From the lost webpage of Normand Léveillée

This is written by Normand Léveillée, who wrote beautifully of his beloved ancestor, Mite8ameg8k8e. Saved and recovered by Joseph Bolton, also a Mite8ameg8k8e descendant.

The Algonquin woman, her heart weighing heavily with grief, fanned the embers of her fire covered with sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar, sending billows of sacred smoke towards the Great Spirit as she sang a song of mourning. For days, she had prayed the same chant to Tabaldak, her Algonkin Creator, and to Nemitokusena, her Christian God the Father. She prayed that her mourning chant would give her a vision of what had happened to three people, her husband and two children, whom she loved and who loved her so dearly.

Mite8ameg8k8e received comfort as she watched the sacred smoke rise towards the sky, bringing her prayerful pleas to the Great One, on this day of Spring (April 1652).

“Respect for feelings, and for suffering. Always show compassion. Do not add to the suffering.”

Several days before, a band of Iroquois warriors had attacked her village, the village to which Assababich, her husband, her two children and a very close cousin had fled when the Iroquois had pushed the Hurons, then the Algonkins from the fertile Ottawa River Valley (border between Ontario and Québec). Led by Sachem Pachirini, chief of the Weskarini Band of the Christian Algonquin people, the peaceful clan, along with the French Colonists at Trois-Rivières had fought valiantly. The women and children had fled into the forest while the remaining warriors and soldiers fought to save their peaceful village.

During the flight into the woods, Assababich’s two children were abducted and eventually adopted by the Iroquois, along with Wahwahsekona or Fleur-de-la-Prairie, a cousin of Mite8ameg8k8e. Two young children of the French colonists, named Radisson and Crevier, along with a group of Algonquins and French were also abducted and brought back to Ossernenon, village of the Mohawks, to be adopted to replace lost members or taken as prisoners. Many of the French soldiers were spared, among whom was Pierre Couc dit (aka) Lafleur, a peasant farmer from Cognac, France who came to New France as a colonist, soldier and farmer.

Illustration Copyright by Joseph Bolton 2022

Later that Spring, Pierre Couc and an Algonquin went fishing along the river when shooting began. They were both struck, with the Algonquin dying and Pierre being wounded lightly.

The Iroquois attacks were carried out throughout the summer. The new governor of Trois-Rivières led his garrison into a suicidal mission to attempt to stop the raids. Many soldiers were lost. Pierre Couc and Pierre Boucher were among the survivors.

Mite8ameg8k8e, in her quiet mournful prayer could not help but remember better times. Assababich had taken her as his wife five winters previously (1647). As a result of the Iroquois attacks on the Hurons and Algonquins, her clan moved towards Ville Marie (Montréal). The Algonquins, a peaceful and family oriented people, readily accepted the teachings of the Catholic Jesuits.

Illustration Copyright by Joseph Bolton 2022

Mite8ameg8k8e was born about twenty winters before (1631-1633), in the “Nations des Ouionontateronon”, the Weskarini Band of the Algonkin Tribe, in the area between the Ottawa and the St-Maurice rivers in Québec.

She was baptized in Montréal two winters before (6 Nov 1650) and was given the Christian name of Marie as well as Kakesik8k8e. Her husband Assababich was born thirty-two winters before (1620) and was most likely baptized nine winters before (1643) at the same time as was Pachirini, who received the Christian name of Carolus or Charles. Sachem Pachirini’s clan moved further northeast, towards the established fort of Trois-Rivières, where Carolus Pachirini was granted a fiefdom. The fort at Trois-Rivières would serve as protection against any further attacks by the Iroquois. Marie and Assababich’s daughter Catherine was born five winters previously (1647) during their travel towards Trois-Rivières.

A second child was born and baptized Pierre before his parents (6 May 1650). Witnesses were Assababich, Miteoumigoukoui (French spelling) and Pierre DesChamps. Catherine was baptized this very year (1 Nov 1652) in Trois-Rivières. The witnesses for Catherine’s baptism were Assababich, Marie Mite8ameg8k8e and Anne Duherisson. Father Joseph Duperon, Jesuit priest performed the baptism.

