Blog in Polish/w języku polskim: http://ontario-nature-polish.blogspot.com/2022/01/park-six-mile-lake-ontario-oraz-wizyty.html
More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jack_1962/albums/72177720296011186
Six Mile Lake Provincial Park, Ontario
For me the news was NOT surprising at all and I found it extremely shocking that the CIA and similar intelligence agencies had not realized the inevitability of this happening, instead predicting that Kabul would be able to defend itself for several months. Many commentators said this event resembled the fall of Saigon. Indeed, it was difficult not to draw comparisons between the two occurrences. While so many people in Afghanistan were desperately trying to flee the country, the next day, August 16, 2021, I left for Six Mile Lake Provincial Park for my week-long camping trip... That’s life!
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| On the same campsite in October, 2012, with Gabby the dog and Cathy the human! In 2021 the beaver lodge is gone, as are several trees |
I was very lucky to get my favourite campsite on a beaver pond/marsh, on which I had camped numerous times with Chris, Catherine and even Gabby the dog (in 2021), who upon spotting first time in her life a beaver swimming in the water, jumped into the pond and was totally perplexed when it suddenly vanished!
It was on that very campsite in September, 2012, that I made a short video, solving the mystery of our missing food!
The whole pond had not changed much for the past 12 or so years; however, one object was missing—the beaver lodge that for many years had been an integral part of the scenery. Perhaps beavers had relocated it to a different part of the pond? In the past, I had seen plenty of beavers, some even clumsily wandering on my campsite. During my stay I did not see or hear any beavers, yet the beaver dam, just meters from the campsite, appeared to be quite solid and well-maintained.
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| The Great Blue Heron was there almost every day |
Upon arrival at the campsite I saw a majestic great blue heron! It was standing in the water, where the beaver lodge used to be, no doubt trying to catch fish or frogs. Although it kept changing its hunting spots, I saw it almost every day. One evening, when it was almost dark, I saw the blue heron majestically fly from the lake and land on a tree branch on the other side of the pond, where he probably spent the night.
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| The Great Blue Heron probably spent the night sitting on this tree |
A semi-submerged stump several meters from the shore made a great spot for turtles (Midland Painted Turtle, Chrysemys picta marginata) to climb on and rest, basking in the sun. Two holes in the ground on the campsite probably meant chipmunks’ habitat—soon after my arrival a chipmunk showed up and quickly climbed on my table, looking for food. There were also small birds, incessantly flying over the water in search for food. I would often sit at the edge of the water, relaxing, reading books and observing the turtles, blue heron and birds flying over the pond. It was a perfect spot to enjoy nature! Since the campsite was quite exposed, the sun was all over my tent at 8:00 am and I was thus forced to wake up and get out of the tent—or suffocate! At least I did not need an alarm clock.
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| Midland Painted Turtles |
The park was quite busy and
sometimes on the noisy side, but it did not bother me. From time to time I saw
the park’s truck drive by—and the park even had an electric vehicle! The new
comfort station was certainly a welcome addition; it offered a number of
showers. There were two electric vehicle charging stations nearby—Patrizia, who
spent a few nights in the park, naturally took advantage of them, charging her
Tesla. The noise from Highway 400 was pronounced, but since it was continuous,
after a while I just stopped noticing it.
The weather was perfect and it did not rain, yet I set up a very primitive and small tarp. The beach was OK and we even went for a swim. And probably the most important thing: there were no mosquitoes whatsoever; I NEVER had to use the mosquito spray. I had never experienced such a mosquito-free summer in my over 30+ years of camping!
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| My campsite! |
Of course, I spent plenty of
time reading books. For a long time I had wanted to read “American Sniper. The
Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History” by Chris Kyle and
finally had a chance to do so. Quite a good book… but could have been better. So
shocking that the author eventually he was not killed in Iraq, by the enemy,
but by one of his own in the USA, a 25-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran with
post-traumatic stress disorder, whom Kyle was helping. The second book I read
was “The Chamber” by John Grisham. Some 20+ years ago I had read a few of
Grisham’s books (“The Street Lawyer”, “The Brethren”, “The Firm” and “The
Client”) and then for about 15 years I never touched another book by this
author. For some reasons I have been bringing this kind of books on my
vacations—perhaps because at home I mostly read non-fiction, which often is
totally unsuitable for camping. “The Chamber” was about the death penalty, race
relations and the intricacies of the legal system to save a convict from being
put to death. It was certainly one of his better books and I enjoyed reading
it! And then I read the third book by Grisham, “The Testament”, which was very
good.
