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

Onondaga lands (JR 44:23), his letter anticipates the founding of permanent Seneca
missions.
On November 1, 1668, Father Jacques Fremin began the first permanent
mission in Seneca territory at what became the St. Michael mission. His charges there,
again, were described as mostly Huron refugees (Bihler 1956:86), many of whom
were already practicing Christians (JR 54:9). However, the village dynamic Fremin
encountered was probably very different from when Chaumonot visited, because a
terrible epidemic was making its rounds across Seneca lands and beyond. The number
of sick and dying people needing ministry overwhelmed Fremin, and so Father Julien
Garnier was summoned from Onondaga lands to help (JR 54:9). The epidemic ended
soon after Garnier’s arrival, and since he and Fremin were no longer consumed with
making so many sick-visits, they used the opportunity to double their mission efforts.
In a 1669 letter, Fremin wrote:
Accordingly, having no further occupation with the sick, we began to proclaim
the Gospel to these people, who had never heard of Jesus Christ; and, in order
to do it with the greater success in different places, Father Garnier took charge
of the Village named Gandachiragou. There, in a short time, he built a Chapel,
which is very convenient, and to which people come from all directions for
instruction. As for me, on the twenty-seventh of September, 1669, I entered the
Village named Gandougaraé, where I was received with all the marks of public
joy. For a long time I had been expected there with impatience (JR 54:79).
At Gandougaraé, Fremin found himself ministering to a diverse group of
inhabitants, including Hurons, as well as people from other indigenous nations who
had been “incorporated” onto Seneca lands:
The remnants of three different Nations which were formerly overthrown by
the Iroquois, obliged to surrender at the discretion of the conqueror, and to
come and settle in his country. The first Nation is called Onnontioga, the
second the Neutrals, and the third the Hurons. The first two have seen scarcely
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