Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-06-23
4 Canadian Legend.

An eclipse If the sun or moon alarms
the habiiani who has heard from the
fathers and the old men before them OF
the signs and tokens that preceded the
grea, earthquake of lots Father He
rU>tne Lalcmant, in the Relation for
that Year. SAYS that III tine fall OF 1862
hery >rrprni> We're seen in the heavens,
and ball OF fir. rushed from the moon,
and, with a noise like thunder, burst
and fell behind Mount ROYAL On Jan
uary 4. 1908. three sun, and a rainbow
appeared. and on February >. at live
p. III, the first shock wa- felt of the
earthquake that shook Lower Canada
for six months. The Year l1s.j i, known
As the YEAR Of great darkness. the earth
on two SUNDAYS October . and October
IL. having been cnvrlop..d in ''iIrrv
yellow atmosphere. On April IL. l7sI.
tradition says darkness prevailed on the
Sagllenay River. the heavens mourning
for the death of Il Jesuit. Father Jean
BaptiSte Labrossc. who died at Tadou-
sac on that day. The story of the mira
cles wrought when that good man died.
a, told by DIR. Tachc in his Forcstiers ct
Noyageurs, and by liable CaSgrain in
Tn PILGRIMAGE Il la IIc-a,ix- Coudres. is a
characteristic Gulf legend. Father La
bros>e was native of Potion. He ar.
rived at Quebec in l1JI, and for nearly
thirty years preached the gospel to white
men and Indians along the st. Law
renee anu down in the wilds of Acadia.
On the night of his death he was at the
house OF an officer of the trading-post
at TadOuSac. and. although nearly scv-
enty years old. appeared to be Il. strong
and hearty as man of forty He was
tall and robust, and his long white hair
and sanity face made him look every
inch an apostle. At nine D. III. he rose,
anu Ill solemn tones told his friends that
the hour of his death was at hand AT
midnight he should die. and the church
bell Of TadouSac would announce the
news to his Indian children. who were
camped there for the spring trade in
petries. and to all the Gulf He babe
the company farewell. charging them,
as he left the house. to 90 To lle-aux-
Coudres and bring Father Complain. the
cure, to give his body Christian sepul-
ture. The party sat in silence. listen
ing for the bells, which on The stroke
OF midnight began to toll. The village
was aroused. and the people hurried to
the chapel. and there, before the altar,
lay the old Jesuit. dead. They watched
by the corpse until daylight. when the
post officer ordered four men To take a
canoe and 90 to lle-auy-C oudres. A
fearful storm was raging in the Gulf,
and ice foes almost chokcd the wide ex-
panse of water. Fear not said the
officer to the fishermen: Father La
brOsse will protect you" They launched
The canoe. an'l great was their uipriSe
to find that. while the tempest howled
and the waves and the ice seethed like
caldrOn on each side of them peace
full channel was formed by some invi>-
BILE hand for their craft They reached
lle-aux-Co,dres- sixty miles. As
the crow flies, from Ta,iousac without
accident Father Complain was stand
ing on the cliff, and, as they neared the
shore, he cried out: FEATHER Lacrosse
ID dead. and you have come to take
me to Tadousac TO bury him. How
did he know thise The night pre-
v;oUs he was sitting alone in his
house. reading his breviarv, when
suddenly the bell in the church (dedi-
Gated to st. Louis) began to toll. He
ran down to the church. but the doors
were locked. and when he opened them
he found no one within. and still the
passing bell was tolling. As he APP
preached the altar Father Complain
heard voice saying: Father Lacrosse
is dead. This bell announces his de-
parture. Tomorrow do thou stand at
the lower end of the island and await
the arrival of a canoe from Tadousac.
Return with it. and give him burial
And at all the mission posts where Fa.
Their Lacrosse had preached Chicouti-
mi, File Verte, Trois-Pistoles, Rimou-
ski. and along the Baie-des-C haleurs-
the bells, of their own accord, rang out
the death of the old Jesuit, at the same
hour. And for many year, whenever
the Indians OF the Saguenay visited Ia
dousac, they made pilgrimage to his
grave, and whispered to the dead within
through hole in the slab of the vault,
believing that he would Law their peti-
tions before God.-Edwara Fayrer, IN
atlantic Monthly.