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| View from my campsite, probably in 2010-the beaver lodge was quite big, and there were many beavers swimming in the pond then, In 2021 the beaver lodge was gone, and so were the beavers-or at least I did not see any |
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
When I found out that Chris Kyle was killed by a marine veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, I immediately thought about a very tragic story which happened to my acquaintance from Poland.
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| The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. Nr. 1-the Youth Palace, where the swimming pool was located. Nr. 2-the Congress Hall ("Sala Kongresowa"). Nr. 3-the main entrance to the Youth Palace. Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PKiN_widziany_z_WFC.jpg |
In the 1970s and early 1980s the heart of Warsaw was dominated by the Palace of Culture and Science (“Pałac Kultury i Nauki”) — 237 meters tall (with the spire), at that time the tallest building in Poland (currently the second-tallest), with 42 floors and the floor area of 123,084 m2 (1,324,865 sq. ft.). This grandiose building—or monstrosity, depending on who you spoke to—was a “gift” from Joseph Stalin. It was built in 3 years by 3,500 Russian workers and finished in 1955. Originally it was named after the benefactor and was officially known as Joseph Stalin’s Palace of Culture and Science; after the period of destalinization, Stalin’s name was removed [once inside the building I found old forms still bearing the original name (“Pałac Kultury i Nauki Józefa Stalina”) and I regret I did not keep them]. At that time it housed various public and cultural institutions such as 3 movie theaters, museums, libraries, 3 theatres, restaurants, offices and authorities of the Polish Academy of Sciences. There was also an auditorium hall for 3,000 people called Congress Hall, Sala Kongresowa, where many concerts and performances took place, as well as Poland’s Communist Party (PZPR) Congresses were held inside (during one of them, in December, 1975, the drunken leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, conducted delegates and the leader of the Polish Party while they were singing “The Internationale”). Go to 0:50 to see that amazing scene!
And its famous terrace on the 30th floor, at 114 meters (374 ft.), with a panoramic view of the city, was for many visitors to Warsaw a major tourist attraction.
The Palace of Culture and Science also housed the Youth Palace (“Pałac Młodzieży”), a huge community center for school children, offering numerous interest sections & workshops, like photography, music, dance, gymnastics, ham radio, fencing, sailing and many more. I became a member probably in 1974 and joined the swimming section: yes, there was an impressive 25 meter long swimming pool, with 4 diving towers (3 meters, 10 meters and two 5 meters).
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This is how the swimming pool looked in 1955 and during the 1970s. |
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| Probaby this is the only photo of me taken in the Youth Palace's swimming pool, in 1976 or 1977 |
One of the top divers was Krzysztof Miller, who had been a Polish diving champion many times and who frequently trained there. I still remember that he was even able to do handstand dives from the 10 meter tower, which was absolutely breathtaking! Since we were age-mates, we talked to each other on a few occasions, as well as had a couple of mutual friends. Once I attended some kind of ceremony in the Youth Palace and his name was mentioned, as he had recently won a (gold?) medal in a diving competition held in Havana, Cuba. When in 2009 I was in Havana, the guide pointed to a seemingly dilapidated and semi-abandoned swimming pool with diving towers and said that indeed, there had been some international diving competition held in the mid-1970s. I immediately thought of Krzysztof Miller—perhaps it was that very diving tower he had dove from and won the medal?
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| The Youth Palace's Hall. Credit: Adrian Grycuk/CC BY-SA 3.0-pl/Wikimedia Commons. |
Over 10 years ago I incidentally discovered that after his diving career was over, he became a very good—some people said the best in Poland, or even in the world—war photographer & photojournalist. He visited over 60 countries, some 10 or more times (Afghanistan, Rwanda, Chechnya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Zaire, Congo, Iraq, Macedonia, Kosovo, Sudan, South Africa and many others) to photograph conflicts. His photographs were published in various newspapers and magazines, as well as featured at exhibits. He even wrote a book, “Thirteen and One Wars. Authentic History of a War Correspondent.”
