kindle a fire, to make prisoners or to scalp some enemy.

A heroic courage was necessary to undertake to carry the faith to these
savage tribes. It was condemning one's self to lead a life like theirs,
of ineffable hardships, dangers and privations, now in a bark canoe and
paddle in hand, now on foot and bearing upon one's shoulders the things
necessary for the holy sacrament; in the least case it was braving
hunger and thirst, exposing one's self to the rigours of an excessive
cold, with which European nations were not yet familiar; it often meant
hastening to meet the most horrible tortures. In spite of all this,
however, Father Le Caron did not hesitate to penetrate as far as the
country of the Hurons, while Fathers Sagard and Viel were sowing the
first seeds of Christianity in the St. Lawrence valley. The devotion of
the Récollets, to the family of whom belonged these first missionaries
of Canada, was but ill-rewarded, for, after the treaty of St.
Germain-en-Laye, which restored Canada to France, the king refused them
permission to return to a region which they had watered with the sweat
of their brows and fertilized with their blood.

The humble children of St. Francis had already evangelized the Huron
tribes as far as the Georgian Bay, when the Company of the Cent-Associés
was founded by Richelieu. The obligation which the great cardinal
imposed upon them of providing for the maintenance of the propagators of
the gospel was to assure the future existence of the missions. The
merit, however, which lay in the creation of a society which did so much
for the furtherance of Roman Catholicism in North America is not due
exclusively to the great cardinal, for Samuel de Champlain can claim a
large share of it. "The welfare of a soul," said this pious founder of
Quebec, "is more than the conquest of an empire, and kings should think
of extending their rule in infidel countries only to assure therein the