The voyage of Catherine Tekakwitha to the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier at the Sault, autumn1677 (between the end of September to October)

The Fathers Cholenec and Chauchetière wrote that Hot Ashes, Catherine Tekakwitha’s brother-in-law and a Native from the Mission of Lorette reached Gandaouague with difficulty. Then, they left the day after their arrival, but Hot Ashes had left his place in the canoe for Catherine Tekakwitha. They had arrived at the Mission of the Sault in the autumn 1677.

The most probable route was the Mohawk River from Gandaouage, or Fonda. When reaching the vicinity of Fort Orange, or Albany from the Mohawk River (a distance of about 5 km, or 3.1 miles), that Catherine Tekakwitha and the Native from the Mission of Lorette waited on the riverside of Mohawk River for her brother-in-law, who went to get bread in Fort Orange. The final would-be calculation of the distance and time travelled by her brother-in-law to Fort Orange and back to the riverside of the Mohawk River are not included. Then, they resumed their voyage on the Mohawk River and on the Hudson River.

Then, before reaching the falls on the Hudson River that they crossed the forest (a distance of about 16 km, or 10 miles), and her brother-in-law and the Native from the Mission of Lorette had carried their canoe through the forest until they reached Lake George or Lake du Saint Sacrament.

When they reached the north shore of Lake George that they came to a river entering Lake Champlain and sailed along the western shores of Lake Champlain.

Then, they entered Richelieu River, or River of the Iroquois.

When in the area of (Saint-Paul-de-) l’Île-aux-Noix they went through the forest of the Montérégie region (a distance of about 11 km, or 6.9 miles). They went by land from there, because further there were the Saint-Jean Rapids on the Richelieu River. Île-aux-Noix was known before the arrival of the Europeans and settled by Native people on a regular, seasonal basis. The location of the island and the area surrounding the island were a known hunting and fishing grounds.

Again, her brother-in-law and the Native from the Mission of Lorette had carried their canoe. They crossed through the rivers of the Montérégie region forest with their canoe until they reached the river de la Tortue, or the river Saint-Régis.

They sailed the river de la Tortue and into the Saint-Laurent River, or The Great River. They sailed south along the shore of the Saint-Laurent River to the Mission of the Sault (a distance of about 2 km, or 1.25 miles).
They sailed in the canoe most of their voyage, because the forests were dense.

In the portrait by Father Chauchetière of Catherine Tekakwitha, that he painted them in a canoe in front of a church that depicted the chapel of the Mission of Saint Francis Xavier at the Sault.

Thus, they travelled about at least a distance of at 220 km, or 137 miles and also 2 km, or 1.25 miles on the Saint-Laurent River. If they travelled by day, which it had perhaps taken them about thirteen days1 (if they travelled about eight hours each day) to reach the Mission of the Sault.