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| Krzystof Miller's book, "13 and one wars. Authentic History of a War Correspondent" |
He said that he had seen things even few soldiers saw. Perhaps he witnessed up close too much human suffering and tragedies. Many of his photos had never been published, as they were too gruesome (yet they had been used by those investigating crimes and mass murders). Eventually he was diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and went through a variety of long-lasting therapies in a specialized hospital, spending there half a year. Unfortunately, the last 25 years of covering so many bloody wars and conflicts eventually turned out to be too excruciating and simply unbearable for him.
Krzysztof Miller committed
suicide on September 9th, 2016, at the age of 54.
Since I had written about this park in my previous blogs (http://ontario-nature.blogspot.com/2021/12/camping-in-darlington-silent-lake.html), this time I would like to focus on several of my side trips I made while staying in the park.
The Big Chute Marine Railway
The Trent–Severn Waterway is a 386-kilometre-long canal route (240 miles) connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, at Port Severn. It has 45 locks, including two lift-locks and the Big Chute Marine Railway. Located not far from Port Severn and Six Mile Lake Provincial Park, is it a unique contraption that carries pleasure boats from one lake to another over-land. It is the only marine railway of its kind in North America.
The carriage is lowered into the water and boats are floated onto the deck. Then it is hoisted up the slope by wire ropes, then past the summit it is lowered into the water and the boats are floated off.
Although the current railway was opened in 1978, the earliest one was constructed in 1917 and there was a major overhaul in 1923. The old railway is still visible, along with the old railway car, which is no longer used.
There is an observation deck and an information center, but both were closed due to COVID-19. A hydro generating station is nearby. I spent over one hour watching the marine railway as it was carried boats overland and exploring the area.
This is a short video I made, showing how the chute operates:
By the way, when I tell people about the Trent–Severn Waterway, they often ask me if I have ever canoed the whole waterway. At one point we did consider doing it, but very quickly we realized it would not be a very good idea: we would be paddling along many motorboats, yachts and big cruisers, it would be difficult to find camping spots and some stretches of the waterway require paddling on the open, unsheltered waters. However, we have paddled along some of its stretches—near Port Severn, Clear Lake, Stoney Lake, Lower Buckhorn Lake, Canal Lake (by motorboat, while fishing), Severn Falls and Gloucester Pool.
Canadian Artist, Illustrator, Author, and Historian C.W. Jefferys
The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
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| Fort Ste. Marie No. 1, Jefferys, Charles W. 1942, The Picture Gallery of Canadian History Volume 1, p. 102. Source: https://www.cwjefferys.ca/fort-ste-marie-no-1-a?mid=0 |
Relatively close to Six Mile Lake Park was the famous Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland , which housed the bones of St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalemant and St. Charles Garnier. Pope John Paul II visited the Shrine in September, 1984. Every summer numerous ethnic pilgrimages head to the Shrine. A friend of mine, the late Tadeusz Pasek (a well-known Polish yoga instructor and teacher, with whom I had camped in Six Mile Lake Park in 1993), took part in the inaugural Polish pilgrimage in 1982 from Toronto to Midland and then participated in 9 consecutive annual pilgrimages. They are still organized each August, with hundreds of participants marching from Toronto to Midland.
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| Fort Ste. Marie No. 1. Jefferys, Charles W. 1942. The Picture Gallery of Canadian History Volume 1, p. 103f Source: https://www.cwjefferys.ca/fort-ste-marie-no-1-b
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Although I had visited the Shrine in the early 1980s and then in 2012 with Catherine (and Gabby the dog), I thought it would be a great opportunity to visit it again. Patrizia looked up the phone number and made a quick call. Unfortunately, the Shrine was closed in 2021, the second year in a row—however, it was possible to book a private “family or group tour” of the Shrine, which included attending a mass. Incidentally, the priest Patrizia spoke to was Fr. Robert Foliot, S.J, whom I had met many times during my Ignatian Retreats in Manresa (in Pickering, Ontario)—several times he was the retreat’s facilitator. I still remember the theme of one of the retreats he facilitated—“The Lady Upstairs.” His mother, whenever she was going out, would say, “Don’t worry, I’m not going alone—I’m going with the lady upstairs”. Of course, she did not mean a neighbor living upstairs, but Mary! And certainly Mary had kept her safe and healthy for a long time—she passed away in 2011, at the age of 104!
