outrageous -violation of internatiorud law.
But this makes Pemaquid an important point
as the EngUsh outpost, and its history interesting and
instructive. Its history, its commanding position in
the day of its youth, its unimportance except as a way-
mark in later days to the student of history, illustrates
the movement of empire, the strange fate which befalls
the wca-ks and plans of man. Once it was the bulwark
of EngUsh Protestantism in the east, the virtual, if
not actual, capital of the Province of Maine, a military
post and trading center second in importance only to
Boston; now a summer resort, a fishing hamlet, known
to but few of the general public as a part of the town
of Bristol. Many such examples of the ebb and flow
of the tide of empire, in a small way are to be found
in Maine; of interest now to no one but the antiquary.

Some Interesting Laws i66
I will instance but one more, — I mention it because
several times within late years its name has come into
brief and passing prominence in the newspapers by
reason of the fact of buried money of a coinage prior
to 1607, when Waymouth made his voyage to the Ken
nebec, having been discovered there, — Richmond's
Island, near Portland. This was in early days an
important post. A considerable settlement with an
English church was founded there. Ships discharged
their cargoes and reloaded for Europe; courts were
held there, and the settlement was the center of the
interest of a wide territory. All this has long since
disappeared, and today a few farm houses are all that
remain to mark the spot of a once infant metropolis.

CHAPTER XXII
The First Deed From an Indian Chief and
Herein Concerning Our Titles
TO OUR lands
Among the other interesting chronicles of first
events to transpire in America, the fact deserves par
ticular mention that the first bill of exchange to be
drawn in America was drawn in Maine in the year
1623 by Abraham Shurt upon Robert Aldworth and
Gyles Elbridge of Bristol, England, in favor of Ambrose
Jennens of London, who was at that time owner of
Monhegan Island, for the purchase price of the island,
for the sum of fifty pounds sterling. This purchase
was also the first written conveyance of real estate in
New England.
The word Pemaquid is a very ancient word of Indian
origin. It is supposed to mean a promontory, land
reaching out into the sea. The region of Pemaquid
like the French Acadia, was of very indefinite extent,
although never of such extent as Acadia. It seems to
have embraced Monhegan and the neighboring islands,
also the cluster of Damariscove Island, and the Pem
aquid peninsular proper.
The name of Pemaquid will always remain an
important one in the annals of these regions for another
reason. Pemaquid was the home of the Indian Chief,
or Sagamore, or Lord, Samoset, or Somerset, of school
boy-history fame, for that matter of a fame worthy of
illumining the pages of more sober and unromantic

The First Deed from an Indian Chief i67
history. Samoset it was who greeted the Pilgrims
at Plymouth with his, — "much welcome, EngUshmen."
Governor Bradford says that he "came boldly amongst
them, and spoke to them in broken English, which they
could well understand, but marvelled at it. At length
they understood, by discourse with him, that he was
not of these parts (Plymouth) but belonged to ye
eastern parts, where some English ships came to fish,
with whom he was acquainted, and could name sundrie
of them by their names, amongst whom he had got his
language." "He had a bow and two arrows, a leather
about his waist, with a fringe about a span long, or little
more." In the year 1625 the first deed of real estate was
made from Indian Chiefs to an Englishman, Samoset
and Unongoit conveyed to John Brown, as follows:
"To all whom it may concern. Know ye, that I,
Captain John Somerset and Unongoit, Indian Saga
mores, they being the proper heirs to all the lands on
both sides of Muscongus River, have bargained and
sold to John Brown, of New Harbour, this certain tract
or parcel of land as foUoweth, that is to say, beginning
at Pemaquid Falls and so running a direct course to
the head of New Harbour, from thence to the South
End of Muscongus Island, taking in the island, and so
running five and twenty miles into the country north
and by east, and thence eight miles northwest and by
west, and then turning and running south and by
west, to Pemaquid, where first begun. To aU which
lands above bounded, the said Captain John Somerset
and Unongoit, Indian Sagamores, have granted and
made over to the above said John Brown, of New Har
bour, in and for consideration of fifty skins, to us in
hand paid, to our full satisfaction, for the above men
tioned lands and we the above said Indian Sagamores,

168 The Makers of Maine
do bind ourselves and our heirs forever, to defend the
above said John Brown and his heirs in the quiet and
peaceable possession of the above lands. In -witness
whereunto, I the said Captain John Somerset and
Unongoit, have set our hands and seals this fifteenth
day of July in the year of our Lord God, one thousand
six hundred and twenty-five. His
Captain John Somerset x
Mark his
Unongoit x (L. S.)
mark
Signed and sealed in presence of us:
Matthew Newman,
William Cox,
Unongoit was satisfied with a cross for signature.
But Samoset, as proud as any Baron of the Middle
Ages, must have a symbol more characteristic of him
self than the humble cross, so he traces the figure of a
bow and arrow for signature.
Governor Pownall, in the year 1765, wrote concern
ing these deeds: "The European land workers, when
they came to settle in America, began trading with the
Indians, and obtained leave of them to cultivate small
tracts as settlements or dwelUngs. The Indians,
having no other idea of property than what was con
formable to their transient, temporary dwelling-places,
readily granted this,. When they came to perceive
the very different effect of settiements of landworkers
creating a permanent property, always extending its
self, they became uneasy; but yet, in the true spirit of
justice and honor, abided by the effects of concessions
which they had made, but which they would not have

The First Deed from an Indian Chief i69
made, had they understood beforehand the force of
them."
This opens a great question of political philosophy,
— the foundation and nature of man's right to property
in the land, a subject which I have no intention of dis
cussing, had I even the temerity to attempt such an
undertaking within the limits of an article of this nature.
But I may say in passing, that we American people
cannot submit to scrutiny the title by which we hold
the land upon which we have built our towns and cities,
our wealth and civilization ; we do not dare to examine
our national conscience ( if I may be permitted to em
ploy such a figure of speech, ) else, if We did, were we not
thick-skinned and materialistic, We would be over
whelmed by the consciousness of the debt of restitution
which we never can liquidate.
We may pass with barely a thought the fact that
English sovereigns had no rights, founded upon the
principles of justice and the fundamentals of interna
tional law, to assume to grant vast tracts of land in
this country to their subjects. For the sovereigns did
not receive the title to the soil by gift of God; — as
Francis I of France said, — "he Would Uke to see the
clause in Adam's will which made this continent the
exclusive possession of his brothers of Spain and Port
ugal." Discovery •will give right in the case of an
uninhabited land, but it Will not oust the original pos
sessors of an inhabited land. The right by con
quest is applicable only in the case of a just cause
of war; conquest in an unjust cause is criminal aggres
sion. And as to purchase of the Indian's land, the
very statement of the word is to laugh, were it not for
the shameful and pitiable memories it conjures up.
Read again the first deed which I have copied into
this essay, and notice the consideration paid to the two

170 THE Makers of Maine
chiefs for this valuable and extensive tract of land, —
fifty skins; and remember that .most of the purchases
made afterwards were for even less valuable consider
ations. Pretended purchases they were; and based
upon deceit and misunderstanding. The Indian's
conception of ownership of the land was the right to
hunt over it. He had no objection to deeding the
same right in his land to the Englishman, and he inno
cently deeded the same right in the same parcel of
land to two, three and more Englishmen in succession,
thus furnishing the Englishman a pretext for making
war upon him and punishing him by taking more land
away from him, this time by "conquest."
The real foundation of land titles by which the
Englishman gained possession of this country is, of
course, the smug and self-satisfied doctrine that to
those who can make the best use of it belongs the earth,
the doctrine of the "white man's burden," which is
also the argument of the "special interests," likewise
the argument of the highway robber and the second
story man.
The logical results of that argument may be read
in the pages of the early history of this country. We
have only to contrast the record of bloodshed and burn
ings of the English settlers of New England with the
peaceful progress of Champlain and the Jesuits in
Acadia and Canada, in the forests of Maine, and on the
waters of the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, the
armed soldiers of France, the black robed soldiers of
the Cross, whose record is unsullied by so much as
even one act of treachery or -violence in all that vast
extent of country and in a period of more than one
hundred and fifty years.
The black flag of piracy waved along the coast of
Maine in those days. I do not refer to the better

The First Deed from an Indian Chief i7i
known pirates who sailed the high seas, infested the
Spanish main, and sometimes, at rare intervals, ap
peared off the coast of Maine; but to a home product of
piracy, of not so ambitious a description as that which
has figured in the pages of history and fiction, but
doubtless just as fearful to the settlers in Maine, and
perhaps more dangerous and disastrous.
As usually happens in a new country, enough of the
refuse and scum of the world had drifted to New England
to give Maine its share .One Dixy BuU had been robbed
by a band of marauders, so he himself called about him
a company of desperadoes and entered upon a career
of open piracy along the coast. They captured several
vessels at sea, and took the fort at Pemaquid. Cap
tain Neale at Piscataqua fitted out a little fleet of four
pinaces and shallops and forty men to fight the pirates.
This is the first fleet and naval demonstration fitted
out from New England which history records. This
gave rise to an occurrence which deserves mention
as furnishing a striking example of the bigotry and
intolerance of the Puritans.
It will be remembered that the greater part
of the English settlers in Maine were not of
the same faith as the Massachusetts settlers.
The latter were Puritans and Dissenters. Neale wrote
Winthrop at Boston asking aid to suppress the pirates,
and Winthrop was notified that the outrage had been
perpetrated by the pirates at Richmond Island. But
Richmond's Island was a high church plantation; so
(says Winthrop in his journal) "the Governor thought
best to sit still a while, partly because he heard that
Captain Neale were gone after them, and partly because
of the season it then being the season of frost
and snow." This was the twenty-second day of Oc
tober. There must have been a great change in the

172 The makers of Maine
climate of New England since Winthrop's time if
there was enough snow and frosts in the month of Oc
tober to prevent an expedition setting oUt.
The little love which the Puritans had for the
Maine people may be imagined from the following
incident. Henry Jocelyn, one of the Royal Commis
sioners appointed by the Crown, lived in Maine for
several years and returned to England in 1671. He
describes the people of Maine in these words: "Magis
trates, Husbandmen or Planters and fishermen; of the
magistrates — some be royalists, the rest perversed
spirits, the like are the planters and fishers, of which
some be planters and fishers both, others meer fishers;
there are but few handscraftmen, and no shopkeepers;
EngUsh goods being kept by the Massachusetts mer
chants, here and there, on the coast, at a profit of one
per cent, in exchange for fish." "They have a custom
of taking tobacco, steeping at noon, sitting long at
meals sometifties four times a day, and now and then
drinking a dram of the bottle extraordinary; the smok
ing of tobaccao, if moderately used, refresheth the
Weary very much, and so doth sleep." Of the fisher
men, he says: "To every shallop belong four fishermen,'
a Master or Steersman, a midship-man, and a Fore-
mastman, and a shoreman who washes it out of the
salt, and dries it upon hurdles pitcht upon stakes
breast high and tends their cookery; these often get in
one voyage Eight or Nine pound a man for their
shares, but it doth some of them little good, for there
comes in a walking tavern, a bark laden with the Legi
timate bloud of the rich grape, the conclusion of which
is the costly sin of drunkenness." "Of this nature are
people in the Dukes Province, who, not long before I left
the country, petitioned Massachusetts to take them into
their government; Birds of a feather will rally together."

CHAPTER XXIV
Conduct of the English Towards the Indians
AS Proven from English History
In a pre-vious article I have quoted from a writer
whose view of Maine history is distorted by his anti-
CathoUc and anti-Jesuit prejudices, — ^J. Wingate
Thornton, author of "Ancient Pemaquid," (Coll.
Me. Hist. Soc. Vol. V) quoting the exact words with
which he introduces his narrative of the Indian wars
fought upon the soil of Maine. He says that it is in
harmony with all history that the cause of the war
was the conduct of the Jesuits who had for years gone
from Sachem to Sachem exEisperating the Indians
against the EngUsh. To show the utter inabiUty and
lack of capacity of such writers to •view history in the
Ught of reason and fairness, it is only necessary to say
that in the very next breath he unwittingly admits
the falseness of his premises. For in the next para
graph he says: "Henry Sa^wyer of York sent the first
news of the Indian troubles about Plymoutii, to the
Kennebec, on the eleventh of July 1675. In the spring
of 1676, one Laughton from Piscataqua, or that vicin
ity, enticed some Indians about Cape Sable aboard
his vessel and sold them into slavery."
Also, we find Mr. Thornton saying: "The sum
mer of 1694 was a bloody time. On the approach of
winter, Bomazeen, the Chief of the Norridgwocks,
who had signed the treaty the year before, and was
the ring teader in the brutaUties and murders perpetrated

174 The Makers of Maine
upon the. English, appeared beneath the walls of Pema
quid, with a flag of truce, pretending he and his com
panions were just arrived from Canada, acknowledg
ing their crimes, and promising better for the future.
The following account Wcis from one present at the
interview. November 19th (1694) Bomazeen, with
ten or a dozen men called over the barbican, desiring
to speak with Captain March, and set up a flag, by
which they did implicitely own themselves enemies
and breakers of the peace. We did not put out ours
until an hour or two after theirs ; would have persuaded
them there was no reason for it; minding them of the
late argreement at Pemaquid: but they called earnestly
for it. "We resolved to seize Bomazeen at any rate, except
positive violation of promise, ^e made no other
promise before he came over but that we would be
glad of his company, would treat him kindly, and do
him no hurt. After he was seized, we told him the
same and observed it punctually, so long as he stayed
here; but withal told him we must know who did the
mischief at Oyster River and Groton, etc., of which
they made themselves ignorant; why the peace was so
soon broken and by whom; that they must go to Boston
and abide there till Sheepscote John was sent to fetch
in the other Sagamores, and then they would come
again with some of the English to treat, etc. We
thought it not unlawful nor culpable to apprehend
such perfideous villians and traitors (though under a
white rag) that have so often falsified their promise
to the English, viz: at Cocheco, at Casco Fort, at
Oyster River and other places; that make no con
science of breaking the peace whenever it serves their
turn, although never so solemnly confirmed -with sub
scriptions and oaths. They have no regard to the

