By Jon Anderson
Former President – Friends of Historic Onondaga Lake
When the French arrived at Gannentaha (Onondaga Lake) in 1656 the task of carving a settlement out of the wilderness forest was a daunting challenge. For the men who sweated that labor, it was an arduous task that tested their mettle to the limits. The most immediate and serious challenge was surviving a fever epidemic that effected both the French and Native communities.
Upon arrival at Onondaga in the summer of 1656, the French were fatigued and emaciated from their journey. Malnourished and exposed to the elements they were soon overcome by a tertian fever. Nearly all became so ill that they could not continue the work before them. Their written account reflected upon their misery, “While one was burning in the heat of fever, another shivered with cold…we were dying daily.” Forty-eight of the 50 men were afflicted by the illness. Two of the French would succumb to the fever.
At the height of their infliction the French experienced every possible kindness from their native hosts. According to native custom, the Onondaga hosts extended sincere condolences at the loss of the two Frenchmen. They consoled the French with gifts, bid them to take courage, and chastised the cruel demon that leagued itself with sickness and death.
With great affection, the Onondaga brought relief in sharing provisions of fish, corn, beans, squash and, no doubt, native remedies. Through this aid the French sick were relieved, the convalescent were strengthened, and those who were cured were sustained in constructing the mission site, Ste. Marie on the shore of what is today Onondaga Lake.
During this time the native community also suffered as a result of the epidemic. Lacking immunities to European diseases, the native suffering was devastating. With the aid of their surgeon Jesuit Brother Ambroise Brouet the French provided whatever support they could at both the native villages and at the mission site.
The mutual suffering and care shared among the French and their native Haudenosaunee hosts during this time of epidemic is an enduring chapter of the Ste. Marie mission story. It is a story that remains relevant to the present day.
