A heroic courage was necessary to undertake to carry the faith to these savage tribes.  It was condemning one’s self to lead a life like theirs, of ineffable hardships, dangers and privations, now in a bark canoe and paddle in hand, now on foot and bearing upon one’s shoulders the things necessary for the holy sacrament; in the least case it was braving hunger and thirst, exposing one’s self to the rigours of an excessive cold, with which European nations were not yet familiar; it often meant hastening to meet the most horrible tortures.  In spite of all this, however, Father Le Caron did not hesitate to penetrate as far as the country of the Hurons, while Fathers Sagard and Viel were sowing the first seeds of Christianity in the St. Lawrence valley.  The devotion of the Recollets, to the family of whom belonged these first missionaries of Canada, was but ill-rewarded, for, after the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, which restored Canada to France, the king refused them permission to return to a region which they had watered with the sweat of their brows and fertilized with their blood.

The humble children of St. Francis had already evangelized the Huron tribes as far as the Georgian Bay, when the Company of the Cent-Associes was founded by Richelieu.  The obligation which the great cardinal imposed upon them of providing for the maintenance of the propagators of the gospel was to assure the future existence of the missions.  The merit, however, which lay in the creation of a society which did so much for the furtherance of Roman Catholicism in North America is not due exclusively to the great cardinal, for Samuel de Champlain can claim a large share of it.  “The welfare of a soul,” said this pious founder of Quebec, “is more than the conquest of an empire, and kings should think of extending their rule in infidel countries only to assure therein the reign of Jesus Christ.”

Think of the suffering endured, in order to save a soul, by men who for this sublime purpose renounced all that constitutes the charm of life!  Not only did the Jesuits, in the early days of the colony, brave horrible dangers with invincible steadfastness, but they even consented to imitate the savages, to live their life, to learn their difficult idioms.  Let us listen to this magnificent testimony of the Protestant historian Bancroft:—­

“The horrors of a Canadian life in the wilderness were resisted by an invincible, passive courage, and a deep, internal tranquillity.  Away from the amenities of life, away from the opportunities of vain-glory, they became dead to the world, and possessed their souls in unalterable peace.  The few who lived to grow old, though bowed by the toils of a long mission, still kindled with the fervour of apostolic zeal.  The history of their labours is connected with the origin of every celebrated town in the annals of French Canada; not a cape was turned nor a river entered but a Jesuit led the way.”