Deepertruth: Drums Among The Mohawks

St. John La Lande was only 18 years old when he joined French Jesuit missionary, Father Isaac Jogues to go to the land of the Mohawks. As a young boy, St. John had been captivated by the heroine stories told of Father Jogues.

Father Jogues shared his tales and experiences of being a missionary among the Mohawks, bringing Christ and the gospel message to the people of the New World.

St. John’s enthusiasm to do God’s work was recognized by all who knew him, he spoke of the exploits of the missionaries who gave their lives as martyrs in Indian Territory and longed to go there.

Father Jogues originally arrived in North America for the first time in 1636 where he landed off the shore of Quebec. Father Jogues told his companion, Rene Goupil, “A century ago a Norman sea captain gave this place its name. He was on a ship here in the harbor, just as we are—only his ship was carrying the first white men to come up the Saint Lawrence River. When he saw the cliff there, the captain of that little ship was amazed. He cried out in his rough farmer’s French, ‘Que bec’ meaning ‘what a rock”.

The dangers among the Mohawks were well known. The Indians there were animist in their religious practice. They were polytheistic believing in many gods. Much of their rituals and ceremonies were superstitious.