Conduct of English Towards Indians 176
law of nations and therefore deserve no human respect.
Besides, we are credibly informed, they came with a
certain design to destroy their Majesties' fort, here,
under pretense of trade, friendship, etc., and so they
are fallen into a pit of their own digging. Neither
did we aim at anything more than their detainment as
prisoners, supposing some advantage might occur to
the poor captives, if not to the country thereby.
If your honors judge it not fairly done, they are
now in your hands to dispose of and deal with them as
may be for their Majesties honors, and as the circum
stances of the case require."
E-vidently, "their honors" judged it fairly done,
even though it was done under a "white rag," for they
kept the Indian in a -vile and unhealthy prison at Boston
for a long time.
In addition to the acts of treachery of the English
and their numerous -violations of the laws of ci-vilized
warfare, it must be admitted that they gave frequent
exhibitions of disgraceful cowardice. July 14th, 1694.
the French under Iberville laid siege to Pemaquid.
The fort at Pemaquid was commanded by a Captain
Chubb. The following is the account of the surrender.
(Hutchinson's Mass. II. 88-90.)
"Captain March, who was a good officer, had re
signed the command of the fort a few months before,
and was succeeded by a very different man. Captain
Chubb. Iberville, upon his arrival, sent a summons
to surrender. Chubb returned a vain, fooUsh answer,
'that if the sea was covered with French vessels and
the land with Indians, yet he would not give up the
fort.' The Indians thereupon began their fire, and
return was made by the musketry and with a few can
nons from the fort. This brought the first day to a
close. In the night, Iberville landed his cannon and

176 The Makers of Maine
mortars; and the next day, before three in the after
noon, he had raised his batteries, and thrown five
bombs into the fort, to the great terror of Chubb and
his garrison. Castine, about this time, found some
way of conveying a tetter into the fort, and let them
know, that, if they delayed surrendering until the as
sault was made, they would have to do with the savages,
and must expect no quarter, for he had seen the King's
order to Iber-ville to give none. This did the business;
the chamade was beat immediately, and the fort was
surrendered, upon the terms offered by the French ,
that the garrison should be sent to Boston, and ex
changed for the like number of French and Indian pris
oners; only, a special security or engagement was in
sisted upon from the French commander, that their
persons should be protected against the rage of the
Indians." "Chubb's conduct was universally censured, and
at first he was put under arrest, but came off without
any punishment other than being laid aside. The
fort had fifteen cannon mounted, and ninety able men
to manage them, no want of ammunition or stores.
The French supposed that if there had been a brave
defense, the event would have been doubtful; at least,
that the fort could not have been carried without a
great loss of men; and attributed the surrender to the
cowardice of the garrison, who compelled the com
mander to act contrary to his own inclination."
The same writer says: "The reason of the garri
son's requiring extraordinary caution against the rage
of the Indians, was this: They were conscious of their
own cruelty and barbarity, and feared revenge, and a
security from it might probably hasten the surrender,
test it should afterwards not be. in their power to obtain
it. In the month of February before, Egremet, a

Conduct of the English the Indians 177
chief of the Machias Indians, came to the fort, to treat
upon the exchange of prisoners. Chubb -with some of
his garrison fell upon the Indians in the midst of the
treaty, when they thought themselves most secure,
murdered Egremet and Abenquid with two others.
Toxus and some others escaped, and some remained
prisoners; one Indian was found in the fort in irons
when the French took possession of it."
The reader is reminded that the foregoing quo
tations are from non-Catholic sources, not from Cath
olic, and not only from non-Catholic, but in most cases
from the strongest anti-Catholic, anti-Jesuit, and anti-
French writers. I have not yet begun to give the
French and Catholic side of the story.
Surely, the fair minded reader of history must be
satisfied that it is the truth, that if the Indians did, as
in fact they did, commit outrages upon the English in
Maine — they were goaded to the doing of it by the in
human treatment of the EngUsh. It is almost incon
ceivable at this day, and it would be unbelievable if
we did not have it on the authority of the partizans of
the English Protestant cause, that Englishmen, calling
themselves Christians, could have committed such acts
of wanton cruelty and barbarity upon the Indians.
The French, after the capture of the fort of Pema
quid, demolished it, and returned to the Penobscot
River. This was the close of the first period of the
history of Pemaquid. Pemaquid was desolate, its
inhabitants dead or scattered.
English historians have often related the story of
the massacre of the English garrison at Fort Loyal,
now Portland, by the Indian allies of the French in
June 1690. It has always been employed as a clear
and unanswerable proof that the French were demons
of cruelty. But two facts should be remembered in

178 The Makers of Maine
this case — first the French were not able to restrain
the Indians, and second, the Indians themselves were
only avenging similar massacres perpetrated by those
other Indians who were EngUsh allies. The history
of the Fort Loyal affairs deserves some consideration.
The administration of Canada, under the Govern
ors, La Barre and de Denouville, was lax for the times,
and the fierce Iroquois lost respect for the military
prowess of the French. Consequently, on the night
of August 4, 1689, during a wild storm, 1500 Iroquois
landed from their canoes on the shores of Lac St. Louis,
and without warning fell upon the village of La Chine,
murdering the inhabitants in their beds, before the
poor wretches had even an opportunity to realize what
had happened.
When the news of this outrage reached Louis XIV,
he aroused himself enough to send Louis de Frontenac,
one of the greatest soldiers of the time, and one of the
greatest governors of Canada, to Quebec to serve
again as governor. As war had again been declared
between France and England, King Louis gave Fron
tenac the order to exterminate the whole English sea
board, but, as men and arms were sorely needed in
Europe, Louis neglected to pro-vide Frontenac with
the means for accomplishing this ambitious order.
Although Frontenac had not at his command the
necessary troops to carry war in good earnest into the
EngUsh colonies, he had enough French, and their
Indian allies, with his own indomitable courage,
resourcefulness and military spirit to strike terror into
the hearts of the Iroquios, and to teach them not to
repeat the La Chine massacre elsewhere. In the -winter
of 1689 he organized three expeditions, and sent them
one to Schenectady,|N. Y., one to Salmon Falls on the
Piscataqua, and the third to Fort Loyal, now Portland.

Conduct of English Toward Indians 179
It was early in June that the French and Hurons
attacked the Casco Bay settlement. The English had
a garrison here, and it required six days of siege before
they surrendered. They were promised protection
by the French commander, and it should be said to his
credit and in his defense, that he certainly tried to make
good his promise, but he could as easily stem the tide,
or stay the storm-king, as restrain the wild and blood
thirsty Indians. The usual massacre occurred. But,
as we said before, it might almost be called the fashion
of the times. And certainly, if the La Chine massa
cre had not happened, history would not have to
record the Fort Loyal Massacre.
Unfortunately most -writers of history of this period
forget, or neglect, this sequence of events.
By the treaty of Ryswick, September 10th, 1697,
. Acadia, whose career was that of a pendulum swinging
back and forth between England and France, was
ceded to France. The EngUsh fishermen and traders
were driven from the coast of Maine, the French were
firmly established as far west as the Kennebec, and
CathoUc priests were teaching and preaching among
the Abenaqui Indians.
It may interest the reader to know that among
the numerous historic remains (I can hardly say ruins)
of those old days of romantic history in Maine, the
outlines of the old fort at Pemaquid, and the rock
which formed the bomb-proof of the magazine, may
still be discerned at this place on the coast.

CHAPTER XXV
ENGLAND'S Title to Maine Obtained by
Treachery and Maintained
BY Violence
In the last chapter I quoted from Thornton's
"Ancient Pemaquid". Now, let us caU the greatest
authority of all as a witness, — ^Williamson: Writing
of the beginning of the Indian wars, the war commonly
called in English writings, "King PhiUip's War," he
says: (Volume 1, page 517) "This war has been
ascribed to various causes. It has been represented
with some spleen as well as truth, that the English
were the aggressors. The generous treatment and
welcome they first received from the natives had been
repaid, as accusers say, by kidnapping their benefac
tors, by disturbing their hunting grounds and fisheries,
and by 'a shameful mismanagement of the fur and
peltry trade.' In the gradual encroachments of the
white people, the Indians foresaw the danger of being
totally exiled from their native country. They com
plained of imposition — for instance an Anasagunticook
said, 'he had probably given 100 pounds sterling for
water drawn out of Purchas' well.' To nothing Euro
pean were the natives more passionately attached than
the hunting gun; as it afforded them the necessary
means of procuring a sustenance. Still, they said,
'The English refused to sell them firearms and ammu
nition, though they were at times ready to starve and
perish; whereas the French were free and cheerful to

ENGLAND'S TITLE 181
supply them with whatever they wished.' Nay* the
Sagamores knew the English looked upon them and
their tribes with a distrustful eye, and considered them
as an inferior order of being; while they themselves
believed, the Great Spirit, who gave them existence,
had also given them absolute rights in the country of
their birth, and the land of their fathers. Many tra
ditional stories of injuries they had received were col
lected, (for Indians never forget) and often rehearsed
in a manner calculated to arouse and influence their
resentments." Also, on page 519, he says: "But the far-famed
Squando, who had cherished a bitter antipathy against
the English, had recentiy been affronted in a manner
which greatly provoked his resentment. As his squaw
was passing along the river Saco in a canoe, with her
infant child, she was accosted by several rude Sailors
who ha-ving heard that the Indian children could swim
as naturally as the young of irrational animals, ap
proached her, and in a fit of inconsiderate humor, over
set the canoe to try the experiment. The child sank,
and though the mother, di-ving, brought it up alive,
it soon after died, and the parents imputed its death to
the ill-treatment received. So highly did this exas
perate Squando, that he resolved to use all his arts and
influence to arouse and inflame the Indians against
the settiers." Let the reader, who is a Christian, and whose
conduct and mode of life and mental attitude have
been determined by the influence of generations of
Christian civilization, consider what he would do if
some foreigners should submit his wife and children
to such treatment as that which Williamson relates
in the above quoted passage.
It is deser-ving of especial notice that the historian

182 The Makers of Maine
says that the EngUsh did not dare to supply the natives
with firearms, but he admits that the French could do
so with perfect safety to themselves. In studying
all the writings of all the historians who have treated
this period of our history, the student will be impressed
by the fact that the writers cannot give a satisfactory
reason for the hostility of the natives towards the
EngUsh. And also, although they deal in glittering
generalities to the effect that the French were in some
way responsible for that hostility, make general sweep
ing statements about the unreliability of the "Romish"
French and the "dishonesty" of the Jesuit priests,
they never produce one concrete example to sustain
their sweeping charges. And, to the contrary, these
writers themselves frequently mention instances of the
English violating promises and breaking treaties and
committing acts of hostility in time of peace. An
instance of the latter occurs to me now. In the year
1654, twenty years after the Peace of St. Germain,
by which Acadia had been ceded to the French by
England, the English fitted out an expedition against
the Dutch and secret instructions were given to the
captains of the ship that when they had reduced the
Dutch colony, they should turn their arms against
Acadia and make conquest of it. The French were
taken by surprise, as this was a time of peace, and the
English met ¦with no resistance at the Penobscot nor at
the river St. John. La Tour was in command at the
St. John. In a few weeks the whole pro^vince of Acadia
was reduced to subjection by the English. The French
protested to the EngUsh cabinet and complained of this
as an unprovoked outrage, but to no avail. Several
other instances could be cited; but I think I have already
in this, and the preceding chapters, sufficiently proved
my contention, — that a view of all the early history

ENGLAND'S TITLES 183
of Maine shows that the English possession was ob
tained by -violence and a breach of faith in the first
instance, and was maintained by repeated acts of
violence and treachery towards both the French and the
Indians afterwards.
I do not at all mean to argue that the Indian allies
of the French, were not guilty of acts of cruelty and
treachery during the wars. After the fighting was well
begun, there is little choice between the two sides.
History contains no more horrible tale than the mas
sacre which followed the surrender of Fort Loyal at
Falmouth. On the other hand, in the same year.
Major Benjamin Church commanded an expedition
of the EngUsh which attacked a party of Indians at a
fort on the western side of the Lower Falls of the An
droscoggin (where the to-wn of Brunswick now stands).
The Indian warriors made their escape and Major
Church captured several squaws and a great number
of Indian children. Their fates are related in these
words of Williamson, (Volume 1, page 625,) "But
it is painful to relate, and nowise creditable to the
usual humanity of Major Church, that the rest of the
females, except two or three old squaws, also the un
offending children, were put to the tomahawk or sword."
Many others of such instances can be cited from
Williamson himself. But now, let us consider again the
frequent repetition of the charges by-Williamson and
the other writers of this period of history, that the Jesuits
were the instigators of the outrages committed by the
Indians. Williamson says, (Volume 1. page 639)
"Fit instruments to effect this purpose were the French
missionaries. The four or five who were prominent
in this service, were M. Thury, Vincent and Jacques
Bigot, and Sebastin Ralle, — all of whom were ardent
and bold enthusiasts, always ready with tearful eye,

184 The Makers of Maine
to preach from a text in their creed, — that 'it is no sin
to break faith with heretics.' " Such passages occur
frequently in the writings of these historians. But
the reader will notice that however carefully he may
search for proof to sustain the charges, for even one Well
authentic instance, no proof is forthcoming. From
cover to cover of the books of these historians, not one
instance of such acts as are charged against the Jesuits
is produced to sustain the charge. The closest that
Williamson comes to proving his charge is the following
from page 641 of Volume 1. Bomazeen, the Sagamore,
had been captured when on a visit to Pemaquid, and
was taken to Boston, as I have related. The following
conversation is quoted: "In conversation with a
clergyman of Boston, Bomazeen said, 'the Indians
understand the Virgin Mary was a French lady, and
her son, Jesus Christ, the blessed, was murdered by the
English ; but has since risen and gone to heaven^ and all
who would gain his pleasure must avenge his blood.'"
Now, admitting that the Indian said that, it must
be remembered that he was a prisoner and in danger
of his Ufe, and it is not at all surprising that he would
craftily say things calculated to please his hearers
and to deceive them into thinking that he Was ready
to renounce allegiance to France and to the CathoUc
Church, both of which he knew were cordially hated
by the EngUsh Puritans of Boston.

