Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-09-04
The First Letter Written from What
Is Now Vermont

The historian Bancroft SAYS that
with the history of the labors of tie
members of the Society of Jesus in
America lis connected the origin of
every celebrate ted town in French AM
erica. Not cape was turned not
river entered but a Jesuit led the way"
In 1923 we find them at Quebec. Several
Jesuit fathers suffered martyrdom in their
efforts to convert the Iroquois, Father
Jogues was the pioneer of Christianity in
the Champlain valley, suffered frightfu
tortures at the hands Of the Mohawks, and
was finally killed by them at Caughnawaga
in lGis, and so Of others. In July, 1851
three Jesuit priests, Fathers Fremin, Pier
ron and Bruyas, sailed from France upon
a mission to the Iroquois in the Champlain
Valley and adjacent regions. Fearing an
attack from an Indian tribe called Les
Loups," (he Wolves, they stayed four
weeks at Fort st. Anne. on Isle La Motto,
conducting meantime a mission for the SOL
dicr5 of the French garrison. While there
Father Pierron wrote homo a letter, comics
of which are preserved in the Bibliotheque
Rationale of Paris and in the archives Of
Saint Mary's college in Montreal. While
gathering materials for his article on the
French in the Champlain Valley, Mr. Wal
ter H. Crockett, then of the FREE PRESS
staff, noticed in note in volume 81 of the
Jesuit Relations, an alluson to the letter,
and through Prof, Maurice Fichot, of this
| city, enlisted the services of Madame de
! Bellofroid. a lady of wealth and influence
in Montreal, who having done much for
the Jesuit College of st. Mary, possessed
the confidence Of those in charge and was
granted access to the archives She made
a copy of the letter. which with Mr.
Crockett's permission, we have had trans
| lated and print below 1t IL thought to
be probably the first letter written from
what Is now the soil of Vermont, that Is
extant, and though not containing much OF
important historical value, It is an interest
/ ing document, giving as it does besides
his description of his voyage, the worthy
fathers views of the status of the relations
between the French and the Iroquois al
that time. The curious fact that the Ian
guage Of the Iroquois reminded him of thu
as We know, now first printed entire il
an English translation. The copy has nc
signature, but we have appended the name
OF the writer as it probably appeared il
tho original The letter is as follows:
LETTER OF FIR. JEAN PIERRON, S. ]
/, De La Motto on Lac Champlain,
August II, 1861.
| I embarked May 10th of this year at 1t
! Rochelle and arrived at Quebec the 27tl
of June following. according to our sail
ors, who have followed the sea for invent!
, years and to everybody, the most forum
ate voyage both as to time which wa
( very short, and as to the course of tn
voyage, which was without storm, tina
t there has been these twenty years ant
t more. Nothing occurred worthy OF record
l unless for the prodigious iceberg whicl
e we met $40 leagues from Quebec. We be
\ held 1t from distance Of six or sevel
e leagues, seemingly as huge as Metz. 4
@ which we fancied we could see an uppe
f and a lower city. with lofty points In tn
e form OF towers and steeples, of pavilions
0 etc. Think what II must in reality hav
a been, If from that distance 1t appeare
so vast, and what Its thickness must hay
3 teen, since it rose near SO feet out of tn
Q water, We saw another smaller one,
q quarter of IA league away. which the win
was driving not more than about % O
30 feet out Of water. These masses G
7 ice are formidable to the pilot. for whe
you strike them (Which often happens
n you must in that case perish, on ca
feel them coming by the sharp cold tina
they produce. We were off this Qce) ball
I at Pentecost. and despite the lateness q
Il the season, we froze with the cold. Yo
e may encounter Ice masses Of this sort tina