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| Map from 1657, depicting the martydom of Brebeuf and Lalemant. The map clearly shows lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, as well as Georgian Bay |
Just across the road from the Martyrs’ Shrine is Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons—a re-creation of the first European settlement in the current province of Ontario. Well, I have to say that I am a little embarrassed that having lived in Ontario for 39 years, it was the first time I visited this place!
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| Sainte Marie is a living museum, its employees wear period clothes, although I don't think original inhabitants wore face masks 350 years ago... |
The French Jesuits began construction of a community in 1639 which included barracks, a church, workshops, residences and a sheltered area for Indigenous visitors. The village existed from 1639 to 1649 and it was the first European settlement in the current province of Ontario. Between 1642 and 1649, eight of the missionaries were martyred in the Huron-Iroquois war. The bodies of St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. Gabriel Lalemant are buried at the mission.
In 1649, the missionaries decided to burn the mission, as they feared it would be conquered and desecrated by Iroquois.
Sainte-Marie was reconstructed as a historical site and a living museum in 1964.
Probably because of COVID-19, there were not too many visitors and thus I was able to leisurely explore all the buildings and talk to the friendly & knowledgeable museum employees, who were wearing period clothing and were engaged in some of the activities the original inhabitants of the village had performed some 360 years ago. There was a Native lady in the St. Joseph’s Church who told us a lot of interesting facts about history and her own life. The graves of St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. Gabriel Lalemant were located in this church. The Jesuits sometimes celebrate mass in that church.
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| The graves of St. Jean de Brébeuf and St. Gabriel Lalemant inside the church |
This is an excellent place not only to learn about history, but experience it firsthand. The museum has plenty of interesting exhibits and artifacts. Overall, this is an amazing museum and I am looking forward to visiting it again next year!
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| Inside the church was a Native lady, who told us interesting stories |
While looking for more information on Sainte Marie and the Canadian Martyrs, I ran into very amazing paintings and writings by Charles William Jefferys, on a website https://www.cwjefferys.ca/ run by Anthony Allen. Again, mea culpa: I had known very little about C.W. Jefferys and the only reason the name sounded familiar was because of the location of C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute (Secondary School)—at Finch and Sentinel, between Jane and Keele in Toronto—and from 1982 to 1984 I used to live on 11 Catford Road, very close to the school, and often passed it on my way to the “Bonanza”, a local supermarket at 134 Hucknall Rd (demolished over 10 years ago and replaced with numerous homes on a new street called Mantello Drive).
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| Jesuit Martyrs and Missionaries. Jefferys, Charles W. 1942. The Picture Gallery of Canadian History Volume 1, p.105. Source: https://www.cwjefferys.ca/jesuit-martyrs-and-missionaries
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I spent well over 2 hours on that website, familiarizing myself with the works of this truly outstanding Canadian artist, illustrator, author, and historian. I found several pictures by C.W. Jefferys on the Martyrdom of Brébeuf and Lalemant and Fort Ste. Marie as well as his interesting notes on the events depicted in the pictures. I decided to call Mr. Anthony Allen, who turned out to be Jefferys’ grandson and we had a very stimulating conversation. Among other things, I found out that C. W. Jefferys had been president of The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto in 1923/24.
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| Charles William Jefferys (August 25, 1869 – October 8, 1951) |
This famous club has had its permanent quarters since 1920 at St. Georges Hall, at 14 Elm Street in Toronto (just steps from Dundas Square at Yonge & Dundas). According to the club’s website (https://artsandlettersclub.ca/), “For more than a century the Arts & Letters Club has been an important presence in Canada’s cultural scene. Today it is a dynamic community of men and women of all ages for whom the arts are an essential part of life – a place to pursue creative expression, engage in the free and vigorous interchange of ideas and opinions, and enjoy good conversation and the companionship of kindred spirits”. The register of current and past members reads like a “Who is Who” of Canadian history—least to say that two members are Nobel Laureates, six have been bestowed Knighthood, and about 200 are Order of Canada recipients. Furthermore, the Group of Seven were all members and regularly met for lunch at the Club—and there is a very well-known photograph of the Group of Seven at The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto, which I post here.
