Crosses in the Sky

Unfortunately for Brébeuf — and devastatingly for the Hurons — his arrival is closely followed by two waves of unidentified epidemic diseases in 1634 and 1636, and subsequently by an even worse wave of smallpox in 1639. Brébeuf hurries around Huronia baptizing people on their deathbeds — including babies and young children whom he “converts” to Christianity without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

Mistaking correlation for causality, the angry and grief-stricken Hurons believe that the black-robed missionary is a malevolent sorcerer casting death spells on their loved ones. A movement grows either to drive Brébeuf out of Huronia or to execute him for witchcraft; but doing so would jeopardize relations with the French, upon whom the Hurons depended for trade goods such as copper kettles and iron axe heads, as well as for support in their ongoing wars against the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois or Six Nations), who were allied with the British.

The long-simmering violence between the Hurons and Haudenosaunee reached new levels when English and Dutch traders began to supply guns to the Six Nations. The Hurons needed to defend themselves against these deadly new weapons, but their French allies would only sell guns to Catholics. This led to a wave of conversions, including among powerful chiefs. To paraphrase King Henri IV of France, a musket is worth a mass.

But the Jesuit version of Christianity wasn’t as simple as saying prayers on Sundays: It demanded of its converts a complete lifestyle change, including their refusal to participate in communal Huron feasts and rituals. Coming of top of waves of disease, the religious schism between Huron traditionalists and Christian converts tore communities apart and further weakened the Hurons at a time when their Haudenosaunee enemies’ strength was at its peak.

The tragic and well-known ending came when a coordinated force of guntoting Haudenosaunee warriors attacked Huronia in 1648–49, killing thousands, capturing thousands more, and forcing the remainder to flee for their lives. Brébeuf was captured, and his torture and martyrdom are described by Bourrie in great detail.

Writing about the Huron experience of these events is challenging, since primary-source material is scant, and most of it was written by missionary priests. Nevertheless, Bourrie manages to paint a general picture of Huron society and even introduces readers to a few memorable personages, such as the healer Tonneraouanont, “the best doctor with one of the most powerful orendas in the country, a master of herbal and ritual medicine.”

Though the brutal facts of history make this book difficult to read, it’s nevertheless an interesting and accessible retelling of an important chapter in Canadian history.