Except for the constant threat of attacks by the enemy, life for the First Americans tended to be quiet and work-filled. The men hunted and fished for food and shelter. The women harvested corn, beans, squash, berries, and nuts; they prepared the meals; they made clothing from tanned hides. They cared for the shelter, making it comfortable for their family. The Indians and the French Colonists had adapted to a peaceful way of life, despite the hardships that befell them: enemy attacks, the harsh winters, disease. The Algonquin people being family oriented, adapted very easily to the way of life of the colonists. The colonists in turn accepted the way of the First Nations people. This union was realized in this valley around Trois-Rivières and later in St-François-du-Lac.

“Respect for individual space. Don’t use people. Respect each being’s life, limb, land, privacy and property, including your own.”

Mite8ameg8k8e and the remaining members of her clan suffered another terrible year (1653). The harvest had been burned, the livestock massacred, trading had been reduced to zero, there was no food. The Iroquois had returned on a rampage again. The people were living in terror. However, it was the small trading post at Trois-Rivières that saved the situation. Pierre Boucher, an intelligent and brave commander-in-chief, trained in Indian warfare, and his forty-six men, by sheer courage, forced the Iroquois to surrender and a peace treaty was signed. Pierre Couc was one of the soldiers who fought brilliantly during this battle. As a result of the peace treaty, the Jesuits were invited to Iroquois country; the Five Nations were free to trade with Montréal. New France had a short respite.

The many attacks by the Iroquois brought the French and Indians closer together in the little fort. Every member of Sachem Pachirini’s clan had been catechized and baptized by the Jesuit Father Buteux. Pierre could have returned to France after his three years of service with the Regiment. However, he was granted land and decided, instead of making his livelihood as a beaver hunter, to settle down. His peasant heritage pushed him to plant roots, to clear land, to cultivate, to found a family and to insure an honorable place for his children in this little corner of the world, called Trois-Rivères.

“Respect for the earth and for all paths, peoples, cultures, and customs growing here. All have a place in the hoop.”

Mite8ameg8k8e and her clan citizens Barthelemi Anara8i, Etienne Mag8ch and Marguerite Tchi8ant8k8e continued their life in the Fiefdom Pachirini (today called Place d’Armes), in Trois-Rivières. Marie must have often reminisced about her life with Assababich and her two children. The Algonquins and the French colonists readily adapted to and assisted each other’s life style. Marie caught the eye of the soldier-farmer, Pierre Couc, who had purchased land and had established a farm in Trois-Rivières. He was quiet but very brave in the face of danger. He respected all people. Pierre had learned the Algonquian language and frequently served as an interpreter between the colonists and the Native Americans. Mite8ameg8k8e had taken an interest and enjoyed his frequent visits to her village. She had frequently prepared food for his meetings with Sachem Pachirini and other elders of her tribe. Her smile had sent Pierre a message.

Pierre had waited until her mourning period had finished before he openly showed interest in Marie. He was friendly with all members of Pachirini’s clan who lived in proximity of the fort at Trois-Rivières. He and Marie spent much time talking about their interests, their lives before they met. She helped him perfect his Algonquian; he taught her French. He suggested that they begin a life together; with her heart beating in joyful song, she accepted his proposal. Pierre was thirty years old; Marie was an orphan and a widow who had lost two children. The love between Pierre and Marie was to find fruition in a marriage that was to take place, five winters (16 April 1657) after her family had been taken from her by the Mohawks.

The setting was to be the little chapel of this trading post on the Saint Lawrence River. Many relatives and friends of the fort and village attended the marriage. The Jesuis priest, Father Paul Ragueneau officiated at this Christian-Algonquin marriage. Sachem Charles Pachirini and Barthelemy Anara8i, of Marie’s clan, as well as Mister Péré and Sévérin Ameau, friends of Pierre, witnessed the joining of French and Algonquin cultures in the presence of two people in love. There was dancing, laughter and joyful feasting in both traditions: the French and the Algonquin.

