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VVESTEKN

MISSIONS AND 3IISSI0NARIES:

A SEKIES OF LETTERS,

REV. P. J. DE SMET,

OF THE 80CIKTT OP JK8178,

tlm Dork:

T. W. STRONQ,

Late EDWARD DUNIGAN A BRO.,

CATHOtIO PUBLiaHINO HOVaS,

W9 BROADWAY.

1 •>

« > k

Entered acoording to Act of Congress, in the yetr 1859,

Bt JAMES R KIREEB,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Gouit of the United States for the Southern

District of New York.

CONTENTS.

DESCRIPTIVE LETTERS.
iCATTRB '*o«

I. Voyage from Belgium to Lima in 1844 13

II. Journey to the Great Desert in 1849— The Prairies 2<J

III. Journey to the Great Desert in 1849— The Mauvaises

Terres 82

IV. Journey to the Great Desert in 1849— The Ponkalm 86

v.- Journey to the Great Desert in 1849— The OgallaHa Chief. . 40

VI. Journey to the Great Desert in 1849 — Prospects of the

Indians 51

I. Appeal to Belgium 58

II. Journey to the Great Desert in 1851 — Death of Father

Hoeken 61

III. Travels in the Great Desort in 1851 69

IV. Travels in the Great Desert in 1851 79

V. Travels in the Great Desert in 1851 90

VI. Travels in the Great Desert in 1851— The Great Peace

Council 101

VII. Travels in the Great Desert in 1851— Homeward Journey . 112

VIII. Voyage and Wreck on the Humboldt in 1853 121

IX. The Letter of the Crazy Bear, Assiniboin Chief 180

X. Religious Opinions of the Assiniboins 184

XI. Indian Hunts 146

Xn. Indian Warfare 156

XIII. Tchatka, the Poisoner, an Assiniboin Chief 1 68

XIV. The Indian Question 206

XV. Watoniika and the Delawares 218

XVI. Kistalwa and Maria, parents of Watomika 281

XVII. Fire-worship 240

XVIII. Four Tribes of the Black-Feet— Gros-Ventres, Pegans,

Blood-Tribe, and Black-Feet Proper 25»

2iV\ \

CONTKNTS.

Lettkr ' TAon

XIX. Tlio Sioux— Fiitlier 0. Ilookcn'a Letters 262

XX. Tril)utes to tlie Fhit-IIends— Piiter and Ave in O.sage .. 275

XXI. Orotron Missions 280

•

XXII. I ml ill lis of the Kocky Mountains 292

XXIII. Tlie Flat-Heads 295

XXIV. The Fl.it-Hcnds-Father A. Hoeken's Letters 806

XXV. The Potavvutoinies 819

XXVI. Tlic Potawatumies— Father DnerinckV Letter 830

XXVII. Exi'iirsion iitiion^ the Potawatoinies 341

XXVIII. Tlie Osatrts— Father BiLx's First Letter 350

XXIX. The Osa^'ea-Fathfr Bnx's Second Letter 8«l

XXX. The Usages— Father Bax's Third Letter . . . . " 371

XXXI. Conversion of Kandolph Benton, son of Hon. T. H.

Benton 878

XXXIL Religious Situation of St. Louia and St. Ferdinand —

Death of Father Ba.\— The Osages 878

XXXni. The Mormons 890

XX X IV. Missions of Kentucky 898

XXXV. The Ursiilines of Anierioa 406

XXXVI. Voyage of the Leopold I. from Antwerp to New York. 417

BIOGRAPHICAL LETTERS.

XXXVII. Eev. Charles Ncrinckx 424

XXXVIII. Father Charles Felix Van Quickenborue, S. J 464

XXXIX. Father Theodore de Theux, S.J 474

XL. Father John Anthony Elet, S. J 486

XLI. Father John Baptist Sniedts, S. J 492

XLII. Father Francis Xavier d'Hoop, S. J 4i»5

XLIII. Death of the Kight Rev. James O. Van de Velde 499

XLIV. Father John Nobili, S. J 508

XLV. Father Anthony Eysvogela, S. J 520

XLVI. Father John B. Duerinck, S. J 521

TAOn

... 262

e.. 275

... 280^

... 292*

... 295

... 806

... 819

... 830

... 341

,... 350

.... 8BI

.... 871

H.
.... 878
id—

.... 878
,... 890

898

. ... 40fl
)rk. 417

424

464
474
486
492
495
499
508
520
521

PREFACE TO THE BELGIAN EDITION.

BT FATHSB EDWARD TERWBOOBEN, 8. J.

Charles NerInckx, formerly parish priejt of Ever-
berg-Meerbeek, near Louvain, in Belgium, and early
missionary of Kentucky, made two voyages to Eu-
rcpe to obtain pecuniary aid and fellow-soldiers for
the conquest of souls in the New "World.

In July, 1821, on leaving Belgium, which he was
never again to see, he was accompanied by several
Belgians — namely, Felix Yerreydt, of Diest ; Josse
Van Assche, of St. Amand ; Peter Joseph Yerhae-
gen, of Haecht ; John Baptist Smedts, of Rotselaer ;
John Anthony Elet, of St. Amand ; and Peter John
De Smet, of Termonde.

The last named, who had just attained his twenty-
first year, b'Jgan by this first voyage his long and
perilous couirses by seas and torrents, deserts and
forests, amid whites and Indians — in a word, the

I'KKFACK.

thousand dangers and privations which surroimd an
apostolic man in his fur-distant and solitary expedi-
tions.

Tlie bold and evangelical peregrinations of our
fellow-countryman and brother in Christ have been
crowned with the most consoling results for the
Church, and by a necessary consequence for true
civilization, which is effected by Catholicism. The
apostolate of Father De Smet is pursued until
this day with zeal and perseverance. Already, in
1853, his united journeys represented an extent of
land and water surpassing five times the circumfer-
ence of the globe I Since then he has crossed the

ean three times, and traversed immense coun-
tries. We offer ardent prayers that God may long
preserve this untiring laborer in the vineyard of the
Lord.

Following the example of his predecessors in the
labors of foreign missions. Father De Smet has taken
numerous notes concerning the countries he has
visited. These notes, the result of profound study of
men and things, have a bearing on several branches
of science and the arts : Geography, ^Natural History,
Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, Manners, Customs,
Creeds — all are here. To be convinced of the extent
and variety of these notes, as well as of the pictu-
resque and curious adventures of the traveller, it

i'F4i<:fack.

tlie

true

The

until

^ in

suffices to look at the contents, or glance through
the volume.

Similar subjects have been treated in the preced-
ing works of the missionary, of which we deem it
useful to give the bibliography.

1. Letters and Sketches, with a Narrative of a Year''s Best'
denee among the Indian Tribes of the Rocky -Mountains. Phila-
delphia, published by M. Fithian, 1848. 12°, pp. ix.-252.

Voyages aux Montagnes-Eocheuses, et une annee de sejour
chez les Tribus Indiennes du vaste Territoire de V Oregon depen-
dant des Etats- Unis d'Amerique, par le R. P. Pierre De Sniet,
mJKsionnaire de la Oompagnie de Jesus. Malines, P. J. Hanicq,
1844. In-12, pp. vi.-304.

Jieis nxiar het Rotsgebergte {Rocky Mountains), door Eerw.
vader De Smet, Belgisch zendeling in de Vereenigde Staten,
1840-1841. De venter, bij J. W. Robijns en comp.

An edition in Italian, issued by Louis Prevete. Palermo, 1 847.

2. Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains
in 1845-46. New York, published by Edward Dunigan, 1847.
120, pp. xii.-408.

8. Missions de V Oregon et voyages aux Montagues- Rocheu^es
et aux Sources de la Colombie, de V Athabasca et du Sascatsha-
toin en 1845-46, par le P6re P. J. De Smet, de la Societe de
Jesus. Gand, Van der Schelden. In-12, pp. ix.-389. (L'appro-
bation est de 1848.) Translated by Father De Smet.

Missien van den Oregon en Reizen naer de Rotsbergen en
de Bronnen der Colombia, der Athabasca en Sascatshawin in
1845-46. Door Pater P. J. De Smet. Gend, W« Van der Schel-
den. In-12.

Missions de V Oregon et Voyages dans les Montagnes-Rocheusei
en 1845-46, par le P6re P. J. Do Smet, de la Societe de Jesus.

PKKFACK.

Onvrage trad nit do I'anglais par M. Bourle^. Paris, librairie
de Poussiolgiie-Rusar.d. A Lyon, chez J. B. P6lagau(l et Oie.
1848. In-12, pp. 408. (Paris, iinpriinerio de Poussielguo.)
A different translation from that issued in Belgium.

4. Voyage au Grand Desert en 1851, par le R. P. Pierre De
Smet, missionnaire de la Gompagnie de J6su8. Bruxelles, im-
primerie de J. Vandereydt, 1858. In-18, pp. 436, tir6 k part des
Precis Historiques du P. lerwecoren.

5. The Indian Missions in the United States of America^ under
the care of the Missouri Province of the Society of Jesus. Phila-
delphia, King& Baird, 1841. 12o, pp. 84. Contains: To the
most Eev. Archbishop and Right Rev. Bishops in Provincial
Council assembled. Dated St. Louis, May 8d, 1830, signed P.
J. Verhaegen. Extract from a Letter of Father De Smet^ mis-
sionary among the Pottawatomie Indians^ 1838, pp. 9-22. A
letter from the same, dated St. Louis University, February 4th,
1841, pp. 22-34.

6. Cinquante Nbuvelles Lettres du R. P. De Smet, de la Gom-
pagnie de Jesus et missionnaire en Amerique, publi^es par Ed.
Terwecoren, de la m6me compagnie. Paris et Tournai, II.
Casterman, 1858. In-12, pp. ix.-504.

Such are the principal publications on the thirty-
seven years' journeys of the missionary of the Rocky
Mountains. We hope soon to be able to complete
and publish in the Precis Historiques a succinct
table of all these expeditions, or an Itinerary of the
Voyages and Missions of Father De Smet. Tliis
table, drawn up in chronological order, will contain
the names of the places visited or seen successively
since 1821, and some brief remarks, as well as the
number of miles travelled.

PREPACK.

We adopted as the motto of the work which we
edit these words of Fatlier Do Siuet : " Never have I
remarked the least si":n to alarm luodestv." Thev
sliow that the works of Father I)e Smet may be road
by all witliout distinction. And although this cor-
respondence relates to the gross and nomadic tribes,
there is never a word which need alarm the most
chaste, or excite a blush on even a virginal brow.
*' Never," says he, speaking of the ainusementg of the
salvages at Fort Laramie — " Never did I remark the
slightest indication which could shock the most con-
scientious modesty!" These words are a lesson to
those civilized men and pretended civilizers who style
savages the unfortunate Indians, whose morality Eu-
rope does not possess.

May the reading of these interesting recitals arouse
Catholics to contribute their aid to Foreign Missions,
and promote in hearts of generous mould the voca-
tion to the apostolical ministry ! — there are so many
souls to save.

How beautiful is the faith which produces those
valorous missionaries ! Armed with the sole stand-
ard of tlie cross, with no other compass than obedi-
ence, with no star of the ocean but Mary, they run
fearlessly to their goal, which is the attainment of
God's greater glory by the salvation of souls. Tliey
wait but for the opportunity of saving one soul, to

PliEFACE.

ill

fly to unexplored countries, to ever-growing dangers
of death. Strangers to the wealth, the honors, the
pleasures of this world, disinterested in all their un-
dertakings, they taste no other consolation amid in-
furiated waves, in frightful solitudes, in the primeval
forest, than that of passing through them to do
good. How efficacious is the grace of Godl It
creates heroes ! To these apostolic men, the natural
courage and strength which form noble characters
and men of superior stamp will not suffice. All
human qualities are powerless in accomplishing such
vast designs, and in correspondence with the inspira-
tions of those magnanimous hearts. Athletes of
heaven, heralds of faith, missionaries of the everlast-
ing Gospel, they take their weapons at the foot of the
tabernacle, and derive their force from the flesh and
blood of the Lamb.

ED. TERWECOEEN,

Of thi: Sooiett of Jesus.

Brussbls, 3d of the month of Mary,
Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, 1858,

lili;

i. I! I

WESTEM MISSIONS, Etc.

"♦•■•-

Letter I.

Lima, 26th May. 1844.
Reverend and Dear Father Provincial:

Some time ago I wrote to you from Valparaiso ; I now
write from Peru. We arrived here the 11th inst., after a
sliort and happy voyage from Chili. The distance is about
500 leagues (1500 miles). The ocean, appropriately called
Pacific, was smooth and tranquil ; the wind was favorable,
not the slightest accident has troubled our minds during thy
passage ; without taking in any of the sails which were un-
furled at Valparaiso, and without deviating a single hne
from its course, our ship reached the road of Callao, which
is about two leagues from Lima. On the day of our arrival
I offered up the holy sacrifice, during which was sung the
Te Deum to render thanks to the Lord for the signal favor
*vhich he hr.d bestowed upon us. From Valparaiso I have
sent your reverence a circumstantial account of our long
voyage to this place from the mouth of the Scheld. As my
lei/ter may not have reached you, I shall here repeat the sub-
stance.

On the 9th January we prepared to leave the Scheld with

•^

•WESTERN MISSIONS

l!fl!

an eastern wind, for which we had waited twenty-eight days,
and to enter the North Sea. Early in the morning two masses
were cclebiated ou board. All was animation around us. Sev-
eral other ships made preparation to leave, and the air resound-
ed with the naval songs of the sailors, who in their respective
tongues bade farewell to the road of Ramnekens. One of
the ships, commanded by Capt. De Cock and crowded with
German emigrants for Texas, was carried forward by the force
of the wind and current, and struck the stern of ours. The
cries of distress uttered by the passengers responded to the
crushing of the timbers. Both ships sustained some injuiy,
but all ended in repioaches and expostulations between the
pilots. We were more frightened than injured. At 3 o'clock
p. M. we put to sea. When opposite Flushing, Mother
Constantine, Superior-general of the Ladies of Notre Dame,
and the Superior of the houses of Namur and Ghent, took
leave of their Sisters (all were in tears), and were put ashore.
Like a noble steed impatient of restraint, the Indefatigable
sprang forward, bounding over the limpid deep. We soon
beheJd another scene. Neptune exacted his tiibute. Each
passenger offered his libation to the implacable deity. The
night was dark and stormy ; the wind unfavorable. After
passing Calais, we were in danger of being thrown ou the
coast of France. Ou the 13th we were in the neighborhood
of Plymouth, and on the following day we entered the broad
Atlantic. On the 20th we were in sight c^ the island of Ma-
deira. The next day we had a calm, — the sea was as smooth
as a mirror ; the thermometer indicated nineteen degrees
of heat (seventy-five of Fahrenheit). During the calm we re-
ceived a visit from a neighboring ship. Five men approached
us in a boat. We invited them to come on deck. They refused,
alleging that, as they were bound for Marseilles, they would
be subjected to the quarantine, unless they could declare on

AND MISSIONARIES.

oath that they had not been on board of any other vessel
during the voyage. The steersman informed us that he had
been captain of the French ship La F^licite, which had
been wrecked on the African coast, and that the Ant (the
ship that lay near us) had taken him and his crew on board.
After ascertaining our longitude and asking some questions
about France, they took charge of some letters and left us.
On Sunday, 28th, the sea was so much agitated that we
could not celebrate. On such occasions all received the
holy communion. On the preceding Wednesday, Tiiursday,
and Friday, we had the happiness of oft'ering up the holy
sacrifice. It was also our custom to sing vespers on deck
in the evening.

Od the 1st of February we came in sight of St. Anthony,
one of the Cape Verd Islands. On the following day, the
Feast of the Purification, we assembled at nine o'clock r . m.
to sing canticles and the litany in honor of the Blessed
Virgin. Never, perhaps, have the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans resounded as long and as regularly with the praises
of this kind Mother, who is our hope and consolation in the
dangers to which we are exposed.

" We felt how she can calm impart.
Who, though in heaven's snpremest place.
Bears — as on earth — a Mother's heart.
We hoped that she would guard us — she,
Bright Mother of Him who walk'd the sea."

On the 6th and 7th we had another calm, and the ther-
mometer stood at thirty-five degrees (eighty-eight of Fahren-
heit). It did not rise higher on the Atlantic, though I
feared that under the line we would have had to suffer much
from the heat. On the 10th we had ten vessels in sioht.
On the 13th, about eight o'clock p. m., we had a slight breeze,
which brought a Dutch vessel near us. They approached

WRSTERN MISSIONS

till

^lliill

|l'

US with the sound of music, and the soldiers on board sang
military songs, which formed a strange contrast with the
litanies of the Blessed Virgin which v/e were singing at the
time. We hailed each other : " From Rotterdam to Bata-
via," was answered by " From Antwerp to Valparaiso." On
the 14th we were near the line. At night the sailors gave
three shouts in honor of Neptune. A tar-barrel was kindled
and called Neptune's fire. Soon after a grutf voice was
heard from the mainmast, asking, " Captain, how many pas-
sengers have you?" "Twelve," was the answer. "Well,
let them be prepared, — I am Neptune's envoy ; to-morrow he
will come in person to administer baptism to them." On
the following morning a shout was raised : " Neptune ! Nep-
tune ! !" We accompanied the captain on deck to pay
homage to. his marine majesty and his court. We found
the sea-god accoutred in such a manner that any one would
have supposed that he had undertaken to personate Pluto.
His courtiers vied with him in grotesque apparel. They
were all over besmeared with tar. The pretended deity be-
gan by promising the captain a prosperous voyage; after
which, turning to me, he requested me to submit to the
operation of the razor. As superior of the passengers, I
promised to treat for all. He insisted upon shaving us first.
A spirited dialogue took place between us. At last he told
me in a whisper that he would do the thing decently, and
begged .ne not to deprive the sailors of their only fun. I
submitted. His basin was a tub, his napkin a piece of sail-
cloth, and a hand-brush and wooden sword completed his
implements. As soon as I had gone through the operation,
I withdrew, knowing what was to follow. My companions
were called one after another to the barber's stool. On a
signal given, Neptune commanded baptism, and a deluge of
water came down on my poor companions. The Sisters,

^iHi

AND MISSIONARIES.

>oard sannf

with the

;ing at the

Q to Bata-

liso." On

lilors gave

as kindled

voice was

many pas-

"Well,

norrow he

em." On

me ! Nep-

ik to pay

We found

3ne would

ite Pluto.

3l. They

deity be-

i; after

lit to the

sengers, I

g us first.

st he told

ntly, and

fun. I

e of sail-

leted his

)peration,

Tipanions

1. On a

ieluge of

Sisters.

who were exempted from passing through the ceremony, en-
joyed the laughable scene. Next came a sea-fight between
the sailors. All the buckets were put in requisition, ana
were filled and emptied with astonishing dexterity. At
length, exhausted with fatigue, all retired. After some time
they reappeared in their best clothes, and played all sorts
of antics. The whole terminated with an extra supper,
and a donation to the sailors. On the 1st of March we
had three vessels in sight, and at night we beheld a meteor
of a most beautiful appearance. For a considerable time we
had opportunities to admire the three nebulae of Magellan.
Two of them are luminous, the third is dark. They seem to
be at a distance of thirty degrees from each other ; their un-
defined forms have about five degrees diameter. Their
height on the southern horizon varies in proportion as the
latitude increases towards the Antartic pole. On the 3d the
thunder rolled in all directions, and at night a violent hail-
storm buist from the clouds. Nothing remarkable occurred
till the 16th, when we came in sight of the Falkland Isles.

Three days after we found ourselves close to the South
Shetland Isles. During the night of the 20th two large
icebergs floated by us ; they appeared about a hundred
feet above the surface of the sea. Soon after we saw the
volcanic rocks called Greenock, and the rocky islands of
San Ildefonso and San Diego. A few days after we were
overtaken by a violent tempest which tore our sails, and
our ship became the sport of the winds and waves. Scarce-
ly did we begin to breathe when we were subjected to a
still greater trial. A strong gale arose and drove us di-
rectly towards the land, which soon appeared to our view.
The danger was imminent. The ship had become unman-
ageable. All on deck, in breathless expectation, had their

eyes fixed on the frightful rocks that line the Patagonian

WESTERN MISSIONS

11!

coast. We awaited in silence the accomplishment of the
designs of Divine Providence. I hastened down to the cabin
to warn the Sisters of the danger, and to offer them the help
of my ministry. Tiiey were engaged in imploring the pro-
tection of Heaven thronjrh the intercession of the Blessed
Virgin. You will naturally suppose that on my intimation
of the danger, they gave vent to their feelings in lamenta-
tions and cries of distress. Quite the reverse. With a
smile on their lips, and with that unalterable peace of mind
which proceeds from a pure conscience and a heart inflamed
with the love of God, they replied that they were not
alarmed, and that they abandoned themselves to the will of
God. I returned to the deck. The wind suddenly changed
and wafted us away from the land. On the 2d of April we
steered towards the coast, and on the next day we were near
the Peninsula of the Three Mountains. On the following
Sunday, '7th of April, being the Feast of Easter, the motion
of the ship was so considerable that I ordered the altar to
be transported to a private cabin, where, with the assistance
of one of the Fathers, I celebrated the holy mysteries. All
received the holy communion on that occasion. On the 8th
and 9th we coasted along the shores of Chili, and after pass-
ing the dangerous rocks of Maca, we entered the port of
Valparaiso on the 12th, about five o'clock, p. m.

We remained on board till the following day. The city
presented a most picturesque appearance. Built on a range
of hills, it presents the form of a semicircular amphitheatre
along the coast. The sight was gratifying to us, who had
been for more than three months confined to the ship, and
had beheld nothing but sky and water, with the exception
of a few barren coasts and frightful rocks. Early the next
day I repaired to the city to look out for lodgings for our
company. I soon .eturued with the welcome news that sev-

-4Ui>o'«k4

AND MISSIONARIES.

eral Jesuits were assembled in Valparaiso, where they had
been convened to make a spiritual retreat, and that a com-
munity of French ladies, belonging to the Order of Picpus,
invited the ladies of Notre Dame to lodcfe at their house.
Great was the joy with which all hastened to tread the
American soil, and still greater the joy with which we were
welcomed to our respective lodgings. Nothing could exceed
the kindness and attention that were bestowed on us all.
The Fathers of the Order of Picpus have also an establish-
ment here ; for several years they have had a school, and
they render great serviced to religion.

On Tuesday, the 16th, I set out for Santiago, the capital
of Chili, in company with the Reverend Fathers Gomila, Su-
perior of the Missions, and Landan. We had two carriages,
and each carriage had two horses, one mounted by the pos-
tillion ; another conductor, on horseback, aided us in the
steepest places. Four spare horses followed or preceded us
without rope or bridle, and never strayed from the carriages,
though the distance between Valparaiso and Santiago is
more than ninety miles. A part of the way resembles that
of Mount Simplon, and is much frequented. We passed a
large number of wagons with teams of six or eight oxen,
several other vehicles, and droves of horses, mules, and asses,
all loaded with merchandise. W^e crossed two ridges of
mountains that are linked to the Cordilleras. The tvt^o prin-
cipal passes, remarkable for their height, are called Cerra-
Puerto and Quesia de Zapato. We lodged at a little vil-
lage called Cura-cavL The general aspect of the country
between the two cities bears some resemblance to that of the
Rocky Mountains, but the soil is extremely barren. On the
following day we crossed the second ridge by the pass da
Pradoj and the torrent of the same name, which was forded,
for bridges are almost unknown in this country. It seldom

WESTERN MISSIONS

rains in Chili, and when the torrents are swollen by the
melting of the snows or the heavy rains, the oommunication
is interrupted for a few days. About noon we arrived at the
mansion of Senor Kuiz-Tagle, one of the richest proprietors
of the Chilian Republic. He received and treated us with
*he greatest cordiality. In the evening he took us to the
city in his own carriage, which he left at our disposal.

The city of Santiago is situated in a delightful valley, at
the foot of the Mapocho Mountains, 33° 35' southern lati-
tude, and 73° 4' longitude west from the meridian of Paris,
2410 Spanish feet above the level of the sea. It was
founded by Don Pedro de Valdivia, in 1541. Its stately
edifices, its public establishments, and its commerce and pop-
ulation, amounting to more than 100,000 souls, and still
daily increasing, make it one of the principal cities of South
America. It is surrounded by mountains that are called
the crown of Santiago. Beyond them are seen the summits
of the Andes covered with eternal snows. The streets of
the city are large and straight. The vast public square is
adorned with a beautiful fountain, representing the statue of
Liberty crowning another statue that represents the country.
The principal edifices are the governor's palace, the mint,
the archiepiscopal palace, the stately cathedral (not yet com-
pleted), the church of the Jesuits, and their college, which
now belongs to the city. There are, besides these, ten other
churches that are suflSciently handsome and capacious. Be-
fore the suppression, we had here four houses of the Society.
At present there are two convents of Dominicans, two of
Augustinians, three of Franciscans, and two of the Order for
the Redemption of Captives. There are also eight monas-
teries of religious ladies. The ladies of Picpus are the only
ones that keep a boarding-school, conducted on the same
principles as that of Valparaiso. They give a finished edu-

AND MISSIONARIES.

cation to the young ladies belonging to the first families of
the country, and they give gratuitous instruction to about
three hundred children of the inferior classes. The people
seem to be gifted with an excellent character and happy dis-
position, and are warmly attached to the religion of their
forefathers. The government prospers under the shadow of
peace, and the wisdom of a well-conducted administration.
It extends its solicitude to the Armicanians, a savage tribe be-
yond the river Bobio to the south, and bordering on the
country of the Patagonians. Preparations are being made
to carry the light of faith to those tribes which have been
so long left in darkness, but show the most favorable dis-
positions to correspond to the zeal of the missionaries whom
it will please Divih > Providence to send to them.

Valparaiso, by its commerce and population, about 40,000
souls, is the next largest city of Chili. Here, as in Santiago,
the buildings are of brick and but one story high, as earth-
quakes are frequent and violent in this country. The poor,
who are very numerous, live in huts made of straw or
boughs of trees. The interiors of the houses of the rich vie
witli the most splendid mansions of the European nobility.
You are acquainted with the topography of this republic,
which, on account of the beauty of its sky, the tempera-
ture of its climate, and the general fertility of its soil, is con-
sidered one of the most delightful countries in the world.
The spring commences in September, summer in December,
winter in June, and autumn in March. From the com-
mencement of spring till the middle of putumn, the heavens
are ever serene. The rains begin to fall ti wards the end of
April, and often last till the middle of September. In the
province of Coquimbo it rains but twice or thrice a year,
and this only for a few hours. In the provinces of Santiago,
Aconcana, and Colcha, rain generally lasts three days, and

WESTERN MISSIONS

lii

#fe

1 1

is then succeeded by twelve or fifteen days of fine weather.
The rains are more copious in proportion as we advance fur-
ther south towards the Isle of Chiloe. The want of rain in
the north is supplied by heavy dews which fall during the
dry seasons. The temperature, which varies according to
the seasons, is generally favorable to health.