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| Six of the Group of Seven members, plus their friend Barker Fairley, in 1920. From left to right: Frederick Varley, A. Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Barker Fairley, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, and J. E. H. MacDonald. It was taken at The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto by Arthur Goss. Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6489569
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Since it is a private club, open only to members and their guests, I had been unable to go inside—until a few years ago. As I was in the vicinity, passing by the club, people were leaving the building—an event had just ended and I just entered the premises, eventually spending there well over one hour, undisturbed exploring every nook and cranny! If I lived in Toronto, I would consider joining this club—not that I am an artist, but I would love to attend many of the events taking place in the club.
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| Sainte Marie Among the Hurons-painting depicting the first contact between Natives and Europeans |
Mr. Allen said that he once spoke in the club, standing at the very spot his grandfather had stood almost 100 years ago, as president of the Arts and Letters Club. It must have been certainly a very special feeling! I also found out that C.W. Jefferys died in 1951 at 4111 Yonge Street in Toronto—remarkably, the house is still there, albeit surrounded by plenty of new office buildings. A plaque at that house quotes him as saying,
"If my work has stirred any interest in our country and its past, I am more than paid".
I can unequivocally say that in my case, his work HAS stirred a lot of interest in Canada and its past!
Let me quote here C.W. Jefferys' notes in “Canada's Past in Pictures” on Sainte Marie (https://www.cwjefferys.ca/martyrdom-of-brebeuf-and-lalemant?mid=0):
“The mission grew, and
many other Jesuit fathers shared the work. Small wooden chapels were built in
some of the villages, with resident priests in charge. A central station was
established at Ste. Marie, on the River Wye, near the present town of Midland.
Here, in 1639, a stone fort was built, with a chapel, a hospital, and houses
for the missionaries and workmen. There were fields of grain, fowls, pigs, and
even cattle, brought with incredible toil up the Ottawa. The future seemed
promising, but disaster was at hand. Between the Hurons and their kinsmen, the
Iroquois, existed a deadly enmity. The Iroquois, better armed and better
organized, not only infested the Ottawa route to Quebec, and the outskirts of
Huronia, but penetrated to the heart of the country. Raid after raid was made,
and in 1648, the first Jesuit, Father Daniel, was killed in the destruction of
the village of St. Joseph, near Lake Simcoe”.
Canadian poet E. J. Pratt (1882-1964) in 1940 wrote “Brébeuf and his Brethren”, an epic on the mission of Jean de Brébeuf and his seven fellow Jesuits to the Hurons, their founding of Sainte-Marie-Among-the-Hurons, and their eventual martyrdom by the Iroquois. He was awarded one of his three Governor General’s Award for Poetry the same year. This is how Pratt’s poem describes the foundation of the Sainte-Marie mission:
Because Sainte Marie Among the Hurons is always associated with martyrdom, I would like to mention another tragedy which occurred in Peru, 360 years later, but has some connection to this place. In 2009 I met in Ontario Jarek Frąckiewicz and Celina Mróz, Polish kayakers, who had just padded from Georgian Bay to the Ottawa River. In May, 2011 they went to Peru and as they were kayaking on the Ucayali river, they were for no reason murdered by local Indians on May 27, 2011 (you will find more information in my blog, https://ontario-nature.blogspot.com/2011/07/french-river-dokis.html). During their 2009 visit in Canada, they visited Sainte Marie Among the Hurons and posted this photograph on their website—they were standing in front of the chapel:
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| Jarek Frąckiewicz and Celina Mróz, with the employees of Sainte Marie Among the Hurons in 2009 |
Saint-Louis Mission National Historic Site
Not far from Sainte-Marie among
the Hurons there is a national historic site of Canada, Saint-Louis Mission,
where Fathers Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were captured. The historical
plaque on the cairn says:
“Saint-Louis was the name given by the Jesuits to the stockade village of the Ataronchronon in the 1640s. On the morning of 16 March 1649 a large Iroquois war party stormed the neighboring village of Teanhatentaron (Saint-Ignace), then fell on Saint-Louis. Among those captured and carried off to be put to death amid the ruins of Saint-Ignace were Fathers Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant, who had been conducting a mission at Saint-Luis. Within a year the Iroquois raids had devastated Huronia and dispersed its once numerous population.”
