Posted on 09/22/2022 9:53:45 PM PDT by Antoninus
In my previous review of the novel Joseph the Huron by Antoinette Bosco, I mentioned briefly a scene in the book describing the capture and torture of an Iroquois prisoner by the Hurons. The details of this scene were drawn from the true story which appeared in the Jesuit Relations. Of course, Mrs. Bosco softened the story somewhat to make it more suitable for her audience of younger readers.
When writing the review, I revisited the original account of this prisoner in the Relations. Written in 1639 by an eye-witness—Jesuit Fr. Jerome Lalemant—I recalled the impression the account had made on me when I first read it some 20 years ago. Beyond the sheer cruelty and brutality of the scene, what strikes the reader most forcefully is the victim's supernatural courage in the face of certain death.
I post Fr. Lalemant's account here in part so I should not lose it again within the vast gulf of the internet. But I also post it so that those Catholics, who lack even a fraction of the fortitude of their forebears and who would apologize for their audacious missionary work among the indigenous tribes, may think twice. Indeed, may they shrink from such pusillanimous apologies once, twice, and every time they are tempted to offer them.
Without further ado, here is Fr. Lalemant's description of the death of the Iroquois convert Pierre Ononelwaia:
The first one baptized in this village was a poor unfortunate Hiroquois, a prisoner of war, who was taken to another village, near this, to be given as a recompense to the relatives of that brave Taratwane who was captured during these last years by the enemy, as has been mentioned in previous Relations. I do not know if I should not tarry for a moment to consider and admire the adorable Providence of God towards this poor wretch, and his fellow prisoners, to the number of 12 or 13, baptized by the Fathers of this Residence; but I prefer to leave these reflections to those who shall cast their eyes over this Narrative, and to stop only to observe some circumstances of these events which render them more important.For a long time, the Hurons had no more good fortune or advantage over their enemies until last year. Having gone to war, together with some Algonquains, their neighbors, they captured at one stroke about eighty of their enemies, whom they brought home alive. Besides this victory, the most notable of all, they had others of less importance, which in all gave them more than a hundred prisoners.
All those who were assigned to the villages where we have residences, or which are near these, were, thank God, instructed and baptized, and hardly one without circumstances so peculiar that there is reason to believe that there was, in their cases, some special guidance of divine Providence and of their predestination. In many instances, we had only the exact time necessary for their instruction and baptism; others, after having been baptized, were so comforted that they could not refrain from putting into song the cause of their consolation, — that thenceforward, at least, they were sure of going to Heaven. Others nobly refused to imitate foul and immodest actions to which their captors tried to incite them. Others afterward displayed so much fortitude in their torments that our barbarians resolved no longer to allow us to baptize these poor unfortunates, reckoning it a misfortune to their country when those whom they torment shriek not at all, or very little.
Indeed, this has given us so much trouble since then, that there has not been one of these for whose baptism we have not been obliged to give battle to those who are their Masters and Guardians; and sometimes it has been necessary to atone for this violence by some present.
Among those who showed most fortitude, and most appreciation of their good fortune, was one Ononelwaia, in baptism named Pierre, who was one of the prisoners at that principal defeat of which we have just spoken, a Captain of the Oneiouchronons [Oneidas], a nation of the Hiroquois. This man, being fastened to a stake upon a platform, not very far from his companion fastened to another — where our barbarians, every one according to his pleasure, tormented them, by the application of flames, firebrands, and glowing irons, in ways cruel beyond all power of description, and beyond all imagination of those who have not seen it — Pierre, I say, seeing this companion of his lose patience in the midst of these torments, comforted and encouraged him by representing the blessedness they had found in their misfortune, and that which was prepared for them after this life. Finally seeing him dead, “ Ah, my poor comrade,” said he, “ didst thou ask pardon of God before dying? “ — fearing that the evidence of suffering he had given was some grievous sin.
This brave spirit, who merited a better fate, was more tormented than ever by our barbarians after the death of his companion; for, the latter having died sooner than they expected, they all wreaked the rest of their fury upon him who remained. Accordingly, the first thing they did to him afterward was that one of them cut with a knife around his scalp, which he stripped off in order to carry away the hair, and, according to their custom, to preserve it as very precious.
