The Charity Site Guide to a 17th Century Huron Village on Christian Island

Drawing by Cathy Merritt

Prisoners On Christian Highland

Late in the spring of 16 49, the Jesuits loaded a raft with their processions and set fire to Ste. Marie I. A total of 60 French made their trip to the island. Upon their arrival they found about 3 00 Huron families already there. Many more arrived throughout the year. Father Rageneau, writing in the Jesuit relations, suggest that a population of between 3000 to 8000to lived on the island that summer.

Once various village genes realized that they could no longer protect what remained of their people, the decision had been made to flee to Christian Highland. The island largely chosen for its defensible and proximity to their homeland, proved a disaster, trapping instead of freeing its inhabitants. Although the Iroquois were largely kept out, the Hurons were In. Anyone leaving the island was an easy target for bands of Iroquois patrolling the mainland.

The French builds and fortified a small Ford's on the south shore of the island, naming it Ste. Marie II. They surrounded it with a stone wall that remains to this day.

This proved to be just one of many threads to the success of any settlement on Christian Island. It appears that there were at least two Huron villages on the island. One has been uncovered close to the ruin of Ste. Marie II and appears to consist of over 100 longhouses. The other is the Charity Site, north of Ste. Marie II, on the shore of Douglas Lake. Neither village was able to escape the suffering that the winters season would bring. The reality was that there would not be enough food to last the winter. Any attempts to leave the island resulted in attack from the waiting Iroquois. The Jesuits rationed what food stores they had, but please wend mainly to Christianized Hurons. In desperation people ate moss and bark. But ultimately the winter of 1649 - 50 on Christian Island would see a tragic loss of life.