On the 3d of May we left the port of Valparaiso with a
favorable wind, and, as I have already mentioned, in eight
days we reached tlie harbor of Lima. The city is seen from
the roads, and also the town of Callao, situated on the coast
about two leagues from the capital. Father Goniila had
offered to accompany us from Valparaiso and to act as inter-
preter, for he speaks Spanish and French, and with him I re-
paired to the city to find suitable lodgings for our company,
who weie to follow us on the succeeding day. The people
of the city, which is very extensive, and contains a popula-
tion of 40,000 souls, were soon apprised of the arrival of
Jesuits. They came in crowds to kiss our hands. A re-
spectful old gentleman exclaimed, " Fathers, how happy I
am to see my wishes accomplished 1 You are the first
Jesuits who set foot in my country since the suppression of
your order. May God be praised ! Still happier would I
be were you to remain among U8." We went to lodge at
the house of a zealous priest named Mateo Aguilar. On
the following day we paid our respects to the bishop (Luna-
pizarro), who has been presented to the Roman court as suc-
cessor to the late archbishop. He received us with great
affection, and spoke in terms of praise and esteem of our
Society, We also visited the principal churches and estab-
lishments of the city, after which we prepared to return to
Callao, The omnibus, with five horses, which I had hired
to convey us from the port of Lima, was by some accident
detained nearly half an hour. The people came from all

AND MISSION ARIK9.

quarters to see us, and the carriage was soon surroundod by
a numerous crowd. Motliers, and among them hidies of dis-
tinction, pressed through the crowd, held up their children,
kissed the hands and veils of the Sisters, and conjured them
to remain and establish themselves in the cit3\ The men,
too, showed us the greatest respect. The same regard and
aflFection were manifested along the road. The people were
prompted to act in this manner by the conviction that the
education of youth is neglected in their country, and they
severely feel the want of it. When the Sisters arrived in
Lima, they took up their lodgings at an old Carmelite con-
vent, now converted into an orphan asylum. The crowd
poured into the building after them. For four or five days
they received visits from morning till night. The most re-
spectable famiUes came with their interpreters, and vied with
each other in showing them marks of kindness and affec-
tion. They were obliged to accept three carriages, in which,
accompanied by the principal ladies of the city, they visited
the churches and the other establishments. When they
alighted at any place, the people crowded around them, even
in the churches, to kiss their hands, their heads, and veils.
The humble Sisters received this homage with reluctance,
but they were to them a heartfelt consolation; and who
knows whether they may not prove instrumental in the de-
signs of Providence to obtain the object of this kind-hearted
people ? There is not a single religious order in this city
that devotes its labors to teach the inferior classes. Hence
their want and desire of instruction. I went with my com-
panions to lodge at the former college of the Society, called
St. Paul's, where we all occupied the same room. The
establishment is very extensive, covering one of the square
blocks of the city, and is divided into four square buildings,
each having an area in the middle, and supported by a

WESTERN MISSIONS

double colonnade. The roof is flat, as are all the roofs of all
the churches and houses in Lima, for here it never ruins. At
a distance the city with its numerous domes presents a beau-
tiful prospect, but when we enter it all the buildings, appa-
rently without roofs, give it the appearance of a city in ruins.
The streets are drawn at right angles and paved with round
stones. They are crossed by large sewers that carry the filth
to the river Limac, which divides the capital. One of the
greatest curiosities of Lima is the fruit-market, by the abund-
ance and variety of tropical productions. There are seventy-
two churches within the precincts of the city, including
those of religious orders, which are numerous. The cathe-
dral, whose architeciare is of the 16th century, is a magnifi-
cent pile. It fronts the large public square, on which is also
built their archiepiscopal palace. The other sides of the
square are adorned with rich stores and colonnades. The
main altar of the cathedral is a splendid piece of workman-
ship. It consists of three rows of columns supporting one
another, and plated and ornamented with silver.

Peru I Land of gold and silver, with its fertile and beau-
tiful soil, and its temperate and healthy climate, once the
terrestrial paradise of South America, now its poorest and
most wretched region : thy commerce languishes ; the edu-
cation of thy children is neglected ; the oflBcers of thy venal
army fly from standard to standard ; the ambition and faith-
lessness of thy leaders have exhausted thy treasury; thy
chiefs, destitute of patriotism, seek their own aggrandizement,
and oppress thy people ; — such is the state of things in Peru
at present, and it is feared the worst is still to come.

To-day (16th May, Feast of Pentecost) we shall leave Cal-
lao to continue our voyage. We expect to arrive at Fort
Vancouver, on the Columbia, in forty days, and shortly to
embrace the Fathers sent from Missouri. I shall write again

ID ruins.

AND 'LISSIONAIilES.

to acquaint you with whatever relates to me and my com-
panions. Remember me most affectionately to the Bishop
and h,s clergy, and to ail the Fathers, Scholastics, and Broth-
ers ot the province as if named, and believe me to be with
great respect and esteem,

Very Reverend and Dear Father Provincial,

Your most humble, obedient Son in Jesus Christ,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter II.

iiiii^

To THE Members of the Central CouiNuiis of Lyons

AND Paris.

University of St. Loris, June 1, 1849.
Gentlemen :

A transient visit to some tribes of Sioux, on the Upper
Missouri, on my way back from the Kocky Mountains,
left in me an ardent desire to see those poor Indians
again. I was anxious to judge more maturely of their
disposition, and ascerUiin with greater certainty what hopes
might be entertained from the estat)hshment of a Mission
among them. During the course of last summer, my su-
periors granted me this truly consoling privilege.

In order to reach their villages, I was obliged to ascend the
Missouri as far as Bellevue (a village situated in the terri-
tory of the Ottos, 610 miles from St. louis), and then pur-
sue my journey on horseback, over immense prairies, for
about twenty-five days. An excuision through the magnifi-
cent plains of the great American desert, and, above all, in
the vicinity of this noble rivei', which descends in innumera-
ble torrents from the Rocky Mountains, offers undoubtedly
many charms, and migiit afford material for descriptions
replete with intere>t ; but it would be a theme on which I
ha' e had predecessors, and, moreover, it would be giving the
letters whicli I have the honor to address you an exient
<]uitH beyond what I (hire assume. I will content myselt
with a sketch by Mr. Nicollet, my own experience enabling
me to appreciate the exact fidelity of his picture.

ill

AND MISSIONARIES.

p Lyons

! 1, 1849.

he Upper
[ouiitains,
■ Indians
of their
hat hopes
a Mission

*, my su-

scend the
the teiri-
hen pur-
liries, for

magnifi-
'e all, in
iniunera-
[oubtedly
Icriptions
[which I

vinsc the

111 ex If

lit

It niysell
lenal>ling

" Consider the boundless extent of a prairie — scan one by
one its unduhitions, and borne as it were from wave to wave,
from valley to hill-top, find yourself in presence of the limit-
less plain which is spread out before you ; journey onward —
hours, days, and weeks will succeed each other, and emotions
of ever-varying delight will captivate the mind, while the
spectacle of inexhaustible wealth and new beauties will fas-
cinate the eye. Without doubt there will be moments in
which the ardors of a burning sun, and the privation of pure
water capable of allaying thirst, will force you to remember
that the best of earthly joys have their hidden thorn ; but
these trials are rare and brief. A gentle breeze almost, con-
tinually refreshes the atmosphere in these vast plains, and the
surface is so uniform as to baffle a surprise from the most
crafty enemy. The route is one field of verdure, enamelled
with odoriferous wild-flowers, whose brilliant beauty has no
witness but the azure firmament. It is particularly during
summer that the aspect of the prairies breathe gayety, grace,
and life, and if there be f.iiy one moment in which they may
excite all the sympathies of the traveller, it is when an
Indian hunter, in pursuit of the deer or bison, animates this
immense solitude with his presence and motions. I pity the
man whose heart remains unaffected before so ravishing a
spectacle !"

My land-journey commenced at Bellevue, nine miles
beyond the Nebraska or Platte River, thence to the mouth
of the Niobrarah or Uau-qui-court, ten days' march. "VVe
met not a single Indian, and no vestige of human habitation
greeted the eye. But ever and anon we distinguished small
artificial mounds, erected by the hand of man ; irregular
heaps of stones, and tombs containing the mortal remains of
Indians, carefully wrapped in buff"alo-robes. At times a soli-
tary post marked the spot where some brave had fallen in

WESTERN MISSIONS

the field of battle — where reposed, perhaps, some ancient
Nestor of the desert. These monuments, though with no
epitaph to attest lofty deeds or transmit names to posterity,
are a tribute of a feeling heart — a mute testimony of the
respect the Indian bears to the memory of a father or a
friend, and of the value he attaches to the glory of his
ancestors. Some herds of bison and dense flocks of deer, of
several species, that fled at our approach, alone beguiled the
tedium of the march. »

It is customary to encamp in places where the grass is
fresh, which is generally on the border of a stream or pond
of clear water. Care must also be taken for the safety of
the norses during the night. To prevent all accident, they
are hobbled — enfarge^ as the Canadian voyagcurs say — that
is, the two fore-legs are tied together, so as to prevent their
straying too far from the camp. Two or three men remain
on guard against any suprise from the Indians, too justly
renowned as the most expert of horse-thieves. These senti-
nels also protect us against the bears and wolves which
infest the wilderness, and incessantly prowl in the neighbor-
hood of camps. Horses, on perceiving them, take fright and
fly, unless the necessary precautions have been taken, and
it sometimes happens that the most careful measures prove
futile. Thus we, one day, lost a superb stallion of great
value. Every evening he was tied to a post, with a long and
heavy halter, but in a fright, caused by the approach of
wolves, he darted forward with such velocity after the other
horses as they rushed by him, that on reacliing the end of his
halter he broke his neck.

In so long a march, through regions so singularly various,
two great inconveniences are sometimes experienced — want
of water, and of wood. More than once >/e had no other
fuel than the dry bison-dung, and three times at our camp-

AND MISSIONARIES.

le ancient
I with no
posterity,
ny of the
ither or a
ry of his
>f deer, of
juiled the

5 grass is

or pond

safety of

ent, they

iay— that

'ent their

Q remain

oo justly

se senti-

s which

leighbor-

ight and

ken, and

es prove

of great

ongand

oach of

le otlier

d of his

various,
-want

o other
cainp-

ing-ground water failed us. This is a hard trial for man and
horse, especially after travelling all day under the burning
sun of the month of August. Another kind of torment,
still less supportable when the heat is most intense, is the
appearance of fantastical rivers and lakes in the verge of the
horizon, seeming to invite the weary traveller to advance and
refresh his vv'asted strength upon their banks. Fatigue and
thirst picture in the distance verdure, shade, and coolness
awaiti!ig him. The illusion increases the desire of quench-
ing your burning thirst. You hasten onward to reach the
goal. Hour succeeds hour ; the deceitful mirage heightens
in brilliancy, and the panting, exhausted traveller presses on
without a suspicion that the phantom flies before him. In
an open, elevated region, where the atmosphere is in con-
tinual agitation, this efiect may be easily produced by the
reverberation of the sun's rays from the surface of these vast
prairies, throwing the various tints of the verdure upon the
deep blue of the firmament.

Besides the dithculties arising from the nature of the
ground, there are others which summer always brings with
its myriads of insects. Among these, the most to be dreaded
is the gad-Jiy, the sting of which will make the gentlest
horse bound with rage. Happily for the horse in these
plains, Providence has bestowed upon him a defender as skil-
ful as devoted The starling, unalarmed by the presence of
man, which, wheeling ever about the rider, lights on the back
of the horse or on his load, to dart with wonderful skill
upon the malicious insect which is about to attack his travel-
ling companion.

For ourselves, we were obliged towage continual war upon
the swarms of mosquitoes, and their allies the " gnats." The
latter teased us by day, the former, more cowardly, attacked
us by night. These famished enemies, the product of the

WESTERN MISSIONS

stagnant waters and decaying plants, at the approach of a
convoy, rush tfrom their infected abodes, and accompany it,
with their plaintive buzzing, to the spot where the traveller
seeks in vain a brief repose after the heat and hardships of
the day. The winged tribe at once sound the trump of war,
and darting on their tired victim, sting, harass, and pursue
him until they have assuaged their sanguinary fury, and
obliged the unfortunate traveller, already sweltering with
heat, to seek a stifling shelter under a buffiilo-robe or a thick
blanket. One day I found myself the object of attack of a
swarm of winged ants. They came upon me with such
furious impetuosity, that in a few seconds I was totally
covered. Then I waved my handkerchief about my head,
and SDon got my horse to leave far behind us this phalanx of
black insects, which filled a space of about a quarter of a
mile.

To those who pass their days amid the quiet of domestic
joys, surrounded by all the delicacies that abundance can
produce, a journey through the prairies may appear a sad
realization of human misery and suffering ; but to the man
that elevates his thoughts above earthly and passing things,
in order to devote himself to the many unfortunate souls
who will love and serve the true God when they know him,
such a one can perceive in these privations, in even greater
perils and difficulties which may be encountered, only slight
annoyances, which he will prefer to all the delights of indo-
lence or the dangers of wealth. He has meditated the sub-
lime words of our Lord : " The kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent bear it away ;" he recollects that a
God become man — " although he was without sin, bore the
weight." His sufferings finally teach him, that it is through
tribulations and sacrifices that he can enter the kingdom of

AND MISSIONARIES.

heaven, and conduct thereto those who may desire to range
themselves and die beneath the banner of the Cross.

I have the honor to be, with the most sincere respect and
profound esteem,

Gentlemen,

Your most humble and obed't serv't,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

li '

WESTERN MISSIONS

I (

,1 ;

Letter III.

To THE Members of the Central Councils op Lyons

AND Paris.

University, June % 1849.
Gentlemen :

In my last letter I spoke of the annoyance resulting
from the continual attacks and buzzing of the mosquitoes
and brulots. I must add to tliis harsh music the more
fearful and more disagreeable noise of the rattlesnake.
These reptiles are frequently met in the region styled Mau-
raises- Torres, a very remarkable plateau, of which I will
hereafter give a description — and where the Little Missouri,
the Mankizita-Watpa, the Terre-blanche, and the Niobrarah
take their rise. Here also are found the many-hued chame-
leon, the hideous lizard, the horned frog, known by the per-
haps more classical name of salamander, and several varieties
of small tortoise. I witnessed a singular trait of the instinct
of a rattlesnake. The reptile was basking in the sun, sur-
rounded by eight or ten little ones. As soon as she perceived
me, she gave the rattle, opened her throat wide, and in an
instant the whole brood descended. I withdrew some sec-
onds, and then returned ; the young ones had come for*h
from their living tomb, to which my presence quickly obliged
them to seek refuge anew.

The unbroken, arid soil of the Mauvaises-Terres, which
will ever baffle the most energetic and persevering labor,
boasts, however, of several millions of townships, full of life
and movement — I mean the villages of the prairie-dog — the

AND M18SI0NARTKS.

)liged

labor,
If life
-tho

site of each one of which extends over an area oi several
square miles of smooth table-land, on which the grass is very
short and thin. The instincts of this remarkable animal
(which bears some resemblance to the squirrel) are at once
curious and amusing. The grass which springs up in the
neighborhood of their dwellings they tear up by the roots ,
but their vandalism has its exceptions. They seem to respect
and spare certain flowers which generally surround their lit-
tle abodes, and give them a much more agreeable look.
These proved to be the Hedeoma hirta, the Solanom trijlorum^
the Lupinua pus'dlus^ the Erigeron divaricaturn, Dysodia
chrf/sa7i(hemoidef}, ElUsia nyctagenea^ and the Panicum
virgntum.

They pile up the earth around their dwellings about two
feet above the surface of the soil, thus protecting themselves
against the inundations which, in the rainy seasons or at tho
melting of the snows, would engulf them and their little
hopes. Guided by instinctive foresight, they carefully gather
all the straws which are scattered over the plain, and carry
them into theh*' subterraneous asylums, to protect them
against the rigors of winter. At the approach of a horse-
man, alarm is rapidly communicated to all the citizens of
this singular republic. All quit their habitations, and with
head erect, the ears pricked up with anxiety, and a troubled
stare, remain standing at the entrance of their abodes, or at
the opening of their conical hills. After a momentary
silence, they break forth into one loud and repeated chorus
of shrill barking. For some minutes life, motion, and rest-
less agitation reign throughout the extensive field they oc.
cupy ; but at the first gun-shot, all is tranquil, every ani-
mal disappearing like a flash. A kind of small owl, and the
rattlesnake, appear to entertain amicable relations with the
prairie-dog, and are commonly found at the entrance of their

'III
Ml

: f;!'

:ifi]

■

WESTERN MISSIONS

lodges, and in the general fright, the three seek safety in the
same asylum. Tlie motives and nature of this singular sym-
pathy are unknown. The wolf and the fox are their great-
est enemies.

The Indian word Mankizita-Watpa, commonly translated
White Earth River, signifies, more literally. Smoking Land
River; and in this region there are incontestable and numer-
ous indications that subterranean and volcanic fires have
passed there. The water of the river is strongly impregnated
with a whitish slime. We encamped on its shore. A heavy
rain had recently washed all the ravines and dry beds of the
rivulets and torrents, which are abundant throughout the
Mauvaises-TerreSj consequently the water was very similar
to thin mud. What was to be done ? We must cither use
this water to prepare our evening repast, or retire without
tea or broth. This is no easy sacrifice in the desert, after
riding on horseback for ten or eleven hours in the scorching
sun. After many fruitless efforts to purify the water, we
were obliged to use it as it was. Hunger and thirst make
us less dainty. The mixture of mud, tea, and sugar, was,
after all, palatable to our famished stomachs. On the mor-
row we travelled all day, and found a delicious spring, where
we camped all night.

The Mauvaises-Terres, in the portions which are traversed
by the Mankizita-Watpa, are the most extraordinary of any
1 have met in my journeys through the wilderness. The
action of the rains, snow, and winds upon the argillaceous
soil is scarcely credible ; and the combined influence of these
elements renders it the theatre of most singular scenery.
Viewed at a distance, these lands exhibit the appearance of
extensive villages and ancient castles, but. under forms so ex-
traordinary, and so capricious a style of architecture, that we
might consider them as appertaining to some new world, or

AND MISSK>NARI1':S.

T in the
ar syra-
r great-

inslated
ijxLand
numer-
!s have
cgnated
^ heavy
s of the
out the

simihir
ther use
without
jrt, after
orching

ter, we
make
ar, was,
le mor-
where

aversed
of any
The
aceous
>f these
ceuery.
ince of
i so ox-
hat we
rid, or

ftges far remotu. Here a mnjestic Gotliic tower, surrounded
with turrets, rises in noble grandeur, and there enormous
and hjfty cohunns seem I'eared to support the vault of heaven.
Further on you may descry a fort beaten by the tempest,
and surrounded by mantellated walls ; its hoary parnpets

to h{

idured, di

*r«^ "^j

ap[)ear lo nave enuureu, uunng many successiv
assaults of tempest, earthquake, and tliunder. Cupolas of
colossal proportions, and pyramids wliich recall the gigantic
labors of ancient Egypt, rise around. The atmospherical
agents work upon them with such eft'ect, that probably two
consecutive years do not pass without reforming or destroy-
ing these strange constructions. This clayey soil hardens
easily in the sun, is of a grayish hue, or occasionally of a
spaikling white ; it is easily softened when mixed with water.
The Mankizita-Watpa is the great drain of the streams of
this country, and corresponds admirably to the name bestow-
ed upon it by the Indians.

The industry of the settler will never succeed in cultivat-
ing and planting this fluctuating and sterile soil — no harvest
ever crown his efforts. But though it offers no interest to
the farmer, and little to the botanist, the geologist and
naturalist may find abundant material for study and illus-
tration ; for here are found rmrious remains of the mastodon
(the largest of known quadrupeds), mingled with those of
the mountain-hare. I have seen well-preserved skulls,
horns, &c., so large that two men could hardly raise them.
All of these bore the distinct impress of their primitive
nature.

I have the honor to be, with profound respect,
Gentlemen,

Your most humble and obed't serv't,

P. J. Dk Smet.

■"*■

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter IV.

To THE Directors op the Association.

Universitt of St. Loris, Juno 4, 1849.
Gentlemen :

It remains for me to give some details concerning the
Indian tribes that I was able to visit. In none of my pre-
ceding voyages had I met the Ponkahs ; this time I found
the whole of this nation assembled at the mouth of the Nio-
brarah — their favorite haunt during the fruit season and the
gathering of the corn harvest. The manner in which they
accosted my travelling companions augured little good, and
was near being attended with disastrous consequences. It
appears, indeed, that they meditated an attack upon the lit-
tle troop of white men who, numbering but fifteen, escorted
a wagon filled with merchandise for the Fur Company. They
intended, at least, to pillage the convoy and kill one of the
travellers, under pretext that he came from the country of
the Pawnees, where one of their warriors had lost his life.
I will present you here the laconic formula of reasoning of
one of these barbarians, while in the act of taking aim at
his victim. My brother was killed by a Pawnee ; thou art
a notorious friend of the Pawnees ! I must avenge his
death, or recover the debt {value of his body) in horses or in
blankets/ To this degree, unfortunately, lias the idea of
justice sunk in the Indian mind. Has an Indian fallen by
the hand of a wliite man, every brave of that tribe consid-
ers himself justified in retaliating upon the first white man
he chances to meet, without regard to his country or the

,r! ..

AND MISSIONARIES.

part of the world from which he may come. I was in ad-
vance, but at the first signal of alarm I faced the point of
(lanirer. At once the air resounded with reiterated cries of
" The Black-gown has come ! The Blach-yown has come /"
Surprise and curiosity arrest the work of pillage. The
chiefs ask an exj)lanation, and order the spoilers to keep re-
sj)tcttully off, and restore what they had already stolen;
then tlu'V ]>i'ess around me to shake hands (a ceremony some-
what lengthy, for they were about GOO in number), and con-
duct us in triumph to our encampment on the shore of the
Niobrarah. In my turn I made a little distribution of
tobacco, which they appeared to appreciate more than any
thing else. The calumet is smoked in token of fraternal good
feeling, and passed from mouth to mouth : they lavish upon me
as well as upon my companions the most touching marks of
kindness and I'espect. Such was the happy conclusion of a
meeting which at first inspired us with such just fears. But
the merciful views of Providence extended further.

They besought me to visit their village, four miles from
our camp, in order to pass the night with them. I ac-
ce})tod the invitation the more willingly, as it would aftord
me an opportunity of announcing the truths of Faith. In
fact I lost no time, and shortly after my arrival the whole
tribe, numbering more than a thousand persons, surrounded
the " Black-f/oivnr This was the first time that the Pon-
kahs had heai'd Jesus Christ preached by the mouth of his
minister. The holy eagerness and attention which they lent
to my words induced me to prolong my instructions until
late in the night. The next day I baptized their little ones,
and when the time of separation arrived, they besought mo
with the greatest earnestness to renew my visit, and to fix my
residence among them. We will cheerfully listen to the
Words of the Great Spirit, said they, and submit to all His

WESTERN MTSSK'N:^

commands that you manifest to us. Until their wislics can
be gratifietl, 1 coiisideied myself Imppy to Hiul amoti^ tliom
a Catholic halt-biccd, tolerably well instructed in iiis religion,
who promised me to serve as catechist.

This extraordinary attention on tlie part of the Indians,
and their avidity to hear the Word of God, must appear sur-
prising in a people which seems to unite all intellectual and
moral miseries. But the Spirit of the Lord breatlies where
it will. His graces and his light prompt and aid men whom
ignoran(!e, rather than a perverse and disordered will, ren-
ders vicious. Moreover, that same Spirit which obliged the
most rebellious to cry with St. Paul, " Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do ?" can also soften the most obdurate liearts,
warm the coldest, and produce peace, justice, and joy, where
before reigned iniquity, trouble, and disorder. The gieat
respect, and the marked attention which the poor Indians
testify OH all occasions to the missionary who appears among
them to announce the Gospel, are a source of much consola-
tion and encouragement to him. He discovers the finger of
God in the spontaneous manifestations of good-will offered
by these poor creatures.

The language of the Ponkahs differs little from that of
the Ottos, the Kanzas, and the Osages. Of intrepid and
tried courage, they have, notwithstanding the paucity of their
numbers, made themselves feared by their more numerous
neighbors. They may with justice be styled the Flat-Heads
of the Plains, on account of their bravery. Although at-
tached by taste to the wandering life, they have begun to
cultivate some fields of corn, of pumpkins, and potatoes.

Ilere, then, is a portion of the vineyard as yet untilled,
but which only waits for a generous, charitable hand to
cause it to yield fruits worthy of the dews of heaven. Can
the Lord refuse his grace and his assistance to the apostolic

AND MISSIONARIES.

visiles can

•f^ii^r thorn

s I'uliirjon,

'Vi

e Indians,

>|'t'ar snr-

^^^

<'tiial and

^r^^^M

»t'S wjiere

en wliom

will, ren-

J'ged tlie

' VWiH

•ilt thou

.JK

t! hearts,

■JH

Yj wljere

'*^^4l^^^^B

'e great

Indians

-'.jH^H

• among

:onsola-

'/ ' •'ij^^B

nger of

' A'*' ^^^H

ottered

hat of

d and

f tlieir

lerous

ffeads

•h at-

11 n to

*'i^Mi

Uled,

■■\^m

d to

Can

tolic

-M

man, who abandons all the advantages of civilized life in or-
der to teach, in the midst of every species of privation, the
salutary and consoling words of the Gospel ? When I reflect
upon the hopes that may be justly entertained of the Indijiu
tribes of the North and West of the United States, I cannot
refrain from blessing the bou!ity and mercy of (Jod, and
trembling at the consideration of the terrible judgments of
his justice. While Europe, shaken to the centre by the
incessant efforts of learned impiety, appears to have strength
or vigor oidy to shake off the divine yoke which the blood
of Jesus Christ has rendered "suoet and easv," the forlorn
iidiabitant of the far-distant wilderness lifts his supjdiant
liands to heaven, and in all the sincerity of his heart asks to
know the true Faith, and to be directed in the path of true
happiness. While in the heart of Catholicity the priests of
the Most High sink under oppression. Providence, impene-
trable in its views, is secretly preparing for them the vast
solitudes of another hemisphere. There, perhaps, the Di-
vine Master will fix his sanctuary, p.nd choose to himself
new worshippers whose simple hearts will otFer him only an
oblation of gratitude and love.

With the greatest respect, and commending myself to
your kind prayers,

I am, Gentlemen,

Your most humble and obedient servant,

P. J. De Smet S. J

1 :|j|

WESTEKN MISSIONS

Letter V.

