In this region,
Radisson almost lost his life by hoisting a blanket sail to his canoe.
The wind drifted the boat so far out that Radisson had to throw all
ballast overboard to keep from being swamped. As they turned from the
St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario up the Oswego River for Onondaga, they
met other warriors of the Iroquois nation. In spite of pledges to the
priest, the meeting was celebrated by torturing the Huron women to
entertain the newcomers. Not the sufferings of the early Christians in
Rome exceeded the martyrdom of the Christian Hurons among the
Onondagas. As her mother mounted the scaffold of tortures, a little
girl who had been educated by the Ursulines of Quebec broke out with
loud weeping. The Huron mother turned calmly to the child:--
"Weep not my death, my little daughter! We shall this day be in
heaven," said she; "God will pity us to all eternity. The Iroquois
cannot rob us of that."
As the flames crept about her, her voice was heard chanting in the
crooning monotone of Indian death dirge: "Jesu--have pity on us!
Jesu--have pity on us!" The next moment the child was thrown into the
flames, repeating the same words.
The Iroquois recognized Radisson. He sent presents to his Mohawk
parents, who afterwards played an important part in saving the French
of Onondaga. Having passed the falls, they came to the French fort
situated on the crest of a hill above a lake. Two high towers
loopholed for musketry occupied the centre of the courtyard.
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