Illustration Copyright by Joseph Bolton 2022

Gift-giving is a great Algonquin tradition

which puts unselfishness and gratitude to the test.

Sharing and giving are the ways of the Great Spirit.

When you share the love of our Creator,

you help things fall together.

Nothing could better express caring

for one another than the sharing of food,

which comes from Mother Earth and

gives life to people, and that is

what a Feast is all about.

Thus began the married life of this author’s eighth great-grandmother Marie Mite8ameg8k8e Couc. Their first child, Jeanne was born and baptized that year (1657). Without too much difficulty, Marie and her husband Pierre were able to establish a home. There was a small circle of faithful friends: Pachirini, Anara8i, Anne 8machtik8e8 and her husband 8echipapaiat, Ketimakisk8esen 8abanakik8e and her husband 8atakonia on Marie’s side; Sévérin Ameau, notary of Trois-Rivières, Jean Péré, merchant, Jacques Ménard, wheelwright, François Fafard, Christophe Crevier and his wife Jeanne Evart and their son Jean Crevier, Nicolas Hertel and his wife Jeanne Mirot, and their son Jacques Hertel and his wife Marie Marguerie. Pierre had purchased land from the Trottier brothers, enough to build a house and a small garden. He hired himself out as a laborer for Barthélémy Bertaux, ironsmith/locksmith. Pierre and Marie had problems during those first years. Loans were reclaimed. Pierre injured himself and had enormous medical costs. He lost his employment as ironsmith/locksmith.

Two years after the marriage (15 Oct 1659), Pierre commissioned his friend Notary Sévérin Ameau to draw up a Marriage Contract to insure that his wife and children would be rightful heirs to his property.

That same year, Marie was pregnant with their second child. Marie must have frequently thought about her first two children as she was carrying Pierre’s son who was born in the fall of that year and baptized as Louis. However, despite the happiness of a new life in their home, troubles began anew. The Iroquois began their attacks once more. Pierre decided, two years later (1661) to move his family to Cap-de-la Madeleine where he had bought four arpents (acres) of land on the west bank of the river. This was an agricultural community where crops grew well and family life was better than at a trading post like Trois-Rivières. Pierre built his house near the windmill and erected a palisade around it.

The house was covered with boards and cedar posts. It was built to ward off the cold: stone and layer of straw and earth protected the cellar; the walls were covered with wooden laths.

Marie Angélique, third child of Pierre and Marie was born the year after the Couc family had moved to their new community (1662). Angélique was to be this author’s seventh great-grandmother. Two years later (1664), the third daughter Marguerite was born and baptized. The quiet peace was again disturbed by Iroquois raids. However, over the next five years, the new governor convinced France to send soldiers, the Carignan Regiment, to finally quell the Iroquois attacks. Finally, a peace treaty was signed in the summer (1667). For the next sixteen years, it was an era of calm and prosperity for everyone.

Élizabeth, the fifth child, was born and baptized that summer of the peace treaty, when the Iroquois finally renounced their domination of the Saint Lawrence valley. Mite8ameg8k8e continued instructing her brood in the Algonquian language and culture; Pierre taught his children French and his heritage; and the Jesuits taught their children to read and write. As the family of this author’s eighth great-grandparents continued to grow in body and mind, colonization in New France flourished; exploration and conquest of the West had begun.

Over the next six years, two more children were born in the Couc family: Marie Madeleine and a son Jean. During this time, the atmosphere in Cap-de-la-Madeleine had begun to change dramatically. With the departure of the Jesuits in 1666, the Cap became contaminated by the illegal traffic of alcohol. Then on 10 Nov 1668, the sovereign Council granted permission for the legal sale of alcohol, even to the Natives. Pierre’s friend Pierre Boucher moved south, closer to Montréal.