After such treatment one would hardly believe that there could remain any sensation of life in a body so worn out with tortures. But lo! He suddenly rises, and, seeing upon the scaffold only the corpse of his dear companion, he takes in his hands, which were all in shreds, a firebrand, that he might not die as a captive, and that he might defend the brief liberty he had recovered a little while before death. The rage and the cries of his enemies redouble at this sight; they rush towards him with pieces of red-hot iron in their hands. His courage gives him strength; he puts himself on the defensive; he hurls his firebrands upon those who come nearest him; he throws down the ladders, to cut off their way, and avails himself of the fire and flame, the severity of which he has just experienced, to repel their attack vigorously. The blood that streamed down from his head over his entire body would have rent with pity a heart which had any remnant of humanity; but the fury of our barbarians found therein its satisfaction.
Some throw upon him coals and burning cinders; others underneath the scaffold find open places for their firebrands. He sees on all sides almost as many butchers as spectators; when he escapes one fire, he encounters another, and takes not one step without falling into the evil that he flees.
While defending himself thus for a long time, a false step causes him to fall backward to the ground. At the same time, his enemies pounce upon him, burn him anew, then throw him upon the fire. This invincible spirit, rising again from the midst of the flames — all covered with cinders that were imbued in his blood, two flaming firebrands in his hands — turns towards the mass of his enemies, to inspire them with fear once more before he dies. Not one is so hardy as to touch him; he makes a way for himself, and walks towards the village, as if to set it on fire.
He advances about a hundred paces, when some one throws a club which fells him to the ground; before he can rise again, they are upon him; they cut off his feet and hands, and, having seized the rest of this mangled body, they turn it round and round over nine different fires, which he almost entirely extinguished with his blood. Finally they thrust him under an overturned tree-trunk, all on fire, so that, at the same time, there may be no part of his body which is not cruelly burned. It was then that nature, before yielding to the cruelty of these torments, made one last effort, that could never have been expected. For, having neither feet nor hands, he rolled over in the flames, and, having fallen outside of them, he moved more than ten paces, upon his elbows and knees, in the direction of his enemies, who fled from him, dreading the approach of a man to whom nothing remained but courage, of which they could not deprive him except by wresting away his life.
This they finally did, one of them cutting off his head with a knife. Happy stroke which gave him freedom! For we have reason to believe that this brave spirit is now enjoying in Heaven the freedom of the children of God, since even his enemies loudly exclaimed that there was something more than human within him, and that without doubt baptism had given him his strength and courage, which surpassed all that they had ever seen.
Several Savages have reported with wonder, and a sort of conviction of the truths that we preach to them, that, shortly before he received the last blow which caused his death, he raised his eyes to Heaven and cried out joyfully, “ Let us go, then, let us go,” as if he were answering a voice that invited him. [Thwaites: Jesuit Relations, Volume 17]
The common reaction of modern secular scholars to these types of accounts is as facile as it is dishonest. The claim is advanced that this and similar accounts were "fictionalized" or "exaggerated" by the Jesuit fathers. It is noteworthy that the one thing these critics often don't do in their long-winded attempts to excuse this type of grotesque brutality is quote liberally from the accounts themselves.
Which is another reason I have done that here.
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I wish I had not read it.
I’d forgotten just how barbaric such tribes were back then.
But then, human being still are quite capable of treating each other in horrible ways.
The difference tween these Indians back then and MS13 gang members today, stemming from Guatamala, and now in parts of the USA, is that the MS13 gang members tend to hide from the law. The Indians of that place and of that time had nothing to flee from except the occassional Colonist, who carried weapons not known to these Indians.
I have heard of the barbarity of many Native American tribes.
So much for the peaceful, happy savages myth.
Man without God, in the hands of Satan are neither peaceful not happy, no matter what the race or nationality.
Gruesome and cruel indeed
Thank you for sharing
True words
It got better for them after the pale faces showed u? Overwhelmingly the Indian tribes were destroyed by the blessings of civilization and what was called Christianity. The first physically destroyed the Indian tribes the latter destroyed the Indians psychologically. We pale faces can enjoy the fruits of our victory without a lot of sanctimonious psalm singing and self congratulation on our great virtuousness.