There are also two interpretive signs, offering the following description:
“The arrival of the Jesuits to New France in 1625 brought a great change and created divisions between the traditional Huron-Wendat and those who had chosen to convert. During this time, the Iroquois Confederacy began expanding their territory into Huronia. The expansion brought the two Confederacies into increasing conflict. This led to the destruction of the St. Ignace II, St. Louis, and St. Marie missions, the dispersal of the Huron-Wendat from Huronia, and the retreat of the Jesuits to Quebec. Similar conflicts continued in the Great Lakes region until the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701.
The historic alliance between the Huron-Wendat and the French profoundly marked the history of Canada. For the people of the Huron-Wendat people today, it is important that the visitors to this site understand that the spirit of the Huron-Wendat is forever present in the territory of Huronia.”
“In the early 1640s this site was home to the main village of the Ataronchronon people of the Huron-Wendat (8endat) Confederacy of Huronia. The Huron-Wendat tended crops of corn and squash, and harvested beaver, fish, deer, sunflowers, apples, plums, grapes, nuts and berries. Villages often relocated every 8 to 12 years as the sandy soil in the fields became depleted. The people of the Iroquois Confederacy led a very similar agriculturally-based lifestyle in the territory south of Lake Ontario known as Mohawk Valley. The Huron-Wendat Nation was the first in this region to encounter European explorers, customs, weapons, economy, religion and disease. The development of the fur trade in the 1600s created increasing cultural pressure on Aboriginal nations as the colonies of European nations expanded. By 1640 multiple epidemics throughout Huronia had greatly reduced the population of the Huron-Wendat Nation from 30,000 to 10,000 people.”
Let me again quote a relevant passage from C.W. Jefferys' notes in “Canada's Past in Pictures” (https://www.cwjefferys.ca/martyrdom-of-brebeuf-and-lalemant?mid=0):
“The heaviest blow fell the next year. Early in the morning of the 17th of March, a war party of twelve hundred Iroquois unperceived burst upon the village of St. Ignace, about seven miles from Ste. Marie. Its defenders were slain and the village burned. The Iroquois rushed on to the next village, St. Louis. Here were living Father Brébeuf and his assistant missionary, Father Gabriel Lalemant, who had reached Huronia only the year before. Lalemant was physically a striking contrast to Brébeuf; of frail and delicate constitution, he had long been denied by his superiors his intense desire to go out as a missionary to Canada. But his spirit was as resolute as that of his more robust companion. Both refused to desert their Indian flock, though the Hurons begged them to flee to Ste. Marie. They remained in the midst of the fighting to give the last rites of the Church to their wounded and dying converts. The Hurons, numbering only about eighty warriors, fought valiantly, but the Iroquois soon made their way within the defenses and captured the survivors, including the two missionaries.”
And this is how E. J. Pratt, in his epic poem “Brébeuf and his Brethren,” described the events that had taken place at this very site:
Mission of St. Ignace II National Historic Site of Canada
A short drive away from the Saint-Louis Mission is the Mission of St. Ignace II National Historic Site. Following the capture of the missionaries Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant at Saint-Louis mission, they were brought back to Saint Ignace II and killed here.
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| Ground plan of St. Ignace, by Wilfried Jury, 1946 |
St. Ignace II was one of several Jesuit mission sites. On March 16, 1649, it was attacked and captured by the Iroquois, who subsequently attacked the village & mission of St. Louis. Jesuit missionaries Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were captured, brought back to St. Ignace II and after undergoing horrible torture, killed the following day. The Mission of St. Ignace II was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1955.
Under an open shelter stands a
large cobblestone cross and altar, erected by the Society of Jesus. A marker in
the altar commemorates Alphonse Arpin, assisted by T.G. Connon, who “worked
tirelessly to find this location of St. Ignace II.” There is also a cross, at
the probably site of the martyrdom of the two missionaries.