CHAPTER XXVI
An Eloquent Indian Chief
It is practically impossible, in the limits of a work
of this nature, to treat at any length the history of the
Indian wars. To do so would be to •write a history
of Maine, a purpose which I have, as my readers re
member, expressly disclaimed. No other State of the
present American Union has such a history of fighting
and wars as Maine. WilUamson, the historian of
Maine, whose exhaustive history I have frequently
quoted, discussed and criticized (I hope fairly), in be
ginning his relation of the fourth Indian war, begun
in 1722 (Volume II, Chapter IV.) discusses the situa
tion and the condition of the Indians at that time, and
relates a part of the conversation had between the
English officers and the Indian chiefs. I desire to
quote his relation of that conversation, because, among
other reasons, it demonstrates a fact which I have
more than once in these chapters mentioned, that is,
the strange obsession of a learned and scholarly writer
by the evil g«nius of religious bigotry, which leads
him to blindly ignore inevitable deductions from ad
mitted facts.
He says that the Indians in their frequent negotia
tions and individual parleys and conversations with
the English were frank to open their hearts. These
were his WOTds: "But why, one inquired of them,
are you so strongly attached to the French from whom
you can never receive so much benefit as from the Eng-

186 The Makers of Maine
Ush? A sachem gravely answered, 'Because the French
have taught us to pray unto God, which EngUshmen
never did.' A summary of thoughts and expressions
dropped by the Indians at different times will show
their views. — 'Frenchmen speak and act in our behalf.
They feed us with good things we need, and they make
us presents. They never take away our lands. No,
but their kind missionaries come and tell us how to
pray, and how to worship the Great Spirit. When
the day is darkened by clouds, our French brothers
give us council. In trade with them, we have good
articles, full weight and free measure. Indians and
white men have one Great Father. He has given
every tribe of us a goodly river, which yields us fine
salmon and other fish. Their borders are wide and
pleasant. Here the Indians from oldest times have
hunted the bear, the moose, the beaver. It is our
own country, where our fathers died, where ourselves
and our children were born; we can never leave it.
The Indian has rights and loves good things as well as the
Englishman. Yes, we have a sense too of what is kind
and great. When you first came from the morning
waters, we took you into our open arms; we thought
you children of the sun; we fed you with our best meat;
never went a white man cold and starving from the cabin
of an Indian. Do we speak the truth? But you have
returned us evil for good. You put the flaming cup
to our lips; it filled our veins with poison; it wasted the
pride of our strength. Aye, and when the fit was on,
you took advantage, you made gains of us. You made
our beaver cheap; then you paid us in watered rum
and trifles. We shed your blood; we avenged your
affronts. Then you promised us equal trade, and good
commodities. Have Christian EngUshmen lived up
to their promises? Never, for they asked leave of our

An Eloquent Indian Chief i87
fathers to dwell in the land as brothers. It was freely
granted. The earth is for the life and range of man.
We are now told the country spreading far from the sea
is passed away to you forever, perhaps for nothing,
because of the names and seals of our Sagamores. Such
deeds be far from them. They never turned their chil
dren from their homes to suffer. Their hearts were
too full of love and kindness, their souls too great.
Whither should we go? There is no land so much our
own, none half so dear to us. Why flee before our
destroyers? We fear them not, sooner far we'll sing
the war song, and again Ught up the council fires; so
shall the great spirits of our fathers own their sons.
To take our lands from us, the English lawmakers and
rulers themselves, as some folks tell us, have long ago
forbidden you. All the forts and mills built again
are contrary to treaty and must be laid low. The
white men shall give more place to Indians, so shall
the fines and extent we require to see estabUshed be
where we please to have them."
In reading the foregoing, one cannot but be im
pressed by the eloquence of the speaker, as well as the
sound sense and justice of the sentiments expressed.
We find WilUamson admitting that no matter how
hard pressed the Indians were, however reduced by
famine and the loss of warriors, when they met the
English to draft a treaty of peace, they would sacrifice
every hope of peace rather than give up their mission
aries. As is well known to all readers of the history
of this period, the EngUsh conceived a bitter hatred
towards the missionary priests; and to justify that
hatred, they pretended to believe that the Indians
would live in peace and quiet were it not for the e^vil
machinations of the Jesuit priests.
After the peace of Ryswick, September Uth, 1693,

188 THE Makers of Maine
between France and England, the English met the
Indians at Mare Point, now a part of Brunswick, to
draw up a treaty. The EngUsh wanted to stipulate
that the French missionaries at Norridgewock, and
at the Penobscot and the Androscoggin should be with
drawn. The Indians consented to exchange prisoners,
and agreed to all else, but they would not consent to
lose their missionaries.
I have found considerable pleasure in pointing
out many curious features of the history of these times
about which I am writing, and in caUing attention to
some facts which are not generaUy known and to other
facts which have been generally misunderstood for
generations. It may be of interest to know the reason
why the pubUcation of the Laws of Maine is to this
day called the "Acts and Resolves." There is now no
reason for the tide, "Resol^ves." But the history of
the word thus used is curious. The Charter of WilUam
and Mary of October 7th, 1691, for the go-vernment of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony, pro-vided for a General
Court, which should be an elective legislative body.
This General Court was given full power to enact orders,
laws, statutes and ordinances, but all such were to be
transmitted to the king for his approval under the
royal signature by the first opportunity. If, howe-v«r,
any one of them were not expressly disallowed by him
in pri-vy council -within three years, it had, after that
period, the full force and effect of law the same as
if it bore the royal signature. This was manifestly
inconvenient. But at least it had some beneficial
results, for great pains were taken to render the enacted
bills perfect, also it was a salutary check upon the
tendency of the legislative body to enact a needless
multiplication of statutes, — that bane of modern legis
lation. However, to avoid transmitting every minor

An Eloquent Indian Chief i89
legislative measure across the ocean the General Court
often acted by "Resolves." This was found to be a
convenient way of "side-stepping" the letter of the
Charter, and the practice grew. The reason for the
name "Resolve" no longer exists, but to this day the
laws of Maine and of some other States are entitled the
"Acts and Resolves."

CHAPTER XXVII
The Civil War Between De La Tour
and Aulnay Charnisay
Let us turn back the pages of history again, and
take up the story of the first French settlers in Acadia
that we may consider the strange civil war which raged
in Acadia between two French Lords of the New World.
When Biencourt, the son of de Poutrincourt, be
came a wanderer in the wilderness, after the breaking
up of the Port Royal settlement under de Poutrincourt,
his companion was Charles de la Tour. They joined
themselves to the bands of roving Indians, lived their
life, and became so identified with them that they
were almost Indians themselves.
Biencourt died in 1622, and de la Tour succeeded
to his claims to lordship in Acadia.
But now, let us return, for the moment to the
English claim to Acadia. King James I, in 1621 granted
to Sir WilUam Alexahder, afterwards Earl of StirUng,
the EngUsh claim to Acadia. At the request of James'
successor, — King Charles, Sir WilUam fitted out an
expedition for the purpose of enforcing the English
claim, and placed in charge a certain David Kirk, a
French Huguenot who had renounced his allegiance
to France and become an English subject. Kirk cap
tured some French ships, and among his prisoners was
Claude de la Tour, the father of Charles de la Tour.
Although we know that Charles, the son, was a Cath
olic, at least in name; his father, Claude, was a Hugue-

De La Tour and Aulnay Charnisay 191
not. As some excuse for the conduct of Claude, it
should be said that at that time religious ties were
often stronger than the ties of country. Claude de la
Tour was received in such a flattering manner in Eng
land that his loyalty to his native country was over
come, and he agreed to join hands with the English in
the endeavor to wrest Acadia from France, or, as he
put it, — "to save Acadia from the Jesuits." But
Claude went a step too far, — he pledged the co-opera
tion of his son, Charles.
Under the patronage of Sir William Alexander,
he sailed for Acadia at the head of an expedition. When
he arrived, he interviewed his son; and to his surprise
and chagrin Charles refused to surrender his allegiance
to France at the bidding of his father. The father
urged and argued; but to no effect. He threatened
war; but Charles answered that he would fight for
France against his own father. He even went so far
as to land troops and march against the fort; but
Charles defended with so much vigor that the English
retired. Claude found himself in a quandary. He could
not return to England and admit that all his plans had
miscarried through the obstinancy of his son in clinging
to his honorable allegiance to France ; and he could not
remain in Acadia except by sufferance of his son. Fi
nally he chose the latter course, and was allowed to live
in Acadia, in a certain style of independence.
The French government rewarded Charles de
la Tour by appointing him Lieutenant Governor of
Acadia and its dependencies. Although, as I have
intimated, he was no more than a nominal Catholic,
we find him acting as patron and protector of the Re
collect Fathers who maintained a mission on the Pen
obscot for several years. I think it can fairly be pre-

192 The Makers of Maine
sumed that his reason for this act of protectorship of
the Recollect missionaries was because his great rival
and enemy, D'Aulnay Charnisay, was the patron of
the Capuchin Fathers who had mission stations on the
Kennebec and Penobscot, as we shall a little farther
on relate. It should be noted in passing, that many histo
rians, including Williamson, have frequently confused
the father and son de la Tour, especially in regard to
the missions.
The strange and romantic civil war which Charles
de la Tour and d'Aulnay Charnisay carried on against
each other for the possession and lordship of Acadia
makes a most interesting chapter in our history. It
is at some times almost comic; but at all times tragic.
The amusing part of it is the effort which hoth made
to enUst the Massachusetts English in the service of
one or the other. The tragic part of it is the suffering
of the noble lady who was the •wife of de la Tour, and
who at times was forced to bear the brunt of the contest
on her own weak shoulders. One result of the war was
that many French settlements along the coast of Maine,
and on the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers, were
broken up, and another was, without doubt, that the
missionary work of the RecoUet and Capuchin Fathers
was interfered with and greatly injured.
De La Tour's fort was on the St. John River,
opposite what is now Navy Island; it commanded the
river and harbor. Here Charles lived in state as a
feudal lord and baron, with his •wife, his retainers, and
servants. A lonely Ufe this noble lady must have
lived, with no equals and no society worth mingUng
with. Her only associates were her children and the
servants and Indians, for her noble lord was away
ranging the woods and hills most of his days.

De La Tour and Aulnay Charnisay 193
Of these two rivals and enemies, Charnisay was
by all odds the shrewder. Early in their troubles
he made haste to go to France and secure influence at
court; white de la Tour remained in Acadia attending
to the government of his te^ itories and the carrying
on of his fur trades and fishing industries. Charnisay
secured an order from the King requiring de la Tour
to return to France and make answer to the charges
and claims which he had preferred against him. The
King further authorized Charnisay to arrest de la Tour
and bring him to France if he failed to come of his
own accord. This was an order more easily made
than executed. As a result of this order the fighting
began. De la Tour strengthened his fort and his de
fenses, and bade defiance to Charnisay and the King's
order. In this act he, of coursey made himself an
outlaw. From this point on Charnisay ha!d him at
a disadvantage in law; but Charnisay 's own methods
will hardly bear scr^tiny either. Charnisay dared
not attack the fort at this time •with any hope of carry-
it. He returned to France to obtain assistance to
overpower his rival.
Now we come to the strange, almost ludicrous
efforts of each side to enUst the English of Massachu
setts in the struggle. De la Tour turned his eyes to Bos
ton. He sent a messenger to Boston to treat with
the English, and with many hints of a community of
religious interests he proposed an alUance of offense
and defense. The canny Englishmen of Boston held
back and returned fair words only. De la Tour per
sisted and sent messenger after messenger. Then
Charnisay put his own hand into this game of politics
and himself sent a messenger to Governor Winthrop
at Boston with the word that de la Tour was a rebel
against his King, an outiaw under the laws of all nations.

194 The Makers of Maine
At the same time he obtained help in France, securing
five vessels and five hundred men. Now, de la Tour
began to realize the need of help from France, and he
in his turn appealed to his family's Huguenot friends
at Rochelle, gi^ving them to understand that this was
a religious war. He could not have made a shrewder
move, for the cry of religious persecution was all that
was needed to arouse the Huguenots of Rochelle. They
in their turn fitted out an armed vessel with one hundred
and forty men, and sent them to Acadia to fight in this
holy war of religion.
This ship arrived off Fort -La Tour to find the
place blockaded by Charnisay's ships. La Tour and
his wife slipped out of the fort, under cover of darkness
one night, got aboard a ship of their friends, and sailed
for Boston. He had decided to apply in person to
the English for help. ¦ After a long conference with
Governor Winthrop, and his Councilors, it was finally
decided by the English Colonists to permit de la Tour
to hire men and vessels in Boston. La Tour chartered
four vessels, fifty-two men, and ninety-two soldiers.
This partial siding of Boston men with La Tour against
Charnisay aroused great opposition, and protests from
many parts of New England, especially from the Eng
Ush in Piscataqua; and Endicott, afterwards Governor
of the colony, •wrote from Salem to the Governor, ex
pressing his fears at having anything to do with "these
idolatrous French."
Charnisay did not know what was going on in
Boston, and was surprised when La Tour's fleet of five
ships arrived off St. John. He did not wait to give
battle, but fled to Port Royal. One circumstance
is sufficient to- show the bitter enmity which existed
between these two men. About this time Charnisay
went back to France, and found that the Lady de la

De La Tour and Aulnay Charnisay 195
Tour was in France in the interest of obtaining aid
for her husband. Instead of regarding her as a devoted
wife of an honorable enemy, he procured an order for
her arrest on the ground that she was equally, with her
husband, a traitor to the King. She escaped to Eng
land. De la Tour, after making repeated entreaties
for edd from the EngUsh of Boston, found that he could
expect nothing from that quarter. After many hard
ships, and much wandering, the Lady de La Tour
arrived safely at the fort on the St. John.
At one time, in the absence of Charles, she defended
the fort herself, as commander, against an attack by
Charnisay, but finally, on the 12th of April, 1645, Charn
isay succeeded in capturing the fort. After a brilliant
resistance, the Lady de La Tour, who was still alone,
and the commandant in the absence of her husband,
to save the lives of her. few followers capitulated to
Charnisay. Once Charnisay took possession, he broke
his word, and caused the whole garrison to be hanged.
Doubtless, also, he desired to murder Lady de La Tour,
but dared not. But he did almost as much. He
compelled her to be present at the execution of her
soldiers, •with a rope around her neck, like one who
was about to be executed. The shock of all these ter
rible events was too much for this poor woman, and she
shortly afterwards died.
The names of two great French women stand out
as brilliant stars among the galaxy of heroic souls, who
lived and took their part in the making of this land
in those early days. Those two women, the greatest
of all the women whose names and fortjunes were com
mingled with those of the men who helped in the building
of this country are Madame de Guerche-ville, who gave
her private fortune for the founding of a French colony

196 The Makers of Maine
in Acadia, and Madame de la Tour, who gave her life
to the defending of a French colony in Acadia.
It is not necessary to give further minute details
of the remainder of the lives of La Tour and Charnisay.
La Tour afterwards went to Quebec and New Found-
land, and was absent from Acadia for four years. Dur
ing that period Charnisay was certainly in the ascen
dancy in Acadia.
In 1650, however, he met his death by drowning
in the river of Port Royal- Such was the end of one
of the most bitter, cruel and relentless men who had
a hand in the making of history of this period.
De La Tour took advantage of Charnisay's death
to regain the ascendancy in Acadia, and in 1653 he
married the widow of Charnisay. And, so, those two
families, after years of bitter conflict, were united.
Afterwards the EngUsh took fort La Tour. Charles
de La Tour died in the year 1666, at the age of seventy-
two. He was buried in his beloved Acadia.