To THE DjRSCTORS OP THE ASSOCIATION.

St. Louis, June 5, 1849.
Gentlemen :

It is time to pass to the Sioax, whose territory I reached
a few days after my visit to the Ponkahs. Mr. Campbell,
one of the best interpreters in the country, generously offered
to accompany me to the different tribes of this nation. His
acquaintance with the country and the manners of the In-
dians, as well as the respect and friendship which the latter
entertain for him, greatly facilitated my relations with them.
I must also add, as a tribute of well-merited gratitude, that
the officers of Fort Bonis and of Fort Pierre received me
with the most delicate hospitality, and that the concurrence
of their influence aided powerfully to render my intercourse
with the saviges easier and more profitable.

I have several times observed, in former letters, that the
Indians inhabiting the vallej of the Upper Missouri, are
generally more cruel than those sojourning west of the
Itocky Mountains. Probably this arises from their almost
incessant wars, which inflame them with a love of plunder
and a thirst for vengeance. A.t the epoch of my visit to the
Sioux, a troop of these barbarians were returning from a war
againi»t tlie Mahas, with thirty-two human scalps torn from
defenceless old men, and from women and children whose
husbands and fathers were oft' hunting. When they re-enter
their villages, after the combat, it is their custom to attach
these horrible trophies of th^ir shameful victory to the points

AND MISSIONARIES.

of their lances or to the bits of their horses. At the sight
of these spoils the whole tribe shouts with joy, and every
one considers it the highest gratification to assist at the
Scalp Dance and Feast — which is celebrated amid the most
discordant yells and fearful gestures. They plant a post
daubed with vermillion in the midst of the camp ; the war-
riors surround it, flourishing in their hands the bloody scalps
which they have brought back from the field of battle ; each
one howls his war-song to the lugubrious tone of a large
drum ; then giving in turn his stroke of the tomahawk on
the post, he proclaims the victims that his hatchet has im-
molated, and exhibits ostentatiously the scars of the wounds
which he has received.

Such is, even at the present day, the degraded condition
of the unfortunate Indian. They never take the field with-
out endeavoring to draw down the favor of the Great Spirit,
either by diabolical rites or by rigorous fasts, macerations,
and other corporeal austerities. They even go so far as to
cut otF joints of the fingers and toes. Add to the thick
shade of heathen darkness a shocking depravation of man-
ners, and you will have a faint idea of the lamentable posi-
tion of these wretched tribes. Yet these same men welcomed
me with open arms, as a messenger from the Great Spirit !
A vivid emotion, depicted in every countenance, accompa-
nied their respectful attention to my discourse, while 1 in-
structed them in the great truths of religion.

An event which occurred two days after my arrival at

Fort Pierre, contributed much to augment their confidence

in me. I give it as it occurred. The tribe of the Ogallallahs

had entered in a hostile manner on the lands of their neigh-

bois, the Absharokes (or Crows), and had attacked them

The latter defended themselves bravely, routed their aggres

sors, and killed ten or twelve warriors. They had even eiii

I "i i

1 ■ V

WESTERN MISSIONS

ployed a mode of repulsion which covered the tribe that
experienced its effects with immortiil disgrace : they pursued
the Og'allallas with rods and clubs. This, according to them,
signifies that their adversaries were worth neither the lead nor
powder that would he expended in killing them. So shame-
ful a defeat discourages the Indian, and he no longer dares
appear before such an enemy.

In this affair, the chief of the vanquished nation, named
the Red Fish, lost his daughter, who was carried off by the
Crows into captivity. Melancholy and humbled, he deserted
the wigwams of his tribe, which loss of honor and the death
of so many of its warriors had overwhelmed with mournir &
and desolation. He presented himself at Fort Pierre on the
morrow of my arrival. The object of his journey was to ob-
tain the liberty of his daughter, through the mediation of
the officers of the fort ; he offered eighty fine buffalo-robes
and his best horses for her ransom. In his visit to me,
grasping my hand firmly in Vis, with tears coursing down
his cheeks, and heart-broken with grief, he thus addressed
me, while sobs often interrupted his utterance: ''''Black-
gown^ I am a most unhappy father ! I have lost my be-
loved daughter. Pity me, for I have learned that the medi-
cine of the Black-goion (the prayer) is powerful before the
Great Spirit. Speak to the Master of Life in my favor, and
J will still preserve hope of seeing my child^

At these few words., which the emotion of the aged man
rendered singularly eloquent, I replied, that I sympathized
with his sorrow, but that he must himself prepare the way
for the blessing of Heaven — and that by virtuous deeds he
might obtain from the Great Spirit the accomplishment of
his desires. I added, that without doubt the Master of Life
had been offended by this unjust attack upon the Crows, of
which he himself had been the chief instigator, in his posi-

fLu,l

AND MISSIONARIES.

tribe that
ey puisued
ig to them,
he lead nor
So shame-
Qger dares

on, named
off by the
e deserted
the deatli
mo'jrnir;&
rre on the
v'as to ob-
iiation of
Falo-robes
t to me,
ng down
addressed
Black-
my be-
he medi-
fore the
vor^ and

ed man
athized
ie way
?eds he
lent of
of Life

3WS, of

s posi-

((

tion as Great Chief, and that to himself solely he must attrib-
ute the misfortune of his child, and all the other miseries
which had resulted from that expedition. I exhorted him
to abandon in future all unprovoked attacks upon his neigh-
bors, and to persuade his tribe to hearken to the orders of the
Great Spirit, which I had come to announce to them. I con-
cluded by speaking to him of the mercy of God, who always
hears the voice of the afflicted when they love and serve him.
I also promised him the assistance of my prayers, and he on
his part ag.eed to follow my counsels.

Red Fish returned soon after to his nation, and collected
all the principal chiefs, in order to communicate to them
what had passed at the fort, and in particular his conversa-
tion with me, the Black-gown, concerning his daughter.
At that very moment a cry of joy was heard in the extremity
of the Gimp. They ran up from all sides to ask the cause ;
at length the good tidings are announced, that the captive
daughter has escaped safe and sound from her enemiep. The
old chieftain scarcely dares to believe what he hears. He
rises, and on leaving his oabin he has the unspeakable con-
solation of beholding once more his beloved child, whom
P;:\idence had restored. Imagine, if possible, his astonish-
T T'; and delight, shared with him by his tribe. Every
H-;',d vas lifted to heaven to thank the Great Spirit for the
deliver, uce of the prisoner. The report flew quickly from
village to village, and this coincidence, that Divine Provi-
dence permitted for the good of the Ogallallahs, was to them
a certain proof of the great power of Christian prayer, and
will, I hope, contribute to confirm these poor Indians in
their good dispositions.

The number of half-breeds and Indians baptized among
ilu Sioux amounts to several hundred. I conferred the same
sacrament upon six adults far advanced in years, two of

WESTERN MISSIONS

whom were over ninety, and dwelt in a little hut of buffalo-
skins, in which a poor fire with difficulty imparted a little
warmth to their members, chilled and stiffened with age.
They received me with great joy. I spoke to them of the
Great Spirit, of the necessity of baptism, of the future life,
of the blessed or miserable eternity which must follow this
state of being. They listened with avidity to the instruc-
tions which I repeated during several days, and, in fine, re-
ceived the sacrament of regeneration. They were never
weary of tell' ^o; me again and again that they had never
ceased to love ■■ eat Spirit, and that, being ignorant of
more suitable pra} ..rs, they had daily offered him the first
fruits of the calumet !

This recalls to my mind a fact, insignificant in itself, which
nevertheless proved a source of genuine consolation to me.
On my arrival in the nation of the Brules, I was singularly sur-
prised to find myself followed by a youth about fifteen years of
age, whom my presence seemed to afford a degree of pleas-
ure which it would be difficult for me to describe. The
little kind encouragement, by which I corresponded to his
manifestation of contentment, so effectually conciliated his
affection for me, that the efforts and threats even of the sav-
ages who surrounded me, could not remove him any length
of time from my pprson. Scarcely had they taken him from
my side by violence, than another path brought him back ;
he even penetrated into the grand council of the chiefs, in
which the expeditious diplomacy of the Brules agitated the
questions of which my arrival among them required a solu-
tion. Night came on, and terminating the deliberations of
the assembly, obliged me to withdraw from my new friend.
His narrow and flattened brow, his silly stare and extraordi-
nary gestures, gave me to understand that he was of the
number of those beings whose want of reason is ft p^feguard

«v;

AND HISSI0NARIE8.

:>f buffalo-
id a little
with age.
3m of the
uture life,
^llovv this
5 instruc-
1 fine, re-
re never
ad never
Jorant of
the first

If, which
to me.
arly sur-
years of
'f pleas-
3. The
i to his
ted his
he sav-
length

against the loss of innorence, and I resolved to regenerate
liiin on t .0 morrow in the salutary waters of baptism. I
tliercfjre caused the whole tribe to be collected, and after
giving them a clear explanation of the blessings of the sacra-
ment that I was going to confer, I caused them to under-
stand the happiness that was in reserve for all eternity to a
being apparently so vile, and who had hitherto been only an
object of their contempt, or at least of their compassion.
These few words produced a profound impression upon my
new auditory, and were followed by numerous petitions for
the grace belonging to the Great Spirit, like my poor friend
Paschal (this was the name of the little idiot), who is now
treated with respect almost amounting to veneration through-
out his whole tribe. But not being able to remain with
them longer than a few days, I contented myself with bap-
tizing a great number of their children; and giving the
others a hope, that later we would return and visit them,
and that we could then instruct them, and grant, in a more
useful manner, the favor which they solicited.

There is a custom existing among the Indians, which is
excessively liitiguing to the stranger or to the missionary who
visits one of their villages. A-> soon as he arrives, a succes-
sion of grand banquets is given in his honor, and Indian
politeness exacts that he accept all these invitations — and
the savage pre ires without delay the best and most delicate
that he has. Ihe fat dog, which with them replaces the fat-
ted calf, is the most acceptable dish, and is reserved for great
occasions, ikfter this, succeed buffalo-tongues, ribs, etc., etc.,
and a great variety of fruits, grain, and roots.

In every camp which I visited, I was conducted ceremoni-
ously from banquet to banquet, by the leading chiefs. Every-
where I was presented with a dish so filled with their deli-
cacies that each portion would have sufficed me during several

WESTERN MISSIONS

days. All must be consumed. This would be impossible
were it not for the allowance of the blessed privilege of con-
ducting one or two eaters with us. In some of the Sioux
camps, the guests are permitted just to touch the dish, and
then take it home to their cabins.

In the various camps which I visited, I presented each one
of the great chiefs with a medal of our Holy Father, Pope
Pius IX. On this occasion I explained to them the high
position of the Great Chief of all the Black-gowns — the
respect, the veneration, and the love that all the nations
faithful to the Great Spirit testify to his vicar on earth, etc.,
etc. They immediately brought the calumet, and after hav-
ing oflfered it first to the Master of Life, imploring his bless-
ing, the savages, in their engaging simplicity, presented it to
his visible representative, entreating me to make known to
him the esteem and love which they bear to him, and the
ardent desire they entertain to listen to the Black-gowns sent
in his name.

When distributing medals to the Indians, these explana-
tions become neces="iry ; for, being naturally inclined to
superstition, they often treat those objects with more than
respect. A Sioux chief gave me a singular proof of this.
While I was suspending the medal of Pius IX. to his neck,
he testified an extraordinary joy and gratitude. ''^ I will place
it" said he, " with my War-Manitou ; it will render me as
prudent in councils during peace, as the other has rendered me
strong in battle." I asked an explanation of these words.
He at once opened a little box, and drew forth from it a
package, carefully wrapped up in buckskin. He unrolled it,
and, to my great surprise, I saw a colored picture of General
Diebitsch, in full uniform, and mounted on a beautiful war-
horse. For ye'irs the Russian had been the Manitou of war
to the Sioux ohief ; he invoked him, and offered him his

'■■■>?■

KivU

AND MISSIONARIES.

impossible
ge of con-
the Sioux
> dish, and

1 each one
her, Pope

the high
>wns — the
e nations
arth, etc.,
after hav-
his bless-
nted it to
:nown to

and the
^wns sent

e
i
)re

xplana-

ined to
than

of this,
is neck,
II place
•• me as
ered me

words,
m it a
)l]ed it,
reneral
1 war-
of war
im his

calumet, before all his enterprises against his enemies, and
attributed to him the success of the many victories he had
gained. I endeavored to disabuse the poor Indian of his
strange devotion, and have reason to hope that my efforts
vere not useless.

As stated already, I was sent to the Sioux tribes to sound
their dispositions in a moral and religious point of view.
The little account that I have the honor of presenting you
discloses the result of my visit. What I have narrated
touching these inhabitants of the desert, offers little encour-
fijxement to the missionary. There is an immense difference
between them and the Flat-Heads, and numerous other nations
that occupy the regions west of the Rocky Mountains. These
first children of my apostolate have given me consolations
that I should vainly seek among the Sioux. Would, then, a
mission with the latter prove destitute of success ? The little
experience that I have been able to acquire, and my residence
among them, inspire me to trust more confidently in Ilira
who holds in liis hands the most obdurate hearts and the
most refractory wills. I hope that in the course of this year
something may be done in favor of these degr<aded Indians,
so long left without the aid of religion. The same happiness
will be granted to the Black-Feet, who already count eleven
hundred neophytes. The pious Associates of the Propaga-
tion of the Faith may contribute greatly to the accomplish-
ment of this lioly work, by their fervent prayers.

I quitted the uplands of the Niobrarah and the Mankizita
towards the end of October, 1848, before the season of rain
and snow. These places are the temporary abodes to which
the (liff*orent tribes of Sioux repair in autumn, for the pur-
pose of hunting the wild animals, which abound at that
time, and thus provide themselves with hides and meat for

the

approaching winter. The consumption of skins in Mis-

lii

WESTERN MISSIONS

souri must be immense, for all Indians use them for con-
structing their huts, as well as for the harness of their
horses and their own clothing. Last year, 110,000 buffalo-
robes, with skins of elk, gazelle, deer, big-horn, otter, beaver,
etc., and 25,000 salted tongues, were received in the ware-
houses of St. Louis. This may give you an idea of the ex-
traordinary number of buffaloes killed, and of the extent of
the vast wilderness which furnishes pasturage to these
animals.

We set off in a skiff from Fort Bonis, which is near the
mouth of the Little Medicine River. Our trip was delightful.
The weather proved magnificent, and the two shores of the
Missouri, teeming at this season with an extraordinary quan-
tity of every species of game, offered the most graceful and
varying spectacle, while it opened a vast field to the greedi-
ness and skill of our hunters.

At Council Bluffs, the sky, which had been hitherto
clear and serene, suddenly changed, to give place to wind
and tempest, and thick clouds of snow, which accompanied
us during two days. We took refuge in a dense forest,
in order to defend ourselves from the inclemency of the
storm. The wild honey which we found there was our prin-
cipal resource, one poplar alone, which we felled, furnishing
us with more than we needed.

We made but little progress during ten days, on account
of head winds, rain, and snow. Before arriving at the mouth
of the Grand Tarkio, the Missouri was so covered with float-
ing ice that, in our frail bark, we were exposed to the great-
est danger, especially from the many sawyers with which the
bed of the river is thickly set, and which discover or con-
ceal their menacing heads on every side. These are trees, or
trunks of trees, which the river uproots and washes from its
banks, and whose roots get firmly fastened in the muddy

AND MISSIONARIES.

bed of the river. As there are no dikes or embankments
which can hinder the river from overflowing, it often hap-
pens that whole forests are uprooted and swallowed in its
waves. These create great embarrassment and obstacles to
its navigation.

Prudence forced us to abandon our boat. I therefore
hired a farmer's wagon, which brought us safe and sound
to St. Joseph, after a drive of two days through a great
forest which skirts the Missouri. The steamer which I
hoped to meet there had departed on the eve of my arri-
val, and thus the opportunity of a prompt return to St. Louis
appeared lost to me. I vesolved, however, to exert myself to
the utmost to overtake the boat : this to many would appear
folly ; the idea of running after a liigh-pror>sur« steamboat
certainly does appear quite ridiculous. But I relied upon
the numerous delays of the boat at the different sand-banks,
which were more likely to take place, also, as the season was
advancing. I calculated well ; in twenty-four hours I was
on buard.

For four months I had been night and day exposed to the
open air, and, as in all my other excursions, with no bed but
H butfalo-robe. Yet my health had been uninteri iptedly
good, not even suffering from the slightest attack of cold ;
but scarcely was I subjected, during one day, to the heat ot
the stove in the cabin of the steamboat, than I was seized
with a violent sore throat — it being my first indisposition
through the whole of my long journey.

At length, after four months' absence, I arrived without
other accident at the University of St. Louis, where, enjoy
iug with my brethren the charms of the community life, 1
soon forgot the little fatigues of my expedition.

^' ^' — I subjoin a list of the principal forest trees found

Iilll^

WESTERN MISSIONS

along tlie batilcs f)f the Missouri, hoping it may prove agree-
able to the ainateiirs of botany :

Populus aii^nlata.
Plutiimis occidontalia.
Cultis crussitblia.
Gleditschia triacanthus.
Rohinia pst'iulacacia.
Ju}^lan.s olivuB tbriuia.
Cormis Florida.
Azalia Hpinosa.
Gymuooladus Canadensis.
Monis, rubra ct alba.
Laiinis sassatras.
Ulimia Americana a.. >4 aapera.
Acer rubruin et saccharinuni.
Diospyros Virgiuiana.
Salix.

Cornus sericoa.

Prunns.

Pyriia coronarea.

Castanea Americana et pumila.

Quercus palustris, macrocarpa ^t

piunila.
Betula nigra, papyracea et lenta.
Sambucus.

Juglaiis squamoaa ct ni(;ra.
Corylus.
Fraxinua.
Pinna.

Juniperns Virginiana.
Vacciniinn reainoaum.
Magnolia.

SHRUBS.

Berberla vulgaris. Laurna benzoin. (Spice-buah.)

Viburnum. (Arrow-wood.) Burnet saxifrage.

Hawthorn. Vines of dillerent speciea.

Vaccinium ; Oxycoccus. Elkwood.

I am, with the most profound respect, and esteem the
most sincere,
Gentlemen,

Your most humble and most obed't srrv't,

P J. De Smet, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

Letter VI.

To THE Directors of the Association.

Univbbsity or St. Louis, June 10, 1849.
Gentlemen :

In order to complete the observations which I had the
honor of offering you in my late letters on the Western
tribes of Indians of the United States, I purpose submitting
to you certain facts touching the actual condition of the In-
dians in Upper Missouri and among the Rocky Mountains.

Tlie facts — such is, at least, my opinion — reveal clearly the
melancholy future which at no very remote epoch awaits
these nations, if efficient means are not employed for pre-
venting the woes with which they are threatened. My visit
to several tribes, and, above all, that which I lately paid to
the great Sioux nation, have only confirmed the sad fore-
bodings to which my experience, during a prolonged resi-
dence among these forsaken children of the forest, had given
birth. I have communicated these views, in substance, to
an honorable agent of the United States Government, who
is laboring with ardor and constancy in the amelioration of
the condition of the Indians, and who joins, as much as is
in his power, the use of means to the laudable wishes of his
heart.

I have traversed at several different times the vast plains
which are watered by the Missouri and its principal tributa-
ries, such as the Platte or Nebraska, Yellow Stone, the
Mankizita-Watpa, the Niobrarah, Tchan Sausan, called
James River by the whites, the Wassecha or Vermillion, and

WESTKRN MISSIONS

the three great superior forks that constitute the source of
\he Missouri, viz., the Jefferson, the GalUitin, and the Madi-
»on. Coasting along the north and south brandies of the
Saskatchawan, I penetrated three hundred miles into the in-
ferior of the forests and plains watered by the Athabasca.
In evciy place the whites, half-breeds, and natives, who in-
habit these regions, agree in saying that the buffalo, moose,
or American elk, and deer of all kinds, diminish in an alarm-
ing manner, and that in a few years these races of animals
■will have wholly disappeared. Tlie territory traversed by
the Athabasca furnished, some yeais ago, abundant game to
the greater part of the nations of the Crees, and to a tribe of
Assiniboins, which, sixty years previous, had detached them-
selves from the main body of their nation. Well, over this
vast extent of territory I met but three fcunilies, viz. — an old
Iroquois with his children and grandchildren, numbering
about thirty-seven ; a family of half-breeds composed of
seven persons; and a Sioux with his wife and children. The
Crees and the Assiniboins, hitherto the occupants of this land,
have been forced to follow the track of the buftalo, and are
beginning to intrude upon the territory of the Black-Feet.
I resided a long time among tlie Flat-Heads and the Kalis-
pels. I have visited at different epochs the Koetenays at the
North, and the Shoshonies or Snakes at the South. Their
vast territories, watered by the principal branches of the
Ui)per Columbia and the Rio Colorado of the West, were
formerly abundantly provided with every variety of game,
which furnished them with clothing and nourishment.

But now that the buffalo has disappeared from these
lands, the poor Indians are obliged to go and pass a portion
of the year east of the Rocky Mountains, in search of their
only means of subsistence. Often, too, in pursuit of their
prey, they are drawn into the regions claimed by the Crows

'?<

•'I

i^tiL

AND MISSIONARIES.

and Black-Feet, and are thus obliged to open their way,
amis in hand. The Yantons and the Santics, Sioux tribes,
are beginning to make inroads on the hunting-grounds of
tlie Brules, a portion of the Sioux nation. Tlie Ponkahs are
often driven to the necessity of hunting in tlie lands of the
Sioux and of the Cheyennes. Formerly the lowas, the
Oniahas, and the Ottos subsisted principally on the product
of their buffalo-hunts ; at present they are reduced to the
most pitiful condition, having nothing for food but a small
quantity of deer, birds, and roots. Such is their miseiy
that they are forced to scour the country in every direction,
and in little bands, most happy if they escape the ambush of
an enemy more powerful than themselves, and who frequently
massacre the old, the women, and children. It is not rare
here to have to deplore similar cruelties. Each year shows
an increase of these revolting scenes — melancholy forerun-
nera of an approaching and tragical issue.

The Pawnees and the Omahas are in a state of nearly ab-
solute destitution. Surrounded by enemies, where shall
they go to hunt the wild animals which often fail them, hav-
ing retired to other sections ? It is true, that for a consider-
able time it has been customary among them to cultivate a
little field of squashes and corn ; but often, also, when the
harvest appears to meet their expectation and their toil, the
enemy comes suddenly and wrests from them this last pitiful
resource.

The buffalo is disappearing and diminishing each success-
ive year on the prairies of the Upper Missouri. This does
not, however, hinder them from being seen grazing in very
numerous herds in particular localities ; but the area of land
that these animals frequent is becoming more and more cir-
cumscribed. Besides, they do not remain in the same place,
but change pasturage, according to the seasons.

6«

I' >lj'

WESTERN MISSIONS

|t> ^l!|

I Jt

It,

Thence arise the incursions which the Sioux make into
the territories of the Riccaries, the Mandans, the Minataries,
the Crowe, and the Assiniboins ; thence also the mutual in-
vasions of the Crows and the Black-Feet in their respective
hunts. These depredations are committed by all the wan-
dering tribes of the dosert, and give birth to dissensions,
and to incessant and bloody wars, which annually revive and
multiply, to their great detriment and misfortune. It is not,
therefore, astonishing that the number of these savages is
gradually decreasing. In the plains, war and famine lend
their aid ; on the frontier of civilization^ liquors, vices, and
maladies carry them off by thousands.

I have visited the Elack-Fcbt. the Crows, Mandans, Assini-
boins, the Riccaries, the Minataries, etc., who possess the
whole region of the Upper Missouri and its tributaries. The
condition of all these savages, far from the influence of all
religions and moral principles, renders them much alike —
ejusdem farince. Among them all a^ 3 met the same cru-
elty, the same barbarity, the same sloth and supineness, in
fine, the same degrading aud revolting superstitions, pushed,
to the most remote limits whict the human mind abandoned
to itself, and under the empire of vile passions, can reach.

It is quite a common observation, and I have myself
heard it offered by several persons, that the " religious as well
as the social condition of the Indians of these regions, is in
nowise canablo of am'^lioration." I am far from part^'cipa-
ting in this opinion. Let the obstacles arising from the peo-
ple who style themselves civilized, be removed ; let al trade
in ardent spirits, that deadly scourge of the Indian, be pre-
vented; let missionaries be sent, whose zeal ib, prompted
only by the love of our Divine Master, and with no object
but the happiness of the poor souls intrusted to their care,
and I am confident that in a short time we should have the

.<.

ANP MISSIONARIES.

consoling spectacle of a sensible improvement among them.
My personal observations serve as a foundation for these
hopes. I. have had frequent interviews with the Black-Foet,
the Crows, the Assiuiboins, the Riccaries, and the Sioux.
They have always lent the most marked attention to all my
words ; they have ever listened to the holy truths which I
preached to them with extreme pleasure and a lively interest
They entreated me with the most captivating ingenuousness
to take compassion on their miseries, to establish myse.f
among them, promising to join a faithful practice to the
i.nowledge of the truths I should impart to them. Among
the Indians of the great American desert, I never found
even one who presumed to rail against our holy religion.

To put an end to the cruel wars which decimate these na-
tions ; to rescue so many souls from the baneful consequences
of the idchicry in which they are buried; to prevent the to-
tal ^';:.Lruction of these tribes already so wretched, and yet
redeemed like ourselves by the precious blood of our Lord
.Jesus Christ, is it not an enterprise worthy of inflaming the
zeal of a minister of the Gospel ? a work worthy of claim-
ing the efficient co-operation and assistance of a government
as powerful as is that of the United States ?

As to agriculture, considered as a means of civilization, its
introduction will always be difficult among the Indians, as
long as there remains to them a hope of procuring t)uffiil()es
or other wild animals. It would prove, in my opinion, a
chimera to pretend to introduce this brancli among them on
an extensive scale in the beginning. We know, however, by
experience, that, althongh little habituated to the fatigue of
the assiduous labor that farming requires, some tribes have
already attempted to cultivate their little fields. Tliis step
taken, each year, according to the abundance of the increase,
t^ 'imits of these little fields mi'dit be extended. Liko

1 1:.^

WESTERN MISSIONS

their brethren who reside west of the Rocky Mountains, they
would become more and more attached to the soil whose
productions would be the result of their toil. Their roving
habits, the wars which often spring from them, would insen-
sibly give place to a more peaceable and domestic life. The
animals which they would raise replacing the buffalo, would
insensibly efface its memory amid surrounding plenty.

