archaeological and textual records - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell ...

medals, finger rings and other sacramental items (Axtell 1985:112). As different as
each may be, one thing all sacramentals have in common is the visual call to prayer
through symbolic imagery. In the case of religious medals, the inscriptions around the
imagery can spell out specific prayers and devotions.
On a related note, keen on combining Catholicism with the Mohawks' love of
gambling and charms, in the spring of 1670, Father Pierron invented a game with
decorated “emblems representing the sacraments, virtues, commandments, sins, etc.
The game was called ‘from Point to Point’ — i.e., from the point of birth to the point
of Eternity…The Iroquois learn it easily, and like it so well that the Father and his
catechumens pass the Easter Feast-days agreeably with this game, which is equally
holy and profitable” (JR 53:13).
So far we have seen the ways that the Jesuits drew neophytes in with the lure
of healing, imagery, objects and with their patented variety of “magical [scientific]
knowledge.” The other notable “selling points” of the faith, which cannot be
overlooked in Iroquoian context, include the complicated roles of warfare and physical
suffering.
One of the more infamous occurrences of martyrdom involved Fathers Brebeuf
and Gabriel Lalemant in March of 1649. It was transcribed in the Jesuit Relations
through the accounts of the Christian Hurons taken captive by Iroquois forces (JR
34:9). Later, the bones of both priests were taken to Quebec for veneration (JR 34:9).
It is unlikely that these events went unnoticed among the already-faithful Chaumonot
encountered in Seneca Territory seven years later; the courage both priests displayed
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