he conversion of the Hurons to
Christianity would have been easier if the country had been inhabited by
persons who would devote their energies to instructing them. Father Le
Caron and himself had often conversed with them regarding the Catholic
faith, the laws and customs of the French, and they had listened
attentively, sometimes saying:

"You say things that pass our knowledge, and which we cannot understand
by words, being beyond our comprehension; but if you would do us a
service, come and dwell in this country, bringing your wives and
children, and when they are here, we shall see how you serve the God you
worship, and how you live with your wives and children, how you
cultivate and plant the soil, how you obey your laws, how you take care
of animals, and how you manufacture all that we see proceeding from your
inventive skill. When we see all this we shall learn more in a year than
in twenty by simply hearing your discourse; and if we cannot understand,
you shall take our children, who shall be as your own. And thus being
convinced that our life is a miserable one in comparison with yours, it
is easy to believe that we shall adopt yours, abandoning our own."

The following was their mode of government. The older and leading men
assembled in a council, in which they settled upon and proposed all that
was necessary for the affairs of the village. This was done by a
plurality of voices, or in accordance with the advice of some one among
them whose judgment they considered superior; such a one was requested
by the company to give his opinion on the propositions that had been
made, and his opinion was minutely obeyed. They had no particular chief
with absolute command, but they honoured the older and more courageous
men, of which there were several in a village, whom they named captains,
as a mark of distinction and respect.

They all deliberated in common, and whenever any member of the assembly
offered to do anything for the welfare of the village, or to go anywhere
for the service of the community, he was requested to present himself,
and if he was judged capable of carrying out what he proposed, they
exhorted him, by fair and favourable words, to do his duty. They
declared him to be an energetic man, fit for the undertaking, and
assured him that he would win honour in accomplishing his task. In a
word, they encouraged him by flatteries, in order that this favourable
disposition of his for the welfare of his fell