CHAPTER XXVIII
The Interesting but little Known History
OF THE Capuchin Missions in Maine
In the course of the narrative of the life of de la
Tour, I mentioned the Capuchin Missionaries on the
Kennebec and Penobscot. As de la Tour, in a manner,
patronized the Recollect Fatiiers, so his great rival
Charnisay was the patron of the Capuchins. While
there may be some question of the CathoUcity of La
Tour, there can be no doubt but that Charnisay was
truly devoted to the interests of the Church, and anxious
that the Catholic missions should prosper.
Let us relate what is known about the Capuchin
missionaries in Maine, those Frenchmen, educated,
refined and selfsacrificing who gave up their homes in
Paris to live in the wilderness of the Maine woods,
and whom we find, in the year 1648, conducting a mis
sion for the Indians on the Penobscot and Kennebec,
and building the little church of Our Lady of -Holy
Hope at Castine.
When our Civil War was raging, the United States
government, in the year 1863, erected a battery near
the harbor of Castine, on the site of an old brick battery
which was formerly known as the Lower Fort. Mr.
W. H. Weeks was engaged in work on the road leading
to the battery. While at work, he found near the fort,
and only a little below the surface of the groimd, a piece
of old slreet copper. He thought nothing of it at the
time, oBd cut off a piece to repair lus boat. Afterwards,

198 THE Makers of Maine
however, he discovered some letter, and made out
an inscription, which, later, by the help of archaeolog
ists, was rendered as follows:
1648. 8 IVN, F
LEO. PARISIN.
CAPUC MISS
POSVI HOC FV-
NDTM IN HNR-
EM NRAE
SANC TAE SPEI
which translated, reads in English as follows:
1648. June, 8 I Friar
Leo of Paris
Capuchin, Missionary,
laid this found
ation in honor
of Our Lady
of Holy Hope.
This copper plate was, without doubt, placed by
Father Leo of Paris, at the time the Superior of the
Capuchin missionaries, in the receptacle sealed in the
corner stone of the chapel of Our Lady of Holy Hope
built by these Fathers at Castine.
The names of the other Capuchin Fathers who were
superiors of the mission are, — Father Arsenius of Paris,
Father Angelus of Luynes, Father Ignatius of Paris,
and Father Cosmas de Mantes.
The Rev. Father Charlevoix could have given us
more information concerning these Capuchin mis
sionaries and their work in Maine when writing his
History of New France. The full correspondence
between the Jesuit Father Druillettes and the Capu
chin Fathers was preserved in the Archives of the
college at Quebec, and Father Charlevoix must ha^ve

THE Capuchin Missions 199
had access to this correspondence. But he did not
publish the correspondence; and it was afterwards lost,
together with many other priceless manuscripts, when
Quebec was taken by the English. The Capuchins
themselves did not keep a daily record of their doings,
as the Jesuits did. Consequently, we have no Capu
chin Relations to refer to.
The Capuchin order was instituted in Europe
about the year 1528. They were offered a mission in
Canada in 1632, but declined it at that time, and the
Jesuits took their place. Ten years afterwards, Char
nisay, the great rival and enemy of de La Tour, in^vited
them to take charge of the reUgious affairs of that part
of Acadia over which he claimed jurisdiction. They
came and began their work in the year 1643.
In the Jesuit Relations, we read, concerning Father
Druilettes' journey from Quebec to Maine in 1646:
"His Indian guide, seeing himself on the banks of the
sea of Acadia, conducted the Father in a little bark
canoe to Pentagoet, where he found a little hospice of
Capuchin Fathers who embraced him with the love
and charity which was to be expected from their good
ness. Their superior. Father Ignatius of Paris, gave
them every possible welcome. After recruiting some
time with these good fathers he re-embarked in his
canoe." The Capuchins, besides being missionraies to the
Indians, were chaplains to the French settlers, traders,
and fishermen. There could not have been any enmity
or jealousy between them and the Jesuits, as some
historians intimate. It is true that after Father
Druillettes returned to Quebec he was informed that
he would not be needed in Maine at that time. But
that there could be any dislike or jealousy between
the Capuchins in Maine and himself is clearly dispro-

200 THE MAKERS OF MAINE
ven by the following quotation from a letter written
to him in 1648 by Father Cosmas de Mantes, then
superior, and preserved in the Jesuit Relations: "We
entreat your Reverence, through the holy love of Jesus
and Mary, for the salvation of these poor souls towards
the south, who beg it of you to ^ve them every assis
tance that your courageous and indefatigable charity
can bestow; and if, in crossing the Kennebec you should
meet any of Ours, you will please us if you will make
known your needs to them; and if you have none to
ask, to continue your holy instructions to those poor
abandoned barbarians as much as your charity will
pormit." Besides the missions on the Penobscot and Kenne
bec, it is highly probable that other Capuchin Fathers
were from time to time at different places along the
coast, as they were frequently called upon to serve as
chaplains of French vessels. But, for the reason men
tioned before, the lack of daily records kept by the
missionaries themselves, little is known of their his
tory.

CHAPTER XXIX
The Famous Mission to the
Abenaki Indians
I come now to the narration of events which have
always seemed to me of romantic interest, — the story
of the mission to the Abenaki Indians. The mere
statement of the words, — "Abenaki Mission," natur
ally brings to our minds the name of the great Jesuit
missionary, one of the greatest of all the missionaries
of those days, — Father Sebastian Rale, or as his name
is often spelled, — Rasle. The Ufe and work of this
great and good man will always remain a prominent
marker in the pages of Maine's history, not only because
of the remarkable results which he accomplished in
Christianizing and civilizing the Indians of Maine,
results whose effects are seen to this day in the remnants
of that once great and powerful tribe, but also because
of the valuable contributions to history which he has
left to posterity in his •writings, ihis diary and letters,
and especially his invaluable dictionary of the Abenaki
language, which is now in the possession of Harvard
University and preserved in the library at Cambridge.
In considering the history of this period, however
we must not forget to give due credit to the other Mis
sionary Fathers who labored and suffered privation
and disease in this land, now the State of Maine. We
must not forget the names of the brothers. Bigot, nor
Gabriel Druillettes.
Father Druillettes was without doubt as learned

202 The Makers of Maine
and able a man as Father Rale; and he certainly was
loved as much by the Indians as Rale; 'but he had not
the opportunity to remain •with the Abenaki Indians
for many years as Father Rale had. His superiors sent
him from place to place. Druillettes' name will alway
be famous in history, as the name of the only Catholic
priest ever sent on a diplomatic mission by the French
government at Quebec to the English government of
Massachusetts. He was a minister plenipotentiary
with full diplomatic powers. Moreover, the fact which
makes his career unique in the history of those days is
that he was received with all the honor due a high dip
lomatic representative, and, in so far as the results
of his diplomatic mission depended on his own work
and efforts, he fully accomplished the object of the
mission. Before relating the story of this diplomatic mis
sion to the English colonies, let us for a moment con
sider the state of the Massachusetts English in the
matter of religion.
I have said that the Puritans of Massachusetts had
little love for the early English settlers in Maine, on
account of the difference in religion between the two
classes of Englishmen. As we know, the English in
Maine were principally of the High Church persuasion.
The adherents of this Church were as abhorrent to the
Puritans of Massachusetts, as were the Catholics.
When the Pilgrims and the Puritans settled in
Massachusetts, they established a true Theocrasy.
Only the members enrolled in the Church had any
right to a voice in the governing of the colony; only
they had the right to vote. They not only excluded
CathoUcs, but excluded all other Protestants who
differed from them in religious faith.
Roger WilUams, the Baptist, was driven out.

Famous Mission to Abnaki 203
Gorton, another Baptist, was flogged and driven out.
Mrs. Hutchinson was exiled; the Quakers were hanged.
In 1631 Sir Christopher Gardiner was driven out of the
colony on mere suspicion of being a Catholic, without
trial and without opportunity to make a defense.
Roger Williams, whom so many historians have
so wrongly dignified as the "Father of Toleration,"
in America, declared the cross to be the "relic of Anti-
Christ," a "Papist symbol savoring of superstition, and
not to be countenanced by Christian men," and his
followers went so far as to cut the cross out of the Eng
lish flag, refusing to Uve or fight under a flag which
bore the sign accepted by all Christian nations as a
symbol of the redemption of man.
In 1647 the General Court of Massachusetts met
and adopted an act to prevent the Jesuits entering
their domains. I quote the preamble to show the state
of mind existing among those men: — "The court,
taking into consideration the great wars, combustions
and di-visions, which are this day in Europe, and that
the same are observed to be raised and fomented chiefly
by the secret underminings, and the solicitations of
those of the Jesuitical order, men brought up and
devoted to the religion and the Court of Rome, which
had occasioned divers States to expel them from their
territories" — The act goes on to forbid all Jesuits
entering the colony under penalty of death, but with
great humanity they kindly provided that if a Jesuit
should be ship-wrecked on their shore, they would not
hang him.
It was to such a people, with such an opinion of the
Catholic Church and the Jesuit Fathers, such a hatred
for the veYy name of Jesuit, that the Rev. Fr. Gabriel
Druillettes S. J., went in the year 1650, and was re
ceived -with respect and friendUness.

CHAPTER XXX
Father Druillettes' Diplomatic
Mission to Boston
Father Druillettes was born September 29, 1610.
He was educated at a Jesuit College in France, and
came to Canada in 1643. He seemed to have a natural
aptitude for acquiring languages, and became proficient
in several Indian dialects. He went for the first time
to the Abenaki Indians of Maine in the year 1646.
He stayed with them a year and then returned to
Quebec. The writings of Father Druillettes make very in
teresting reading. He says that his journey from Que
bec to Maine through the forests was one of inconceiv
able difficulty. The Abenakis received him with great
joy. He relates this instance:
" 'A captain touched my heart. He repeated to me
often in public and in private that he loved his children
more than himself. 'I have lost two of them,' he ad
ded, 'since thy departure. Their death is not my
greatest grief; but thou did not baptize them, that is
what afflicts me; but I know not whether I did right,
and whether I shall ever see them in heaven. If thou
thyself had baptized them, I would not mourn them,
or be sorry because of their death; on the contrary I
would be comforted. If to banish my sadness, thou
wert -willing at least to promise not to think of Kebec
for at least ten years, and not to leave us during that
time, thou wouldst show that thou lovest us.' There-

Father Druillettes 205
upon he conducted me to the grave of his two children
over whom he planted two fine crosses painted red,
which he went to salute from time to time. It was
within sight of the English themselves, who lived at
Kousinok, the place where the cemetery of these good
people is situated.' "
In the late summer of the year 1650 he left Quebec
on his diplomatic mission to the English of Boston,
carrying letters gi'ving him full plenipotentiary powers.
He went by way of the old trail through Norridgewock
and Augusta. At Augusta he was received by the
commandant, John Winslow, •with great respect, and
such was the character of Druillettes that he at once
won the lasting esteem and friendship of Winslow.
He then proceeded with Winslow to Merrymeeting Bay,
and embarked there for Boston, arriving in Boston in
the late fall on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
He was received with the respect due a minister pleni
potentiary. He relates that he was waited on by the
principal men of Charlesto^wn, and that Major-Gen-
eral Gibbons in-vited him to his house, and, he says,
"gave me the key of a room where I might in all liberty
pray and perform the other exercises of my religion,
and he besought me to take no other lodging while
in Boston." Now, Father Druillettes does not say that
he celebrated Mass in his room, white in Boston, but
knowing what we do of his great piety and sanctity,
we may have every reason to believe that he did, and
that the Sacrifice of the Mass was therefore offered in
Boston in December, 1650. He was well received by
Governor Dudley at Boston, and by Governor Brad
ford at Plymouth. He relates that while at Plymouth,
Governor Bradford in-vited him to dinner on a Friday,
and had a special dinner of fish prepared. He spent
a night with John Elliot, the EngUsh Apostle to the

206 The Makers of maine
Indians, and won EUiot's friendship. In February
he returned to the Kennebec to resume his missionary
labors. There is nothing in Father Druillettes' Relation
which would lead one to believe that, at that time,
there was a single Catholic li-ving in Boston. He says
that the only Catholic whom he found on his voyage
was a French sailor at York. He relates that in the
year 1651 he paid a second visit to the EngUsh colonies,
but of that visit we have no details. But, it seems
that he went this time as far south as Hartford, and
was kindly received there. Father Druillettes remained
with the Abnaki Mission on the Kennebec until 1656.
The Boston and the Plymouth people were in
favor of uniting -with the French against the Iroquois.
The Plymouth people were especially favorable to
Fr. DruUlettes' diplomatic mission, because their trade
with the Abenaki Indians had grown to quite consider
able proportions. When Druillettes returned to Que
bec from his mission to the EngUsh he felt certain
that he had accomplished the alliance and friendship
which he so much desired. Although he failed, he left
with the English a different impression of a Catholic
priest than they had previously held.
The EngUsh missionary, Elliot, pressed him to
remain as his guest for the winter. The name and
fame of Elliot are held dear to the hearts of the English
Protestant writers of history. He was to them the
ideal type of missionary. We know that they speak
contemptuously of the French Jesuits, and ascribe
their success with the Indians to the fact, as they
charge, that the Jesuits lived the savage life and be
came to all intents and purposes savages themselves.
But this view of the Jesuits, however pleasing it may be
to those whose religious prejudices prevent them from

Father Druillettes 207
admitting the truth, could not have been the view held
by ElUot, and surely he must have been a good judge.
If Elliot had regarded Father Druillettes as little better
than a savage, it is unlikely that he would have extended
an in-vitation to him to spend the winter with him as
his guest.

