The traditions, and even the written annals of
the first century of our possession of America, connect the Baron de la
Castine with the Jesuits, who were thought to entertain views of
converting the savages to Christianity, not unmingled with the desire of
establishing a more temporal dominion over their minds. It is, however,
difficult to say whether taste, or religion, or policy, or necessity,
induced this nobleman to quit the saloons of Paris for the wilds of the
Penobscot. It is merely known that he passed the greater part of his life
on that river, in a rude fortress that was then called a palace, that he
had many wives, a numerous progeny, and that he possessed a great
influence over most of the tribes that dwelt in his vicinity. He is also
believed to have been the instrument of furnishing the savages, who were
hostile to the English, with ammunition, and with weapons of a more deadly
character than those used in their earlier wars. In whatever degree he may
have participated in the plan to exterminate the Puritans, death prevented
him from assisting in the final effort of Metacom.
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