Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Tsondatsaa, Charles

TSONDATSAA, Charles, Indian convert, lived in the 17th century. He acted as guide to Father Brebeuf, and was converted to Christianity by that missionary. He was taken prisoner by the Iroquois in 1643, being one of the party that accompanied Father Jogues, but escaped to Three Rivers. He became the prop of the Christian religion among the Hurons, preached to them frequently, and made many converts. His pagan companions, on one occasion, induced him to enter an Indian vapor-bath. They then increased the heat, declaring that he must pronounce three words in favor of his titular demon if he would escape suffocation. He refused, and was almost dead when he was released. His only revenge on his torturers after he recovered was to say to them: “You nearly killed me, but you could not make me sin.” He continued to labor for several years among his countrymen, and eventually converted nearly all his persecutors.