CHAPTER XXXI
The romantic history of father
Sebastian Rale, S. J.
The name of Father Rale, his character, and his
activities, illuminate the pages of every history of Maine
ever written and of every article treating of this period
of our history. That he was a great man is attested
by the fact, (if there were no other proof) that no other
man who figured in the history of those days has been
so outrageously vilified and abused by Protestant
writers of history as Father Rale. But he has at last
come into his own, and his name is now spoken •with
respect and his memory is revered. But, as I have
said, it was not formerly so. The follo^wing is William
son's characterization of him. (Volume II, Page '100.)
"Rale, the famous Jesuit, was deemed the principal
instigator of these insults. He was a man of talents
and learning; and by his condescending manners, re
ligious zeal, and untiring perseverance, he had greatly
endeared himself to the tribe. He had sided with them
and been their tutelar father thirty years; and many
of them he had taught to read and •write. To render
their devotion an incentive to violence, it is said, he
kept a banner figured with a cross, which was encircled
by bows and arrows; and while he was giving them
absolution before they proceeded to war, or upon any
hostile expedition, he was in the habit of suspending;
the flag from a tall standard at the door of his chapel
aware of the advantages gained, if he could give every
bold sally of the Indians, the character of a crusade.

Father Sebastian Rale, S. J. 209
Fond of epistolary correspondence, he kept up a con
stant intercourse •with Vaudreuil, the Governor of
Canada; giving him an account of every settlement,
fort or other enterprise, commenced by the English;
and recei^ving in. return, advices how to incite and direct
the Indians against the settlers. He sent Governor
Shute a very bold letter, filled with curious logic, to
prove the exclusive right of the Indians to the country
they inhabited."
The letters of Father Rale which have been pre
served, absolutely disprove the above assertion, on the
contrary, absolutely prove that the assertion was made
by WilUamson. either in ignorance or in malice. As-
to his letter to Governor Shute, at Boston, it was writ
ten for the Indians, at their request, and' it was their
thoughts put into proper language. And indeed, who
doubts now but that it was the truth?
Williamson goes on to say: "The different branch
es of the government were not agreed what course was
best to be pursued against him: The House resolved
to send a warrant to John Leigh ton, sheriff of York
shire, and orders- unto Colonel Walton, to attend' himi
with ai military guard of 150 men, and directed them'
to proceed; to Norridgewock, seize the Jesuit, and bring
him to Boston; dead or alive;: offfering them a reward;
of 500 pounds sterling for his body, besides the usual
wages. If he couldi not be foundi or if the- tribe refused-
to produce him, it was ordered that several of the prin
cipal Indiansbe seizedi andi conveyed to Boston."
Several expeditions were sent by the English'
against Father Rale, and, as is well known, he was
finally killed, I •will relate the account of his death.
later. But now, as I am not writing history, but vi' ws.
of history,. I desire to quote more or less, from Father
Rale's owm •writings. I think that such quotations

210 The Makers of Maine
from the original letters of the great and good Jesuit
will be of much more interest to my readers than bald
statements of facts of history.
In a letter to his nephew in France, written at
Narrantsouak, (now Norridgewock,) October 15, 1772,
speaking of his mission and his work, he says: "I am
in a district of this vast extent of territory which lies
between Acadia and New England. Two other mis
sionaries are, Uke myself, busy among the Abnaki
savages; but we are far distant from one another. The
The Abnaki savages, besides the two -villages which
they have in the midst of the French colony, have also
three other important ones, each situated on the bank
of a river. Th§se three rivers empty into the sea to
the south of Canada, between New England and Acadia"
(The reader , of course, recognizes these three rivers
as the Penobscot, the Kennebec and the Androscoggin.
It is not generally known at this day that there Was a
Jesuit mission along the Androscoggin, but it is a fact. )
"The village in which I dwell is called Narrantsouak;
it is situated on the bank of a river, which empties into
the sea thirty leagues below. I have built here a church
which is commodious and well adorned. I though
it my duty to spare nothing, either for its decoration
or for the beauty of the vestments that are used in
our holy ceremonies; altar cloths, chasubles, copes,
sacred vessels, everything is suitable, and would be
esteemed in the churches of Europe. I have trained
a minor clergy of about forty young savages, who in
cassocks and surplices assist at divine service; each one
has his duty, not only in serving at the holy sacrifice
of the Mass, but in chanting the divine office at the
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and in the pro
cessions, which are made with a great concourse of
savages, who often come from a great distance in order

Father Rale, S. J. 211
to be present at them. You would be edified at the
good order which they observe, and with the reverence
which they show.
"Two chapels have been built about three hundred
steps from the village, one which is dedicated to the
most Blessed Virgin, and in which her statue in relief
is seen, stands at the head of the river; the other which
is dedicated to the Guardian Angel is below on the
same river. As they both are on the path that leads
either to the woods or to the fields, the savages never
pass them -without offering prayers therein.
"None of my neophytes fail to come twice every
day to church, — in the early morning to hear Mass,
and in the evening to be present at the prayer which I
offer at sunset. As it is necessary to fix the thoughts
of the savages, which wander only too easily, I have
composed some prayers, suited to make them enter
into the spirit of the august Sacrifice of our altars, they
chant these, or rather, they recite them aloud, during
Mass. Besides the sermons that I preach to them on
Sundays and on Feast Days, I seldom pass over a work
ing day without making them a short exhortation, in
order to inspire them with horror for the -vices to which
they have most incUnation, or to strengthen them in
the practice of some -virtue.
"After Mass I catechize the children and the young
people; a great number of older persons are present,
and answer with docility to the questions which I ask
them. The remainder of the morning until noon is
devoted to all those who have anything to tell me.
At that time they come in crowds to reveal to me their
griefs and anxieties, or to tell me the causes of their
complaints which they have against their tribesmen,
or to consult me about their marriages or their other
private affairs. I must instruct some, and console

212. The: Makers. OF Maine
others; re-establish, peace in. disunited families, and
calm troubled consciences; and correct a few others
with reprimands, mingled with gentleness and charity,
— in fine, send them. all away content as far as I can.
"In the afternoon I -visit the sick and go to the
cabins of those who have need of special instruction.
If they are holding a council, which often happens
among' the savages, they send one of the chiefs- to the
meeting, who begs me to be present at their delibera^
tions. I, go immediately to the place where the council
is in session. If I think that they are taking a wise
course, I approve of it; if, on the contrary, I find any
thing amiss in their decision, I declare my own opinion,
which I support -with, a few, sound reasons and they
conform, to it. My advice always determines their
decisions. I am invited even, to their feasts. Each
guest brings a dish of wood or of bark. I bless the
food; then the prepared portion is put upomeach dish.
The' distribution having been made, I say grace, and'
each one withdraws,, for such is the course and the
custom of their feasts.
"In the midst of these continual occupations you
can hardly believe with what rapidity the days pass
away. There has been a time when I scarcely had
time to recite my office, or to take a little rest during
the night, for discretion is not a, -virtue among the sav
ages. But for some years past I have made it a rule
not to speak with any one from the hour of evening
prayer until after Mass the next day; and I have for
bidden them to interrupt me during that time, unless
it were for some important reason, as for instance, to
aid a dying person, or for some other matter which
could, not be delayed. I used that time for attending
to prayer, and resting from the labors- of the day.
"The whole: Abnakis Nation is Christian and is

Father Rale, S. J. 213
very zealous in preserving its religion. This attach
ment to the Catholic faith had made it thus far prefer
an alliance with us to the advantages that it would
have obtained from an alliance with its English neigh
bors. These advantages are very attractive to our
savages; the readiness with which they can engage in
trade with the English, from whom they are distant
only two or three days' journey, the convenience of the
route, the great bargains they find in the purchase
of goods which suit them, nothing could be more likely
to attract them. Whereas in going to Quebec they
must travel more than fifteen days to reach it, they
must be supplied with provisions for the journey, there
are several rivers to cross and frequent portages to
make. They feel these inconveniences, and they are
not indifferent to their own interests; but their faith
is infinitely dearer to them, and they belie-ve that if
they were to break off their connection with us they
would very soon be without a missionary, without Sac
raments, without the Sacrifice, almost without any ser-
-vice of religion, and in manifest danger of being plunged
back into their former unbelief. This is the bond which
unites them to the French. There have been vain
endeavors to break this bond — both by snares that have
been laid for their simplicity, and by violence, which
could not fail to irritate a tribe so infinitely jealous as
this is of its rights and liberty. These beginnings of
misunderstanding continue to alarm me, and make me
fear the dispersion of the flock which Providence has
confided to my care for so many years, and for which I
would willingly sacrifice all that remains to me in life.
See the various artifices to which the English have re
sorted to detach them from the alliance with us."

CHAPTER XXXII
The Relentless persecution of Father
RALE by the English
I have said that several attempts were made by
the English to capture Father Rate, before they finally
succeeded in kilUng him. I desire now to quote the
words of Williamson, the historian, concerning one of
the attempts to capture the priest, and then Father
Rale's own account of the occurrence. It may be of
interest to compare the two accounts, the one taken
from the English records, the other the very words of
the hunted and persecuted priest.
WiUiamson says, (Volume II, page 124). "Un
attended by the French, and kept in awe by the English
ranging parties, the Indians undertook no -winter cam
paign; nor was anything memorable achieved by our
forces till spring. But there was still a strong and
universal desire to make Rale a prisoner and have him
brought to Boston alive. It is said a thousand li-vres
was the high price set upon his head. To dispatch
him, therefore, or rather to take him. Captain Moul
ton led a military party to Norridgewock in the depth
of winter. But the cautious Jesuit and the tribe had
made a seasonable and safe retreat, and all the trophies
of the enterprise were only a few books and papers
found in his own dwelling house, among which was a
letter from the Governor of Canada exhorting him to
¦push on the Indians ¦with all imaginable zeal against
the English.' But Captain Moulton was no less a

Persecution of Father Rale 215
cool and discreet man, than a brave and popular officer
and when he and his men had left the place he permitted
no injury to be done, either to the chapel or any other
building; imagining probably such an example of for
bearance and moderation might be imitated by the
enemy." The following is Father Rale's account in his own
words written to his nephew: "The attempt of the
EngUsh against myself was the second act of hostility
which brought to a climax the excessive irritation of
the Abnaki tribe. A missionary can scarcely fail to
be an object of hate to these gentlemen. Love for the
religion which he endeavors to impress upon the hearts
of those savages holds these neophytes firmly in unon
with us and separates them from the English. The
latter, therefore, regard me as an invincible obstacle
to their plan of spreading themselves over the territory
of the Abnakis, and of gradually seizing this mainland
which is between New England and Acadia. (The
reader recognizes the writer to mean what is now the
State of Maine.) They have often attempted to re
move me from my flock and more than once a price
has been set upon my head. It was about the end of
Jemuary in the year 1722 when they made anew attempt
which had no other success than to manifest their ill
will toward me. I had remained alone in the village
with a small number of old men and feeble folk, white
the rest of the savages were at the hunt. That time
appeared favorable to the enemy for surprising me;
and, with this in •view, they sent out a detachment of
two hundred men. Two young Abnakis, who were
hunting on the seashore, heard that the Englih
had entered the river, they immediately turned
their steps to that quarter, so as to observe the move
ments of the English. Ha-ving perceived them about

216 The Makers of Maine
ten leagues from the village, these savages outran them
by crossing the country, that they might inform me,
and help the old men, women and children to retire in
haste. I had only time to consume the 'hosts, to enclose
in a small box the sacred vessels, and to escape into the
woods. Towards evening, the English reached "the
village; and not having found me there, they came
the next day to look for me in the very place of our
retreat. They -were within only a gunshot when we
descried them; all that I could do was to plunge with
haste into the forest. But as I had no time to take my
snowshoes, and as, besides, I still experienced great
weakness caused by a fall, in which some years ago my
thigh and leg were broken, it was not possible for me to
run very far. The only resource that remained to me
was to hide behind a tree. They immediately searched
the -various paths worn by the savages When they go
for wood, and came ¦within eight steps of the tree that
was sheltering me, where naturally they must -have
perceived me, for the trees had shed their leaves; never
theless, as if they had been driven away by an invisible
hand, they suddenly retraced their steps, and again
took the way to the village. Thus it was by a special
protection of Providence that I escaped from their
pursuit. They pillaged my church and my little house,
thereby almost reducing me to a death from starvation
in the midst of 'the woods. It is true that, when my
adventure was known in Quebec, provisions were, sent
to me immediately; but they could not arrive for some
time, and during that period I -was deprived of all aid
and in extreme need."
It is a fact, that in those days, as now, much of the
iear and hatred which the Protestants had of the
Jesuits was caused by a deep-seated, monumental, and
almost inconeeivable ignorance of the priests of this

Father Sebastian Rale, S. J., preaching the true faith
to the Indians on the banks of the Kennebec

Persecution of Father Rale 217
society as men, as fellow human beings. The Protes
tant colonists of those days rarely came in contact
with a Jesuit in the flesh. Indeed we may well say,
never came in contact with a priest of any description,
for the "Romish" priests were a proscribed race of men
in the New England colonies. For the matter of that,
at that time Jesuit priests were unknown in England.
It was believed that at different times some were -within
the British borders in disguise; but the reader
will remember how, in an earlier article, of this series,
it was related concerning Father Biard, that when he
was in England as a sort of half prisoner, half guest,
he was as great a curiosity to the English, even those
of the cultured and educated classes, as an Indian sav
age himself. Even in our own day, in this State, we
have seen the fogs of bigotry and reUgious prejudice
dissipated by the mere fact of every day contact with
priests and nuns.
In the time of the Jesuit missions we find that it
was the English who lived at a distance from the mis
sions, those who lived in Boston and other parts of
Massachusetts, who hated and feared the Jesuits.
We gather from reading the Relations of the Jesuits,
that the English traders, who lived at the Kousinok
settlement on the Kennebec (at what is now the city of
Augusta) saw a good deal of the Jesuits of the Kenne
bec mission and liked chem very well. Those men
could, and did, testify that the work and influence of
the priests among the Indians was all for good.
But unfortunately, those traders were men of little
education, men of action, makers of history rather
than writers of history, and they left no memoirs behind
them. My only proof of this statement and contention
is the secondary evidence of the Jesuits themselves, that
the traders on the Kennebec were friendly toward them.

