Books: The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois
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Anon. >> The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois
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This rapid glance at the life of Sister Bourgeois proves that the name
of so uncommon a woman deserves to be better known in the history of the
Church, because she has been one of its most beautiful ornaments. Such
names as those of Montcalm, and of Montgomery, are of less value in the
sight of God, than the Christian heroine's title of "The St. Genevieve
of Canada." And we may well say of her with the prophet, "The Lord is
admirable in his saints." _Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis_.
CONCLUSION
Besides what has been related in the preceding chapters, Sister
Bourgeois wrote of several other events, both public and private, that
occurred some before and some after her arrival in Canada. We will
relate a few, in order to give a more correct idea of the state of
things in the isle of Montreal, when she undertook to establish her
community there. She says, it was then a vast, impenetrable forest,
inhabited only by a great number of savages, who unceasingly attacked
the French colonists, to prevent their establishment in the country, and
as the settlers were then few in number, many of them fell beneath the
bloody tomahawks of the relentless Iroquois. In fact it was extremely
difficult to induce any one to leave the mother country for the New
World, knowing what their fate would be when they reached Ville-Marie,
if some measures were not taken to secure life and property. The general
depression was so great that matters remained unchanged for _several
years_, during which time the colonists were literally at the mercy of
wild savages, to whom mercy was unknown. They lay treacherously
concealed in the woods, and sallied forth with hatchet and tomahawk on
their murderous rampage, when least expected, to pillage and burn the
houses and then massacre the inhabitants. In those days it was
impossible to labor singly in the fields. The tillers of the soil were
obliged to work in groups, with a gun in one hand, and a scythe or spade
in the other, often at the peril of their lives. These intrepid French
Catholics had left peaceful, happy homes, and the blessings of a
Christian government, for no other purpose than to convert wild Indians,
who were absolutely under the dominion of the devil, and to spread
abroad the glorious Faith over the prairies, and by the lakeshores of
this vast continent. Most assuredly their names are emblazoned on the
martyr-roll of heaven. It matters little if ungrateful men have
forgotten _them_, and lauded the makers of mowing-machines, the
inventors of steam-boats, the patented proprietors of the telegraph, the
torpedo, the needle-gun, the steam engine, the sewing-machine, etc. All
these things being of the earth earthy, shall pass away; nay, may become
the civilized (?) instruments of driving the enlightened nations of the
nineteenth century back into degraded barbarism. Have we not an
undeniable proof of this in the uprising of the masses today (July,
1877) in their might and wrath, who, believing they have been in many
instances, and for long years, the unrequited starving tools of
unprincipled _un-Christ-like Christian_ masters, have stood before the
fiery breath of the steam-engine and said: "Thus far shalt thou go, and
no farther;" have torn up the iron railroad tracks of a proud commercial
country, and startled the world by the verification of Gamaliel's
warning: "If these things be not of God, they will perish,"
The truth is that the toil, devotion and blood of the early French
settlers of Canada have produced an imperishable work in the propagation
of the Faith, and the conversion of the Indians. In Canada these poor
people become Christian, peaceful, and civilized; at least there exist
very few exceptions in the country north of the Great Lakes. And this
living, indestructible monument of the martyr's love is the work of
Catholic France, and her noble sons and daughters. It became, therefore
a matter of necessity at the time either to _abandon_ the young colony,
or to _save it at all hazards_. M de Maisonneuve determined on the
_latter_ course for the glory of God, the salvation of souls, the honor
of France, and the _love of the Virgin Mary_. In 1652 he returned to his
native land for soldiers to garrison and protect Ville-Marie, feeling
confident that if a sufficient number could be induced to volunteer, the
safety and prosperity of Canada would be secured. This gentleman had
himself frequently escaped the fury of the savages miraculously. On one
occasion, he was seized by a party of Iroquois, who were in the act of
choking him to death, but having by a violent effort disengaged himself
momentarily from their grasp, he blew out the brains of the chief with a
pistol he fortunately had in his possession. The sight of their
mutilated fallen leader, and the _smell_ of _gunpowder_, scattered the
balance of the red men, and set the Governor free. Shortly after his
departure, a band of nearly two hundred Iroquois presented themselves
before the little fort of Ville-Marie, in order to lay siege to it. They
knew beforehand that French arms and gunpowder were rather formidable
opponents, especially if they should happen to meet another de
Maisonneuve, and, as usual, had recourse to concealment. They formed
their ambuscade in a ditch which they dug on the very ground that now
forms the garden of the Congregation convent. There they lay hid,
reconnoitering the strength of the place, and having matured their
plans, commenced hurlling stones and shooting poisoned arrows against
the fort, which contained only the small number of sixteen or seventeen
men capable of bearing arms. This little troop, commanded by M. Closse,
sustained the siege with undaunted bravery. The combat lasted an entire
day, and one after another the savages sunk in death, pierced by a
French bullet. The survivors went off at night, full of rage and shame,
having succeeded in inflicting no other injury than the firing of an
out-house belonging to M. d'Ailbout. During the long combat, M. Closse
lost only one man, who was killed by an accidental discharge of a
cannon.