Europeans were just as brutal. A lot better at toning down descriptions of their brutality though, since there weren’t outside observers recording the atrocities, but only fellow Europeans:
Esch, Voes, and Thorn, still held in custody, were questioned again by the ecclesiastical inquisition court, but they refused to recant. They were then handed over to the secular court and sentenced to death. They were taken to Brussels and held until the appointed day of execution on 1523 July 1. New attempts were made meanwhile to get them to renounce. Voes was brought first to the inquisitors, but he refused to recant. Esch also refused to renounce Lutheranism. Thorn asked for an additional four-day period to study the scriptures with respect to his views, and thus he was not executed then with Esch and Voes. Esch and Voes were summarily delivered to the executioner, brought to the marketplace in Brussels, and burned alive.
Stories such as this one is why I am an adamant supporter of the 2nd amendment. The invention of gun power and the rifled barrel created a weapon that allows the individual to have the ability to repel the mob.
What an amazing story. The Indian Pierre was given great strength and comfort by his faith and became a great witness for Christianity to his fellow prisoner and to his enemy.
We are not superior to these depraved, ignorant savages who knew nothing but evil. Our society participants in the brutal killing of thousands of innocent children every day despite having knowledge of Christianity and Western Civilization. Our society knows good and evil but still chooses evil.
Even in modern times. Socialism is a modern European religion that takes brutality to an industrial scale, killing by the millions and tens of millions.
In the late 1660s the Iroquois village of Oneida--still pagan at the time--had become an absolute mess. Drunkenness, violence. Torture of captives not unlike the scene narrated above. Even measured by pagan morals, they clearly had fallen from the noble example of their ancestors.
A few Oneidas converted and founded a new Iroquois village near Montreal. They basically kept their Iroquoian culture, but they also made a rule that to live it this village, you had to give up your vices and live Christian morality....and they actually expelled other Indians for not upholding it.
Long story short, this village attracted so many Iroquois over the next few years that the original Iroquois villages got jealous and complained they would be entirely depopulated.
Christianity helped save Iroquoian culture. From itself.
As Will Durant stated in the 1st volume of his "Story of Civilization," the collectivist movement sprang up when the first human tribes and families were formed.
It was a knee-jerk reaction to the meritocracy of successful hunter-gatherers.
The collectivists, just as they did in Jamestown in the early 1600's, demanded an equitable sharing of goods for those less fortunate. And they didn't just demand a share. They demanded that the entire system be constituted as a commune wherein successful individuals were subordinated to the group. In other words, a system in which there was no reward for success.
Though there are no first-hand accounts from the first tribes and families, we can safely surmise that those pushing collectivism were cut from the Bernie Sanders mold, in that though they were quite capable of working, they instead preferred to take a sizeable share of the goods set aside for the "poor."
A “simple” European burning at the stake was a walk in the park compared to how you’d be treated by an Iroquois mob out for vengeance. The latter is the stuff of nightmares...and they would actually try to keep you alive as long as possible. Also, burning at the stake came after a trial and conviction of a capital crime...it wasn’t practiced on those captured in war as it was among the Iroquois.
I am not sure why people think we are automatically favoring Europeans by bringing this stuff up. We tell the stories of the Roman martyrs in the same way, and for the same reason—to fortify ourselves against persecution. And to show what happens to *any* group of people if they let the devil have sway over their culture.
Exactly.
The book of Judges is an historical account of the following cycle: Israel is in bondage and cries out to God. God sends a Judge to deliver them by way of His power. Israel prospers and turns away from God. God turns them over to themselves. They deliver themselves back into bondage. There are variations, but the cycle is clear and instructive.
The only difference is that the Iroquois had always been turned over to themselves. God delivered them from their self imposed bondage.
I have a concern regarding your statement, "they clearly had fallen from the noble example of their ancestors." It directly implies that there was a prior time when Iroquois behavior was noble. I don't know, but I sincerely doubt it. The general history of native Americans tribes is that they treated each other with utter cruelty and barbarism. It is complete fiction to believe North America was some sort of Shangri-La before outside influence. It was Lord of the Flies on a continental level.
Regardless, the facts we know indicate that Robowombat's statement is well rooted in revisionist history. Dances with Wolves is fun to watch, but it is fiction.
Bump for later.
Your example doesn’t even compare to the cruelty of the original story. Also, there’s no evidence those inquisitors enjoyed condemning the heretics. The indians enjoyed their cruelty and made it last as long as possible.
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