218 The Makers of Maine
It has often been a matter of speculation why it
happened that the Protestant missionaries met with '
such little success in their efforts to convert the Indians
to the Protestant version of Christianity. Many writ
ers dismiss the subject, with a certain smug self-satis
faction and superiority, by assuming that the ornate
ceremonies of the Catholic Church appealed to the
childish intelligence of the savages, that, in other words,
the conversion of the Indians was a matter of the emo
tions only, and not the abiding convictions of the in
tellect. Let us read the words of Father Rale on this mat
ter. He says, in a letter to his nephew: "Some years
ago, the Governor General of New England sent to the
foot of our river the most able man among the ministers
of Boston, that he might open a school there, instruct
the children of the savages, and maintain them at the
expense of the government. As the salary of the minister
was to increase in proportion to the number of his pu
pils, he neglected no means to attain them; he went
to seek the children, he flattered them, he made them
Uttle presents, he urged them to come and see him,
in short, he worked for two months with much useless
activity, without being able to win a single, child. The
disdain with which his attentions and his in-vitations
were treated did not discourage him. He spoke to the
savages themselves; he put to them various questions
touching their faith; and then, from the answers that
were made to him, he turned into derision the sacra
ments, purgatory, the invocation of the saints, the
beads, the crosses, the images, the lights of our churches,
and all the pious customs that are so sacredly observed
in the CathoUc religion.
" 'I thought it was my duty to oppose these first
attempts to mislead; I -wrote a civil letter to the minis-

Persecution of Father Rale 219
ter, in which I told him that my Christians knew how
to believe the truths which the Catholic Faith teaches,
but they did not know how to discuss them; that as
they were not sufficiently learned to solve the difficul
ties which he had proposed he had e-vidently intended
that they should be communicated to me; that I seized
-with pleasure this opportunity that he had offered me,
to confer -with him either by word of mouth or by letter ;
that I thereupon sent him a memoir and besought him
to read it -with serious attention. In this memoir
which was about a hundred pages, I proved by script-
ture, by tradition, and by theological arguments the
truths which he had attacked by such stale jests. I
added, in closing my letter, that if he were not satisfied
with my proofs, I would expect from him a precise
refutation, supported by theological proofs, and not by
vague arguments which prove nothing, — still less by
injurious reflections, which befitted neither our pro
fession nor the importance of the subject in question.
"Two days after recei-ving my letter, he set out
to return to Boston; he sent me a short answer, which
I was obliged to read several times in order to compre
hend its meaning, so obscure was its style and so extra
ordinary its Latin However, by dint of reflection, I
understood that he complained that I had attacked
him without reason; that zeal for the salvation of souls
had led him to teach the savages the way to Heaven;
and that, for the rest, my proofs were absurd and child
ish. Having sent to him in Boston a second letter, in
which I pointed out the defects of his own, he answered
me at the end of two years, without even entering upon
the subject; and said that I had a peevish and fault
finding spirit which was the sign of a temperament
inclined to anger. Thus was finished our dispute.

220 The Makers of Maine
which drove away the minister, and brought to riaught
the scheme that he had formed to mislead my neo
phytes."

CHAPTER XXXIII
Father Rale's Influence Upon
The Indians
I will quote a sermon of Father Rale's to the In
dians. A tribe who were not Christians came to the
-village where Father Rale's Christian Abenakis lived
and witnessed a procession of Corpus Christi day.
He says: "This spectacle, which was new to the Amalingans,
touched them, and struck them with admiration. I
believed it my duty to profit by the favorable mood in
which they were; and after having brought them to
gether, I made them the following address in the savage
style :
"My children, for a long time I have desired to
see you; now, that .1 have this happiness, my heart is
full, almost to bursting." Think of the joy that a
father has, who tenderly loves his children, when he
sees them again after a long absence in which they have
run great dangers, and you will conceive a part of mine.
For, although you do not as yet pray, I nevertheless
look upon you as my chUdren, and have for you a fath
er's tenderness, because you are the children of the
Great Spirit, who has given Ufe to you, as well as to
those who pray; who has made Heaven for you as well
as for them; who thinks of you as he thinks of them and
of me, and who desires that all should enjoy eternal
happiness. What causes my sorrow and diminishes
my joy in seeing you is the thought, which I have at

222 The Makers of Maine
this moment, that some 'day I shall be separated fro m
a part of my children, whose destiny will be eternally
unfortunate because they do not pray; whUe the others.
Who pray, will be in joy which will never end. When
I think of this sad separation, can I have a contented
heart? The happiness of those who pray does not
give me so much joy as the unhappiness of those who
do not pray grieves me. If you have insurmountable
obstacles to prayer, and if, remaining in the condition
in which you are, I were able to make you enter into
Heaven, I would spare nothing in order to procure for
you this happiness. I would urge you on, I would
make you all enter there, so much do I love you, and so
much do I desire that you should be happy; but that
is not possible. You must pray, and you must be
baptized, that you may be able to enter that place of
delight.' There is much more of it, but the foregoing -will
suffice to show how well Father Rale understood how
to talk to the Indians. He relates that he afterwards
succeeded in baptizing this whole tribe, men, women
and children, without one exception.
About the first of August in the year 1721 there
was a conference between the Indians and the English
Governor and his representatives, held at Arowsick
at the mouth of the Kennebec. Williamson, (Volume
II, page 106) says that there were 200 Indians accom
panied by Fathers Rale, La Chase, Croisel, and Castine
the Younger. He says that they were well armed and
carried the French colors, and that they presented a
letter to the Governor purporting to come from the sev
eral, tribes and declaring that if "the settlers did not
remove in three weeks, the Indians would come and
kill them all, destroy their cattie, and burn their houses,
for, they added, you Englishmen have taken away the

Father Rale's Influence 223
lands which the Great God has given our fathers and us."
I mention the above as related by WilUamson
because it is one of the many instances of misrepre
sentation of the facts in order to prove his assertion
that the Jesuit Rale inspired and stirred up the Indians
to strife. Fortunately, it happens that Father Rale
mentions this very same conference; and his descrip
tion and relation are as follows:
"At the time when war was^on the point|of break
ing out between the European powers, the EngUsh
Governor, who had recently arrived in Boston, asked
our savages to give him an interview on an island in
the sea which he designated. They consented and
begged me to accompany them, that they might con
sult me about the crafty propositions that would be
made to them, so as to be sure that their answers
should contain nothing contrary to reUgion, or to the
interests of the Royal service. I followed them, and
my intention was to keep wholly within their quarters,
in order to aid them by my counsel without appear
ing before the Governor. As we, numbering more
than two hundred canoes, were approaching the island,
the EngUsh saluted us by a discharge of all the guns
of their vessels, and the savages responded to this sa
lute by a like discharge of all their guns. Then the
Governor appearing on the island, the savages landed
in haste; thus I found myself where I did not -wish to
be, and where the Governor did not -wish me to be.
As soon cis he perceived me, he came forward a few steps
to meet me; and after the usual compUments, he re
turned to the midst of his people, and I to my savages.
"It is commanded by our Queen" he said to them,
"that I come to see you; she desires that we live in peace.
If any Englishmen should be imprudent enough to do
you wrong; do not think of avenging yourselves upon

224 The Makers of Maine
him, but immediately address your complaint to me,
and I will render you prompt justice. If we should
happen to have war with the French, remain neutral,
and do not take part in our differences; the French are
as strong as we, therefore leave us to settle our quarrels
with each other. We •will supply all your wants, we
will take your peltries, and we will give you our goods
at a reasonable price." My presence prevented him
saying all that he intended; for it was not without a
design that he had brought a minister •with him.
"When he had finished speaking, the savages
withdrew for the purpose of deliberating together upon
the answer that they should make. During that time,
the Governor taking me aside, said to me, "Monsieur,
I beg of you, do not influence your Indians to makp war
upon us." I answered him that my religion and my
office of priest were a security that I would give them
only exhortations to peace. I was still speaking when
I found myself surrounded by about twenty young
warriors, who were fearing that the Governor intended
to carry me off. In the meantime the savages ad
vanced, and one of them made the following reply to
the Governor: "Great Captain, thou tellest us not to join ourselves
with the Frenchmen, in case thou declare war upon
him; thou knowest that the Frenchman is my brother.
We have the same prayer; he and I; and we are in the
same cabin with two fires; he has one fire, and I have
the other. If I see thee enter the cabin on the side
of the fire where my brother the Frenchman is seated,
I watch thee from my mat, where I am seated by the
other fire. If in watching thee, I perceive that thou
carriest a hatchet I shall think, what does the English
man intend to do •with that hatchet? Then I stand
upon my mat, to behold what he will do. If he raises

Father Rale's Influence 226
the hatchet to strike my brother the Frenchman, I
take my own, and I run toward the Englishman to
strike him. Could I see my brother struck in my
cabin, and I remain on my mat? No, no, I love my
brother too weU not to defend him. Therefore, I
say to thee. Great Captain, do nothing to my
brother, and I shall do nothing to thee; remain quiet
on thy mat, and I shall remain at rest on mine."
I think the foregoing quotation will effectually
dispose of Williamson's and others contentions, that
the Jesuit influenced the Indians to attack the EngUsh.
The Indians were never such children. They decided
these matters for themselves.

CHAPTER XXXIII
Death of Father Rale— Two Widely
Different Accounts
Much more could be •written concerning the inter
esting events in the life and missionary work of Father
Rale in Maine. But enough, I think, has been set down
to give the reader an idea of Rale, the man, and the
missionary priest, the great work he did, the remarkable
results he accomplished, his commanding ability and
his saintly character. With the passing of years and
the softening of the harshness of religious prejudice.
Father Rale has come into his own. Today, he is
regarded as a saint and a martyr.
Nothing remains for me, but to relate in a few
words the well known story of his death, call it — the
murder of Father Rale, or the martjrdom of Father
Rale, as your feelings prompt. And following once
more the custom that I have pursued in discussing his
life and his character, I shall, in describing his death,
quote first the words of the relation to be found in
Williamson's History of Maine, and then the relation
of a sympathetic friend, a Jesuit, the Rev. Father
Pierre Joseph de la Chasse, S. J., Superior General
of the Missions in New France at Quebec.
> WilUamson says, (Vol. II, page 129): "Norridge
wock, being still the residence of Rale, was immediately
marked for destruction. The execution of this enter
prise was committed to a detachment of 208 men, who
were divided into four companies, and commanded

The Death of Father Rale 227
by Captains Moulton, Harmon, Bourne and Bane.
They left Richmond fort, their place of rendesvouz, on
the 19th of August (1724), and ascended the river in
seventeen whale boats, attended by three Mohawks.
The next day, they arrived at Teconnet, where they
left their whale boats, and a lieutenant with a guard of
40 men. The residue of the forces, on the 21st, took
up their march through the woods towards Norridge
wock. The same evening, they discovered three of
the natives and fired upon them. The noted Boma
zeen, one of them, was shot swimming the river, as he
attempted to escape, his daughter was fatally wounded,
and his •wife taken prisoner. From her, they obtained
a full account of Rale and the Indians at Norridgewock
which quickened their march.
"A little after noon, on the 22nd, they came in
sight of the village, when it was determined to divide
the detachment. Captain Harmon ted off about 60
men toward the mouth of the Sandy river, imagining
he saw smoke arising in that quarter, and supposing
some of the Indians might be at their cornfields. Cap
tain Moulton formed his men into three bands, nearly
equal in numbers, and proceeded directly towards the
village. When near it, he placed parties in ambush,
on the right and left, and ted .forward the residue to the
attack, excepting ten men left to guard the baggage. He
commanded his men to reserve their fire till after that
of the Indians; and then boldly advanced •with so quick
a step and in such profound silence, that they were
within pistol shot before their approach was suspected.
All the Indians were in their wigwams, when one, hap
pening to step out, looked and discovered the Eng
lish close upon them. He instantly gave the
warhoop, and seized his gun. The amazement of
the whole •village was indiscriminate and terrible.

228 The Makers of Maine
The fighting men, about 60 in all, seized their guns
and fired at the assailants; but in their tremor, they
overshot them, and not a man was hurt. A discharge
was instantly returned, which did effectual execution.
The Indians fired a second volley, without breaking
Moulton's ranks; then flying to the water, fell upon the
muzzles of the guns in ambush. Several instantly fell.
Some undertook to wade or swim across the river which
at this season was only 60 feet wide, and in no place
more than six feet deep. A few jumped into their
canoes, but forgetting to take their paddles, were unable
to escape; and all, especially the old men, women and
children fled in every direction. Our soldiers shot
them in their fUght to the woods also upon the water;
so that not more than 50 of the whole village were
supposed to have landed on the opposite side of the
river; while about 150 effected an escape too far into the
thickets to be overtaken.
"The pursuers then returned to the •village, where
they found the Jesuit, in one of the wigwams, firing
upon a few of our men, who had not followed the wretch
ed fugitives. He had with him in the wigwam an
English boy about 14 years of age, who had been a
prisoner for six months. This boy he shot through
the thigh, and afterwards stabbed him in the body,
though he ultimately recovered. Moulton 'liad given
orders to spare the life of Rale ; but Jacques, a Ueutenant
finding he was firing from the wigwam and had wounded
one of our men, stove open the door and shot him
through the head. As an excuse for this act, Jacques
alleged that when he entered the wigwam. Rale was
loading his gun and declaring he would neither give
nor take quarter. Moulton disapproved of what
was done; allowing, however, that Rale said something

The Death of Father Rale 229
to provoke Jacques, yet doubting, if the statement
made by him was Uterally correct.
"Mott, an aged and noted chief, was shut up in
another wigwam, from which he fired and killed one
of the three Mohawks. This so enraged his brother,
that he broke through the door and shot the old Saga
more dead; and the soldiers despatched his squaws and
children. "Near night, after the action was over and the
•village cleared of Indians, Captain Harmon and his
party arrived; and the companies under a guard of 40
men, took up a lodgment in the wigwam tiU morning.
When it was light they counted, as two authors state,
twenty-seven, and a third says, thirty dead bodies, in
cluding Rale; among whom were those of Mogg, Job,
Carabesett, Wissemenet, and Bomaseen's son-in-law, all
known and noted warriors. They also recovered three
captives and took four prisoners; and it was afterwards
reported, that they wounded fourteen Indians who es
caped. The whole number killed and drowned was sup
posed to be eighty, some say more. The plunder brought
away, consisted of the plate furniture of the altar,
a few guns, blankets and kettles, and about three bar
rels of powder. After leaving the place, on their march
to Teconnet, Christian, one of the Mohawks, either
sent back or returning of his own accord, set fire to the
chapel and cottages, and they were all burnt to ashes."
After quoting the account of the death of Fathei
Rale as given by Chalevoix in his "Histoire de la Nou
velle France," which differs essentially from his own,
and dismissing it with a sneer at what he calls its "em
bellishments," (although I can testify, as can any
one who reads Charlevoix, that it is singularly free
from embelUshments, ) Williamson goes on as follows:
"On the 27th the hrave detachment arrived at Fort

