Chapter Five - Iroquois
Mohawks Get Their Comeuppances
From An Old War Horse . . .
. . . and Find Religion
After years of devastating attacks on French and Huron trading parties
and villages in the Saint Lawrence Valley, the French launched two attacks
on the Mohawks. The first was during the winter of 1666. The commander
of this ill-prepared army of 700 Frenchmen was 40-year old Daniel de Remhy,
Sieur de Courcelle. After a month of trudging through the winter
woods to reach the Mohawk Valley, Courcelle’s army failed to kill a single
Mohawk and lost hundreds of men to hunger and exposure. They would have
lost more men if not for the assistance provided by English residents at
Schenectady where they stopped to rest before returning north.
killed the nephew of The Old War Horse.
as published in The Bloody Mohawk by T. Wood Clark - 1940.)
De Tracy was a veteran of many European campaigns and had attained the rank of Lieutenant General in the King's armies. At 60 years old, De Tracy, who brought the first horses to New France, led a second attack on the Mohawks. This time the French Army was 1300 strong and well-equipped when it marched up the Mohawk Valley in mid October 1666.
Faced with such an overwhelming force, the Mohawks abandoned all four of their villages and disappeared into the northwoods. The French burned every village and destroyed crops and food supplies. De Tracy and his army returned to the Saint Lawrence Valley in early November unscathed.
The Old War Horse had given the Mohawks their Comeuppances.
Word of the attack spread throughout the Iroquois
Federation. Peace treaties were made and Jesuit Missions were established
among the Haudenosaunee.
The Mohawks suffered greatly that cold winter and
many died of disease and starvation. The entire nation crossed to the north
side of the river and built four new villages. A Jesuit mission was established
at the village of Caughnawaga located on a hill overlooking Cayadutta Creek,
near present day Fonda. It was here that many Mohawks “found religion.”
The Jesuits were so successful in converting Mohawks
to Catholicism that traditional Mohawks developed a deep resentment towards
the Jesuits and their converts. In 1667 the Jesuits and “Praying Indians”
from several nations established a village in the Saint Lawrence Valley
across from Montreal that they also called Caughnawaga. Hundreds of Mohawk
Christians moved to this village in the 1670s. By the end of the 17th Century
there were as many Mohawks living in the Saint Lawrence Valley as there
were in the Mohawk Valley. They moved this “Canada” village many times
over the years, eventually settling near Saint Regis in 1755. Their descendants
still live there.
Kateri (Catherine)
Tekakwitha
Among the many converts in the Mohawk Valley was
the daughter of an Algonquin Christian and a Mohawk Chief. Her entire family
had died of smallpox, so she was living with an uncle’s family when they
moved to Caughnawaga on the north side of the river. It was here that she
met Jesuit priests. The story of the life and legacy of Kateri (Catherine)
Tekakwitha is unique in American and MohawkValley history.
Perhaps the Franciscan Friars who maintain the National Shrine of Blessed
Tekakwitha located in Fonda, New York tell it best.
“Kateri Tekakwitha was a young Mohawk woman who
lived in the 17th century. The story of her conversion to Christianity,
her courage in the face of suffering and her extraordinary holiness is
an inspiration to all Christians.
“Follow us as we share with you the life of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha,
who soon will become the first Native American Saint in the United States
of America. Many private miracles have already centered around Blessed
Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks and the holy grounds at the National
Shrine of Blessed Tekakwitha located in Fonda, New York. The Shrine was
founded in honor of Kateri, for it was here that she was baptized on Easter
Sunday April 5, 1676, and lived her teenage years.
“Kateri was born in 1656 of an Algonquin mother
and a Mohawk Chief in the Mohawk fortified village of Canaouaga or Ossernenon
(modern day Auriesville) in upstate New York. When she was only 4 years
old her parents and brother died of smallpox. Kateri survived the disease,
but it left her face badly scarred and her eyesight impaired. Because of
her poor vision, Kateri was named "Tekakwitha", which means "she who bumps
into things". Kateri was taken in by her uncle who was bitterly opposed
to Christianity.
“When she was 8 years old, Kateri's foster family,
in accordance with Iroquois custom, paired her with a young boy who they
expected she would marry. However, Kateri wanted to dedicate her life to
God. Her uncle distrusted the settlers because of the way they treated
the Indians and who were responsible for introducing smallpox and other
deadly diseases into the Indian community.
“When Kateri was ten, in 1666, a war party composed
of French soldiers and hostile Indians from Canada destroyed the Mohawk
strongholds on the south bank of the Mohawk, including Ossernenon. The
surviving Mohawks moved to the north side of the river and built their
fortified village about half a mile west of the present village of Fonda.
Kateri lived in Caughnawaga, site of the present Shrine, for her next ten
years.
