Western Maine
54
Kennebec Martyr Father Rasle and the Norridgewock tribe by Charles Francis
T
he upper reaches of the Kennebec River are a mecca for white water enthusiasts. Every spring and summer canoeists, kayakers and rafters travel here to challenge the many rapids and falls. There are, however, stretches of smooth quiet water. One of these is at Old Point near where the Sandy River joins the Kennebec in the town of Madison. Here, close to a picnic area surrounded by tall pines stands the tall shaft of a monument bearing an iron cross. The monument is a memorial to Sabastian Rasle, a Jesuit priest who was killed here more than 250 years ago. The monument also stands on the site of Narantsouak, the last stronghold of the Norridgwog (Norridgewock) tribe
of the Kennebec Indians, the Indians to which Father Rasle ministered to for almost thirty-five years. Sebastian Rasle was a symbol and a victim of the times in which he lived. The Indians that he served from 1691 to 1724 considered him a saint. The Indians respected him, and he respected them. He worked beside them in the fields, in the forest, and on the river. He made bayberry candles for their chapel, led a choir of over forty of their young people, and compiled a dictionary of their language. For the English settlers of Maine, however, Father Rasle was a devil. He was French. He was Catholic, and he consorted with the Indians. The Indians Father Rasle served
at Narantsouak were a semi-agricultural people. They grew corn, squash, and what was to become known as Jerusalem artichokes. They netted and speared alewives, salmon, and sturgeon from the Kennebec. They planted in the spring, traveled to the coast in the summer to gather shellfish and to fish, and in the winter they hunted. They were a peaceful people. Unfortunately, however, their village of Narantsouak was situated on a major travel route of both the French and the English. The French were the first Europeans to frequent the lands of the Kennebec. They canoed and portaged down from Quebec on the Chaudiere River and sailed up from Castine on the Kenne-
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