230 The Makers of Maine
Richmond, without the loss of a man. It was an
exploit exceedingly gratifying to, the community, and
considered as brilliant as any other, in either of the
Indian wars, since the fall of King PhilUp, Harmon
who was senior in command, proceeded to Boston
with the scalps, and received in reward for the achieve
ment the commission of lieutenant-colonel; an achieve
ment in which Moulton had the principal agency,
although he received no distinguishing recompense,
except the universal applause of his country."
be The italics are mine. The whole story ought to
quoted in itaUcs, it is so extraordinary.
One wonders in what does the bravery consist
to slaughter defenseless Indian women and children,
and to murder one poor, old, helpless priest, for of
course, no one for a moment believes the story that the
Jesuit was found armed in a wigwam, firing upon the
English, and killing in cold blood a young English boy,
fourteen years of age.
Let us return to the "Relations des Jesuits," and read
a part of the letter written by the Rev. Father de la
Chasse, Superior-General of the missions in New France,
which will tell the story somewhat differently, and
nearer the truth: Quebec, Oct. 29, 1724.
My Reverend Father:
The peace of Our Lord.
In the deep grief that we are experiencing
from the loss of our oldest missionary, it is a
grateful consolation to us that he should have
been the victim of his own love, and of his zeal
to maintain the Faith in the hearts of his neo
phytes. From other letters you have already
learned the origin of the war which broke out
between the EngUsh and the savages; with

The Death of Father Rale 231
the former, a desire to extend their rule; with
the latter, a horror of all subjection, and an
attachment to their religion, these caused, in the
beginning, the misunderstandings which in the
end were followed by an open rupture.
Father Rale, the missionary of the Abnakis
had become very odious to the English. As
they were convinced that his endeavors to
confirm the savages in the Faith constituted
the greatest obstacle to their plan of usurping
the territory of the savages, they put a price up
on his head; and more than once had attempted
to abduct him, or to take his life. At last they
have succeeded in gratifying their passion of
hatred, and in ridding themselves of the aposto
lic man, but, at the same time, they have pro
cured for him a glorious death, which was ever
the object of his desire, for we know that long
ago, he aspired to the happiness of sacrificing
his Ufe for his flock. I will describe to you in a
few words the circumstances of that event.
After many acts of hostility had been
committed on both sides by the two nations,
a little army of Englishmen and their savage
allies, numbering eleven hundred men, unex
pectedly came to attack the village of Narran-
souak. The dense thickets with which that
village is surrounded helped them to conceal
their movements; and since it was not inclosed
by palisades, the savages were taken by surprise
and became aware of the enemy's approach
only by a volley from their muskets, which
riddled all the cabins. At that time there
were only fifty warriors in the •village. At the
first noise of the muskets, they tumultuously
seized their weapons, and went out of their
cabins to oppose the enemy. Their design was
not rashly to meet the onset of so many com
batants, but to further the flight of the women
and the children, and give them time to gain
the other side of the river, which was not yet
occupied by the English.

232 THE MAKERS OF MAINE
Father Rale, warned by the clamor and
the tumult of the danger which was menacing
his neophytes, promptly left his house and
fearlessly appeared before the enemy. He
expected by his presence either to stop their
first efforts, or at least to draw their attention
to himself alone, and at the expense of his Ufe
procure the safety of his flock.
Soon as they perceived the missionary a gen
eral shout was raised which was followed by a
storm of musketshot that was poured upon
him. He dropped dead at the foot of a large
cross that he had erected in the midst of the
village, in order to announce the public pro
fession that was made therein of adoring a
crucified God. Seven savages who were
around him, and were exposing their lives to
guard that of their father, were killed by his
side. The death of the shepherd dismayed
the flock; the savages took to flight and crossed
the river, part of them by fording and part
by swimming. They were exposed to all the
fury of their enemies until the moment when
they retreated into the woods which are on the
other side of the river. There they were
gathered, to the number of a hundred and
fifty. From more than two thousand gun-shots
that had been fired at them only thirty were
killed including the women and children, and
fourteen were wounded. The English did not
attempt to pursue the fugitives; they were
content with burning and pillaging the village ;
they set fire to the church after a base profan-
tion of the sacred vessels and of the adorable
body of Jesus Christ.
The precipitate retreat of the enemy per
mitted the return of the Narrantsoualdans to
the -village. The very next day they visited the
wreck of their cabins, while the women on
their part, sought for roots and plants available
for treating the wounded. Their first care
was to weep over the body of their holy mis-

The Death of Father Rale 233
sionary they found it pierced by hundreds of
bullets, the scalp torn off, the skull broken by
blows of a hatchet, the mouth and the eyes
filled with mud, the bones of the legs broken,
and all ' the members mutilated. This sort
of inhumanity, practised on a body deprived
of feeling and of life, can scarcely be attributed
to any one but to the savage allies of the English.
After these devout Christians had washed
and kissed many times the honored remains
of their father, they buried him in the very
place where, the day before, he had celebrated
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass — that is, in the
place where the altar had stood before the
burning of the church.
By such a precious death did the apostolic
man finish, on the 23rd day of August in that
year, a course of thirty-seven years spent in the
arduous labors of this mission. He was in the
sixty-seventh year of his life. His fasting and
his continual hard work had at the last weak
ened his constitution ; he had walked with some
difficulty for about nineteen years, owing to the
effects of a fall by which he broke at the same
time the right hip and the left leg. Then it
happened, since the callous was growing -wrong
at the place of fracture, that it became necessary
to break the left leg again. At the time when
it was most violently struck, he bore that
painful operation with an extraordinary firm
ness and an admirable tranquility. Our
physician, who was present, appeared so aston
ished at this that he could not refrain from
saying: "Ah, my Father, let at least a few
groans escape, you have so much cause for
them' "
The reverend writer then proceeds to pronounce
a well deserved panegyric upon Father Rale, speaking
of his talents, his saintly character and the results he
accomplished. His closing words are; "He is in con-

234 The Makers of Maine
sequence, universally regretted. No one doubts that
he was sacrificed through hatred to his ministry and
zeal in establishing the true faith in the hearts of the
savages. This is the opinion of Monsieur de Bellemont,
Superior of the Seminary of Saint Sulpice at Montreal.
When I asked from him the customary suffrages for
the deceased, because of our interchange of prayers,
he replied to me, using the well-known words of Saint
Augustine, that it was doing injustice to a martyr to
pray for him — Injuriam facit Martyri qui oral pro eo.
"May it please the Lord that his blood, shed for
such a righteous cause, may fertilize these unbelieving
lands which have been so often watered with the blood
of the Gospel workers who have preceded us; that it
may render them fruitful in devout Christians, and that
the zeal of apostoUc men yet to come may be stimulated
to gather the abundant harvest that is being presented
to them by so many people still buried in the shadow
of death. "In the meantime, as it belongs only to the Church
to declare the saints, I commend him to your holy
sacrifices and to those of all our Fathers. I hope that
you -willjjnot forget in them who is, with much respect,
etc.—" Looking back over the history of our State from
that time to the present, it would seem as though the
pious -wish of Father de la Chasse were prophetic, and
that the death of Father Rate had borne fruit.

CHAPTER XXXIV
SOME Reflections upon Cause and
Effects in History
In these Essays and Tales I have pursued a differ
ent method of dealing with history from that usuaUy
followed by historical writers. The method commonly
pursued is to treat at considerable length and with
much detail the history of the great and important
battles between the English and the French which had
for their object the determining of which flag should
finally triumph; and to consider as subordinate the
many smaller and less conspicuous events which pre
ceded and led up to the great battles. The battles
which resulted in the fall of Louisberg and Quebec are,
in most histories, the important events, and the rela
tion and description of these battles occupy the most
prominent position in the historical narrative.
In these Essays and Tales I have made much of
what seems, at first sight, to be the little things, the
minor events. But my reason is that, in my -view of
history, these little things, these minor events, which
precede and lead up to the greater events, the deciding
battles, often contain the germs of the great events
and show the causes and reasons of the great events.
The fall of Louisberg is an important event in the
history of our country; it is one of the deciding battles
of all history, not so momentous as the fall of Quebec,
but doubtless as important, for it foreshadowed the
fall of Quebec. Yet, to my view of history, the causes

236 The Makers of Maine
that led up to Louisberg's fate are more important
and far more interesting than the actual siege
and battle.
I have told in detail the story of the life of Father
Rale at Norridgewock and his sad death at the hands
of the English, quoting from his writings in order that
there might be no question as to the accuracy of the
relation. The death of Father Rale had an important
influence on the course of history, and from it we can
trace one of the causes of the loss of Louisberg to the
French. His death had a demoralizing effect upon
the Abenaki Indians of Maine, who were the friends
of the French, and it had consequently a dispiriting
effect upon the French themselves in Acadia. It was
not, as English writers would have us believe, that
Father Rale inspired the Abenakis to fight the English;
indeed, the veiy writers who make that charge, in al
most the same breath tell us that the Abenakis were
not a fight-Io'ving, warlike race like most of the other
tribes. The truth is that Father Rale lent his moral
influence to the just claims of the Abenakis to resist
unjust oppression at the hands of the EngUsh; but he
never inspired them to attack the English. But as
long as he lived, his influence was a strong force in
keeping the Abenakis courageous to defend their rights
against the encroachments of the English who were
steadily stri^ving to push them back and to get their
lands away from them. So long as the Abenakis were
able to defend themselves against the EngUsh encroach
ments, the weak and scattered French settiers in that
part of Acadia which is now Maine were also able to
hold their own.
John Fiske, the historian, held this view of the
history of this period, and he expressed it in these
words: —

SOME Reflections 237
"This contest over the Kennebec River was typi
cal of the whole struggle between the French and the
English. On the one hand, there was the steadily
advancing front of the self-governing and greatly thriv
ing agricultural community; on the other hand, there
was the littie group of French noblemen and priests
governing a mere handful of settlers, and striving to
keep back the advancing English by means of diplo
matic control over barbarous Indians. It was a strug
gle which could reaUy have but one issue. It was a
struggle, moreover, that was conducted without pity
or mercy, with scarcely a pretense of regard for the
amenities of ci^vilized warfeire. Neither side was par
ticularly scrupulous, while from that day to this, each
side has kept up a terrible outcrv against the other
for doing the very same thing which it did itself. From
that day to this, English ¦writers have held up their
hands in holy horror at the atrocious conduct of the
French in sending savages to burn villages and massacre
women and children on the English border. Yet weis
it not an EngUsh governor of New York who in 1689
launched the Iroquois thunderbolt against Canada,
one of the most frightful Indian incursions known to
history? It does not appear that the conscience of
either Puritan or Catholic was in the slightest degree
disturbed by these horrors. Each felt sure that he was
fighting the De-vil, and thought it quite proper to fight
him with his own weapons." (Fiske's Historical
Writings, Vol. IX, "New France and New England,"
Page 239.)
When John Fiske admits that it was the English
governor of New York who instigated the frightful
Iroquois invasion and massacre, he is doing a good deal,
for a historian of the prejudiced class that I have men
tioned. But unfortunately, he feels constrained to

238 The Makers of Maine
counterbalance this admission with a blow of preju
dice against the Jesuit Father Rale, in the next breath.
He proceeds to say: —
"On the Kennebec frontier the problem for New
France was to prevent English villages and fortresses
from advancing in that direction, and the most ob-vious
way of accomplishing the result was to instigate the
Indians to acts of warfare. This was the avowed poUcy
of Vaudreuil, and it was carried out by Father Rale to
the best of his ability. When he found that his Nor
ridgewock Indians were timid, and inclined to peace,
he sent to Montreal and caused parties of warriors
from divers tribes, Ottawas, Caughnawagas, Hurons,
and others, to be sent to the Kennebec River, where
all engaged in a frantic war dance, and quite carried
away the Norridgewocks in a frenzy of bloodthirsty
enthusiasm. This was in 1721. Then began the
sickening tale so many times repeated in early Am
erican, history,— the tale of burning homes, of youth
and beauty struck down by the tomahawk, and of
captives led away through the gloom of the forest to
meet a fiery death. Thus in turn, the English govern
ment at Boston was confronted with its problems; how
to put a stop to these horrors without bringing on a
new war -with France. The practical New Englaind
mind saw that the principal hotbed of all the mischief
must be destroyed, and if a Frenchman or two should
come to grief in the process, it was his own fault for
playing, so recklessly -with fire."
How cheerfully Prof. Fiske looks upon the death
of "a Frenchman or two," (meaning, of course. Father
Rale, or any other Jesuit who happened to stand in
the way of the English advance.) How cheerfully,
compared -with "the sickening tale" of EngUsh who were
killed by the Abnaki.