During the last ten years, a great part of the disposable
funds of the Vice-province of Missouri have been emploj'^ed
in the relief of the Indians. The liberality of the Associa-
tion for the Propagation of the Faith established at Lyons,
and those of our friends, have assisted us powerfully in con-
verting and civilizing the tribes beyond the Rocky Moun-
tains. Several of oar fellow-members still pursue there the
same work of charity, and many of our Fathers and Brothers
desire to visit the tribes which I visited last year. An estab-
lishment founded among them east of the Rocky Mountains
would be most desirable ; but the pecuniary means which
they have at their disposal are very far from answering to the
work which they contemplate. The lively interest which
you take, gentlemen, in the salvation and civilization of so
many thousands of men in the wilderness, inspires me with
confidence to appeal to your generosity, which alone can fur-
nish the means of conducting to a happy conclusion an
enterprise so vast and so eminently Catholic.

There are among these Indians several hundreds of
children of mixed blood, whose parents are anxious that
means of instruction should be afforded them. To attain
this, schools and establishments would be necessary, in which
agriculture could be learned ; and also many children of
pure Indian blood could be received, as the heads of fami-
lies are desirous of confiding them to the care of the mis
sionaries. A short statistic will give you an idea of the good

'"1.

AND MISSION AKIES.

which might be done among these Indians. Among the
Black-Feet, Father Point and myself baptized more than 1100
children |»among the "Gens du Sang," a tribe of Black-Feet, M.
Thibaut baptized sixty ; the Rev. M. Bellecourt, of Red River,
visited Fort Berthold, on the Missouri, and baptized a good
number of the children of the Mandans ; all the savages pre-
sented him their children for baptism. F. Hoecken, in an ex
cursion made among several tribes on the Missouri, baptized
over 400 persons; M. Ravoux, who visited some tribes of Siouji
in 184Y, and penetrated as far as Fort Pierre, was hstened to
everywhere with a consoling eagerness, and baptized a great
many children. In my late tour among the Sioux, the Pon-
kahs, etc., I baptized more than 300 children and several
adults.

From all these facts, may we not conclude, with sufficient
certainty, that these poor souls seem ripe for a more peace-
able life, and for a blessed eternity ?
I have the honor to be,

Gentlemen,

Yours, &

P. J. De Smst.

• ll^

^'■mm

WESTERN MISSIONS

^tttjinA ^tvit^.

-♦♦^-

Letter L

To THE Chevalier DiEUDONNfe Stas, Editor op the Jour-
nal DE BrUXELLES.

Bbdssels, June 30, '1853.

Dear Sir :

After many journeys in the deserts of North America,
I am at last in my native land, happy to be able to express
to the benefactors of the poor Indian all the gratitude of the
missionaries.

Since my last departure from Belgium, I have travelled
prairies where no mission had ever been established — indeed,
where no Europaan probably had ever been.

We ascended the Missouri for about seven hundred and
thirty leagues, and crossed a plateau of over a hundred, on
the upland that separates the waters of the Yellowstone
from those of the Missouri. From the Yellowstone we pro-
ceeded southwest, marching about three hundred leagues to
the Black Hills atid Wolf Mountains, spurs of the Rocky
Mountains. We left these hills at the great road leading
from the Rocky M'^nntains to California.

On the 2d of September, 1851, we were on this highway,
trodden by the whites hastening, these latter ; cars, to the
gold mines. The road is fine, broad, and perhpj)s the longest
in the world. On the track of the emigrant caravans, you

■m

•■'.i

^f^4.

AND MISSION A RIF:S.

>[)

can travel easilv fiorn the frontier settlements to tlie Pacific.
This immense avenue is like a barn-floor swept by the vjnds.
No blade of grass springs up, so unceasingly is it trodden by
the feet of thousands of Americans and Europeans hastening
to California. Our Indians, who had seen only pathless
wastes, crossed at most by a hunter's trail, thought, on be-
holding it, that the whole nation of the whites had passed over
it, and that the land of the sunrise must be depopulated.
They could hardly believe me when I told them that the
multitudes who had gone were scarcely missed.

Providence has supported my feeble courage, guided my
stt.'ps, fructified the seed of the gospel in lands which had
not yet received them. After travelling many hundred
leagues, I saw what good could be done among these wan-
dering tribes, always at war, without consolation in misery,
because they scarcely know of the hopes of eternity. With
the grace of God, I hope to return next spring with Bishop
Miege, the Vicar-Aposlolic. We will be able to found mis-
sions f«)r those nomade tribes on a soil fertile enough to sup-
port them, and thus removing occasion of war, let civiliza-
tion, with the light of the faith, dawn on these wastes.

The limits of a journal do not permit me to enter into
details on this expedition to the Great Desert, on which I
have yet published but one letter ; but I intend to publish
more in the Precis Historiques^ published by Rev. E. Tej \ve-
coren, at the College of the Society of Jesus, Brussels.
Besides a notice on the Mormons, a new sect, dating from
182G, but threatening to ])lay in America the part of the
Moslem in Asia, I am preparing notes to develop to Euio-
peans the almost unknown state of religion in that vast por-
tion of the world, and to leave authentic documents on the
rising church of the wild«^rness. 1 will vary these historical
details with notes, written in the desert, on geology,

i ..^i;

IB li

« 1 ^

m \ 1

ml 1 1

if III 1

I ■ 'I

t i

if
ii

; 1

WESTEKN MISSIONS

zoolijgy, botany, the manners, religion, and language of the
Indians.

This will show what civilized Europeans are too apt to
forget, that Catholicity, by the very force of her missions,
contributes to the civilization of nations and the develop-
ment of science. The government of the United States
knows it, and encourages our labors. The good to be accom
plished is in every respect immense. The Catholics and
recent converts need priests to preserve the faith, the pagans
to learn the good tidings of the gospel. The small number
of ministers of the Lord there does not suffice for the four
millions of Catholics, and for all the Indians who desire
ardently the visit of a Black-gown, to instruct and baptize
them. I have come to Europe to appeal to generous hearts.

I will express one more desire, and express it frankly. I
come, too, to solicit alms. I am not unaware that Belgium
is constantly visited by missionaries from America, the Indies,
and the East. I am conscious that the benevolent can
scarcely satisfy these repeated solicitations. But Europeans
cannot conceive the immense want of succors experienced
in these countiies, to prevent defections, convert the heathen,
form missionaries, establish schools, build churches, &c.

Consent, sir, to contribute by your estimable paper, which
has elicited so many generous works, to make known this
twofold object of my coming to Europe, where I shall prob-
ably remain till the close of September.

Your obed't serv't,

P. J. De Smet. S. J,

AND MISSIONARIES.

Lette. II.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Journey to the Great Desert in 1851.

University of St. Louis, Jan. 16, 1852.

On the Yth of last June, accompanied by Father Christian
Hoecken, I embarked, at this place, on board the steamer St.
Ange, to go to the Rock) Mountains. The boat ran to Fort
Union, which is about three miles above the mouth of the
Kiver Yellow Stone, on the northern side, and about 730
leagues northwest of St. Louis. Several passer.gers, mem-
bers of the American Fur Company, set out on the same
occasion, intending to repair to the f^ijQferent trading-posts
established auiong the Indians of the Upper Missouri. They
took with them about eighty men ; these were principally
Canadians, some were Americans, some Irish, German, Swiss,
and Italians, and several '"'■Francain de France^'' a title which
is given them here, to distinguish them from the Franco-
Americans. They went in quest of earthly wealth ; Father
llcecken and I in search of heavenly treasures — to the con-
quest of souls.

We had had a wet spring. Up to the moment of our de-
parture tlie rain had been excessive ; the snows and ice,
which had collected in heaps during the rigorous season of
the more northern regions, detaching themselves and dis-
solving, in a very short time swelled the thousand and thou-
sand tributaries of the mighty Mississippi. These rivers, one

WKSIERN MISSIONS

1 .;

after the other, precipitated their torrents into the ^'■Father of
Waters" and so swelled it that it overflowed, rolling its
muddy billows from upland to upland, over a surface of
eight, fifteen, and in several places of twenty miles in width.
No longer knowing any bounds, tlie river, usually so grave
and sublime, disappeared. Beneath its waters also vanished
the verdure of the smiling plains, the stately forests, and
the varied spring-flowers which so delight the eye of the
traveller. A vast lake now covered all this space; and the
immense volume of water, which went on continually en-
hirging, carried ruin and desolation among the numerous
habitations which covered the lowlands on either shore. We
could see the torrent descending with the violence and rapid-
ity of an avalanche, overturning and sweeping every thing
with its angry waves.

In ordinary times, the sawyers and sand-banks are the
principal obstacles to navigation in the western waters ; they
had now entirely disappeared, and gave the pilot no anxiety.
But other dangers had taken their place ; the whole face of
the waters seemed covered with wrecks ; nouses, barns,
stables, fences of fields and gardens, were borne away, in
confusion, with thousands of uprooted trees — wood piled on
the shore and lumber-vards, were all afloat. In the midst
of these floating masses, whose dangerous contact we could
not always avoid, the St. Ange used her whole power of
steam to stem an almost irresistible current. Several times
the boat was carried down ; twice, especially, it was a regular
contest between the river and the steamer. The latter, for a
good quarter of an hour, lay, as if motionless, in the mid.st
of the angry waters, but, thanks to the quantity of tar and
resin with which her furnaces were charged, she at last
triumphed.

Amid such fearful dangers, the remembran(,'e of the object

li, '■

AND MISSIONARIES.

of the missionary's voyage sustains and animates him ; lie
knows that he is in the hands of Him wlio can " comiMand
the winds and the sea," and that rarely has heaven perkuit-
ted that a vessel bearing missionaries should perish.

The inundations of the rivers, the continual rains of spring,
and the sudden transitions from heat to cold, are, in this
climate, sure precursors of malignant fevers. The cholera
appears to assume an epidemic type in these regions. Dis-
ease, in many forms, soon appeared on board the St. Ange.
From the moment of its advent a mournful silence took the
place of the rude shouts and boisterous conversations of our
travellers. Six days had hardly elapsed from our departure,
when the boat resembled a floating hospital. We were 500
miles from St. Louis when the cholera broke out in the
steamer. On the tenth, a clerk of the American Fur Com-
pany, vigorous, and in the prime of manhood, was suddenly
seized with all the symptoms of cholera, and expired after a
few hours' illness. The following days several others were
attacked with the same malady, and in a short time thirteen
fell victims to the epidemic.

A bilious attack confined me to my bed nearly ten days.
Good Father Hoecken devoted himself to the sick night and
day, with a zeal at once heroic and indefatigable. He vis-
ited them ; he assisted them in their sufferings ; he prepared
and administered remedies; he rubbed the cholera patients
with camphor ; he heard the confessions of the dying, and
lavished upon them the consolations of religion. He then
went and blessed their graves on the bank of the river, and
buried them with the prayers and ceremonies prescribed by
the Roman ritual. This beloved brother had, naturally, a
hardy constitution, and was habituated to a life of privation ;
but the journeys and continued labors of the mission among
the Indians had greatly weakened it, and his assiduous and

64.

WK8TERN MISSIONS

fatiguing attentions to the sick completely exhausted him.
In vain I warned him, begging him to spare himself; his
zeal silenced every other consideration; instead of taking
precautions against exposure, he seemed to delight in it. It
gave me pain to see him fulfilling this heroic work of charity
alone ; but I was in such a state of debility that I was inca-
pable of offering him the least help. On the 18th, fears
were entertained that my illness was assuming the form of
cholera. I requested Father Iloecken to hear my confession
and give me extreme unction, but at the very moment he
was called to another sick person, who was in extremity.
He replied, going, " I see no immediate danger for you ; to-
morrow we will see." He had assisted three dying ones
that day. Alas ! never shall I forget the scene that occurred
some hours later. Father Hoecken's cabin was next to mine.
Between one and two o'clock at night, when all on board
were calm and silent, and the sick in their wakefulness
heard naught but the sighs and moans of their fellow-suflfer-
ers, the voice of Father Hoecken was suddenly heard. He
was calling me to his assistance. Awaking from a deep
sleep, I recognized his voice, and dragged myself to his pil-
low. Ah me ! I found him ill, and even in extremity. He
asked me to hear his confession : I at once acquiesced in his
desire. Dr. Evans, a physician of great experience and of
remarkable charity, endeavored to relieve him, and watched
by him, but his cares and remedies proved fruitless. I ad-
ministered extreme unction : he responded to all the prayers
with a recollection and piety which increased the esteem that
all on board had conceived for him. I could see him sink-
ing. As I was myself in so alarming a state, and fearing
that I r"ight be taken away at any moment, and thus share
his last abode in this land of pilgrimage and exile, I besought
him to hear my confession, if he were yet capable of listen-

■..,,'

AND MISSIONARIES.

iiig to mc. I knelt, bathed in tears, by the dying couch of
my brother in Clirist — of my ftiitliful friend — of my sole
coinpaniou in the lonely desert. To him in his agony, I, sick
and almost dying, made my confession ! Strength forsook
him : soon, also, he lost the power of speech, although he
remained sensible to what was passing around him. Resign-
iug myself to God's holy will, I recited the prayers of the
agonizing with the formula of the plenary indulgence, which
the Church giants at the hour of death. Father Hoecljen,
ripe for heaven, surrendered his pure soul into the hands of
his Divine Redeemer on the 19th of June, 1851, twelve days
after our departure from St. Louis. Who would then have
foretold it ? So ardent were his desires to labor for the glory
of God, that he sighed for the wilderness — he thirsted for
the salvation of souls ! Alas ! how many projects annihi-
lated ! In any other enterprise it would have proved suffi-
cient motive for discontinuing a perilous journey ; but the
desire of procuring God's glory endows man with strength
that nature denies him.

Father Christian Hoecken was born in Upper Brabant,
lie was only forty-three years old at his death. The last fifteen
years cf his life were passed among the Indians, who had
oouceived the most profound veneration for him. He was
tdl to them — their father in Christ, their physician in illness,
their counsel in difficulties, their sincere and faithful friend.
When he could share any thing with his poor neophytes, he
rejoiced with all the simplicity of a child. His only conso-
lation was to be among them. He was an active instrument
in the hands of God to announce his holy word to thousands
of pagans. The churches that he bnilt, and the fervent con-
gregations of Indians that he collected and formed, attest
his fervor, and the apostolic zeal which animated him. His
holy death crowned all his labors. A martyr of charity, he

6»

WESTERN MISSIONS

exercised his sacred ministry to his very agony. Sad, but
salutary, will ever be the remembrance of that last solenui
and aflectinj^ hour. What friends could ever offer, jr take a
more touching or more religious farewell ?

The passengers were deeply moved at the sight of the
lifeless corpse of him who had so lately been " all to all," ac-
cording t> the language of the apostle. Their kind f/ither
quitted them at the moment in which his services seemed to
be ,the most necessary. I shall always remember with deep
gratitude the solicitude evinced by the passengers to the
reverend father in his dying moments. My resolution not
to leave the body of the pious missionary in the desert, was
unanimously approved. A decent coffin, very thick, and
tarred within, was prepared to receive his mortal renjains : a
temporary grave was dug in a beautiful forest, in the vicinity
of the mouth of the Little Sioux, and the burial was per-
formed with all the ceremonies of the Church, in the even-
ing of the 19th of June, all on board assisting.

About a month after, on the return of the St. Ango
which passed near the venerated tomb, the coffin was ex-
humed, put on board of the boat, and transpoited to the
Novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Florissant. There re-
pose the mortal remains of Father Hoeckeu, with those of
his brethren. His death, so precious in the sight of God,
saddened the hearts of the passengers, but for many it was
a salutary sorrow. A great number had not approached the
tribunal of penance during long years; immediately after
the funeral, they repaired one after another to my cabin to
confess.

Five more passengers were also fatally attacked, but re-
ceived before expiring the consolations of my ministry. The
languor and weakness to which the fever had reduced me,
quitted me insensibly : after a lapse of some days I found

AND MISSION A RIK8.

myself perfectly recovered, so that I was able to celebrate
iiuiss on board and devote my whole tiiiie to the sick.

As the boat ascended the river and penetrated farther into
the country, attaining^ the higher and more open portions of
the Indian territory, the epidemic gradually disa{)peared.
We could again give a little time to the contemplation of
the beauties of the wilderness, to reflections on the future of
these interesting solitudes — above all, of their poor, despised
inhabitants. I will describe them in my future letters.
Tliey will inform you whatever striking or edifying events
happened in my relations with the Indians during the long
and dangerous journey which I have just terminated.

Accept, etc.,

P. J. De Smet.

P. S. — The following notice of the death of Rev. F.
Hcnoken, from "The Shepherd of the Valley," a weekly
journal, is attributed to His Grace the Archbishop of St.

Louis :

" The Rev. Father Christian Hoecken, of the Society of
Jesus, died of cholera, on board the St. Ange, on the
Missouri. Those only who have had the happiness of an
acquaintance with the deceased can form any idea of the loss
religion has sustained by his death. To the knowledge of
several Indian languages he joined a perfect understanding
of the manners, prejuc-'ces, and predilections of the savage?.
He showed the most dovoted attention to their interests, as
well temporal as eternal. He enjoyed a robust conpdtution,
united with a great energy of character, w!»ich induced hira
to undertake without hesitation any work that seemed likely
to redound to an increase of the glory of God. The quali-
ties which most distinguished him amid his labors and pri-
vations were his admirable frankness, his simplicity, his

WESTERN MISSIONS

sound judgment, an ever-joyous and peaceful disposition of
mind and heart, and an imperturbable contentment, which
the author of this notice has never found to the same degree
in any individual. It would be impossible to find a mission-
ary more apostolic, and we are convinced that the illustrious
Society of which he was a member, counts no more faithful
and fervent religious among her children."

fKdi,,

AND MISSIONARIES.

Letter III.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Travels in the Great Desert, 1851.

Univeksity of St. Louis, January 18, 1852.

The mouth of the river Platte, or Nebraska, is the point
of division between the Upper and Lower Missouri. To the
early navigators on the river it was a kind of equinoctial,
where, as at sea, the Neptunian tribute was exacted of all
2)ork-eat€7'S, as all were styled who vis'ted the desert for the
fii>t time. No one could escape.

The flat country, or the valley of the Missouri, is covered
with dense forests extending from the bank of the river to
the hiii'li hills that skirt it on either side for from four to six
miles in width. The forests are successively replaced by
flourishing cities, fine villages, and thousands of beautiful
farms. This alluvial soil is probably unequalled on the
earth for the richness of some of ils productions. The
Wood is in great demand. As the country is settled and trade
becomes more important, steam-mills increase and prepare
all kinds of timber and boards; the steamboats, too, con-
sume immense quantities of wood.

Between the Nebraska and the Wasecha, or Vermillion,
f"i' about four hundred miles the forests are vast and beauti-
ful, often intersected by rich piairies of turf and verdure.
This contrast delights the traveller. Every time be enters

wp:stkkn missions

the desert lie*cannot refrain from admiring this succession ol
forests and plains, this series of hills wliich encircle them
and present such a variety of forms, — here and there covered
with trees and underwood of a thousand kinds, sometimes
rising, bold, rugged cliffs, to the height of one or two hun-
dred feet, and then noble plains, ascending gradually, with
scattered groves, so pleasing to the sight that art seems to
have crowned the work of Nature. We wonder that we do
not see farms, barns, and fences. Surely, one just from
Europe would think himself on the demesne of some great
lord, and would be amazed at not seeing the mansion and
its appurtenances.

Nature seems to have lavished its gifts on this region ; and
without being a prophet, I can predict a future far unlike
the past for this desert. The words of the Psalmist will
be soon applied — "The earth was created for the abode
of man, and to manifest the glory and perfection of the
Lord."

These plains, naturally so rich and verdant, seem to invite
the husbandman to run the furrow, and promise an ample
reward to the slightest toil. Heavy forests await the wood-
man, and rocks the stone-cutter. The sound of the axe and
hammer will echo in this wilderness ; broad farms, with or-
chard and vineyard, alive with domestic animals and poul-
try, will cover these desert plains, to provide for thick-com-
ing cities, which will rise as if by enchantment, with dome
and tower, church and college, school and house, hospital
and asylum.

I speak here principally of the region from the mouth of
the river Kansas to that of the Niobrai'ah or Eau qui coule,
aiid extending beyond the Black Hills, continuing along
their crest to the Rocky Mountains, thence it follows south-
wardly the already existing limits of Utah, New Mexico, and

'',j I

AND MISSIONARIES.

Texas. This region contains several large rivers, with nu-
merous tributaries, the principal of which are the Platte, the
two rivers just named, and the head-waters of the Arkansas,
Osage, and Reji. These present the greatest inducements to
civilization.

Will not the President of the Republic, like some of his
predecessors, pluck some plumes from the Indian eagle, once
the emblem of their greatness and power, to place them in
the crown composed of the trophies of his administration ?
In the limits which I trace he will find an extent of country
vast enough to be represented by three or four stars more of
the first magnitude, which will enhance the lustre of the
galaxy of the flag of the Union. This great territory will
hold an immense population, destined to form several great
and flourish; '^ States.

But, then, what will become of the Indians, who have
already come from afar to abide in this land ? What will
become of the aborigines, ^vho have possessed it from time
immemorial? This is, indeed, a thorny question, awaken-
ing gloomy ideas in the observer's mind, if he has followed
the encroaching policy of the States in regard to the Indian.
I have remarked with pleasure one ray of hope in the future
for these poor and wretched tribes. They readily send their
children to school ; they make rapid progress in agriculture,
and even in several of the most necessary mechanical arts ;
they carefully raise poultry and domestic animals. We
may then hope that the sad remnant of these numerous na-
tions, who once covered America, now reduced to earn their
bread in the sweat of their brov/ (for they can no longer
ouu^ist by hunting), will find an asylum, a permanent abode,
and will be incorporated with all the rights of citizens c{
the Union. It is their only remaining chance of well-being;
humanity and ju >tice seein to demand it tor them. If thej

WESTERN MISSIONS

^■1

iiiiii

■' ( ut \ .' 'ill

ill

are again repelled and banished further inland, they will
perish infallibly. The Indians who refuse to submit or ac-
cept the definitive arrangement, alone favorable to them,
v/ould resume the wandering life of the plains, and close
their sad existence as the bison and other animals on which
they live, vanish.

In the neighborhood of the Mankizitah, or White-earth
River, the hills are blackenrid, and evidently owe this ap-
pearance to subterraneous fires. The. soil is light and sterile
for about a hundred miles; the high hills have little verdure,
and the bottom or valley is very narrow. Some of the hills
may even be called mountains.

The islands of the Missouri are, in general, well wooded,
and present on all sides most agreeable views. On some is
found the red cedar, the most durable wood of the country,
lasting longer than any other when plunged in water or
buried in earth. If we except the space between the Nio-
bi'arah and Mankizitah, where the low prairies are rare, p/nd
where the upland is almost entirely iinwooded, this district
has many fine sites, which seem to invite the pioneer, and
say, "The time is not far off; here you will raise your
cabin and till your field." Coal is also very abundant, and
will supply the failure of the forests.

From the Mankizitah to the great bend of the Missouri,
and thence to Fort Mandan, and even above the mouth of the
Yellowstone, on both banks, the country is very fine ; the
fertile soil gives most abundant crops. Here and there, on
the banks of the great rivers, the forests are pretty fine,
while in the upland plains, as you recede from the river,
the country is destitute of trees, and even of bushes.

In mv visits to the Indian tribes, I have several times trav-
ersed the immense plains of \\\p West. I have travelled
over various sections, from the frontiers to the Pacific, and

frc

ail

I-.'

it^

.4.

AND MISSIONARIES.

from the Hudson's Bay territory, along the Saskatchewan
and Athabasca, to Great Salt Lake, now the head-quarters
of the Mormons. Every time that I have travelled over
these plains, I have found myself amid a painful void : Eu-
rope's thousands of poor, who cry for bread, and wander
without shelter or hope, often occur to my thoughts. "Un-
happy poor," T often cry, *' why are ye not here ? Your
industry and toil would end your sorrows. Here you might
rear a smiling home, and reap in plenty the fiuit of your
toil" Yes, this void exists; and when I say it must be fill(.d
by an industrious and persevering population, I concur with
the experience of all travellers.

It would be impossible for me to describe the sombre
silence that reigns in this vast desert. You may pass weeks
theie, on the march, without meeting a living soul. And
Jot we become habituated to it — like it. Solitude seems to
give scope to man's intellectual faculties ; the mind seems
more vigorous, the thought clearer. It has always seemed
to me that when one travels over the plains, he feels more
inclined to prayer, meditation, confidence in God, more dis-
posed to resign himself into the hands of Hiin who alone is
our refuge amid perils, and who alone can provide for all our
wants. Doubtless the removal of all bustle and business, the
constant dangers to which we are exposed from wild animals
and enemies, liable to be met at every step, contribute to this.

It has often been remarked that the songs of the birds are
moi'e sweet and agreeable here than in the forests of the
east. This phenomenon is capriciously attributed to the
effects of society. From the scarcity of wood, the birds aie
forced to perch on the same tree, or seek the same grove,
and thus teach each other. It is commonly supposed that
the biids in Europe are better singers than those in America:
can this be attributed to any other cause than that just given ?

h i

s. ^1

;:ii

WESTERN MISSIONS

If you would have an idea of the topography, vastness,
and extent ot" our western plains, imagine P'rance, (iermanv,
Belgimn clianijed into one single prairie, along water- courses,
and intersected here and there by a wood of sjnall extent, or
by a very small forest.

You will excuse these little dio'ressions on the localities I
have traversed. They will show, witlial, to our unbelievers
in Europe, that science and civilization may find their ac-
coinit in voyages undertaken for the good of souls and the
glory of the Church. And then, too, all these fair and
varied objects make us incessantly bless heaven, and say,
with the Psalmist, " The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness
thereof."

At last we reached the Great Bend, where the boat came
to land opposite a camp of lantons, a powerful tribe of the
Sioux nation. As soon as these Indians perceived us, they
broke out into cries of joy, and honored <nir arrival by seve-
ral volleys of musketry. Their women had prepared a great
quantity of dry wood ; we accepted it thankfully, and they
received in return a present of tobacco, lead, flour, coftee,
and sugar — the articles they prize most.

The Indians gave us the sad tidings of the ravages which
the small-pox was then causing at Post Bonis and its neigh-
boihood, near Little Medicine River, which enipties into the
Missouri at the upper bay of the Grjcut Bend. This bend is
thirty-six miles in circumference, while it is only four miles
across by land. At my request, the captain put me ashore,
and two hours after I was among the sick. I spent the
niijht with them, giving them all the consolation in my
!'^v-' S' ni' be!ie\e<l that tlie tliscasc- rcs; luhNd tliegcat
, . .:ii>- 'ii L nt;on. The sur\ ivors long r* t.-.ined biack spots.
Even during this contagious disease, the Indians retained
their old custom of giving a last abode to the dead, by

AND MISSIONARIES.

placing the body, wrapped in a blanket or buffalo-robe, on
scaffolds raised eight or ten feet above the plain. They left
them thus exposed to the burning heat of a July sun, the
most intense of the year. The pestilential exhalations of
these corpses infected the air for miles around.

