1889-90.] THE HURONS. 95 



whole village, including Daniel, set fire to the mission house and church 

 and threw Daniel's body into the burning church — thus was the martyr 

 buried in the flames of the sanctified house erected to the glory of God and 

 the advancement of Christianity. The Jesuit priests of that day were truly 

 a valiant, self-sacrificing body of men. They went out into the wilderness 

 to civilize and Christianize the native tribes ; they gave up their lives for 

 the propagation of the gospel. Some may differ from them in their 

 methods, but it can not be denied that the love which begets courage 

 marked their actions in their dealing with Indian tribes. There have been 

 Catholic martyrs and there have been Protestant martyrs ; it is doubtful 

 if any earned a more deserving crown than the Jesuit fathers who under- 

 took the difiicult task of Christianizing the North American Indian. 

 The massacre of the Hurons, committed by the Iroquois at St. Ignatius 

 and St. Joseph, so completely shattered the Hurons that they determined 

 to abandon their settlement in the territory around Lake Huron, and 

 endeavor to make a home for themselves in some other place. Theirs was 

 a cruel fate. In conjunction with the missionaries they had built up many 

 churches and many bark and wigwam towns. When they determined to 

 take leave of the Huron territory they abandoned no less than fifteen of 

 these towns. In leaving, some went to one place, some to another. Some 

 took up their abode on the Island of St. Joseph, where the relentless 

 Iroquois pursued them. Some took refuge in Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit and 

 Sandusky, while others made their way to Quebec. The Jesuits took 

 charge of this band, led them to the Island of Orleans, and subsequently 

 gathered a remnant of them at Lorette, where their descendants still 

 remain. 



It would extend the limits of this paper to too great a length were I to 

 give a more detailed account of this ancient tribe. Sufficient has been 

 written to show that they were a nation singularly susceptible of Christian 

 influences, that they were victims to the revenge of the dreaded Iroquois, 

 of a nation not so numerous but more powerful than themselves. Incident- 

 ally, the actions of the Iroquois in their warfare do not appear in an 

 enviable light. It is to be remembered, however, that they were a savage 

 nation whose spirit of revenge had in some way been roused to such a pitch 

 as never allowed itself to be appeased till they had annihilated the Canadian 

 Indians on the shores of Lake Huron. 



It is but justice to the Iroquois to say that although endowed with all 

 that spirit of revenge which is so natural to the Indian, they were a valiant 

 and commanding band, not surpassed by any of the native tribes in America. 

 They were always firm allies of the British, and under the discipline of 

 Brant in later times, gained for themselves imperishable renown. 



