THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF
KATERI TEKAKWITHA,
1656-1680.
BY
ELLEN H. WALWORTH,
AUTHOR OF "AN OLD WORLD, AS SEEN THROUGH YOUNG EYES"
BUFFALO:
PETER PAUL & BROTHER.
1891.
Copyright, 1890,
By Ellen H. Walworth.
PETER PAUL & BRO.,
PRINTERS AND BINDERS,
BUFFALO, N. Y.
To my Uncle,
THE REV. CLARENCE A. WALWORTH,
RECTOR OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH,
ALBANY, N. Y.,
THIS VOLUME IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
The life and surroundings of "The Lily of theMohawks," as an undeveloped theme in literature, wasfirst suggested to me by my uncle, the Rev. Clarence A.Walworth. My interest and enthusiasm were at oncearoused. The thought of a mere Indian girl reared in theforest among barbarians, yet winning for herself suchtitles as "The Lily of the Mohawks" and "The Genevieveof New France," recurred to my mind again andagain, until it led me to a fixed determination to exploreso tempting a field of romance and archæology. Thefact that it lay amongst the hills and valleys of mynative State, and was little known except to solitaryscholars and laborious historians, incited me still more tothe task. I became ambitious to gather from the recordsof two centuries ago every detail relating in any way tomy Indian heroine. While engaged in this work unexpectedopportunities opened to gather exact informationabout her, and more especially concerning thelocalities connected with her early childhood, and herconversion and baptism in the Mohawk Valley.
If this book, embodying the result of my researches,should fail to interest the reader, it will not be for anylack of enthusiasm on my part, or of kind encouragementand competent assistance from others.
[Pg vi]When beginning the work my first call for advice wasupon Dr. John Gilmary Shea, so well versed in Indianannals, as also in the general history of this country. Ifound him full of interest in my subject. Guided bythe information received from him, and also by thedirections of the Rev. R. S. Dewey, S. J., who has longbeen familiar with the missionary and Indian traditionsof the Mohawk Valley, I went to Montreal and securedfrom the courteous kindness of Father Turgeon, S. J.,rector of the Jesuit College there, the use of all themanuscripts I desired. The Sisters of the Hôtel Dieufurnished me with a room in their hospital, to which thegood Rector allowed me to transport the entire CARTONO. This contained all the unprinted materials relatingto my subject that belonged to the college library.
There, at the Hôtel Dieu, delightfully located withthe sisters of an order whose history is closely bound upwith that of Montreal, I copied at my leisure the manuscriptsmost valuable to me.
In Montreal, also, my good fortune gave me interviewswith M. Cuoq, the distinguished philologist of St.Sulpice, whose Indian dictionaries and grammars I hadalready seen in my uncle's library. Much I owe besidesto Soeur St. Henriette, librarian and keeper of thearchives at the Villa Maria. It was on the boat whichshoots the Lachine Rapids that I met Mr. Hale of Philadelphia,the learned author of the "Iroquois Book ofRites," and enjoyed a long conversation with him onmatters of deep interest to us both and to my work.My first visit to the Iroquo