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Father Garnier to his Superiors. In this letter, Garnier acknowledged the relationship
between the French military’s movements and the “success” of his mission work:
“The spiritual interests of these Missions depend largely on temporal affairs, and
above all on the state of men’s minds regarding the peace with the French” (JR 56:57).
To support his statement, Garnier recounted how a council of elders from a village
called Gandachiorágon informed him that they wished to begin Christian prayer
customs and also gave him permission by to minister to the sick and otherwise visit
freely with the village inhabitants. However, the advance of the French army and the
oratorical skills of an unidentified “old man” soon eroded these sentiments. Garnier
wrote: “rumors of the approach of a French army soon undid these small beginnings.
The people’s minds being ill prepared, the demon used the opportunity to make them
speak against the faith and against its preachers. An old [Cayuga] man who came
some years ago from Goiogouen, — a mischief-maker, but a persuasive speaker, able
to do what he Will with our Tsonnontouans, and passing among them for a prodigy of
wisdom, — is wont to demonstrate to them that the faith makes people die” (JR
56:58). The heckler to Garnier’s ministry accused the Jesuits of being spies for the
French and evil sorcerers who no doubt bought the plague into villages as a part of
their under-handed political dealings (JR 56:58). Garnier continues his letter by
writing of how once genial relationships with villagers were now cold and threatening.
There were on-going talk of plans to assassinate the priest and a great deal of
harassment directed at Garnier, especially when people had occasion to over-indulge
in alcohol (JR 56:61). Nonetheless, Garnier assured his Superiors that in spite of these
setbacks, he continued his work in earnest (JR 56:61).
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