They showed me in their camp a little orphan boy who
had been attacked, and who, given up, had been turned out
of the lodge in the midst of the night, during a fearful rain,
by his adoptive father, a cruel and unfeeling man. lie was
still alive in the morning, when a Canadian perceived him,
and, like the good Samaritan, carried him to his hut and
lavished the most constant care on him. I had the pleasure
to see him recovering, and to baptize him.

Some days after, I was at Fort Pierre, situated on the
shore, south of the Missouri, about 1500 miles above St.
Louis, and near the mouth of the Schicah, or Bad River.
The influenza had existed for some time in the fort, and a
panic had seized many at the news that the small-pox was
in the neighborhood, and the cholera on board. In fact, im-
mediately after we started, the last broke out and carried off
many. The 'Indians, awe-struck at the approach of danger
from this implacable scourge, were overjoyed at my presence ;
the children of the whites and of the Indians encamped
around the fort were presented to me, to the number of
eiglity-two, to be regenerated in the holy waters of baptism.

The same inquietude reigned at the post of the Arickaras.
Some couriers had announced the approach of the boat, and
spread alarm by reporting that there were contagious dis-
eases on board. But when the people saw that all were well,
their fears vanished, and they welcomed the boat with the
usual demonstrations on such occasions. Cries of joy burst
from two thousand mouths ; volleys of cannon and musketry
rolled echoing over the plains. The scene was beautiful and

1 1 '

.:M

,■•'.

i>^

WESTERN MISSIONS

imposing. The fort stands on a high hill, nearly a hundred
feet above the level of the river. A long row of Indians, in
their gayest costumes, their faces daubed with various colors,
hned the shore.

I had galloped on in advance of the boat, to have time to
instruct the half-breeds and Canadians, and baptize all their
children. I spent two days among them. A great number
of Indians, learning of my arrival at the fort, came to shake
hands with me from respect, and to bid me welcome. At
the same time they earnestly begged me to grant their little
children the same benefit of baptism that I had granted the
half-breed children. I yielded to their wishes, in conse-
quence of the great danger in which they were. The num-
ber of baptisms was about two hundred. Not long after, I
heard that the cholera had swept through the village of the
Arickaras, and that many of the children had fallen victims.
What a consolation, that, by the sacrament, I unlocked the
gates of heaven to them !

We now bade farewell to the officers of the fort, to plunge
further into the desert. Ere long we passed the Mandan vil-
lage, composed of large huts covered with earth. This once
numerous nation is now reduced to a few families, the only
survivors of the small-pox of 1838. Their village lies 1800
miles above the mouth of the Missouri, two hundred below
the mouth of the Yellowstone. Some days after, we stopped
at Fort Berthold, to land some goods at the great village of
the Minataries, or Osier tribe, nicknamed the Groa Ventres
of Missouri. Their cabins are built like those of the Arick-
aras and Mandans. Four forks, or rather four forked trees,
set in the ground, about twenty feet apart, form a square.
These are joined on top by cross-pieces, over which other
pieces are laid obliquely, leaving a great opening in the cen-
tre, to admit air and give vent to the smoke ; these pieces

l:i

AND MISSIONARIES.

are woven together with osiers : the whole is covered with
hay and earth — not with turf, however. An opening is made
on one side to receive the door, which consists of a bison-
skin. Before the door is a sort of alley, ten or fifteen feet
long, inclosed by pickets, and easily defended in case of
attack. In the middle of the lodge, under the upper open-
ing which admits the light, a hole about a foot deep is dug
to answer as a fireplace. Around the lodge there are beds,
one, two, or three feet from the floor, with doe-skins as cur-
tains. The whole village is surrounded by a high and strong
pallisjide of large trees, squared.

The Minataries raise Indian-corn, squashes, beans, and po-
tatoes. The other permanent villages on the Missouri are
those of the Osages, Omahas, Ponkahs, Pawnees, Arickaras,
and Mandans. The Minataries are of the same stock as the
Crows, and speak about the same language. They say that
they separated in consequence of a dispute between two
chiefs, over a bison that both claimed to have killed on a
hunt.

The great chief of the latter village, called Four Bears, is
the most civil and affable Indian that I met on the Missouri.
He begged me to baptize his two children and several members
of his family. All the children of this tribe had been bap-
tized by Rev. Mr. Bellecourt, a zealous and untiring mission-
ary of the Vicariate Apostolic of Red River, which is under
the jurisdiction of Mgr. Provencher. Rev. Mr. Bellecourt
has visited these tribes several times, and met with great suc-
cess in disposing them in favor of our holy religion. I
learned, to my consolation, that in all probability a mission
would be soon established there, with one or two resident
priests, under the direction of Mgr. Provencher.

The place is admin bly well chosen, and the benefits of
religion will easily spread thence among the neighboring

70 *

WESTERN MISSIONS

nations, such as the Mandans, Arickaras, and Assiniboins.
These tribes evince great eagerness to hear the word of God
and to be instructed in our lioly faith, wlienever a Cathoho
missionary visits them. In Europe, the preachers and cate-
chists must use a thousand means to win auditors; here men
call priests to instruct them. They are eager for this nour-
ishment of the soul, this word of God, iliat so many others
despise ! What an awful account of this heavenly benefit
must be one day rendered by men of all ages, especially the
young, for whom religious teaching abounds in the churches,
colleges, and schools of Europe !

On the 14th of July, the steamboat St. Ange reached our
destination. Fort Union. This post is situated at 48° N.
I had then to make all my preparations av ' take all my pre-
cautions for my long journey on land. Yet, withal, I found
time to instruct and baptize twenty-nine little children, be-
tween Fort Union and Fort William, which are only three
miles apart. I said mass daily at the fort, and gave an
instruction.

Yours, (fee,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

iii

^C.

AND MI9SIONAR1KH.

Letter IV.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Journey to the Great Desert in 1851.
(continued.)

Sir:

UMViiKsiTY OF St. Louis, January 20, 1852.

The whole forenoon of the 31st of July, the clay on which
the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Ignatius, founder of
the Society of Jesus, was employed in making preparations
for our journey into the interior of the country. Mr. Cul-
hertson, superintendent of the forts on the Mississippi and
the Yellowstone rivers, is a distinguished man, endowed
with a mild, benevolent," and charitable temper, though, if
need be, intrepid and courageous. He has always given me
marks of kindness and friendship, but most paiticularly in
this last tour. Being at the head of our troop, he was able
to aid me in my project.

We numbered thirty-two persons; the greater part were
Assiniboins, Minatarics, and Crows, who were rej)airing to
the great Indian council to be held in the vicinity of Fort
Laramie, and by the same route that we had chosen, and
which was scarcely less than 800 miles in length. Two
four-wheeled wagons and two carts, for transporting our pro-
visions and our baggage, composed our whole convoy. The
four vehicles were in all probability the first that had ever
crossed this unoccupied waste. There is not the slightest
Y ptible vestige of a beaten track between Fort Union

.")

,iiiil I;.

M! 4'.

WESTERN MISSIONS

'^^

and the Red Buttes, which are on the route to Oregon, and
101 miles west of Fort Laramie.

Ilavinij: dined, Ave crossed the river with our baffiraire.
Fuilowiiii,' the course of one of the little trilmtaries of the
Yellowstone, we advanced about six miles. We had with us
a skilful liunter, of the Black-Feet tribe, and he made a
li.ippy commencement by bringing us two fine deer as the
first fruits of his ability. The mosquitoes attacked us on all
sides, leaving us no repose. We were forced to combat
them continually with branches, handkerchiefs, and smoke.
The last is the most efficacious weapon for dissipating these
sanguinary insects, but it is at the same time the most diffi-
cult for the traveller to support. Night came on, and brought
with it a terrible storm. The thunder rolled above our
heads and the clouds discharged torrents of water.

On tlie 1st of August, at six o'clock in the morning, we
resumed our route. We took all possible precaution to
{ivoid meeting any hostile band. The Indians who accom-
panied us kept their eyes on the earth to discover any re-
cent tracks of an enemy. An extraordinary experience
gives them an admirable tact in detecting trails which are
imperceptible to others. The foes that our travelling com-
panions dreaded most in the section we were about to trav-
erse, were the Black-Feet and the Sioux. After breakfast-
ing in the neighborhood of the source of the Fox Rivei*, we
journeyed from morning till night over hilly and undulating
plains, bounded by ranges of hills which stretch fi'om the
Yello%vstone to the Missouri. From time to time we descried
promontories in the distance, whicli serve as guides to the
traveller. .At the close of the day we pitched our camp at
the base of the Tetons of the Yellowstone. These Tetons
derive their name from a group of lofty hills situated in one
of those delightful valleys which are numerous in these

ft?

■4.

ui6

AND MlftSlONAUIKS.

pnrts, and whicli, being siirroundcd by trees and shrubbery
of virions kinds, form n most agreeable contrast to the plains
that we had just left behind so destitute of wood and water.
Wild fruit, such as plums, cherries, gooseberries, sorbs, buf-
falo-berries, or Shephrdia anf/elica, abound. Among the
vf'getables and roots we noticed the Psoralea eaculeiita, or
Ihvadroot : its white apple, and its charming white, oval blos-
som, nearly three inches in circumference, is universally
found in this uncultivated solitude, and would deserve a place
in a garden of choice plants; the savages value it highly.
The wild onion and the sweet onion bear handsome flowers;^
these plants would undoubtedly improve with culture. The
roots of the water-arrow (Safjittaria rif/kfa)^ and those of
the wild Lily of the Valley [Convullaria horealis)^ are
equally prized by the Indians, who call them Swan potatoes.
Teaiuits are also a delicious and nourishing root, found com-
monlv in low and alluvial lands. The above-named roots
form a considerable portion of the sustenance of these In-
dians during winter. They seek them in the places where
the mice and other little animals, in particular the ground-
squirrel, have piled them in heaps.

The musquitoes tormented us greatly during the day. They
especially worried our horses and mules, which were literally
covered with them. For us, we had taken measures against
their attacks by covering our heads with sacks formed of
coarse gauze.

The distance between the Tetons and Fort Union is about
eighty miles. We saw very few deer, and from time to time
an antelope or buck was roused from repose and fled at our
approach. Traces of several kinds of bear, especially the
grizzly bear, are very common ; the latter are found in the
woody places and along the streams and rivulets. We suc-
ceeded in killing three, not without great eflbrt and danger.

lir

WESTERN MISSIONS

Our hunter brought us two fine, fat antelopes, whieli were
soon dressed and served up for our supper. One of tlie In-
dians killed a skunk [Miqihitis Americana). The strong
odor of this animal is intolerable to the wliites; the savages,
on the contrary, appear to like it, and deem its flesh exquisite.
How true is the proveib : De gustihus non dispufaudum ! —
there is no accounting for tastes.

On the 2d of August we set out at break cf day, and
were fanned by a refreshing breeze. The country through
which we progressed was full of interest : the valleys were
^covered wiih a luxuriant verdure, intermingled with flowers
of various hues. Groves of cotton- wood, elm, and ash, as
Avell as groups of service-trees and cherry-trees, offered
themselves along the beds of dry rivers and streamlets. We
ascended, step by step, the hills which separate t!)e waters of
the Missouri from thobe of the Yellowstone, like so many
insuperable barriers furrowed with profound ravines. We
triumphed over these obstacles with great difficulty, and at
length attained tlie summit of the hiils. There a most mag-
nificent spectacle unrolled itself before our eyes. Nature
lias accumulated in this spot a great variety of her most fan-
tastical caprices. On one side is displayed a succession of
beautiful prairies, here and there interrupted with gi'oves of
stunted trees and shrubs, and terminating in verdant hills
dotted with groups of cedar and pine; on the other are
shapeless heaps of red and white clay and piles of stones,
which, viewed at a distance, resemble brick-kilns, from their
peculiar color: although thrown together without any appa-
rent order, they add much interest to the landscape.

The region through which we passed for several days fur-
nished evident proofs that it has been strongly volcanic, eveji
at a verv recent date, for the surf-ice is still covered with
lava and scorife. I counted as many as seventy conical hills,

AND MISSIONARIES.

from twenty to a Imndred feet in heiglil, grouped in one sin-
j^ie plain and in the space of from four to five miles: tlicy
had evidently gone through the ordeal of fire. Some of
these hills were composed of cinders tliat the earth in her
fiery convulsions appeared to have vomited from her centre.
Several times, after having gained some miles on the heights,
Ave found ourselves suddenly facing an almost perpendicular
descent, formed of rock and white clay, down which we had
to let our vehicles by hand. We llu n entered into a chain
of valleys and fertile praij'ies watered by springs and rivulets,
and embellished with the cotton-wood, elm, ash, cedar, and
pine; in other places the summits of the hills are lemark-
ahie for their beauty, and the rich undulr^ing plains for their
abundant verdui'e.

On the fourth day of our march we descried thousands of
bison ; the whole space between the Missouri raid the Yel-
lowstone was covered as far as the eye could reach. Hith-
erto the musquitoes had greatly tormented us, but now they
entirely vanished. We sought the cause of this phenome-
non. The Indians told us that the absence of our winijed
enemies was owing to the prodigious number of buffaloes
which weie grazing in the neighboring plains, and which at-
tracted these insects. In fact, we saw these noble animals
throwing the earth on their bodies by lueans of their horns
and feet, or rolliiig themselves in the sand and dust, and thus
filling the air with clouds, in the endeavor to rid themsi Ives
of their vexatious followers. The lot of these animals ap-
peared bad enough, for they were pursued day and night.
During a whole week we heard their bellow i tigs like the
noise of distant thpnder, or like the murmurs of the ocean-
waves beating a'^ain^l the shore. It mav be said tliat it is
the country in \/hich the buffalo and lierds of deer are yvn-
erally found in the greatest abundance. A good hunter

WESTERN MISSIONS.

iiiiglit easily kill here, in the course of a day, several co\vf>,
deer, a mountain-goat, a I'ed-tailed and a black-tailed buck,
an antelope, hares, and rabbits. lie might fire twice upon
a grizzly bear, and perhaps meet a gray and a silver fox.
To this list of animals we may add the beaver, otter, badger,
prairie-dog, and several kinds of wild fowl, principally pheas-
ants and grouse. It is easy to see that our hunters possess
the power of selecting a repast. In truth, we regaled our-
selves with what was most delicate, and left a great quantity
of tlesh in the plains for the benefit of the vultures and
wolves, whose bowlings and rejoicings already resounded on
every side.

An Ass: nboin gave us a singular proof of his dexterity in
the chase ; I cannot forbear mentioning it. Alone and on
foot, he stealthily approached a large herd of bison cows.
As soon as he was near enoui>h to them to allow o\' their
hearing him, he began to imitate the cry of a young calf.
At once the ccws lan towards the place of concealment of
the ingenious hunter, and he killed one of them. The troop,
alarmed, withdrew hastily and in gieat disoider. lie re-
loaded his rifle and renewed his cr}^ ; the cows stopped, re-
turned as if by enchantment, and he killed a second. The
Assiniboin assured us that he could easilv have taken more
by the same stratageiu, but thinking two cows were enough
for us, he sufi^red the rest to go.

Travellers in these upper regions enjoy an excellent appe-
tite. I have been mure than once astonished at the enor-
mous quantity of meat that a man is capable of consuming
without injury to his health ; it would hardly be credited in
Europe. One and even two buffalo-tongues, a »ide of veni-
son or other meat, an<l some additional trifles, are not con-
sidered a large portion for one meal.

On the 7tli of Auo'ust ^ve crosses! hiiuin intersected witli

■-:fs

AND MISSIONARIES.

numerous ravines and dried streanns. The soil was much
lic-hter than that we hist trod; it was covered with a species
of wild aneniisi;!, or wormwood — an infallible mark of .ster-
ility. The aspect of all the ravines, shores, and beds of
rivers and streams, as well as that of every eminence, proves
that there are niimeious veins of mineral coal in this section.
The observations that I made on the quality of the soil, in-
duce me to believe that there deposits of coal extend as far
;ts the numerous coal mines which exist in the territories
watered by the Saskatcliewan and Athabasca Lake, of which
1 have already spoken, in my letters in 1845 and 1846, after
travelling over those places.

Evident tokens convince the traveller that the immense
plains that he is crossing, and on which not even a shrub
grows, have not always been destitute of wood. Petrified
trunks and entire trees frecjuently meet the eye. Astonish-
nieut and admiration seize the mind, and excite conjectures
coiicerniuiif the manner in which these changes have been
wrought. But what answer oti'er to the question, " Why
are not thtse lands wooded as they must have been in for-
mer tunes?" The ste})pes of Asia, the pampas of South
Auiciica, and the western prairies of this hemisphere, seem
to possess a common and unifoim character; generally speak-
ing, they have neither trees nor shrubs on them. Some
'•bseivers attj'ibute it to the action of frequent fires which
have passed over these localities; others to the change un-
dergone in the climate, or to the natural sterility of the soil ;
and, in fine, there are some wlio pretend that some operation
or convulsion of nature has destroyed the forests which for-
merly existed here, and has reduced them to their present
condition. 1 have examined ditlerent localities; and the
enorLiOUs heaps of shells of the testaceous kind and of the
genus muscula, which I found some feet distant from the

It?

. Jh ,Ji 111

•

1 1

WESTKRN MISSIONS

summits of the loftiest liills, and which were incorporated in
alluvial earth, and mingled with sand and water-worn peb-
bles, convince me that this portion of land has undergone
changes as great as they are amazing.

On the same day we traversed a mountainous elevation
which stietches as far as the Owl-jiead Buttes. These buttes
or mounds, in this ocean-like prairie, serve as guides to the
warrior, the traveller, and the hunter, wljo can perceive ihem
thirty miles off. From tlie summit of this extensive eminence
we contem})lated, with pleasing wonder, the " White Earth
country," or clay plains of the Yellowstone. Fiom south to
north they measure from thirty to forty miles. When on
this height, the imagination discovers the ruins of ancient
villages, and one seems to see confused rows of broken col-
umns, forts with their turrets and bastions, towers, domes,
walls in decay, castles, and edifices of every sort. Some of
these pillars of red and white hardened clay rise to an eleva-
tion of from 50 to 100 feet. It would have gratified me
much to have passed one or two days in an attentive exam-
ination of these volcanic productions. I presume that the
soil is not unlike that near the White Earth River, a tribu-
tary of the Missouri, and that it contains the same species of
interesting fossils. ,

Similar tracts, which have ceased to be volcanic, are found
in the environs of the superior sources of the Rivers Arkan-
sas, Platte, etc., and of the Big Horn, a branch of the Yel-
lowstone. Near the source of the River Puante, which
empties into the Big Horn, and the sulphurous waters of
which have probably the same medicinal qualities as the
celebrated Blue Lick Springs of Kentucky, is a place called
Colter's Hell — from a beaver-hunter of that name. This
locality is often agitated with subterianean fires. The sul-
phurous gases which escape in great volumes from the buru-

the|
grc

un<|
evel

ANI> MISSIONARIES.

ing soil infect tlie atinosp lero for several iniles, and render
the eartl) so barren that even the wild wormwood cannot
grow on it. The beaver-hnnters have assnred nie, that the
underground noises and explosions are often frightful. How-
ever, I think that the most extraordinary spot in this respe-it,
and perhaps the most marvellous of all the northern half of
this continent, is in the very heart of the Rocky Mountains,
.^ between the 43d and 45th degrees of latitude and 109th and
null degrees of longitude, that is, between the sources of
tliH Madison and Yellowstone. It I'eaches more than a hun-
d'ed miles. Bituminous, sulphurous, and boiling springs^
are verv numerous in it. The hot springs contain a large
quantity of calcareous matter, and form hills more or less
elevated, wliich resemble in their nature, perhaps, if not in
their extent, the famous springs of Pemboukkalesi, in Asia
Minor, so well described by Chandler. The earth is thrown
up very high, and the influence of the elements causes it to
take the most varied and the most fantastic shapes. Gf.s,
vnpor, and smoke are continually escaping, by a thousand
openings, from the base to the summit of the vol(!anic pile ;
the noise at times resembles the steam let off bv a boat.
Strong subterranean explosions occur like those in " Colter s
Hcliy The hunters and the Indians speak of it with a su-
perstitious fear, and consider it the abcnle of evil spirits, that
is to say, a kind of hell. Indians seldom approach it with-
out offering some sacrifice, or, at least, without pi-esenting
the Jumet of peace to the turbulent spirits, that they nuiy
h« ])iopitious. They declare that the subterranean noises
proceed from the forging of warlike weapons: each eruption
of ea! th is, in their eyes, the result of a combat between the
uitvrnal spirit ■•, and l>econies the monument of a new victory
or .alaniitv. NVar Gardiner River, a tiibutarv of the Vd-
lowstone, and in the vicinity of the region 1 have just been

WESTERN MISSIONS

describing, there is a mountain of sulphur. I have this re-
port from Captain l^ridger, who is familiar with every one of
these mounds, having passed thirty years of his life near
them.

From the Owl Buttes, where we encamped on the 7th of
August, to the source of the Immel, a distance of nearly
thirty miles, we travelled on the highlands. The surface
was rugged, cut by deep ravines, and excessively difficult to
pass with our vehicles. At every step ""» met volcanic re-
mains. For two days our route ottered on the right and left
burnt hills, some of which were covered with lava and sco-
riae, and had evidently been craters, whence volcanic matter
had been ejected into the neighboring plain.

At the decline of he same dav, we were witnesses of a
singularly beautiful phenomenon. The moon was surround-
ed by four circles ; the first was of a beautiful azure, the
second a rich purple, and the third white, while the fourth
was obscure or black. In the midst of all these circles the
queen of night shone brilliantly. The savages augured from
tljis sign, that some hostile band was near, and passed the
whole night in arms, watching.

On the 10th we quitted the highlands and advanced about
twenty miles, over a barren, rugged space, excavated by
rains. A kind of salamander, vulgarly called " horned frog,"
lizards, and rattlesnakes, were most abundant. I give you
the information I gathered from the Indians concerning the
antidotes they emj)loy for curing the bite of the last-named
reptile. Blackroot [Pterocaidon) is regarded by them as a
sovereign remedy against the wound inflicted by this most
venomous serpent, and Providence has rendered it very plen-
tiful, precisely in those places in which these snakes are
found. The remedy is truly side by side with the ill — for it
is sufficient to chew the weed and apply it to the wound,

AND MISSIONARIES.

wlien the swelling is arrested and disappears. When an In-
dian, his iiorse, or his dog, has been bitten by one of these
serpents, they pursue the reptile, which dies almost directly
utier havino- given its bite. They open its stomach, take
out the blood that it has swallowed and a])ply it to the
wound; the swelling subsides at once, and the dangerous
ttfects of the poison are prevented. When the swelling is
considerable, the Indians use the sharp bones and the teeth
of the rattlesnake to pick and open the swollen skin, and by
this means they dissipate or remove the inflammation. The
copperhead-snake has a poison so subtle, that its breath alone
causes death to him who inhales it. Its tongue is not forked
like that of other snakes ; it is of a triangular shape. When
the reptile is startled and provoked, his head flattens, and
he throws from his mouth a great quantity of yellow poison,
and then blows till he expires.

On the 11th we arrived at the upper portion of a gently
sloping plain. Having crossed it, we found ourselves at Fort
Alexander, situated on the banks of the Yellowstone, and at
a short distance from the little river Rosebud. Fort Alex-
ander is one hundred miles distant from Fort Union. The
winter, it is said, is extremely severe in these regions, com-
mencing in November, and only terminating in the month
of April.

Accept, &c.,

P. J. I>ir. Smet, S. J.
8«

WESTERN MISSIONS

fill

Letter V.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

St. Louis, Jan. 24, 1852.

Jniversity

After remaining six days at Fort Alexander, allowing
our animals time to repose, and also awaiting the arrival of
a barge belonging to the American Fur Company, which
was freighted with some of our eftects, we passed over the
Yellowstone on the I7th of Auirust, at about two o'clock.
We passed over a high and very level plain : for a distance
of five miles the soil is light, sandy, and entirely covered
with green toads, as the voyageurs call different kinds of
cactus — plants that are noted for the splendor of their flowers,
and for their grotesque and varied shapes. The round and
the oval, about the size of a hen's agg, abound in this plain,
and are set with long thorns, hard, and as fine and sharp as
needles. When trampled by the horses' feet, these thorns
spring up and adhere to the legs and belly of the animals,
and thus render them furious and unmanaofeable. We soon
arrived in Rosebud Vallev, and continuing our route until
sunset, we encamped on the borders of a little river bearing
the same name, and quite near a beautiful pond, over which
a new dam had been constructed by the beavers.

This section of the c< ntry off'ered us frequent occasions
of admiring the hibors aii ingenious industry of these in-
telligent animals. They are more numerous here than in
any other district I have visited, and I am told that their

presl

sion:

alii

■«

hull

part
that
Cro

this

Thi

AND MISSIONARIES.

preservation is chiefly attributable to the continual excur-
sions of war-parties, either Sioux, Assiniboins, or Black-Feet,
all implacable enemies of the Crows, and these prevent the
huntsman and the savages from hazarding a chase in these
parts. At present, the fur of the beaver is of so little value
that their search is almost abandoned. In ancient times the
Crows held the beaver in the highest veneration, because
this nation imagined that they became beavers after death.
This article of their creed entailed the loss of his scalp to
many a bold huntsman among the whites, for every Crow
Indian considered himself bound to protect, defend, and
avenge, even with death, the spirits of his near relations, in
their second state of existence. During late years this dog-
ma of faith has been erased from their religious code, to the
groat detriment certainly of the poor beavers. Such super-
stitious will never wholly disappear until the Catholic faith
enlightens these wilds, over which the darkness of paganism
still hangs.

For four days we continued ascending the valley of the
Rosebud, about one hundred miles, as high as the sources
of the river. There again we found the soil light and sandy ;
it was covered with wild rose-bushes, cactus, and artemisia
of several varieties, and intersected with ravines which were
exceedingly difficult to be crossed with baggage-wagons.
The shores of this river relieve the eye with an occasional
group of cotton-wood, intermingled with plum, cherry, and
service trees, which thrive here in undisturbed plenty.