Some Reflections 239
A Uttie farther on Prof. Fiske in a few words tells
the story of the English expedition which surprised the
Abenaki viUage of Norridgewock, and murdered Fath
er Rale. And he says: "In the course of the fight
Father Rale was shot through the head. Puritan
writers have sought to stigmatize this interesting man
as a murderer, white Catholics have praised him as a
martyr. In the impartial Ught of history, he was
neither one nor the other. He was true to his own sense
of duty, and the worst that can be said about him is
that he was not exceptionally scrupulous in his choice
of political and miUtary means ; while on the other hand,
the titie of 'martyr' seems hardly to belong to a man
who was killed in the ordinary course of battle, not
because of his religious faith, but because he was
fighting in the service of France."
If Prof. Fiske's historical work is "the light of
History," then history is in a sad way. One would
naturally expect that Fiske would cite strong historical
authority for the above statement about Father Rale.
To state that a missionary priest was fighting, and not
even fighting for his religious faith, but actually fight
ing for the cause of France, that is; that he was not a
non-combatant, as a priest or minister is supposed to
be by the laws of all nations, but was engaged in battle
as an active combatant, would naturally require very
good original historical authority. But for his auth
ority, Prof. Fiske cites Parkman's "Half Century of
ConfUct." That is to say, — one prejudiced -writer
cites another prejudiced writer as authority for his
prejudices. If this is not a case of the blind leading
the blind in historical writing, then no other such ex
ample can be found in all the pages of history.
It is enough to say once more, that the best histori
cal authority, the "Relations of the Jesuits" proves

240 The Makers of Maine
beyond question that Father Rale was slain, while
unarmed and unresisting, by the English soldiers,
and afterwards his body was mutilated almost beyond
recognition by the Indian allies of the English, without
the slightest effort ha-ving been made by the English
to prevent this outrage.
To return to our first proposition, — that the death
of Father Rale and the dispersion of the Abenakis
and the weakening of the French settlements in Maine
and Acadia, which followed upon the death of Rale,
had an influence leading to the fall of Louisberg.
The facts and circumstances which the course of history
shows were the causes of important results, are, or
ought to be, of more interest to the historian than the
mere chronicling of the results themselves.
Thus, we are able to trace the great change of the
sovereignity of this soil, from France to England, back
to the attack upon the Indian village of Norridgewock
and the death of Father Rale; and further again, back
to the "Argall Outrage," wherein the EngUsh Captain,
Argall, who was Uttle better than a pirate, attacked the
newly founded French settlement of St. Sauveur, at,
or near Mount Desert Island, killed the Jesuit Du
Thet, captured as prisoners Fathers Biard and Mass6,
and dispersed the French colonists and broke up the
settlement. For, doubtless, if the St. Sauveur settle
ment had been let alone by the EngUsh and allowed
to exist and prosper, as it had a moral and legal right
to do, under the laws of aU nations, the French would
have become so strong in Maine, that they never could
have been dislodged by the EngUsh, Louisberg would
not have been taken, and Quebec would not have fallen,
and finally the arms of France would have remained
triumphant in this part of the world and the French

Some Reflections 241
flag would StiU wave over what is now British soil
and even over much that is now American.
But these are idle speculations. Let us return to
our history and our facts. Let us consider what was
the situation of the French after the death of Father
Rale.

CHAPTER XXXV
The Fall of Louisberg and the Part Taken
Herein by the Men of Maine
Louisberg was situated on Cape Breton Island in
a commanding position and a strategic location. It
had been named Louisberg for the French King. In
the year 1720 the French began a system of fortifica
tions at this place which, when they were finaUy com
pleted, made it one of the Gibraltars of the World.
Louisberg occupied a central position with refer
ence to Quebec, France, and the West Indies. It
stood in the way of an attack upon Quebec, and was a
base of suppUes for the French. In 1744 France and
England were once more involved in war. Governor
Shirley of the Massachusetts Colony conceived the pro
ject of making a sudden attack on Louisberg. It is
said that the project was suggested to him by William
Vaughan, a son of the Vaughan who had been lieuten
ant governor of New Hampshire. Francis Parkman
in his "Half Century of Conflict," calls it "a. mad
scheme." The Legislature, -with great reluctance, auth
orized the attack, and New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
and Connecticut joined in the undertaking. Gov.
Shirley selected a Maine man, WilUam Pepperell of
Kittery, to command the expedition. He was not
much of a military man, but made up for his lack of
military knowledge by considerable energy. As it
turned out, his very energy, precipitate indeed, was
the means of his success in an undertaking at which

The Fall of Louisberg 243
perhaps a better informed military man would have
hesitated, and failed. - The French were taken by
surprise, not expecting so sudden an attack.
On May 1st, 1745, the English forces made a land
ing at Louisberg, and with laudable energy and de
termination, as compared with the French defense,
almost at once captured what was called the "Grand
Battery," which mounted thirty heavy guns. The
French made no real defense at this point, practically
abandoning the battery without resistance. This loss
sealed their doom, for the English were able to turn
the hea-vy guns of the battery upon the town. If the
French had held out here and made a good and stubborn
defense at the point of the Grand Battery, they would
probably have held Louisberg successfully, for the
English force was not really adequate to the achieve
ment. But what is more interesting to us is the part taken
by. the Englishmen of Maine in this expedition. A
debt of gratitude will always be due Dr. Henry S. Bur-
rage, D. D., Maine State Historian, for his learned and
interesting book, published in 1910, — "Maine at Louis
berg." He has there perpetuated for future genera
tions the story of the part taken by the Maine men in
the victory over the French at Louisberg. Besides
the commander of the expedition, WilUam Pepperell,
whose home was in Kittery, the men of Maine raised
three regiments, numbering 2855 in all. Three com
panies of Maine men from Waldo's regiment were
among the first in the attacking party which captured
the Grand Battery.
It is one of the marvels of the history of warfare
that Louisberg was taken so easily, and at so little
cost. The loss of the EngUsh troops was only one
hundred and thirty men. Burrage, in his history men-

244 The Makers of Maine
tioned above, says: "As Pepperell on entering the
town viewed the magnitude and strength of the de
fenses, he exclaimed, 'The Almighty of a truth has
been with us.' "
I will also quote these significant and true words
of Burrage: "But if the provincial soldiers were not
enriched by the spoils of Louisberg, they received
during their service there many exceedingly valuable
lessons. Best of all they learned the power of united
action in the execution of some great purpose. It was
the victory at Louisberg that inspired them with the
resolve to bring to a speedy end French influence and
French dominion on this continent. Many of the
men from Maine, as elsewhere in New England, who
served at Louisberg, served also in the armies that a few
years later at Lake George drove the advancing French
forces back to their strongholds on the St. La-wrence, to
be finally overcome by Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham
in 1759. Some of them, and many of their sons, were
among the first to respond to the Lexington Alarm in
1775. The drums that were heard at Louisberg were
heard at Bunker Hill, and on other battlefields of the
Revolution. The Louisberg expedition was a school
for the New England militia. Moreover* it brought
the pro-vinces into close and harmonious relations, and
developed that power which was at length mani
fested in the great struggle, which was finally won at
Yorktown, and which made the United Colonies the
United States."
Those words are the truth; and it is interesting to
see that Dr. Burrage takes that -view of history which
enables the reader to see the relation of cause and effect,
and to see that every event in history must be regarded,
not as individual and unconnected, but as forming links
in a connected chain. And even the most insignificant

The Fall of Loeisburg 245
and unimportant happening is like the dropping of a
pebble into a mill-pond, — its influence is felt to the
most extreme limits.
The taking of Louisberg in 1745 always seems to
me a more interesting event than the second capture
in 1758. The credit of the first belongs to the New
England colonists, that of the second to General Wolfe,
that youthful general who was later to -win imperish
able glory by his victory over Montcalm and his death
in the arms of victory.
By the treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle, which closed the
war between France and England, which on this side
of the ocean had resulted in the fall of Louisberg in
1745, Louisberg was restored to France. Thirteen
years was, however, the length of time that France
was able to hold it. Its loss seems to have been fated.
But during these thirteen years the French had increas
ed the armaments and strengthened the fortifications.
So, once more, when the EngUsh set out to capture
the place, the undertaking seemed foolhardy, as it had
seemed the first time. This time, it was the genius
cmd dash of Wolfe which brought success to the arms
of England. He made a landing of his detachment
of the English attacking army at a point at the extreme
west, while other detachments under Admiral Bos
cawen, and General Amherst, who was in command
of the land forces, landed and attacked the French at
other points. If Wolfe had failed, however, the whole
attack would probably have failed. But he succeeded
in cutting between the left flank of the French forces
and the town, thus cutting the French army off. Then
he marched around past the famous "Grand Battery,"
and drove the French from a part of the works. In
the meantime, the English ships, which outnumbered
the French kept up such a murderous fire upon the

246 The Makers of Maine
fortifications and the to^wn, that after some days of
fighting, the French ships were all destroyed, except
one which was taken as a prize, and the forts and town
so badly burnt by the bombs of the English that noth
ing was left for the French but to surrender Louisberg
once again, and this for the last time.
As I have said, however, this second taking of
Louisberg never seems so interesting an event in history
as the first; and moreover, from the point of view of
one who feels most interest in the exploits of the
colonists, the credit for this capture belongs to England
rather than to the colonists.

CHAPTER XXXVI
Looking Backward
It was Charles Lever, I believe, who wrote in the
preface to one of his novels of Ufe in Ireland in the
beginning of the 19th century, that, in his opinion, an
author should write his preface as a conclusion to his
book, to be read and considered, after the book had been
fully assimilated. I do not, believe however, that the
thought was original to Lever.
I desire to call the reader's attention to the prop
ositions which I started in beginning this series of
Essays. And it is for the reason that I believe that
I have fully demonstrated the truth of my proposition
that I am now concluding.
I have not •written a history of Maine from the
earliest explorations down to any particular period.
There are many more interesting events in the history
of Maine which I might treat of, but to do so would
result in losing sight of my purpose, and to change a
series of essays into a poorly digested history. In
other words, to confess to my discerning readers that
I had failed as an essayist by attempting to cover my
retreat with the filched mantle of the historian.
No, I feel that I can safely stop here, without
trying to stir the reader's heart with a narrative of the
fall of Quebec, and the momentous changes in the
history of this continent which that event brought
about. Let the memory of the heroic deeds of the

248 THE Makers of Maine
brave and modest Wolf, who quoted "Grey's Elegy"
on the eve of a great battle ; let the memory of the chiv
alrous defense of his adversary, Montcalm, rest with
the able and eloquent words of the many historians,
English and the French, who have preserved the his
tory of this period for posterity. I have no desire to
pit myself against them. Nor is it necessary to my
purpose. I have brought the reader down to the eve of the
great change of sovereignty, in this part of the world,
that settled forever the question of English or French
supremacy in Maine; that settled forever the fate and
destiny of the Indian races, that brought about the
condition of human affairs in the colonies bordering the
Atlantic which gave birth to an English-speaking, free
and independent nation.
I have tried to sketch a pi)cture of a period, and a
series of conditions, in the history of our state; and in
doing it, I believe I have experienced something of the
feeling which the artist must have, in despairing of his
attempt to reproduce the effects of nature with his
limitations of color and canvas; for that period was a
time not only of romantic interest, but a period of
history to understand which, and to explain which,
demands the best efforts of the profoundly philosophic
mind. Let me illustrate: I said in the first chapter that
the opportunity was offered here to the white man to
give to the world an example of Christian charity and
liberality, and that it was lost by his selfishness. I
have tried to make it plain that the events of history,
considered even in the light of the philosophy of the
greatest good to the greatest number, show that, how
ever the English race may have excelled in empire
building, it has failed signally in that it hcis not accom-

Looking Backward 249
pUshed the greatest good that it might, and ought
to have accomplished with the opportunities it had.
I began early in the series to show by quotations
from the writings of the first explorers, from Jacques
Cartier, from Samuel de Champlain, from Marc Les
carbot, and from others, that the Indians were naturally
a friendly race, easily inclined to adopt the Christian
religion, and the virtues of Christian civilization. The
French, made them allies by friendly treatment. We
have seen that the Indian speaks frequently of "my
brother, the Frenchman." The English made them
implacable enemies by brutal treatment.
Quotations from the Protestant historians, Ban
croft, and Francis Parkman, have borne out my con
tentions on the foregoing points.
We have, during the course of these chapters,
followed the footsteps of the Jesuit missionaries,
from Biard and MassI down to Sabastian Rale. I
do not want to recapitulate now the facts that I have
proved by quotations from the writings of those great
Jesuits, as I think they are too fresh in the readers'
memory. But, I will recall the fact that I have proved
that history shows that many important events of
great interest to Catholics have happened in Maine.
For instance, the first consecrated host made from
wheat grown on American soil was made by Father
Biard, S. J., in the faU of the year 1611 at Port Royal,
Which, as I have shown was in Acadia, which at that
time, by consent of all nations, included nearly all of
what is now Maine. Also, the first Mass celebrated
in Maine took place in October 1611 on an island in
the lower Kennebec. Also, the first martyr was Brother
Gilbert du Thet, who was killed by the EngUsh under
Arigall at St. Sauveur.
I think it is plain to aU fair minded readers that

250 The Makers of Maine
history clearly demonstrates that the titie of France
to the soil of what is now Maine was better
than the title of England. But the reader wiU re
member that early in these essays I quoted from the
writings of Father Biard some expressions which show
that he, in the year 1616, foresaw the downfall of
French supremacy, deducing it from what he had seen
about him in Acadia. A part of his words are these:
"I shall only suggest that it is great folly for small
companies to go there, who picture to themselves
Baronies, and I know not what great fiefs and demesnes,
. for three or four thousand ecus for example, which
ihey will have to sink in that country."
But however sure we may be that truth and jus
tice were on the side of the French claim to the title of
Maine, Fate has spoken its last word, and victory ul
timately perched upon the banner of England. Un
reflecting people, blinded by what they believe is pa
triotism, say, — "how fortunate it was that the arms
of England were triumphant, and the question of French
or English^ supremacy on this continent was settled as
it was at Quebec." It seems to me, on the other hand,
strange that anyone should so regard the result. Was
there anything backward about the French ci-vilization
that the pioneers of France in the New World, those
men whose daily lives read like^a romance, could not
have ted the forward march of the world's civilization as
safely and as wisely as the stern New England Puritan
and the leisure lo-ving Southern country-gentleman?
In one matter alone, to say nothing of anything else,
can there be any doubt that a different fate would have
befallen the Indian tribes if their welfare and their
future had been in the care of the French governors
and legislators, who treated them as friends and broth-

looking Backward 251
ers, and of the Jesuit Fathers, who treated them as
human beings -with a soul to save?
But only in imagination now can we picture to
ourselves what might have been the future of Maine
once a part of old Acadia, had the noble and ambitious
plans of the pioneers of France, of Champlain, de Monts,
Frontenac, been permitted to be accomplished. Only
in imagination can we figure to ourselves what govern
ment, what laws, what customs, would be ours to-day.
But such dreams are only for antiquarians and students
of history, whose hearts are bound up in the lost past.
To him who studies history to apply the lessons of the
past to the problems of the present, such dreams are
idle. The State of Maine stands to-day, at the open
ing of the twentieth century, with a great history be
hind her, and the promise of a happy and prosperous
future before her. The bitterness and hatred of re
Ugious quarrels are dead and almost forgotten. But
the more our people know of their proud history, in
the great days of the making of Maine, the more fa-
miUar and better acquainted they become with the
names and deeds of the men who were the Makers of
Maine ; the better citizens and more loyal sons of Maine
will they be, for they -will then know that their State
has a right to her proud motto, — ^"Dirigo," and that
it is their duty to preserve and mEiintain her right to
lead in the future, as she lead long ago in the making
of our western world.

The End

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