M. Brisac, an officer of the French army, was not so fortunate, however.
He had determined to draw off and attack a second body of savages who
had come to the assistance of the first party, but the wily Indians met
stratagem by stratagem, and succeeded in deceiving him on the route.
Seeing that they _must_ perish, as their enemies were ten times as
numerous as they, the French resolved to sell their lives as dearly as
possible. They erected a circular barricade of stones, and entrenched
themselves within it, firing at random on the furious savages, who
howled for their blood. The Iroquois fought like incarnate demons, and
every stone they flung with unerring precision shattered a white man's
skull. Like the Spartan three hundred, this brave French band determined
not to be _taken alive_, so the living supplied the places of their
fallen comrades until only five or six men remained. But the Indians at
last effected an entrance within the barricade, and killed the survivors
with the most | horrible cruelties. M. Brisac, the brave commander, was
reserved by the savages to die last, that they might torture him at
their ease, yet while he was able to speak, he never ceased exhorting
his men to die like Christians. The constancy of the devoted band
astonished the Iroquois, who could not refrain from expressing their
admiration of the white man's constancy. The death of such heroic
Christians is as much to be admired as that of the early martyrs,
because like them they combatted and suffered for religion and the glory
of God. Sister Bourgeois relates that during the first eight or nine
years of the existence of the colony, they could not succeed in raising
healthy children, all of them dying at a very tender age, as much on
account of the rigorous climate, as of the privations and sufferings
which were endured by their mothers, who, being all natives of sunny
France, had enjoyed, at least in a moderate way, the good things of this
life. In Canada, during these early days, they lacked nearly everything,
except good will and an undying love of the Catholic Faith, bequeathed
to them by their sainted forefathers. It may be also, that Almighty God
wished to to take to Himself these precious children, as the first
fruits of the New World. The first girl that arrived at maturity in the
country was Jane Loisel. She became a pupil of Sister Bourgeois, to
whose care she was confided at the age of four, and remained in the
Sister's school to her eighteenth year, when she married John Beauchamp.
It appears that theirs was the first Canadian marriage in Montreal. The
first boy who escaped an early grave was John Desroches, and the first
native of Montreal who consecrated herself to God in the Congregation
was Marie Barbier, who became Superior after Sister Bourgeois'
resignation. She was a very holy religieuse, and imbibed the spirit of
her Foundress, subjecting herself to such frightful penances that a
dangerous cancer formed in her body, of which, after years of intense
suffering, she was miraculously cured. The venerable Foundress also
leaves the following record of a few of the Indian girls she took under
her protection:
"In 1656, a young Iroquois mother had a little girl about nine months
old, which she neglected shamefully, and treated with brutal violence. I
endeavored to get the poor little sufferer from her, in order to raise
it a Christian, M. Souard assisting me to secure it. So after giving the
savage mother many presents, she at last consented to place the child in
my care. But as I was on the eve of my first voyage back to France, I
gave it in charge to Margaret Picard during my absence. As soon as I set
sail the mother retracted, and tried in every possible way to get the
child back without our knowledge. Once, while the little one and her
vigilant nurse were out taking exercise, the Iroquois woman suddenly
appeared, and endeavored with violence to snatch away the terrified
infant. But she was disappointed; the child clung convulsively to her
French mother, as she called her, and the savage departed, vowing to
seize her another time, and then take revenge for the child's
preference. In order to prevent a catastrophe, the Sisters hid the
child, and the Iroquois eventually gave up the search. This little
Indian was baptized and named Mary when she attained her fourth year, M.