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| Martyrdom of Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant. Jefferys, Charles W. 1942. The Picture Gallery of Canadian History Vol. 1, p.106. Source: https://www.cwjefferys.ca/martyrdom-of-brebeuf-and-lalemant
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During the months of July and August, Mass is celebrated here every Wednesday at 3:00 PM. Patrizia informed me that on October 9, 2021, she participated in the final pilgrimage of the year from the Ste. Marie Among the Hurons mission to the Huron village of St. Ignace, altogether 15 km/3.5 hours, along the path that Brébeuf and Lalemant took to their deaths.
During my recent annual retreat
in Manresa in November, 2021, I found an article about the martyrdom as well as
a photograph of Father Pedro Arrupe, General of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits),
who during his visit to Canada in 1967 knelt in prayer at the exact place where
St. Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were martyred.
C.W. Jefferys continues to
described this horrible event (https://www.cwjefferys.ca/martyrdom-of-brebeuf-and-lalemant?mid=0):
“They were led back to St. Ignace and put to the dreadful tortures which the Iroquois inflicted upon their prisoners. Brébeuf suffered for four hours, when a chief cut out his heart and ended his agony. Lalemant, in spite of his frail physique, remained alive for fourteen hours before he, too, was released by death. The Huron nation was scattered as a result of this ceaseless warfare, and a feeble remnant sought shelter in the neighborhood of Quebec, where today, in the village of Lorette, their descendants, now largely French in blood, still live”.
Now let me again turn to E. J. Pratt’s poem and the depiction of the events that had taken place at this very site, after Brébeuf and Lalemant were captured at St. Louis Mission and taken to St. Ignace II:
And when, resistance crushed, the Iroquois
Took all they had not slain back to St. Ignace,
The vanguard of the prisoners were the priests.
Three miles from town to town over the snow,
Naked, laden with pillage from the lodges,
The captives filed like wounded beasts of burden,
Three hours on the march, and those that fell
Or slowed their steps were killed.
(…)
No doubt in the mind of Brébeuf that this was the last
Journey—three miles over the snow.
(…)
By noon St. Ignace! The arrival there
The signal for the battle-cries of triumph,
The gauntlet of the clubs.
(…)
The Iroquois had waited long
For this event. Their hatred for the Hurons
Fused with their hatred for the French and priests
Was to be vented on this sacrifice,
And to that camp had come apostate Hurons,
United with their foes in common hate
To settle up their reckoning with Echon [Brébeuf].
Now three o’clock, and capping the height of the passion,
Confusing the sacraments under the pines of the forest,
Under the incense of balsam, under the smoke
Of the pitch, was offered the rite of the font. On the head,
The breast, the loins and the legs, the boiling water! (…)
The fury of taunt was followed by fury of blow.
Why did not the flesh of Brébeuf cringe to the scourge,
Respond to the heat, for rarely the Iroquois found
A victim that would not cry out in such pain—yet here
The fire was on the wrong fuel. Whenever he spoke,
It was to rally the soul of his friend whose turn
Was to come through the night while the eyes were uplifted in prayer,
Imploring the Lady of Sorrows, the mother of Christ,
As pain brimmed over the cup and the will was called
To stand the test of the coals.
(…)
In the thews of his thighs which had mastered the trails of the Neutrals?
They would gash and beribbon those muscles. Was it the blood?
They would draw it fresh from its fountain. Was it the heart?
They dug for it, fought for the scraps in the way of the wolves.
(…)
The wheel had come full circle with the visions
In France of Brébeuf poured through the mould of St. Ignace.
Lalemant died in the morning at nine, in the flame.
Thus, in one day I was fortunate to explore three historically significant locations. I hope that the Shrine will re-open in 2022 (although as I am writing these words—January 5, 2022—because of the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron, Ontario has well over 10,000 documented cases per day—and the actual number is probably 5 to 10 times higher) and I will be able to visit it again.
I had another reservation made in Six Mile Lake Park for the first half of October, 2021, even on the same campsite, at the beaver pond—I had been planning to spend Thanksgiving Day there and remain until October 12, the final operating day of the park. Even though I was so much looking forward to my final camping experience of 2021, the weather forecast called for rain every day and it was the main reason I cancelled that trip.
Blog in Polish/w języku polskim: http://ontario-nature-polish.blogspot.com/2022/01/park-six-mile-lake-ontario-oraz-wizyty.html
More photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jack_1962/albums/72177720296011186