“When Kateri was 18 years of age, she began instructions
in the Catholic Faith in secret. Her uncle finally relented and gave his
consent for Kateri to become a Christian, provided that she did not try
to leave the Indian village. For joining the Catholic Church, Kateri was
ridiculed and scorned by villagers. She was subjected to unfair accusations
and her life was threatened. Nearly two years after her baptism at the
Kateri Shrine in Fonda she escaped to the Mission of St. Francis Xavier,
a settlement of Christian Indians in Canada. The village in Canada was
also named Caughnawaga (Kahnawake). Here she was known for her gentleness,
kindness, and good humor. On Christmas Day 1677 Kateri made her first holy
communion and on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1679 made a vow of perpetual
virginity. She also offered herself to the Blessed Mother Mary to accept
her as a daughter.
“During her time in Canada, Kateri taught prayers
to children and worked with the elderly and sick. She would often go to
Mass both at dawn and sunset. She was known for her great devotion to the
Blessed Sacrament and to the Cross of Christ.
“During the last years of her life, Kateri endured
great suffering from a serious illness. She died on April 17th, 1680, shortly
before her 24th birthday, and was buried in Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada.
“Kateri’s final words were. . ."Jesus — Mary
— I love you." Witnesses reported that within a few minutes of her
death, the pockmarks from smallpox completely vanished and her face shone
with radiant loveliness.
“Before her death, Kateri promised her friends
that she would continue to love and pray for them in heaven. Both Native
Americans and settlers immediately began praying for her heavenly intercession.
Several people, including a priest who attended Kateri during her last
illness, reported that Kateri had appeared to them and many healing miracles
were attributed to her. Fifty years after Kateri's death the first
convent for Indian nuns was established in Mexico and they pray daily for
Sainthood for Blessed Kateri.”
For more information see http://www.katerishrine.com/index.htm
There are shrines devoted to Kateri in Maine, Oklahoma, Michigan, Quebec Canada and Mexico.
Discovery: National Shine of Kateri Tekakwitha
September 23, 2004, 75 degrees, Sunny
I had driven by the Shrine many times in my travels
up and down the valley. It’s right next to Route 5 just west of Fonda.
From the road it didn’t look like much. Just a red building and some statues
on the side of a hill. However, after reading about the life of Kateri,
and the very distinct possibility that the Roman Catholic Church would
soon declare her a saint, my curiosity was peaked. Hence this discovery
trip.
As noted elsewhere, my wife, Gert loves discovery
trips that don’t require getting wet or climbing hills, so a trip to Fonda
on a sunny day seemed like a good idea. We invited Lorraine and Denny Gillen
to join us.
There was no one there when we arrived
at 10 a.m. except a caretaker. He told us the doors were unlocked at the
Chapel and Museum, noting that the chapel was upstairs in the red building
and the museum was downstairs. He also pointed out the gravel road that
ran up the hill to the Indian village site.
The
red building that is so visible from Route 5 was once a Dutch barn. It
served as such for 140 years or so before it was renovated in 1938 by Franciscan
Friar Thomas Grassman, the founder of the Shrine. Today the upper floor
is dedicated to Kateri and the lower floor is an Indian museum.
We climbed the stairs and entered the Chapel, noting
the unique blend of Mohawk and Catholic designs in the paintings, statues
and other displays. Light coming through the siding indicated this was
not an all-season building.
The downstairs museum was very impressive. In addition
to an array of mostly Iroquois artifacts, there were miniature replicas
of the 1660s Caughnawaga village.
Although Gert and her sister weren’t too excited
about it, we hiked the quarter mile or so through hardwoods and giant white
pines to the top of the hill. While Denny and I explored the village site
and the nearby Tekakwitha Spring, the ladies stood in the shade at the
edge of the woods.
Caughnawaga was discovered in 1950 by Father
Grassman, and later excavated under his direction. Today it is the only
completely excavated Iroquois village site in America. Color-coded stakes
mark the locations of the stockade that surrounded the village, plus the
longhouses and individual bedposts. A large sign explains what each stake
represents in addition to providing other information about the village.
The museum featured a miniature replica of the Mohawk
Village site that was discovered on the hill above the Shrine.
A spring, on the other side of the hill, was the
source of water for the village and is dedicated to Kateri Tekakwitha.
Denny was tempted to drink from the housed spring, but opted instead to
dip his hand in the ice cold water.
After I photographed the village, spring, monument,
historic markers and other signs in the area, we headed back down the trail.
Along the way, I heard much grumbling about the fact that there was a paved
road right in front of the village site, so the uphill climb from The Shrine
was not necessary.
It was 11:15 when we arrived back at the Jeep. Although
we hadn’t visited the Gift Shop or walked the Stations of the Cross (the
statues on the hill), we were very impressed with our first trip to the
National Shine of Kateri Tekakwitha.
Return to Chapter 5 - Iroquois