de Maisonneuve and Mlle. Closse being her sponsors. She was the first
Iroquois baptized in the colony, and died two years after. I also raised
a little Algonquin girl, and an infant Illinois, but both died at the
age of nine. We received at a later period, another Algonquin, aged
nineteen, who expressed an ardent desire to live with our Sisters. She
was admitted on trial, and for a long time was faithful to all the
practices of piety in use among us, however contrary they were to her
inclinations, or to her Indian proclivities. She died shortly after her
baptism, having given great edification to the Sisters. One of the first
Canadian members of the Institute, was an Iroquois who had been educated
at the Mission of the Mountain. She was received into the community as
soon as she arrived at the proper age, and died happily, after laboring
twelve years in the mission school where she was instrumental in
effecting much good among her own people."
As Sister Bourgeois took a singular pleasure in recounting these Indian
conquests, we do not consider it out of place to revert to them here,
and might add many others, but will conclude by relating a remarkable
event that occurred in her time. The father of Mary Teresa
Gannensagouach, who had been admitted a member of the Congregation, as
was mentioned in the fourth chapter, became a Christian, and worshipped
the true God with all the ardor of his poetic Indian nature. Many a time
did the forests of the island re-echo with his recitations of the holy
rosary, and he had the happiness to see his son also follow his example,
by receiving the saving waters of Baptism. The graceless son, however,
soon forgot his baptismal vows, and returned to his former licentious
mode of life. Falling in with a depraved party of his tribe, who had
taken the war-path against the peaceful Christian Indians, he assisted
in a murderous attack on his native village. The fiends were unhappily
successful in their carnival of blood, and each reeking warrior selected
his wretched victim among the few survivors to lead him off to a distant
encampment and there torture him slowly to death. Young Gannensagouach
dragged _his_ captive through forest and swamp with brutal violence; but
at last growing tired of listening to the sufferer's groans, commanded
him to kneel for his death-blow. He did so, and for the first time since
his capture, raised his eyes to the face of the would-be murderer. Both
were paralyzed with horror--for he gazed upon his apostate son. "Father,
forgive him, he knows not what he does," cried the agonized parent, and
his prayer was heard. The arm that held the uplifted tomahawk fell
powerless by the young man's side, and from that hour the _apostate_
became a _penitent_. The good old Indian died a peaceful Christian
death, a few years later, and to this day, a rude stone cross with an
appropriate epitaph, marks his last resting-place.
May my soul also die the death of the just.
* * * * *
NOTE.
Happily, during the interval that elapsed between the writing and the
publication of this book, the process of canonizing Venerable Sister
Bourgeois has been commenced, and splendid ecclesiastical services were
held in the spring of 1879 in the city of Montreal, in unison with the
canonical proceedings. The canonization of this saintly woman will give
to the church in America, a _second_ acknowledged _intercessor_ in
heaven, St. Rose of Lima being the _first_, and will procure new
triumphs for the Faith in "the land of the West," where such triumphs
are numerous and marvellous. THE AUTHORESS.
[Transcriber's Note: The title of Chapter IX in the original reads:
"THE RULES OF THE CONGREGATION, AND ESTAB-
MENT OF MISSIONS."
The missing characters have been restored in this text.]
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