The change in atmosphere undoubtedly prompted Pierre and Marie to move their family to the seigniory of Jean Crevier, in the Île-de-Fort, which would eventually be known as St-François-du-Lac. Jean Crevier had begun to distribute land grants in the fall of 1673. Marie must have been very proud of her husband, as one of the first five signers of a contract. Crevier had begun to clear the land, had built a village mill and had established justice for this seigniory. There was a poll tax system where a person paid for a right to farm and obtained three to five arpents (acres) in frontage by thirty to forty in depth. The only charge was to leave the fourteenth milling as grinding costs. There was no doubt that these favorable conditions prompted Pierre and Marie to decide to move their home to the other side of the river. Because of his revenues from land at Trois-Rivières and Cap-de-la-Madeleine, the former soldier-peasant became a well-to-do land owner in St-François-du-Lac. By the work of his hands during fifteen years, Pierre Couc had the right to show justifiable pride in his home and sacred land.

Go with the mother earth into the spirit world.

Go into the woods and feel the spirit all around us.

Watch the animals. Mother earth gives us strength

as we sit on it or walk on it. Love the mother earth

and take care of the land which holds up our feet.

Life at St-François-du-Lac was very different than that of Trois-Rivières and the Cap. The first three children had learned to read and write because the Jesuits took charge of teaching the basics. In St-François, there was total isolation. There were no priests, only traveling missionaries who came sporadically to administer the sacraments. The last four children had a happy and worry-free childhood of Indian children. They were neither more ignorant nor more uneducated because of the carefree life; they received their education from the adults. The girls learned how to help in the kitchen, in the garden and the sewing of clothing.

The youngest son, Jean-Baptiste followed in the footsteps of his father and his older brother in farm work. In addition to skills, the children learned the qualities of self-control, generosity, sharing and respect for elders and for the world around them. Thus, the community of St-François-du-Lac was split between work and family care; it led a very quiet and monotonous life.

Marie Mite8ameg8k8e’s quiet life was shattered in the fall of 1679 by the assault and death of her daughter Jeanne. Marie’s husband had been wounded in coming to the rescue of his daughter. Jeanne’s assailant Jean Rattier was sentenced as a murderer. Jean Crevier and his servant Pierre Gilbert were also involved in the assault.

For the Couc family, life was not the same after the tragic loss of their daughter and the lengthy justice process. Pierre was a man of character who would not let anyone ill treat his family; he respected the law and expected others to do so also. Justice had been carried out, but not to his satisfaction. Rattier was sentenced to die but his life was spared because he accepted the job as executioner. Pierre received cash settlements but he was not permitted to implicate Crevier in this matter in the future. Crevier continued to enlarge his domain.

Marie kept these tragic memories in her heart. Frequently she prayed to her Algonquin Creator and her Christian God to give her strength to forgive the wrongdoers and to continue her life with her family.

However, her young daughters, Marguerite, Élizabeth and Madeleine were shocked by the tragedy of their sister. This left a mark on them: a certain mistrust in the government who protected the lords at the expense of the humble. They soon realized that this European culture had little value for the woman. Mite8ameg8k8e continued to instruct her children in the ways of her Indian culture: with the Algonquins, young girls were respected; there was never an instance of rape in their Indian society before the arrival of the white man and his introduction of alcohol. Even though Marie tried to convince her daughters of the value of both cultures, the comparison of the two cultures did not favor the French. Élizabeth especially would not forget this.

“Respect for truth. Show directness and integrity in speech and action.”

Marie and Pierre continued to see their family grow and become adults with a succession of marriages. Marie’s two oldest children Louis and Angélique were entering into adult life. François Delpée dit St-Cerny (village in Périgod, France) touched the heart of her eldest daughter Angélique: he was thirty-five years old and she was twenty years old. In the summer (30 Aug) 1682, they married and established a home on twelve arpents (acres) of land in St-François-du-Lac.

“Mite8ameg8k8e lived a full life with dignity, respect and love. A courageous and loving Algonquin woman who had realized Samuel de Champlain’s dream of “our sons will marry with your daughters and we will be a single people” is remembered in history by a simple Christian record, written in 1699 by Elisée Crey, Recollet Priest, Pastor of Trois-Rivières, on her burial certificate as a ‘sauvagesse’ – ‘a female native or savage’.”