The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-04-13
ACANADIAN LEGEND:
By EDWARD rARRER.

An eclipse OF the sun or moon
alarms the habitsnt, whe has heard
from the father and the old men be-
fore them OF the signs and tokens that
preceded the great. earthquake of
1868. Father Hierosme Lalement,in
the Relation for that year, says that
in the fell OF 1862 fiery serpents were
seen in the heavens, and ball of fire
rushed from the moon, and, with
noise like thunder, burst and fell Be-
hind Mount Royal. On January z,
1863, three suns and q rainbow sp
peared, and on February 9th, at 5
o. m, the first shock Of the earth
quake that shook Lower Canada for
SIX months. The yea: 1885 is known
as the year of great darkness, the
earth en- two Sundays, October 9th
and Ocsooer 10th, having been envel.
oped in a "fery yellow atmosphere"
On A ril II, 1882. tradition says
darkness prevailed on the Ssguenay
River, the heavens mourning for the
death of a Jesuit, Father Jean Bap-
tists Lacrosse, who died at TadousSc
on that day. The story OF the mira =
Giles wrought when that good man
died. as told by DR. Tacbe in his For
estiers ct Voysgeurs, and by l'Abbe
Casgrsin in Un Pelerinage q ls Ile-
su-Ooudres. is q characteristic Gulf
legend. Father Lacrosse was a ma
tive of Poitou. He arrived at Quebec
in 1854, and for nearly 30 years
preached the gospel to white men
and Indians along the st Lawrence
and down in the wilds of Acadia. On
the night of his death be was at the
house of an officer OF the trading post
at Iado sac, and, although nearly
20 years old appeared to be as
strosg and hearty as a man of 40. He
was tall and robust, and his
long white hair and sanity face made
him look every inch an apostle. At
pm. he rose, and in 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
csmped there for the spring trade in
peltries, and to sill the Gulf. He babe
the company farewell, charging them,
as he lett the house. to 60 to Iie-aux-
Coudres and bring Father Complain,
the cure, to give his body Christian
sepulture. The party sat in silence.
listening for the bells, whic b on the
stroke OF midnight began to toll. The
village was aroused, and TIE people
hurried to the chapel ,and there. be-
fore the altar, lay the old Jesuit, dead.
They watched by the corpse until
daylight, when the post officer ordered
four men to take canoe and go to
Ile-aux CoudTas. A fearful storm was
raging in the Gulf, and ice foes al
most choked the wide expanse of Wa
ter. Fear not" said the officer to
the fishermen; Father Lacrosse will
protect you" They launched the ca
noe, and great was their surprise to
find that, while the tempest hoWled
and the waves and the ice seethed |
like csldEon on eacn eide of them,
peaceful channel was formed by
come invisible hand Tor their craft.
They reached Ile.aux-Coudres-o over
gu miles, as the crow flies, from Ia
dousac-Without accident. Father
Complain was standing on the cliff,
and, as they nesred the shore, be
cried out, 'Father Lacrosse Is dead,
and you have come to take me to Ia
dousaC to bury himP' How did he
know this3 The night previous he
was sitting alone in mis- house, read |
ing his brevisry. when suddenly the |
bell in the church dedicated to St. |
Louis) began to toll. He ran down |
to the church, but the doors we're
locked, and when he opened them be |
found no one within, and still the
passing bell was telling, As he APP
preached the altar, Father Complain
heard a voice saying Father Lab
rosse is dead. This bell announces
his departure. To morrow do thou
stand at he lower end OF the island
and await the arrival of canoe from
Tsdousac Return with it, and give
him burial" And st all the mission
posts where Father Lacrosse had
Observation-Disclosures, Pile Verte,
rrois-P istoles. Rimouski, and along
he Baie-des- ChAleurs-the bells, OF
heir own accord, rang out the death
If the old Jesuit at the same hour.
And fer many year. whenever the
Indians of the SaRuenay visited Ia
lousac, they made pilgrimage to his
grave, and whispered to the dead
within througha hole in the slab of
he vault. believing that be would lay
heir petitions before God.-AprH At
antic.