First French Foot-Prints Beyond the Lakes. 113 



keep bis countenance, but bis guard of bonor did keep tbeirs. 

 Every savage executed every punctilio of bis part witb more tban 

 Spanisb gravity, 



Wben an Indian bad been so scalded as to lose tbp skin of bis 

 face, a Jesuit writes: "It would bave been very well if be bad 

 lost bis old heart witb bis old bide." 



Another Huron, finding no missionary assurance tbat tbere was 

 tobacco in heaven, declared he would never go tbere. The re- 

 flection cbronicled by the Father is : " Unbappy infidel ! all bis 

 time spent in smoke and bis eternity in fire." 



Eobes and ritual inspired a divine awe. This was sometimes 

 betrayed in odd ways. No Black Robe's risibles could remain 

 unmoved wben be overbeard converts who feared to address a 

 missionary, but asked the most solemn questions of bis dog. 



Again, certain Christian Indians having caugbt a warrior of a 

 beatben tribe, named Wolf, the Jesuits let tbem burn bim, having 

 first instructed and baptized bim. Then with a pun on bis name 

 tbey recorded it as a marvel indeed, that a Wolf was at one 

 stroke changed into a lamb ; and through the baptism of fire 

 entered at once into that fold which be came to ravage. 



Priestly humor was sometimes unconscious. Thus HennepiQ re- 

 marks that no sooner had he declared a fraction of the heroic 

 virtues of " the most high, puissant, most invincible " (Almighty ? 

 no ! but) King of France, to savages" than they at once " received 

 the gospel and revered the cross." 



Again when be had set forth certain mysteries the Indians told 

 him some of their fables. But these, he told tbem, were false. 

 Their answer was, we believed your lies; had you been as polite 

 as we were, you would bave believed ours." Again, the question 

 whether the quid of a tobacco chewer, taken in the morning 

 before mass, broke his fast, was discussed pro and con by casuists. 

 To them it seemed a question altogether serious, however ludi- 

 crous on all sides it appears to us. 



Again, when they noticed that a certain JearcZfes priest was a 

 special favorite with natives, they sent to France for pictures of 

 Christ painted without a beard. 



After some analogous scrutiny of Indian tastes tbey wrote in 