The Little Wolf Mountains, whose rivulets give rise to the
Rosebud River, have in general a charming appearance in
their hills and acclivities — and in their combined aspect as a
whole chain. The absence of water, especially of spring-
water, is a painful privation to travellers in this season of
the year. We found, indeed, some holes of stagnant water,

1 i

WESTERN MISSIONS

in the dry bctls of the rivers, but the taste is almost insup-
portable. The butfalo-lierds are less numerous here tha!J in
the lands lying further north, owing no doubt to bands of
warriors that roam over the space. Yet we perceived at
every moment large troops of stags, and a great many deer and
mountain-sheep. We remarked recent traces of enemies —
such as the slain carcasses of very dangerous wild animals,
the impress of human feet in the sand, concealed encamp-
ments, and half-quenched fires. Consequently we redoubled
our vigilance, iu order to avoid a perilous surprise. A beau-
tiful chiefs-coat, of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with gold
lace, suspended from the branch of a tree, was perceived
waving in the air like a floating banner. There was a race
to win the prize; an Assiniboin having carried it otf, it was
most carefully scrutinized. The conclusion was, that it had
been offered only the day before by some Black-Foot chief.
These Indians, when on the war-path, frequently make such
offerings either to the sun or to the moon, hoping thus to
render them propitious, so that through their intervention
they may obtain many scalps and horses. The most precious
objects which they possess and which they esteem most, are
often thus sacrificed. The Mandans, the Arickaras, and their
neighbors, go still further : they cut off fingers, and make
deep incisions in the fleshy parts of the body before starting
for war, in order to obtain the same favors of their false
gods. On my last visit to these Riccaries, Minataries, and
Mandans, I could not discern a single man at all advanced
in years whose body was not mutilated, or who possessed
bis full number of fingers. How profound their ignorance i
How fearful the idolatry in which these unhappy tribes are
plunged ! To this sombre picture we may add a passionate
love of gaming, which consumes the hours which should be
devoted to necessary repose ; a sloth which nothing but hun-

tui

AND MISSION AKIKS.

fjor can arouse ; an innate inclination to dissimulation, glut-
tony, and to whatever can flatter sensuality. A»id still,
amid this ocean of miseries, they foel an indeseribable need
of invoking a power supciior to man : they listen attentively
to any instruction wliicli I'eveals to them the means of pro-
curing his favor, and give them information of his attributes.
Thny lov(^ the missionary, and ever listen to him with de-
light; and in his quality of priest receive him with friend-
ship and respect. To judge by the I'cspect and friendship
sliown me as a priest, on all occasions and circumstances, by
ilu- Indiaiis on the Upper Missouri, I am satisfied that if a
few z«^'ilous priests were stationed here, they would soon be-
come generous Christians, full of zeal and ardor for the glory
of our God and his holy law. " They would know tlu'ir
Father who is in hea\en, and Ilim wliom lie has sent on
earth ;" they would become faithful disciples of the Redeem-
er, who so ardently desires the salvation of all, and who did
not disdain to shed his blood for them on the cross.

On the 22d of August we quitted the valley of the Rose-
bud, and crossed the mountainous train which separates it
from Tongue Ri ^er. The crest of this chain presents a con-
tinuation of sandotone clitFs, under a multitude of varied and
fantastical shapes. The sides are almost perpendicular, and
consequently very difficult to ascend or descend with our
wagons. The aia of every arm was necessary to sustain the
teams. For several days we had to camp by a pond filled
with disgusting water. How agreeable the contrast to find
ourselves on the borders of this beautiful river, the waters of
which are pure as crystal ! How eagerly did we allay our
I'uniing thirst! The horses and mules appeared to rejoice,
neighing and reanng v.ith impatience; as soon as their bri-
dles Were loosened, they plunged into the waves and in-
dulged ill loi'i>- draughts. When the whole caravan had

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(716) •72-4S03

4^n

WESTERN MISSIONS

h 1

assuaged their thirst, we continued our route. We traversed
an un<lulating plain ; and perceiving in the distance a promi-
nent point of land which appeared sparkling with crystals,
we named it Diamond Hill. It was covered with enormous
masses of mica. For the first time since we left Fort Alex-
ander we breakfasted beside beautiful springs of fresh water,
the most remarkable in the country. After advancing about
twenty-three miles that day, we camped on the banks of
Tongue River. There we had a new occasion to lecall and
arrange our recollections of the land we had seen. Coal
also appears as abundant south of the Yellowstone as above
it ; we met it everywhere. The slopes of the hills ar*^ well
wooded with larch and pines of every variety up to the very
summit, throughout the whole extent of the Little Wolf
chain. This we left for that of the Great Wolf, which we
reach before ariiving at the Black Hills. These mountains
form vspurs of the Rocky Mountains; the principal summits
are over 13,000 feet high. On the 23d we left Tongue
River. For ten hours we marched over mountain and val-
ley, following the course of one of its tributaries, making,
however, only about twenty-Jive miles. On the day follow-
ing we crossed a chain of lofty mountains to attain the
Lower Piny Fork, nearly twenty miles distant. We arriv(!d
quite unexpectedly on the borders of a lovely little lake
about six miles long, and my travelling companions gave it
my name. There our hunters killed several wild ducks. On
quitting the lake, we discovered another elevated poition of
land on which red mounds and scoriie, volcanic remains, are
scattered in all directions, as far as the Upper Piny Fork;
and there petrified trees are met with at every step. To-
wards evening we encamped at the base of a mcuntain, after
advancing about twenty-five miles, and thought ourselves
favored in finding a pool of water. The next tweuty-fuur

III

AND MISSIONARIES.

miles were taken in the direction of Sandy River, through
undulating plains and inountainou. hills.

On the 27th of August we reached Powder River, one of
the principal tributaries of the Yellowstone. Our wagoners
will not soon forget the difficulty of conducting their teams
through this last route, for it was a very miserable, elevated,
sterile plain, covered witli wormwood and intersected with
countless ravines, and they vowed they would never bo
caught driving a wagon tliere again.

The valley of the Powder River, in the neighborhood of
the Buttes aux Callebasscs, which are in sight, is three or
four miles wide. Although the soil was light, the verdure
was fine and the grazing abundant. The part where I
crossed the valley is well wooded, and they told me that
wood, especially cotton-wood and fruit trees, is abundant all
along the river. This valley forms a beauiiful contrast with
the high plains of these parts, which are the very picture of
aridity ai'd desolation, with naught but weeds, rocks, and
(ieep lavines.

Here we happened to meet with three young Indians of
the Crow tribe. They had been on the lookout for a Sioux
camp, intending to steal horses, but had not succeeded.
These young men advised us to pursue the vale of a little
river which they pointed out to us, assuring us that by
taking that direction we should soon arrive at Fort Laramie.
I was surprised at this counsel, for the course of the valley
was southwest ; however, we followed the route indicated by
the Crows. This proved the most rugged and difficult part
of our journey, hence we styled it " the valley of a thousand
miseries." A name could not have been better chosen.
Imagine a river with \ irpendicular banks, winding in a ser-
pentine course through a nariow valley, so that in a distance
of three miles we were obliged to cross it ten or twelve

WESTERN MISSIONS

times, witli cnrts and wantons, at the imminent risk of kill-
ing our horses an»J mules and destroying our vehicles. The
soil, too, was sterile, and as we journeyed on water became
scarce — on the fifth day it failed completely, and it did again
on the last. The night that ensued was a hard trial, for
after so long a march we had not a drop of water to quer.i^h
our burning thirst.

On the Is* of September, having traversed three c'lains of
hills, we gradually attained .ne summit of the Black Hills.
We had one cart less, and one heavy wagon so broken that
it had to be tied together with strips of raw buffalo-hide.
From the summit we were so happy as to perceive a distant
lake. We eagerly hastened in that direction, for we were
consumed with thirst, and had serious fears for our beasts of
burden, which were slfickeniiig their weary pace. To our
astonishment, we directly perceived that we were still at a
great distance from Fort Laramie. Instead of being near
that fort, in accordance with the assurances of the three
Crows, we discovered oursel\(?s in sight of the Red Buttes,
twenty five miles off". This is a well-known spot on the
"Great Oregon Route," and is one hundred and sixty miles
from Fort Laramie. On the top of the Black Hills I left a
little souvenir of my passage, — on a very high rock of a re-
markable form, I carved a large and handsome cross. Ah !
may the Indian tribes scattered throughout the wild solitude
soon learn the great truths which this holy emblem an-
nounces! Mav thev soon leave the bondage in which error
has chained them during innumerable ages !

The whole region over which we passed, south of the Yel-
lowstone, otters only feeble hopes to civilization. The soil is
light, wood scarce, and water wanting during a large portion
of the year. It is a country favorable solely to hunters and
wandering tribes. All the animals common in the wilder-

'u. ,.

U»».^

AND MISHI0NARIK8.

ness abound, and during; long years to come they will rest
niidUturbed in tlicir possessions. When all the fertile tracts,
yet vacant in the iinnieiise Indian territory, will be occupi(?d,
then only will the lands below the Yellowstone attract atten-
tion ; then alone will necessitcus and persevering industry
succeed in drawing any considerable portion of this region
from its present barrenness.

In the neighborhood and along the base of the Black
Ilills there lies a very extensive tract of fertile and tillable
land. The verdure is rich and abounds in all the vallevs,
and these valleys penetrate the mountains like so many
veins, where millions of domestic animals might be raised ;
for the springs and rivulets so seldom occurring in the cen-
tral section between the Yellowstone and the Black Hills,
are very numerous in the interior and at the base of these
mounti^ins. There are also a great many sites favorable to
the erection of mills. The climate is reputed delightful, and
the noble forests of cedar and pine would abundantly supply
the necessities of a population.. Mines of lead and iron are
very numerous.

The 2d day of September we found ourselves on the
"Great Route to Oregon," over which, like successive ocean
surges, the caravans, comjwsed of thousands of emigrants
from every country and clime, have passed during these lat-
ter years to reach the rich gold mines of California, or to
take po8ses8i<»n of the new lands in the fertile plains and val-
leys of Utah and Oregon. These intrepid pioneers of civil-
ization have formed the broadest, longest, and most beautiful
road in the whole world — from the United States to the Pa-
cific Ocean. On the skirts of this magnificent way there is
an abundance of grass for supplying the cattle and animals
appertaining to the caravans which are incessantly travelling
ou it, from early spring to autumn, every succeeding year.

'Ml!

WESTERN MISSIONS

Our Tndi.-m companiotis wlio h.td nover Roen but the nar-
row Imiiiini;-}) illis, l>y which they transport ihemst-lves and
their lodges, vv«.*ie tilled with adiiiiralioii on seeing tiiis noble
liighway, \vlii(.'h is as smooth as a barn-tloor swe[)t by the
winds, and not a blade of grass can slioot on it on account
of the continual passing. They conceived a high idea of
th(f countless White Nation^ as tliey express it. They fan-
cied that all had gone over tliat road, and that an immense
voitl must exist in the land of the rising sun. Their coun-
tenances testified evident incredulity when 1 told them that
their exit was in nowise perceived in the laiids of the whites.

They styled the route the Great Medicine Road of the
Whiten. The term medicine is applied by tliem to whatever
they find grand, religious, mysterious, or incomprehensible.
They visited and examined in detail all the forsaken camp-
ing-grounds on tlie way ; they brought a great variety of
objects to me to have their use and signiticaticm explained ;
they filled their pouches with knives, forks, spoons, basins,
coti'ee-pots, and other cooking articles, axes, hammers, etc.
With the bits of eartlien ware which bore any figure or in-
scription, they fabricated so.ne ornament for their necks
and ears. How wonderful will be the accounts given of the
Great Medicine Road by our unsophisticated Indians when
they go back to their villages, and sit in the midst of an ad-
miring circle of relatives.

But these relics collected by our savage friends were not
the sole vestiges of the great multitude of emigrants who,
in search of gold, had crossed this vast plain with a rare
courage and unheard-of fatigues and difficulties. The
bleached bones of domestic animals disseminated profusely
along the route; the rising mou'.d hastily made over the
grave of a parent or a friend deceased during the long jour-
ney, and the tribute oflfered to memory in a coarse and

AND MISSIONARIES.

rudely-carved inscription on a narrow strip of board or on a
stone, with other graves which offered no such testimonial
of affection, furnisli ample and melancholy proofs that death
had considerably thinned their ranks. By such disasters
thousands of emigrants have found themselves suddenly ar-
rested, and been mocked in the flattering hope of wealth and
pleasure.

The countless fragments of conveyances, the heaps of pro-
visions, tools of every kind, and other objects with which
the emigrants must have provided themselves at great ex-
pense, but which the most impatient, eager to outstrip others
in the Western Eldorado, had forsaken and cast aside,
testify to that bold recklessness with which they hazard
every thing in this enterprise which has proved fatal to
thousands. The picture traced by Thornton in his Journal
of 1848, is the most shocking that can be contemplated.
Arrived in the arid lands of California, the famine had at
first reduced them to eating their horses and mules; soon
they had recourse to dead bodies ; then the dying were not
spared, and at last they actually devoured each other!
What a salutary proof of the uncertainty that accompanies
the grandest perspectives in the life of man, and of the de-
ceptions that unveil to him his native weakness !

We followed the great road south of the Platte to the
foot of the Great Black Hills. On this road we found our-
selves relieved from those obstacles which had so often en-
dangered our vehicles and our animals. After eight days'
journey along the Platte, we arrived at Fort Laramie without
the least trouble or accident. The commander of the fort
informed us that the Great Council was to take place at the
mouth of Horse River, in a vast plain situated nearly thirty-
five miles lower down on the Platte. The next day I ac-
cepted the polite invitation of the respected Col. Campbell,

100

WESTERN MISSIONS

and took a seat in bis carriage. We arrived at the plain of
the intended council about sunset. There the supenntend-
ent, Col. M. Mitchell, received me with warm friendship and
cordiality, and insisting that I should become his guest dur-
ing the whole time of the council. AH the others showed
me great respect.

In this immense plain above-mentioned, we found about
a thousand lodges, that is to say, ten thousand Indians,
representing Sioux, Sheyennes, and Rapalios, with several
deputations from the Crows, Snakes, or Soshonies, Arickaras,
Assiniboins, and Minataries. I purpose entertaining you in
my next with the object of the council, and of my inter-
views with the Indians.

Accept, etc.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

P. S. — I subjoin a list of the animals killed oy our hunt-
ers from the 1st of August till the 9th of September, 1851 :
2 deer, 11 antelopes, 37 bison cows, 22 bulls, 3 bears, 2 stags,
7 Rocky-Mountain sheep, 2 badgers, 2 polecats, 1 porcupine,
1 wolf, 17 hares and rabbits, 13 ducks, 18 heathcock, 16
pheasants.

▲ND lilSSIONASIES.

101

Letter VI.

To THE Director of the Pk^gis Historiques, Brussels.
Journey to the Great Desert in 1851.

Universitt of St. Louis, January 26, 1852.

During tb^ eighteen days that the Great Council lasted,
the union, harmony and amity that reigned among the
Indians were truly admirable. Implacable hatreds, heredi-
tary enmities, cruel and bloody encounters, with the whoie
past, in fine, were forgotten. They paid mutual visits,
smoked the calumet of peace together, exchanged presents,
partook of numerous banquets, and all the lodges were open
to strangers. A practice occurring but on the most amicable
and fraternal occasions was seen — this is, the adopting of
children and of brothers on each side. There was a perfect
unanimity of views between Col. Mitchell, superintendent
of the Indian Territory, and Major Fitzpatrick, and nothing
was omitted to foster these germs of peace. The object of
the assembly was a distinguished proof of the highest
benevolence on the part of the United States Government,
as well as of the sincere desire of establishing a lasting peace
among tribes hostile to each other, and of obtaining a right
of passage through their possessions for the whites, and
making the Indians compensation for hijuries and losses the
latter may have sustained from the whites.

At the opening of the council, the superintendent made

known to the savages that the object of the assembly was

102

Wi<»TRKN MISSIONS

n 11

^ii'iff

the acceptation by them of the treaty, such as it had been
prepared beforehand, with the consent of the l^resident of
the United States. This treaty was read sentence by sen-
tence, and distinctly explained to the different interpreters,
that they might have the exact and legitimate meaning of
each article. The preamble explains that it is a treaty
between the agents named on one side by the President of
the United States, and on the other by the chiefs or braves
of the Indian nations that reside south of the Missouri, east
of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the boundary line of
Texas and Mexico, viz.: The Sioux or Dacotahs, the She-
yennes, the Arapahos, the Crows, the Minataries, the Mandans,
and Arickaras. The principal articleswere :

Art. 1st. — The Indians recognize and admit the right of
the United States to furm roads and establish military posts
in their terr*^'" Art. 2d. — Solemn obligations agreed
upon for the tenance of peace, and for repairing the

damages and losses sustained by the whites on the part of
die Indians. Art. Sd. — Indemnity accorded to the Indians
for the destruction caused in their hunting-grounds, their
forests, pasturages, etc., by travellers from the States who
cross their lands. The present of $50,000 is granted to
them on this ground. Art. 4th. — During fifteen coming
years, $50,000 will be annually paid in objects and gifts
which may prove useful or necessary to the Indians.

The treaty was signed by the agents of the United
States, and by all the principal chiefs of the different nations
who were present. Another treaty in favor of the half-
breeds and the whites residing in the country was proposed,
to-wit : That a tract of country be assigned them for their
use, in order to form agricultural establishments and colonies,
and that they should obtain the assistance of the Govern-
ment of the United States in the execution of their project.

ill

AND MISSION A RUS.

103

This 18 the sole moans of prcsorvin*,' union among all tliose
wandering and scattered families, which boconu' every year
more and more numerous, and of establi>hing them in ouo
or two colonies, with dmrches and scliouls, fur their general
instruction and wvll-being.

With a few exceptions, all the half-breeds are baptized
and received as chihlren of the Church. During twenty
vears they have petitioned to have Catholic priests, and have
manifested their good-will to meet the wants of their mission-
aries, and to maintain them. If ecclesiastical superiors are
not aided to make timely provision, it is to be feared that
the care of these new colonies will pass under the direction
of men who will spare no exertion to extinguish iu the hearts
of the courageous and simple p'ople the germs of faith, and
the good wishes they entertain in favor of our holy religion.
The question, ^ SJuill they have priests P^ involves the salva-
tion of several thousand souls. It must be scon decided ; it
is already agitated, and unless Catholic missionaries arc sent
there, I repeat it, it is to be feared that persons hostile to the
true faith may take possession of the ground.

On the second Sunday of September, Feast of the Exalta-
tion of the Cross, three days after my arrival, some lodges
of burtalo-hides were arranged and ornamented as a sanctu-
ary, on the plain of the Great Council. Under this tent I
had the happiness of offering the Holy Sacrifice, in presence
of all the gentlemen assisting at the council, of all the half-
bloods and whites, and of a great concourse of Indians.
After my instruction, twenty-eight children (half-bloods), and
five adults, were regenerated in the holy waters of baptism,
with all the ceremonies prescribed by the Church.

The Canadians, French, and half-breeds who inhabit the
Indian territory, treat all the priests who visit them with
great kinduesSi attention, and respect. It is truly afflicting

104

WESTKKN MI88ION8

to iTic'ot them in this wihlorness, like so many strayed sheep.
By the zealous (sfforts of two good clergymen, fine missions
could be founded nmoiig tln-nj — those would furnish cate-
chists, and these latter would labor in concert with the
priests for the conveision of so many bcjiighted pagans, who
wander forsaken in the deserts, aud destitute of religious hope
and consolation.

During the two weeks that I passed in the plain of the
Great Council, I paid frequent visits to the different tribes
and bands of savages, accompanied by one or more of their
interpreters. These last were extremely obliging in devoting
themselves to my aid in announcing the gospel. The Indians
listened eagerly to my instructions. Each time that I
addressed them concerning the particular vices which I knew
reigned among them, tliey owned their faults with admirable
simplicity and candor, free from all human respect. Dunng
an instruction in the camp of the Ogallallahs, a Sioux tribe,
in which I explained to them the ten commandments, when
I arrived at the sixth and seventh, a general whispering and
embarrassed laugh took place among my barbarous auditory.
I inquired the reason of this conduct, and explained to them
that the law I came to announce to them was not mine, but
God's, and that it was obligatory on all the children of men ;
that the word of God required all their attention and
respect : that those who observe his commandments will
have eternal life, while the prevaricators of his holy law shall
receive hell and its torments as their lot. The great chief
at once rose and replied : " Father, we hear thee ; we knew
not the words of the Great Spirit, and we acknowledge our
ignorance. We are great liars and thieves ; we have killed ; we
have done all the evil that the Great Spirit foibids us to do; but
we did not know those beautiful words ; in future we will try
to live better, if thou wilt but stay with us and teach us."

AND MIBmOMAUIES.

105

They besought me to oxphiiii baptism to them, as several
of lliem had been present when 1 baptized the half-blood
children. I conjplied with their request, and gave them a
lengthy instruction on its blessings and obligations. All
then entreated me to grant this favor to their infants. The
next day the ceremony took place ; 239 children of the
Ogallallahs (the first of their tribe) were regenerated in the
holy waters of baptism, to the great joy and satisfaction of
the whole nation. I held daily conferences on religiou,
sometimes with one band of Indians, sometimes v i'.h another.
They all listened with great attention, and unanimously
expressed the wish to be supplied with Catholic mibsionaries.

Among' the Kapahos, I baptized 305 little ones ; among
the Sheyennes, 263 ; and among the Brules and Osage Sioux,
280 ; ia the camp of the Painted Bear, 50. The number of the
lialf-bloods that I baptized in the plaiu of the Great Council
and on the liiver Platte, is 61. In the different forts on the
Missouri, I baptized, during the months of June and July
last, 392 children. Total number of baptisms, 1586. A
great number died shortly after, in consequence of diseases
which reigned in the Indian camps.

I witnessed, for the first time, a singular rite, to which the
Sheyennes attach as much importance as the Asiatic tribes
do to circumcision ; this is the " ear-cutting of the children."
This custom appears to be common among all the tribes of
the Upper Missouri, and probably in other places, though
there may be perhaps some variety in the form of the cere-
mony. Among the Sheyennes, the mother chooses the
operator, and puts the knife into his hands. She extends
the child on the skin of some animal, carefully prepared and
painted, and which the Canadians call pare Jleche. While
one of the relations or friends holds the infant in a quiet pos-
ture, the operator makes five incisions in the rim of each ear.

rur

ijiii

is.

106

WESTERN MISSIONS

These incisions are destined to receive and carry ornaments.
Ihe mother makes a present of a horse to the operator, and
another present to each one of the assistants.

In the same place, rudely arranged for the occasion, and
composed of six lodges, each lodge consisting of twenty hides
of bison cow, we witnessed another ceremony. The So-
shonies, or Snake Indians, had scarcely quitted the Rocky
Mountains to repair to the Great Council, when they were
pursued and attacked by a party of Sheyennes, who killed
two of their men, and carried away their scalps. The She-
yennes must pay, or " cover the body," which is a satisfaction
required by the savages on such occasions, before they can
accept the calumet of peace, or smoke it together. On this
day the principal braves of the Sheyenne nation, and forty
warriors of the Soshonies, were assembled. Several orations
were delivered as preliminaries of peace.

Then followed a feast, of which all partook. It consisted
simply of corn, crushed and thoroughly boiled. The dogs
were spared this time, for the Soshonies are an exception to
the common rule among the Indians ; that is, they never eat
dog-flesh. The feast over, the Sheyennes brought suitable
presents of tobacco, blankets, knives, pieces of red and blue
cloth, and deposited them in the centre of the circle. The
two scalps were also exposed, and then returned to the
brothers of the two wretched victims, who were seated at the
head of the circle, between the two chiefs of their nation.
The brothers were solemnly assured that the " scalp-dance"*
did not take place. They wore, however, a very sombre air,

* This ceremony, which is an essential condition, consists of dances
and songs. Tlie hitter recount all the exploits of the braves. The
ceremony is renewed every day, and often lasts several weeks. Women,
old and young, as well as children, can take part ; and, in fact, tho
women make most noise and exertion.

AND MISSIONARIES.

107

and on accepting the scalps were deeply affi'cted. How-
ever, they embraced the murderers, received the donations,
and distributed the larger })ortion of them to their compan-
ions. After this, the usual signs of peace and amity, presents
and reciprocal adoptions of children, were intercliaiiged ;
their orators employed all their eloquence to strengthen the
good-feeling which appeared to reign in the assembly, and
to render it lasting. The next night the Sheyeunes visited
the lodges of the Soshonies, who were encamped beside my
little tent. Songs and dances were prolonged till daylight,
and prevented me from sleeping. These amusements among
the Indians are perfectly innocent. I have never been able
to detect the slightest gesture that could oflfend modesty.
During my waking hours that night I reflected on the excel-
lent dispositions of these pagans, and thought, could the
clergy of Europe but know them, they would eagerly hasten
hither to gladden our Holy Mother, the Church, with thou-
sands of new children.

During this assembly, as on other occasions, I frequently
remarked the skill and facility with which the Indians com-
municate their ideas by signs and gestures. Their move-
ments are highly expressive, and appear to be reduced to a
language as perfect and communicable as that of the deaf
and dumb among us. By means of these signs an Indian
will relate the chief events of his life. This mute speech
may be styled a language of precaution and defence, for
when they meet in the desert, in their excursions, they make
signs while yet very far apart, before they approach. Tlu-y
immediately know with whom th(.'y have to deal, and of
what there is in question. They have, however, still more
remarkable modes of comnmnicating thought. The large
figures displayed on their but!alo-robes are hieroglyphics, as
easily understood by an intelligent Indian as written words

1U8

WESTERN MISSIONS

Mm':

are by ourselves ; and they often contain the narrative of
some important event. This is not, however, because words
are wanting in their various dialects, which are quite copious
and expressive.

I attended the council from the outset to the close. As I
have already stated, ten thousand Indians, belonging to dif-
ferent tribes, many of which had been at war from time im-
memorial, met on the same plain. During the twenty-three
days of the assembly there was no disorder : on the contrary,
always peaceable and tranquil, which is saying much for
Indians. They seemed all to form but a single nation. Po-
lite and kindly to each other, they spent their leisure hours
in visits, banquets, and dances; spoke of their once intermi-
nable wars and divisions as past things, to be absolutely for-
gotten, or "buried," according to their expression. There
was not a remark in all their conversations to displease ;
never did the calumet pass in peace through so many hands.
To convey an idea of the importance of this action, I must
observe, that smoking the calumet together is equivalent to
a treaty confirmed by oath, which no one can contravene
without dishonoring himself in the eyes of all his tribe. It
was really a touching spectacle to see the calumet, the
Indian emblem of peace, raised heavenward by the hand of a
savage, presenting it to the Master of life, imploring his pity
on all his childiun on earth, and begging him to confirm the
good resolutions which they had made.

Notwithstanding the scarcity of provisions felt in the
camp before the wagons came, the feasts weie numerous and
well attended. No epoch in Indian annals, probably, shows
a greater massacre of the canine race. Among the Indians
the flesh of the dojr is the most honorable and esteemed of
all viands, especially in the absence of bison and other ani-
mals. On the present occasion it was a last resource. The

f '

AND MISSION A KIES.

109

carnage then raay be conceived. I was invited to several of
these banquets ; a great chief, in particular, wished to give
me a special mark of his friendship and respect for me. He
had filled his great kettle with little fat dogs, skins and all.
He presented me, on a wooden platter, the fattest, well
boiled. I found the meat really delicate, and I can vouch
that it is preferable to sucking-pig, which it nearly resembles
in taste.

