Black Robe

The next morning, it has snowed, and the people seem excited. Laforgue goes to Daniel, who refuses to talk. The canoes are launching soon and Daniel urges Laforgue to return to his boat. Laforgue runs and jumps in his canoe, where Mestigoit sits in front of him. They row through the snow storm. Laforgue’s arms ache with the effort of paddling until they arrive at the Isle of Dyes, which he has heard about from other priests’ accounts. It is the place the Algonkin harvest the dyes for their ceremonial robes. As they land and wander ashore, the Algonkin put on their snowshoes and Laforgue follows suit. He struggles to walk in the snowshoes, despite his practice. Neehatin tells Laforgue that he is to accompany them on a moose hunt. Mestigoit walks with him, teaching him how to use the snowshoes. They lag behind and watch as the hunters come across three moose; the hunters kill two and unleash “howls of triumph” (72).

Laforgue watches Daniel help the Algonkin prepare the dead animals and is reminded of Jean Mercier. As the camp bustles joyfully, Neehatin approaches Laforgue and notes that Mestigoit has “pulled that demon out of your asshole” (72) and asks Laforgue to pray daily for food. Laforgue pushes through the celebrating people, searching for Daniel. He finds Daniel sat with “seven young hunters” (75). Daniel admits that he is ashamed. Laforgue admits his own shame and asks that they might pray together; he admits to being afraid that “the devil rules this land” (76). They argue; Daniel wants to stay among the Algonkin and explains their belief in an afterlife to the bemused Laforgue. Daniel leaves and Laforgue feels increasingly sick.

Neehatin wakes and prepares another hunt. He approaches the sickly-looking Laforgue and warns him that they will pause their journey to hunt. Next, Neehatin orders the women and children to head to a camp and tells Mestigoit to accompany Laforgue. Neehatin and Mestigoit bet on whether Laforgue will be consumed by his sickness. The men scour the island for moose. They find three and give chase; Daniel lands the first blow on one. Soon, all three are dead. Afterward, Daniel jokes about becoming “Algonkian myself” (81).

Laforgue and Mestigoit finally catch up with the hunting party. They drag the moose back and spend three hours digging out a camp in the snow. They make a single giant tent. Laforgue sits alone and reads, feeling feverish. Neehatin brings him food; he warns that, if Laforgue travels with them during the winter, they will kill him as “a sick man on a sled is a heavy baggage” (84). The remaining moose meat is prepared and smoked. Annuka helps while she pretends to ignore Daniel. She loads a sled and, with the women and children, prepares to travel back to the canoes. They load the boats. As they set off and paddle, a storm comes.

The blizzard is “a blinding wall of white” (85). They are forced to land the canoes and set up camp. With great difficulty, they form the large tent and the fires. That night, a woman gives premature birth to a stillborn baby. She takes it out to the forest and then sees Laforgue attend to the dead baby and worries that he cast a spell on her. Laforgue tells Daniel that his fever has broken. They are to paddle hard and fast; the Algonkin are worried about passing through the territory ahead that may hold “hostile Savages” (86). Laforgue collapses in the snow. He gets up quickly and refuses to admit that he is sick. He feels as though “some abscess in his ear had burst” (87) and can hear better than he has been able to in weeks. He thanks God and is “filled with a strange exaltation” (87). 

On the third day of the “race through the place of darkness” (89), Neehatin sees the White Face Mountain. His people are weary. That night, they sit and smoke tobacco. Neehatin offers an interpretation of his dream. Soon, they will leave the priests at the rapids and continue to the winter hunting place. Neehatin is certain that Laforgue is “stronger than he looks” (89). Chomina argues that they promised to send two men up the rapids with the priests, but Neehatin believes that “we have risked enough for their fucking presents” (91). Though Chomina still disagrees, the council concludes to “ditch the hairy ones tomorrow night” (92).

They set off the next day and soon they are within two hours of the rapids. Neehatin pulls to the shore and inspects an abandoned camp. Laforgue prays. Soon they arrive at the Great Rapids. When they land, the Algonkin act strangely. Daniel tells Laforgue that the Algonkin are afraid. When five hunters return, all the Algonkin returns to their boats. Laforgue and Daniel are left alone on the shore with Neehatin, who hands them the bird killed by the hunters. Neehatin reveals that he has broken the promise. He advises he priests how to proceed. Neehatin leaves. Daniel chases down to the shore, finding Annuka’s father and pleading with him. The man refuses. The canoes disappear; Daniel and Laforgue are left on the shore. Then, Daniel runs to one of the two remaining canoes, empties it, and sets out on the water after the Algonkin. Laforgue is left alone.

He reads advice from his fellow priests about how to set fires and build shelters. He follows the advice and then cooks the bird. He finds a “space like a cave” (96) beneath the boughs of a giant tree and lays down inside, praying for Daniel. He is woken before dawn by voices and assumes the Algonkin have returned, but the voices are in a strange dialect. He sees “five or six Savages, all male” (96) sitting around his fire, eating his food. Two more appear, wearing “the white mass vestments of silk and cloth of gold Laforgue was taking to the Huron mission” (96). They pass around the sacramental wine. They hatch a plan to wait for whomever left these possessions to return, laying an ambush. Laforgue is trapped.