The Indians regaled me several times with a dish highly
esteemed among them. It consists of plums, dried in the
sun, and afterwards prepared with pieces of meat, like a
stew. I must own that I found it quite palatable. But hear
what I learned subsequently, as to their manner of preparing
it. When an Indian woman wishes tD preserve the plums,
which grow in profusion here, she collects a great quantity,
and then invites her neighbors to her lodge to pass an
agreeable afieruoon. Their whole occupation then consists
in cliuttiiig and sucking the stones from the plums, for they
keep only the skins, which, after being sun-dried, are kept
for ffiaud occasious.

The wagons containiug the presents destined by the gov-
ernment to the Indians, reached here on the 20th of Sep-
tember. The safe arrival of this convoy was an occasion of
general joy. Mauy were in absolute destitution. The next
day the wagons were unloaded and the presents suitably
arranged. The flag of the United States floated from a tall
Btiift' before the tent of the superintendent, and a discharge of
cannon announced to the Indians that the division of the
presents was about to take place. Without delay, the occu-
pants of the various camps flocked in, — men, women, and
children, — in great confusion, and in their gayest costume,
daubed with paints of glaring hues, and decorated with all
the gewgaws they could boast. They took the respective

110

WESTERN MISSIONS

places assigned to each particular band, thus forming an im-
mense circle, covering several acres of land, and the mer-
chandise was displayed in the centre. The view of such an
assembly would give an interesting theme to a Hogarth or a
Cruikshank.

The great chiefs of the different nations were served first,
and received suits of clothes. You may easily imagine
their singular movements on appearing in public, and the
admiration which they excited in their comrades, who were
never weary inspecting them. The great chiefs were, for
the first time in their lives, pantalooned ; each was arrayed
in a general's uniform, a gilt sword hanging at his side.
Their long, coarse hair floated above the military costume,
and the whole was crowned by the burlesque solemnity of
their painted faces.

Colonel Mitchell employed the Indians as his agents in
distributing the piesents to the various bands. The arrange-
ments were characterized by benevolence and justice. The
conduct of this vast multitude was calm and respectful.
Not the slightest index of impatience or of jealousy was ob-
served during the distribution ; each band appeared indiffer-
ent until its portion was received. Then, glad, or satisfied,
but always quiet, they removed from the plain with their
families and their lodges. They had heard the good news
that the bison were numer us on the south fork of the
Platte, three days* march from the plain, and they hastily
turned their steps in that direction, resolved to make the
buffaloes atone for the hunger they had recently suffered on
the great council plain.

This assembly will form an era among them, and I trust
will be ever dear to their memories. It closed on the 23d
of September.

The happy results of this council are, no doubt, owing to

AND MISSIONARIES.

Ill

the prudent measures of the commissaries of government,

and more especially to their conciliatory manners in all their

intercourse and transaction with the Indians. The council

will doubtless produce the good eflfects they have a right to

expect. It will be the commencement of a new era for the

Indians — an era of peace. In future, peaceable citizens may

cross the desert unmolested, and the Indians will have little

to dread from the bad white man, for justice will be rendered

to him.

Accept, &c.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

112

WS8TEBN MISSIONS

i ■■ .>

■W

ill''

Letter VII

To THE Editor of Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Journey to the Gruit Desert in 1851.

University of St. Louis, Jan. 30, 1852.

Quite late in the afternoon of the 23d of September I
bade farewell to the Creoles, Canadians, and half-bloods. I
exhorted them to live well, and to pray to God, and to hope
that he would soon send them spiritual succor for their tem-
poral and eternal happiness, and that of their children. I
shook hands for the last time with the great chiefs and with
a large number of Indians, and addressed them some en-
couraging words, and promised to plead their cause with
the great chiefs of the Black-gowns, and make known the
desire, good intentions, and hopes they had expressed to me,
while they would daily, in all sincerity of heart, implore the
"Master of Life" to send them zealous priests to instruct
them in the way of salvation, which Jesus Christ, his only
Son, came to trace to his children on earth.

I directed my course towards " the springs," situated about
fourteen miles distant, in the vicinity of the trading-house
at Robidoux, for Colonel Mitchell had named this as the
rendezvous for all those who proposed going directly to the
United States. On the 24th, before sunrise, we set out in
good and numerous company. I visited, in my way, two
trading-houses, in order to bapti..e five half-blood children.

m '

AND MISSIONABISS.

113

In the course of the day we passed the famous Chimney-
rock, so often described by travellers. I hud already seen it,
in 1840 and 1841, in my first visit to the Rocky Mountains,
and mentioned it in my letters. I found it considerably di-
minished in height.

We cast a last look upon the singular productions of
nature, the Castle and the Tower, which are near the Chim-
ney, and resemble the ruins of lordly residjences scattered
over several acres, and presenting a very elevated and broken
surface, amid a level plain.

Arrived on the Platte, at the place known as Ash Hollow,
we turned our steps towards the South Fork, fifteen miles
away, over a beautiful rolling country of great elevation.
Here we met the Prince P., accompanied only by a Prussian
oiBcer, on their way to enjoy a hunt in the Wind River
Mountains. We exchanged our little news, and received
with pleasure the interesting information which the prince
gave us. His excellency must be indeed courageous, to
undertake at his age so long a journey in such a wilderness*
with but one man as suite, and in a wretched little open
wagon, which carried the prince and his oflScer, as well as
their whole baggage and provisions. Later, I learned that
the prince intends to choose a location suited to agriculture,
for the purpose of founding a German colony.

We live in an age when wonders multiply ; we cannot say
what, in the way of colonization, may not come to pass in a
short time, after witnessing the success of the Mormons, who
in less than five years have changed the face of a frightful
desert, and live there in great abundance. Yet I am free to
maintain, that if the prince has really formed the plan as-
cribed to him, which I scarcely credit, I pity from the bot-
tom of my heart those who first embark m the expedition.
The enemies whom they would have to meet ar« still to»

10*

!i^

114

WESTERN MISSIONS

powerful : Crows, Black-Feet, Sioux, Sheyennes, Rapahos, and
Snakes, are the most feared and warlike of the desert.

A colony established in such a neighborhood, and against
the will of the numerous warlike tribes in the vicinity of
those mountains, would run great dangere and meet heavy
obstacles. Tho influence of religion alone can prepare these
parts for such a transformation. The threats and promises
of colonists, their guns and feabres, would never effect what
can be accomplished by the peaceful word of the Black-
gown, and the sight of the humanizing sign of the cross.

From the crossing of the South Fork to the junction of
the Great Forks, the distance is reckoned to be seventy-five
miles, and thence to Fort Kearney one huudeed and fifty
miles. Wood is very rare between the Platte and the Ne-
braska. From the junction of the two Forks to the mouth
of the valley is six or eight miles wide, while the bed of the
river is about two miles in width. In the spring, at the
melting of the snows, when this river is high, it presents a
magnificent sheet of water, with numerous isles and islets
covered with verdure, and skirted with cotton-trees and wil-
lows. In the autumn, on the contrary, it loses all interest
and beauty. Its waters then escape into a great number of
almost imperceptible passages and channels among the sand-
banks which cover the bed through its whole length and
extent.

When wood fails, as frequently happens on the banks of
the Platte or Nebi-aska, the meals are cooked at fires of bison-
dung, which, when dried, burns like turf.

The soil of the Nebraska is in general rich and deep, min-
gled, however, with sand in several localities. There is a
great variety of grasses, which with numerous slirubs, cov-
ered with flowers of dazzling beauty, present a wide field of
study to the lover of botany. As we retire from the vale, a

AND MISSIONARIES.

115

very sensible change is perceptible in the productions of the
soil : instead of the former robust and vigorous vegetation,
the plains are overgrown with a short, crisp grass ; however,
it is very nourishing, and eagerly sought by the herds of
buffalo and countless wild animals that graze on them.

We arrived at Fort Kearney on the 2d of October, where
Colonel Mitchell, the superintendent, held a conference with
a deputation of some twenty Pawnee chiefs and braves.
They expressed their regret that, not having assisted at the
great council, they found themselves excluded from the ad-
vantages that the treaty would secure to the other nations,
and had no share in the presents made by the government.
They all made solemn promises to adhere to the spirit of the
treaty, and to execute the orde. i of their " Great Father the
President," who desired that they should live peaceably with
all their neighbors, and decreed the cessation of all depreda-
tions exercised against travellers from the United States who
cross this territory. These Pawnee chiefs and warriors re-
ceived with all the politeness of Indian customs the various
deputations which accompanied us on their way to Wash-
ington, — that is, the Sioux, Cheyennes, and Rapahos, hither-
to their mortal enemies, — regaling them with banquets,
dances, and songs. "My heart leaps with joy," shouted a
chief of the Pawnee W"olves, " because I find myself in pres-
ence of those that from my infancy I have been taught to
consider as my mortal foes. Sheyennes, I and my warriors
have made many incursions into your territories, to steal
your horses, and rob you of your scalps. Yes, my heart
bounds with delight, for it had never dreamed of m ;eting
yon face to face, and of touching your hand in friendship.'
You see me here poor — I have not a horse to mount. Well,
I will gladly go on foot the remainder of my days, if the
tomahawk is to be buried by all." He offered the calumet

116

WESTERN MISSIONS

to all the deputies, and several accepted it. A young She-
yenne chief, named " He who mounts the clouds," refused to
touch it, and thus auswered the Pawnee : " Neither thou nor
thy people have invited me into your territory. My father,"
added he, pointing to the superintendent, " requested me to
follow him, and I follow him : I accept not thy calumet of
peace, lest I betray thee. Perchance while I now speak to
thee, our brave warriors seek the lodges of thy tribe. No !
I will not deceive thee, therefore know that peace exists not
between me and thee. I speak thus fearlessly and clearly,
for I stand beneath the banner of my father."

The allusions of the Sheyenne seemed not to mar the ex-
isting harmony ; the dances, songs, speeches, and banquets
were kept up till late in the night.

The following are the names of the Indian deputies.

The Sheyenne envoys are — Voki vokammast^ or The
White Antelope ; Obalawska, or Red Skin ; and Voive
atoishy or The man that mounts the clouds.

The Rapaho deputies are — Nehunutah^ or Eagle's Head ;
Nocohotha, or The Tempest ; and Vash^ or Friday.

The Sioux deputies are — Haboutzelze, or The Unicom ;
Kaive ou nhe^ or The Little Chief ; Pouskawit cah cah^ or
The Shellman ; Chakahakeechtah, or The Watchful Elk ; and
Mawgahy or the Goose ; the last belongs to the Black-Foot
Sioux.

The two Ottos and their wives, who joined us afterwards,
were, Wah-rush'a-menec, or the Black Deer ; and his wife,
Mookapec, or the Eagle's Plume : Wah-sho-chegorah^ or The
Black Bear; and his wife, Hou ohpec, or The Singing Bird.

At Fort Kearney we parted with Colonel Mitchell and his
suite, who took the route to Table River. I joined Major
Fitzpatrick and the deputies, and we continued on the south-
ern route, which crosses the Indian territory.

AND MISSION A UIFIS.

117

The country between the frontiers of Missouri and the
Great blue River presents a reinarkabh) uniformity in all its
leading features. Clay soil, rolling prairies, and the shores
of the river well wooded. You meet forests of oak and nut-
trees of all varieties, with maple and cotton-wood and a
variety of trees found in the east. The hillsides in several
places abound in fine springs of water, surrounded by beau-
tiful groves, arranged with as much order and taste as if
planted by the hand of man. While a luxuriant turf, euMm-
elled with fragrant flowers, replaces the briars and underwood,
the prairies on all sides, surrounded by forests which pro-
tect the water-courses, present to the sight an ocean of ver-
dure adorned with flowers, agitated by the wind, and per-
fuming the air with a thousand odors.

The vale of the Kanzas is broad, of a deep, brown vege-
table soil : the same remark may be made of the valleys of
the remaining rivers of this territory, all of which are suit-
able, for agriculture. The streams of water are clear ; they
run over pebbly bedsj between high banks, and teem with
fine fish.

Major Fitzpatrick preferred taking the southern route, in
order to give our friends, the Indian deputies, an opportunity
of witnessing the progress that the tribes are capable of
making in agriculture and the mechanic arts. He wished to
convince them that labor and its results gradually conduct
to happiness and ease, and convince them that by adopting
habits of industry man is freed from the necessity of wander-
ing from place to place to obtain subsistence.

We reached St. Mary's, among the Potawatomies, on
the 1 1 th of October. Bishop Miege, and the other Fathers of
the Mission, received us with great cordiality and kindness.

To give the Indian deputies a relish for labor by the tast-
ing of the various products of farming, a quantity of vegeta-

118

WKSTKRN MISSIONS

f!i

bles and fruits were set before them. Potatoes, carrots, tur-
nips, squashes, parsneps, melons, with apples and peaches,
graced the board, and our forest friends did them most ample
honor. One of the chiefs, " Eagle Head," said to me, " Now,
Father, we comprehend thy words. Thou hast told us that
in a few years the buffaloes would disaj)pear from our terri-
tory ; that we must take measures against the day of need ;
that then we can '"eap from the earth subsistence and even
plenty for our children. When thou wast speaking to us,
our ears were shut ; now they are opened, for we have eaten
the products of the soil. We see here a happy people, well
fed and well clothed. We hope tha* the great Father (the
Bishop) will take pity on us and on our children. We wish
to have Black-gowns with us, and we will cheerfully attend
to their words."

The day after was Sunday, and all attended High Mass.
The church was well filled. The choir, composed of half-
bloods and Indians, sung admirably the Gloria, the Credo,
and several hj rans. The Rev. Father Gailland delivered a
sermon in Potawatomie, which lasted three quarters of an
hour, and the number of communicants was large. All this,
joined with the attention, modesty, and devotion of the
whole auditory, some with prayer-books and others with
beads, made a profound and, I hope, durable impression on
the minds of our Indians of the plains. During several days
they never ceased talking with me and questioning on all
they had seen, calling it the doctrine that renders men happy
here and conducts them to heaven. We found the Mission
in a flourishing state ; the two schools sue well attended ; a
community of religious of the Sacred Heart have concili-
ated the affection of the women and girls of the nation, and
are working among them with the greatest success. The
Potawatomie^ approach their residences nearer and nearer it

i"i

AND MISSION AKIK8.

110

the cliurch and to their '* Good Fathers," and have resolutelj
conimeuced cultivating tlie ground and raising domestic ani-
mals. Every Sunday the Fathers have the consolation of
contemplating a beautiful congregation uf Indians assembled
in the wood-built cathedral, and on an average one hundred
and twenty piously approaching the Holy Communion. We
spent two days visiting the Mission. The Indian chiefs
quitted the establishment with hearts overflowing with de-
light, and in the consoling expectation of having similar
happiness in their own tribes at no very distant future. God
grant their hopes may be realized !

The weather was fine, and in three days we attained
Westport and Kanzas on the Missouri.

On the ICth of October we took places on board the
steamboat Clara. Our Indian deputies had never seen a vil-
lage or settlement of whites except what they had seen at
Fort Laramie and at Fort Kearney ; they knew nothing of
the manner in which houses are constructed, hence they
were in constant admiration ; and when for the first time
they saw a steamboat their wonder was at its height, although
they appeared to entertain a certain fear as they stepped on
board. A considerable time elapsed before they became ac-
customed to the noise arising from the escape of steam, and
the bustle that took place at the ringing of bells, etc. They
called the boat a *■'' fire-canoe^'' and were transported with
delight at the sight of another boat ascending with a small
boat behind, which they called a ^^pappoose" or little child.
When their apprehensions of danger had subsided, their cu-
riosity augmented ; they took the liveliest interest in what-
ever they saw for the first time. They were in grand cos-
tume and seated themselves on the promenade deck ; as the
boat approached the several towns and villages in her prog-
ress, they hailed each with aliouts and songs.

120

WESTERN MISSIONS

On the 22d of October we reached St. Louis. A few
days after all the members of the Indian deputation were
invited to a banquet given in our University. They were
highly pleased at the reception given them by the Rev.
Father Provincial, and overjoyed at the encouraging hope
tnat he gave them of having Black-gowns among them — a
hope perhaps soon to be realized.

Recommending the poor Indian to your prayers, I beg
you to believe me with profound respect,

Yours, etc., etc.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

Note. — The word " Medicine" is frequently found in letters written
on the religious ideas, practices, and customs of the North American
Indians. It is necessary to know the signilication that the Indians
themselves attach to this word.

The term Wuh-kon is employed by the Indians to express any thing
that they cannot understand, whether supernatural, natural, or me-
chanical. A watch, an organ, a steamboat, or any thing in fine, the
operations of which exceed their capacity to understand, is called Wah-
kon. God is called Wah-kon-tonga, or the Great Incomprehensible.
The word Tonga in Sioux means great or large.

Wah-kon means, properly, incomprehensible, inexpressible. It is
badly translated by the wliites, who always render it medicine ; thus,
for example, the word Wah-kon-tonga, or God, htvs been trarslated
Great Medicine /

The word medicine has since been so universally applied to the differ-
ent religious and superstitious ceremonies of the Indians, that all trav-
ellers use it when writing of the natives.

The word medicine, when applied to Indian ceremonies, whether re-
ligious or superstitious, has, however, no relation to the treatment of
the body, but it has been so commonly adopted that I am forced to use
it when speaking of the Indians. Thence are derived the compounds,
"medicine-feast," "medicine-dance," ** medicine-man," etc., and also
'■^ mediciM-hag,'''' or sach, containing idols, charms, a'^td other supersti-
tious articles.

My intention in giving this little note is to distinguish between medi-
cine used in the sen&e of medkainent, and the same word applied to
charms, religious invocations, and ceremonies.

)•

i. J

AND MISSIONARIES.

121

Letter VIII.

To THE Editor of the PRifccis Historiques, Brussels.

Shipwreck of the Bth of Deceniber^ 1853.

University of St. Louis, Jan. 1, 1854.
My dear Brothers :

I profit by ray eailiest leisure moments, to inform you
that we happily arrived at our place of destination on the
27th day of December.

I wish you and your dear children a happy and prosper-
ous New Year, and I implore God to pour down upon you
daily his choicest favors and blessings. I can never forget
the fraternal attachment and extreme goodness manifested to
me so continually during my short visit to the land of my
nativity.

I inclose you a little sketch of my long and dangerous
voyage. As 1 am overwhelmed with business, I am forced
to write in hast^^ — currente calamo.

The lYth of November, the day on which I bade you fare-
well, will not soon be effaced from my memory. The fol-
lowing day 1 rejoined Mgr. Miege and his companions, at
Paris. The eight young men who accompanied me had
only two days to allow them a cursory view of tin:, groat
city, or interminable fair. They, however, visited its most
splendid palaces, and its principal monuments, with the pub-
lic squares of this extensive and wonderful capital, and the
palaces and gardens of Versailles.

'.,..<

V2'2

WESTERN MISSIONS

Oil tlie second we arrived at Havre, so as to be ready to
enibaik thttiice on the iiiurruw. The whole dav was em-
ployed ill i'.olh'ctiiiij;' our trunks, boxes, and cases, which were
ill the dirt'ereiit offices of the port, and in making prepara-
tions for our voyage. The American steamer was already in
tlie roadstead, about two leagues from the city, and a small
tow boat was waiting to conduct her pas.seugers to her. I
had left my thirteen companions for an hour, to go in search
of three boxes at the custom-house, and have them trans-
ported directly on board of the Humboldt. On my arrival
at the proper place of embarking, all the passengers were
there in readiness, excei)t my company. I immediately sent
some eight or ten persons in search of them, who searched
all the streets and wharves of Havre for six hours, without
procuring the least information concerning them. The mo-
ment nametl for sailinof arrived ! when a aem/arme, to whom
I had addressed myself as a last resource, and the surest,
after all, hastened to draw me from my embarrassment by
infcjrming me that the young gentlemen that were giving
me so much solicitude had been on the Humboldt the last
six hours, and that they also were in great anxiety concern-
ing my delay. In a word, they bad mistaken their course in
the labyrinth of wharves at Havre, and thinking they had
not a moment to spare, had hired two little boats to convey
them to the steamer. I hastened to join them, and ref>ched
the ship at the moment they were heaving the anchor to put
to sea.

I found gendarmes on board, in search of some suspected
individuals. It was said that these agents had received
strict orders to examine all the passports carefully. My
travelling coinpinions were all provided, except one, who had
joined me in I'aris, with the consent of his parents. I was
not without anxiety in his regard ; but our young deserter^

AND MISSIONARIES.

123

M. M****, disguised as a cabin-boy, played his part per-
fectly ; he held the lantern to aid the police-officers in a man-
ner to do honor to the most skilful cabin-boy, during their
whole visit to the saloons and cabins. All the passengers pass-
ed in review, all the passports were minutely criticised ; but
the agents paid no attention to the handsome lantern-bearer,
who always remained close by them, and thus quietly escaped
their scrutiny. My anxiety, however, did not subside until
I saw the gentlemen leave our decks.

Without a morrient's delay, two discharges of cannon
announce the departure of the Humboldt. Every officer,
pilot, and sailor is at his post. The whistling of the steam-
engine is heard for the last time, so shrill that it penetrates
the very heart of the town : it is the signal of the engineer.
The captain with his speaking-trumpet orders the departure,
and the steamer steers her course in the direction of South-
ampton and Cowes — places between the Isle of Wight and
the coasts of England, where English passengers and the
English mails are received. It was only in the evening of
the 23d that she took the direction of New York.

For fourteen days the Humboldt combated against a
stormy sea and violent west wind ; Neptune received this time
a double tribute from those who were so bold as to hazard
crossing his domain in this season of the year. The greatest
sufterer was Bishop Miege, who kept his bed constantly.
The next was young Fortune Hegel, of Brussels, who has too
weak a stomach ever to make a good sailor ; he supported
this misery with great fortitude, never regretting that he had
left his quiet home for some years. All the others escaped
tolerably ; as to myself, I felt almost no i'nconvenience from
sea-sickness during the whole voyage. To the violent storms
of wind we must add several other dissigreeable circumstan-
ces : the steam-engine got out of order several times, and the

124

WESTERN MISSIONS

|j' ' :i* t;

boilers threatened to blow us in the air ; the coal was of a
bad quality, and that, even, began to become scarce on the
twelfth day of our voyage. We were obliged to deviate
from our ordinary route, to get a supply of coal at Halifax,
a seaport of Nova Scotia. This neglect on the part of the
company was extremely fatal in its consequences.

In the forenoon of the 6th of December, about five leagues
from port, a fisherman presented himself on board as a pilot,
and declared to the cai)tMin, who demanded his certificates,
" that his papeis were either in his boat, or at his own house."
The captain relied upon his word, and intrusted hiin with
the management of the ship. Against the expressed opinion
of the officers, the false pilot changed the boat's direction,
and notwithstanding their reiterated remonstrances, he per-
sisted in his obstinacy. An hour and a half afterwards, the
Humboldt struck on the dangeious rocks called " The Sisters,"
in the neighborhood of Devil's Island. It was half-past six
in the morning — the greater number of the passengers were
still in their berths. The shock was terrific ; I was walking
on the deck at the moment. Discovering directly great
pieces of wood floating on the surface of the water, I has-
tened to warn all my companions of their danger, for they
were also still in their beds. Young Hegel having been
intrusted to me by his father, I took him by my side as long
as the danger lasted, and kept a rope in my hand for the
puipose of lowering him into the first life-boat that should
be launched. All had been startled from sleep. Fear had
palsied every heart ; and while the water was pouring into the
vessel by torrents, fire broke out. It was got under but by
great exertion, through the presence of mind and manly ener-
gy of the first engineer ; after great ettorts, they succeeded in
extinguishing it. As if all things conspired to our destruc-
tion, a fog arose, so thick that we could not see thirty paces

AND MISSIONARIES.

125

from the vessel. Ine whole power of the steam-engine was
exerted in an attempt to gain the shore, six miles distant.
The boat soon inclined to the larboard side, where she had
sprung a leak, and began to go down. Every arm set to
work to aid in launching the small-boats. Had not the cap-
tain exhibited great presence of mind and an extraordinary-
firmness, there would have been much tumult and disorder.
There was a rush to get in first, but happily we were not
obliged to resort to this means of saving ourselves. While
the greater number believed that all was lost, and I among
the rest, the ship touched again, in a few fathoms of water,
and rested on a rock. We were saved !

Immediately after the shipwreck, the fog rose, and we
then discovered, for the first time and to our joyful surprise,
that the shore was only one hundred feet from us. The sea
was calm, the wind lowered, and the sun rose majestically.
It was the announcement of a return of fine weather, which
left us at Havre de Grace, and now accompanied us until we
reached Missouri. We had the good fortune and the time
to save all our trunks, travelling bags, and boxes. The loss
of the ship and cargo was estimated at $600,000.

We had for travelling companions on the Humboldt, Jews,
Infidels, and Protestants of every shade. Some of the voy-
agers were imbued with very strong prejudices against the
Catholic faith, but in particular against Jesuits. The wreck
of the Humboldt was even attributed to our presence, and it
was maliciously proposed to oblige us to quit as soon as
possible.

A few hours after the wreck, a steamboat from Halifax
came to our aid. The Archbishop of that city treated us
with great kindness, and insisted that Mgr. Miege and myself
should become his guests during our stay. The next morn-
ing we had the consolation of offering the sacrifice of mass

11»

'•; :i S-

'i'ii

126

WESTERN MISSIONS

in the cathedral, and my companions all received Holy Com-
munion, to thank the Almighty and our Lady for having
saved us amid so many perils, and especially shipwreck,
where our life was in danger. Such circumstances are well
suited to convince us that we are in the hands of the Lord,
who protects us and preserves our life, or calls us, as he wills,
before his tribunal.

Halifax numbers about 25,000 souls, one third of whom
are Catholics, and contains three Catholic churches, two con-
vents, and four schools.

On the 8th of December, Feast of the Immaculate Con-
ception, after the celebration of mass, we heard that the
steamship Niagara, of the Liverpool and Boston line, was in
sight. At each trip she stops at Halifax, remaining two
hours. All the passengers of the Humboldt, including those
that we took in from England, went on board, making the
total of passengers more than four hundred.

Among those already on the Niagara, was a little man,
with an ape-like face and a goatish beard, who called himself
Francis Tapon, a self-nominated apostle, and self-commis-
sioned to teach a new religion to the universe. Fiancis
declared himself an enemy of all existing creeds, but above
all to the Pope and the Jesuits. When quitting Liverpool,
he declared openly and aloud that he would kill the first
Tesuii that he might meet on American soil ! In fact, he
was so violent that the captain prudently took from him his
^un, pistols, and poniards. The moment I set foot on the
Niagara, I was informed of these interesting particulars. I
advised my young friends to avoid Mr. Francis Tapon, and
pay no sort of attention to his words or movements. He pro-
claimed ..om the deck the programme of his new gospel,
that '* was to succeed all religions." Those who heard him
shrugged their shoulders, saying, " The man is crazy." On

AND MISSION A RIKS.

127

ari'iving at Boston, he made several ablutions, to the great
amiisi'ment of the passengers, saying that he ^loas washing
of the last filth of Eur ope r Mr. Tapon at last reached the
city, and we lost sight of him, without receiving a blow.

He is but a fanatic more for these States, which have
already unfortunately re(!eivcd thousands from all the various
countries of Europe. These creatures begin to agitate, to
harangue, to seek to change the Constitution, and make the
United States a land of proscription, especially against the
Catholics.

But let us resume our journey of voyage. We had fine
weather, and a pleasant trip from Halifax to Boston, which
we reached at night. Our Fathers received us with open
arms and extraordinary charity, in which all their parishion-
ers joined, — I will add to the praise of the German congre-
gation in particular, that during our stay at Boston they
loaded our tables with poultry, choice vegetables, cakes, and
fiiiits. This parish numbers about 3000 Catholics, and they
are distinguished in the city by their piety and zeal.
Although Boston contains a Catholic population of nearly
75,000 souls, there are but fifteen priests, and only four or
five Catholic schools. The Sisters of Notre Dame, from
Nainur, have a very flourishing establishment here, and are
doing immense good. Their houses in America are very
successful, and their subjects are asked for in many of our
large towns. In Cincinnati these good sisters teach 2000
children and youth.

I accompanied young Hegle as far as St. John's College,
at Fordham, according to the wishes of his father, who had
intrusted him to my care for this purpose. We are always
astonished at the rapid increase of New York, the great me-
tropolis of the United States, in commerce and population.
Its inhabitants, who number more than 700,000, are the

H
n

128

WESTEKN MISSIONS

rf ,'

[;ll!

f ■: ■ tat^-J* :- ■

descendants or representatives of every nation beneath the
sun. The Catholics number about 200,000.

I returned to Boston on the 14th. The day following, my
companions (who were quite recovered from their fatigue)
and myself quitted this city. Their astonishment was un-
ceasing at all they saw in Boston, which is styled the Athens
of America, Its commerce is very great, and its population
exceeds 150,000.

We risked ourselves on the railroad, by Buffalo, Cleveland,
and Columbus, as far as Cincinnati — a distance of seven
hundred and seventy miles — and passed over it in fifty-two
hours, comprehending all the delays experienced at the nu-
merous stations. We changed cars six times in this distance.
Be not astonished at the word "mA:," for accidents on all
the routes are of fi-equent occurrence, and often frightful.
To-day, it may be that a bridge has been left open — a hair-
brained or intoxicated engineer pays no attention, and loco-
motive and cars are precipitated into the water ; to-morrow,
two trains will meet in collision, dashing into each other with
all the velocity that steam can create. In a word, there are
all kinds of accidents. When they occur, a list is given of
the killed and disabled, which is often a very considerable
one, curious inquiries are made, and some days after there
is no further mention of the affair.

At Cincinnati our Fathers were most delighted to see us
arriving with thirteen new and youthful companions, full of
fervent zeal to labor in this vast vineyard of the Lord. As
we approached St. Louis, I breathed more freely ; I was no
longer harassed with anxiety — indeed I had but one step to
take, and I should be at home. However, this '"'' step''"' meas-
ured seven hundred miles, five hundred and thirty of which
were to be passed on the Ohio, and one hundred and seventy
on the Mississippi, and these rivers give an annual list of

'•'.><

AND MISSIONARIES.

129

fearful accidents. Wc entered the steamer on the Ohio, and
on the morning of the 21st found ourselves cordially wel-
comed by our Fathers of Louisville, Kentucky. Continuing
our descent on the 2 2d, we arrived at the junction of the
Ohio and Mississippi without accident.

My young companions were never weary of admiring the
graceful and varied scenery of the lovely Ohio, now gratify-
ing the sight by a chain of romantic elevations, then by a
succession of rich lowlands, adorned with well-cultivated and
extensive farms ; and the attention arrested also by a succes-
sion of flourishing villages and cities.

The Mississippi is also more dangerous than the Ohio;
exacting from its navigators during the winter many pre-
cautions, for the river is then low, full of sand-banks, saw-
yers, and floating ice. We were several times in danger,
and three different times our boat ran aground, and we be-
lieved her lost. On our way we saw the wrecks of five boats.
Five Lazarists, who shared our disasters in the Humboldt,
arrived in St. Louis some days before us, but only after hav-
ing undergone a second shipwreck, and having been immersed
in water to the neck.

On the 26th we reached St. Louis in safety, and animated
with joyful and grateful sentiments on finding ourselves at
our destination. An hour after my arrival I had the comfort
of celebrating mass, in thanksgiving for the special protec-
tion and blessings extended to us in our journey from Ghent
to St. Louis.

Believe me, dear brothers.

Your devoted brother,

P. J. Db Smet,

130

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter IX.

To THE Editor of the Pr^icis Historiques, Brussels.
The Crazy Bear^ an Assiniboin Chief.

CiNOINXATI, COLLEGK OV St. XaVIER, Julj 28, 1854,

Rev. and Dear Father:

Vocations, alas ! are still extremely rare ; we must have
ecclesiastics from Europe to go to the aid of the benighted
Indians, who are without guide or pastor, and ahvays desirous
and anxious for them. I annually receive letters and most
pressing invitations from the chiefs of the Indian tribes on
the Upper Missouri and among the Rocky Mountains.

The following is a faithful translation of a letter I received
from a great chief of the Assiuiboins. They occupy the
plains of the Yellowstone and of the Missouri : they number
about 1500 lodges, and speak the Sioux language. My cor-
respondent and petitioner is the great chief, "the Bear."
He was one of the deputation of chiefs who accompanied mo
to the Great Council in 1851.

" To the Medicine-man of the White Nation.

** Black-gown, Father, and Friend :

" I was so happy as to become acquainted with you at
Fort Union, in the summer of 1*851 ; but I was then igno-
rant, in a great degree, of the motives of your visit among

AND MISSIONARIES.

131

ns, and hence I could not discover to you my inmost feel-
ings and explain to you my thoughts. At Fort Union you
preached to us — telling us of the Great Spirit and his law.
You said you would like to come and teach us, so as to ame-
liorate the mental and moral condition of our tribes. I
think, also, that you gave us reason to expect, that after two
or three wintere some Black-gowns would come and establish
themselves among us, in order to show us how to live well,
and how to train up our children. Afterwards we travelled
together as far as the Platte. During that journey, and
since my return from Fort Laramie, I have learned and
heard much of the beautiful Word of the Great Spirit,
which you first made known to us. Now, I am persuaded
that this Word would change our state and render us happy.
At the Great, Council, our great Father (Colonel Mitchell,
superintendent of Indian Territory) told us that some Black-
gowns would come and live among us in the course of four
or five years. Black-gown, five years are long to wait! In
this long interval I and many of my children may have en-
tered the land of spirits. Take pity on us ! The Black-
gowns ought not to delay their coming so long. I am
growing^old: before I die I should like to begin the work,
and then I could depart satisfied. My country is tranquil,
we are at peace with all the surrounding tribes — our ancient
enemies, the Black-Feet, are the only ones we have to fear;
but we can protect you. All my nation call aloud for the
Black-gown, and invite him to come with all speed : I sin-
cerely hope that our expectation may not be deceived. We
know that the Black-gowns devote themselves to the happi-
ness and well-being of the Indi.-ms, If to hasten the project
pecuniary aid be wanting, I will cheerfully give a portion of
the annuities of my tribe to meet this deficiency.

*' I see the buffaloes decrease every year. What will be-

*•*.
^

132

WESTERN MISSIONS

ill"!

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c'omo of US without help ? If our children aro not instructed
in time, they will disappear like the game.

" I have learned that the * Long Knives' (the Americans)
have bought the lands of tlie Chippeways, Sioux, and Win-
nebngoes, as far as the Red River, and of the Pawnees,
Omahas, and Ottos, on the Missouri. The whites are ap-
proaching us on the north and on the west, which is a new
motive for hastening the arrival of the Black-gown among us.

" I hope my words will reach you, and that you will think
of us and our destitute situation. Do this. Black-gown, at
the request of your friend,

" The Bear, Chief of the Assiniboins,**

Remember me to Father Provincial and the Fathers of St.
Michael's. In union with your holy sacrifices, I have the
honor to be.

Rev. and dear Father,

Your devoted brother in Christ,

P. J. De Smet, S. j.

P. S. — At this time thousands of whites aro settling in
the Indian Territory from the Kansas to the Running. Water,
and two large territories have been erected by Congress,
called Kansas and Nebraska. It is not yet known what
arrangements will be taken for the protection of the difier-
ent aboriginal nations that are found in them ; it is much
feared that they will be exiled further into the western wilds.
You can see what I said in my second letter, in January,
1852.

The sect of Mormons is making extraordinary progress in
the United States. I will endeavor to send you some new
and original details on them, which I am actually preparing.

The agitation and pn^judices against our holy religion are

AND MISSION A UIFS.

133

80 groat here just now, that Catholic p;ipers from Enropo
can scarcely reach us. We are on the eve of great difficul-
ties. The anti-Catholic spirit increases daily. All the enc-
niics of our holy religion are leagued against her. As in all
persecutions, they seek to excite the masses by atrocious lies
and calumnies. Within the last few days three Catholic
churches have been destroyed, and every paper speaks of
some new exhibition in some part or other. European dem-
agogues labor with all their might to establish on the Amer-
ican soil their maxims of intolerance and persecution. Of
all tyrants, they are the most terrible and fearful.

lill'lM 1

184

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter X.

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To THE Editor op the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Religious Opinions of the Assinihoins.

Cincinnati, College of St. Xavier, July 28, 1854,

Rev. and Dear Father :

In my last letter, dated the 16th of this month, when
sewding you the translation of the address of the Bear, the
great Assiniboin chief, I promised you a sketch of the reli-
gious and superstitious opinions of that nation. I will now
fulfil my promise.

I here propose acquainting you with the rehVious worship
and moral code of the Assinihoins : it may be considered as
the type of the superstitious creed of the greater portion of
the barbarous tribes which roam over the forests and prairies
of the Upper Missouri.

Shrouded in idolatrous darkness, these people have no
clear idea of their origin or end. Upon the iiiomentou!
questions, " Whence came I ?" and " What is my future des-
tiny ?" th^re are various conjectures, even among those na-
tions who have received even a feeble liijht concerninir the
eternal veritie!= of the Gospel. All the Indians admit the
existence ot the Great Spirit, viz., of a Supreme Being who
governs all the important affairs of life, and who manifests
his action in the most ordinary events. They have ••o cor-
rect potion of the immutability of God. They think thoy
can obtain his favors in the accomplishment of their projects,

•: ,;s:^

AND MISSIONARIES.

135

whatever be their nature, by presents, corporeal macerations,
penances, fasts, &c. Thus every spring, at the first peal of
thunder, which they call the voice of the Great Spirit, speak-
ing from the clouds, the Assiniboins offer it sacrifices; — some
burn tobacco, and present to the Great Spirit the most ex-
quisite pieces of buff'alo-meat, by casting them into the fire ;
while others make deep incisions in the fleshy parts of their
bodies, and even cut off the first joints of their finge;?, to
offer them in sacrifice. Thunder, next to the sun, is their
Great Wah-kon.* They hear it, and after a storm they
sometimes perceive the effects of the lightning on the trees,
on their horses, and on man ; hence it is an object of dread,
and they endeavor to appease it.

It is rare that, during the course of a year, a family is not
visited by some calamity; — disease; death, eithei' natural or at
the hands of their foes; the loss of their horses, their richest
treasure, by robbery ; in fine, the scarcity of game, which
condemns them to rigorous fasts, and sometimes even to
famine. At the least misfortune the father of a family pre-
sents the calrmet to the Great Spirit, and, in prayer, im-
plores him to take pity on him, his wives, and children, lie
promises to give him a part of all he possesses, at the first
peal of thunder in the spring. "When it is practicable, the
various camps collect, as soon as winter is over, to ofter their
gifts and sacrifices in union. This is the religious ceremony
par excellence. The Assiniboins attach the highest impor-
tance to it. They often speak of it in the course of the year,
and look forward to its immediate arrival with joy, respec^t,
and veneration. Sometimes three or four hundred lodijes of
families assemble in one locality. One sole individual is
named the high-priest, and directs all the ceremonies of the

* Incomprehensible. See note, p. 120.

►•*'*T t." W" w. II- ^'

136

WKSTERN MISSIONS

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festival. A species of hall is constructed, with about thirty
lodges, of skins of the buffalo. Each lodge is composed of
twenty or twenty-four skins, stretched over a number of
posts, seven or eight feet high. On the top of these posts
several hundred perches are fastened, and on these each
family hangs the articles that it intends to offer in sacrifice.
These consist of skins of animals, richly embroidered with
porcelain or glass beads, adorned with feathers of every hue ;
many-colored collars, clothes, and ornaments of all kinds,
making a rich and varied "great Indian exhibition." Oppo-
site to this hall they raise a high pole, to which all the chiefs
and braves hang their medicine-bags, containing the idols,
their arrows, quivers, trophies won from their enemies,
especially scalps. This pole is a tree, stripped of its bark,
and thirty or forty feet higl". Men, women, and children, in
a spirit of religion, join in raising and planting it, amid the
acclamations of the tribe.

After these preliminaries, the cereu ,ny begins with a
harangue and a prayer to the Great Spirit by the high-
priest. He implores him to accept their gifts, to take pity
on them, protect them against sickness, accidents, and mis-
fortunes of all kinds, and to give them a plenteous hunt,
plenty of bison, stag, deer, bighorns, wild-goat, &c., and to
aid them in their wars and excursions against their enemies.
Then he ofiers the calumet to the Great Spirit, to the sun,
to each of the four cardinal points, to the water, and the
land, with words analogous to the benefits which they obtain
from each. The sacred calumet is then ps^sed to all the
chiefs and warriors, who draw two or three whiffs of smoke,
which he puffs out towards heaven, at the same time eleva-
ting the pipe. The day finishes with the great " medicine
dance," and a variety of dances in honor of the animals
which I have named. In these last they try to imitate, as

AND MI8SIONAEIE8.

187

much as possible, the cries and movements of those animals.
Men alone perform this dance.

The second day is devoted to representations ; that is, the
;i'igglers, or medicine-men, perform their tricks. Some of
these men succeed in imposing on these simple and credu-
lous souls, who discover the supernatural in every thing that
they do not understand : this is great or little Wah-korij as it
is more or less incomprehensible. Most of these representa-
tions are mere feats of legerdemain, which would scarcely
excite a smile of mirth or the least astonishment in a cir-
cle of civilized persons. During their execution the men
and women accompany the jugglers in a kind of chant,
which consists of words analogous to the feast, but it is diflB-
cult to define what they say, amid their modulations of tone.

The thiid day is consumed in dances and banquets, in
which all can participate. It is highly amusing to witness
this spectacle. Among the meats, dogs are particularly
numerous — little and big, roasted and boiled, whole or en
appalas ; these form the principal viands of the ^reat re-
ligious banquet. Dish i of other meats, with roots, corn,
wheat, sugar, &c., are added. All the pots and kettles of
til 3 whole tribe, of every form and dimension, are placed
0"n- a long row of fires. The braves distribute these meats
;' b \dmirable order, giving to each one his share. These
pcv ;or>t; disappear with truly wonderful celerity.

The Assiniboins have two kinds of dances for this feast.
Most of tliem dance some rounds for amusement, and leave
the circle when they choose ; but a band of young men form
the great religious dance, and make a vow to the thunder, or
voice of the Great Spirit. Then they perform various
dances, which last three whole days and nights, with only
sl'glit intervals, without their taking the least nourishment
or refreshment. I have this from a credible eye-witness.

12«

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138

WESTERN MISSIONS

This extraordinary act is penitential, or rather, propitiatory,
to obtain from the Great Spirit success in war. The camp,
on this occasion, assumes a new life. All the garments and
articles prepared during the winter, from the embroidered
leggin and moccasin to the eagle-plumed headpiece, adorn
their bodies for the first time, and the whole assembly ap-
pears quite brilliant ; the camp acquires a new life. Those
who are not at the moment occupied in the religious obser-
vances, spend their time in games and often very spirited
conversation. The fe a " Nprs about ten days. Before sep-
arating, each person teaK juts the article which he sacri-
ficed, so that no one can be tempted to take possession of it.
This last act performed, the different companies separate to
their own hunting-gi'ounds.

They have some other religious practices and ceremonies,
which I observed on my visit, and which are curious enough
to be noticed here.

The sun is honored and worshipped by the greater num-
ber of the Indian tribes as the author of light and heat.
The Assiniboins 'consider it likewise to be the favorite resi-
dence of the Master of Life. They evidence a great respect
and veneration for the sun, but rarely address it. On great
occasions they oft'er it their prayeis and supplications, but
only in a low tone. Whenever they light the calumet, they
offer the sun the first whitfs of its smoke.

The Indians regard a solar eclipse as the forerunner of
Bome great disaster; and if a juggler can ascertain from a
white man the period of the arrival of an eclipse, he is sure
to make use of it to display his Wah-kon, or supernatural
knowledge. At the moment of the eclipse the Indians rush
out of their lodges, armed in full. They fire their guns,
discharge their arrows in the air, and shout and howl, in
order to frighten and o'-^t to flight the enemy of the Master

AND MISSION A RTES.

139

of Life. Their pretended success is followed by great re-
joicings.

The bc.ir is the terror of all American Indians, for he
causes the most serious accidents, and is excessively danger-
ous, if he be encountered in a thick forest. Every year some
savage is killed or crippled in a fight with a bear. They ad-
dress it prayers and invocations ; they offer it sacrifices of
tobacco, belts, and other esteemed objects ; they celebrate
feasts in its honor, to obtain its favors and live without acci-
dent. The bear's head is often preserved in the camp during
several days, mounted in some suitable position, and adorned
with scraps of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with a variety of
necklaces, collars, and colored feathers. Then they offer it
the calumet, and ask that they may be able to kill all the
bears they meet, without accident to themselves, in order to
anoint themselves with his fine grease and make a banquet
of his tender flesh.

The wolf is also more or less honored among the Indians,
Most of the women refuse to dress its skin, at any price.
The only reason that I could discover for this freak is, that
the wolves sometimes get mad, bite those they meet, and
give them the hydrophobia. It is, doubtless, to escape this
terrible disea." and to avoid the destruction of their game,
that the Indians make it presents and offer it supplications
and prayers. In other cases he is little feared. He seldom
injures men, at is formidable to the animals, and makes
great ravages among them, especially among bison calves,
kids, deer, antelopes, hares, &c.

The "little medicine-wolf" is in great veneration among
the Assiniboins. He ordinarily approaches the camp during
the night. As soon as an Indian hears his barks, he counts
the number with care ; he remarks whether his voice is
feeble or strong, and from what point of the compass it

140

WESTERN MISSIONS

I : [:}K

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comes. These observations then become the subject of dis-
cussion to the jugglers. What are the prognostics ? Why,
the "little medicine-wolf" announces to them that on the
morrow they may expect a visit from a friend or from an
enemy, or perhaps a herd of buffalo. The Indians fre-
quently regulate their movements or marches by these indi-
cations ; and if, as occasionally happens, th^y result accord-
ing to the explanation of the barks, the little wolf is favored
with the ceremony of a grand feast !

The belief in ghosts is very profound, and common in all
these tribes. Indians have often told me, seriously, that
they had met, seen, and conversed with them, and that they
may be heard almost every night in the places where the
dead are interred. They say they speak in a kind of whis-
tling tone. Sometimes they contract the face like a person
in an epileptic fit. Nothing but the hope of gain could ever
induce an Indian to go alone in a burying-ground at night.
In such a case, love of gain might triumph over the fear of
ghosts ; but an Indian woman would never be induced, on
any condition, to enter one.

The Assiniboins esteem greatly a religious custom of as-
sembling once or twice in the year around the tombs of their
immediate relatives. These sepulchres are raised on a species
of scaffold, about seven or eight feet above the surface of the
soil. The Indians call the dead by their names, and offer
them meats carefully dressed, which they place beside them.
They take care, however, to consume the best pieces them-
selves, — after the custom of the priests of the idols of old,
who offered their false gods the heart, blood, entrails, and
indigestible parts, reserving to themselves the most delicate
portions of the victim. The ceremony of burying the dead,
among the Indians, is terminated by the tears, wailings,
bowlings, and macerations of all present. They tear the

AND MrSSlONAKIKS.

141

hair, gash their legs, and at last the calumet is lighted, for
this is the Alpha and Omega of every rite. They offer it to
the shades of the departed, and entreat them not to injure
the living. During their ceremonious repasts, in their ex-
cursions, and even at a great distance from their tombs, they
send to the dead puffs of tobacco-smoke and burn little
pieces of meat as a sacrifice in their memory.

The religious worship of the Assiniboins embraces a great
variety of practices too lengthy to recount — they all bear
the same characteristics. I will add, however, one remark-
able point. Each savage who considers himself a chief or
warrior, possesses what he calls his Wah-kon, in which he
appears to place all his confidence. This consists of a stuffed
bird, a weasel's skin, or some little bone or the tooth of an
animal ; sometimes it is a little stone, or a fantastical figure,
represented by little beads or by a coarsely painted picture.
These charms or talismans accompany them on all their ex-
peditions, for war or hunting — they never lay it aside. In
every difficnlty or peril they invoke the protection and as-
sistance of their Wah-kon, as though these idols could really
preserve them from all misfortunes. If any accident befalls
an idol or charm, if it is broken or lost, it is enough to arrest
the most intrepid chief or warrior in his expedition, and
make him abandon the mosc important enterprise in which
he may be engaged. It is true that they have a conviction
that all assistance should come from the Great Spirit ; but
as they can neither see nor touch him, they invoke him
through their favorite tutelary idols. If it happen (though
the case is very rare) that an individual should profess not
to believe in any kind of Wah-kon, he is regarded among
the Indians very much as an infidel or an atheist would be
in a Catholic country. They point at him and avoid him.
In regard to the future state, they believe that the souls of

142

WESTERN MISSIONS

ihe (lead migrate towards tbe South, where the climate is
mild, the game abundant, and the rivers well stocked with
fish. Their hell is the reverse of this picture ; its unfortunate
inmates dwell in perpetual snow and ice, and in the complete
deprivation of all things. There are, however, many among
them who think death is the cessation of life and action, and
that there is naught beyond it. As they feel uncertain
which is true, they seem to attach no great importance to
either. They seldom speak of it; they manifest their views
to those whites who inquire of them, and in whom they feel
confidence.

The moral principles of the x\8siniboin8 are few in num-
ber. Their opinions concerning good and evil have little
precision. The social position is respected among them to a
certain degree. Fear, on almost every occasion, governs and
deterr Jnes the conduct of tho Indian. If he has any ground
to suspect that another intends to take his life, he seizes the
earliest opportunity of killing that person, provided he can
do so without endangering his own life. This case is not
looked upon as murder, but as a justifiable self-defence. The
crime of murder, properly so called, is not known among
them. They never kill, except in quarrels, to avenge or to
defend themselves, and custom with them justifies the act.
To behave otherwise, according to their received views,
would be regarded as an act of folly.

Theft, among the Assiniboins, is only considered disgrace-
ful when it is discovered; then shame and infamy are at-
tached rather to the awkwardness of the thief, for having
taken his measures so ill. The old women are acknowledged
the most adroit thieves in the country ; nevertheless, it is
only just to add that the men seldom omit stealing any ob-
ject, if it can prove useful to them.

Adultery is punished with death in almost every case.

i: '!!,

AND MISSIONARIES.

143

Tlie seducer seldom escapes, if the husband and his family
liave tlie power and the courage toexecuce this law. Hence
this crime is rather uncommon. The woman is sometimes
killed, but always severely punished. The husband causes
her head to be closely shaved, and her person painted over
with a heavy coat of vermihon mixed with bear's grease;
she is then mounted on a horse, the mane and tail of which
have been cut off, and the whole body also daubed with ver-
milion ; an old man conducts her all around the camp and
proclaims aloud her infidelity ; at last he commits her to the
hands of her Own relatives, who receive the culprit with a
good beating. A woman cannot be subjected to a more de
grading punishment.

An Assiuiboin has no scruple in lying^ when he can obtain
any advantage from it : he rarely tells falsehoods in jest. In
regaid to theft, falsehood, and adultery, the Assiniboins differ
from the Indians near the Rocky Mountains, especially the
Flat-Heads and the Pends d'oreilles, who detest these vices.
It may be observed that the Assiniboins have been in rela-
tions with the whites during a succession of years.

False oaths are very jare among the Indians, when their
promises are Rpsarned with any solemnity. The objects by
which the Assiuiboin swears are his gun, the skin of ll t rat-
tlesnake, a bear's claw, and the Wah-kon that the Indian in-
terrogates. These various articles are placed before him,
and he says, " In case my declaration prove false, may my
gun fire and kill me, may the serpent bite me, may the bears
tear and devour my flesh, may my Wah-kon overwhelm me
with misery." A circumstance in which perjury could save
his life, is the only one in which a savage would be tempted
to commit it. In extraordinary and very important affairs,
which demand formal promises, they call upon the thunder
to witness their resolution of accomplishing the articles pro-

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144

WESTKRN MISSIONS

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posed and accepted. The whole vocabulary of the Assini-
boin and Sioux language contains but one single word which
can be considered insulting or as blasphemous. This word
expresses the wish that the person or thing in question may
become ugly, as we would say in French " Le Monstre," or
in Flemish "Gy leelyke beest." The name of the Great
Spirit is never prmiounced in vain, but always with highest
marks of veneration. In this respect the language of the
poor Indian is more ikftble tha^/the more polished tongues of
many civilized nations, where there is ever on the swearer's
lips curses and blasphem^ i, and where men mingle in all
their conversation the name of the Almighty ! Such an
individual would not only excite horror in the Indian, but
would even excite his terror.

The Sioux, or Dacotahs, of whom the Assiniboins are a
branch, pretend that thunder' is an enormous bird, and that
the muffled sound of the distant thunde/ is caused by a
countless number of young birds ! The great bird, they
say, gives the first sound, and the young ones repeat it : this
is the cause of the reverberations. The Sioux declare that
the young thunderers do all the mischief, like giddy youth,
who will not listen to good advice ; but the old thunderer, or
big bird, is wise and excellent, ^ never kills or injures any one I

The Assiniboins dfead vampires and bats. Should these
fly near a man, it is an omen of evil. The Will-with-a-wisp
is also a great terror to then. The man who sees one dur-
ing the night, is certain that death is about to carry i,way
some cherished member of his family.

They believe in dreams. /According to them, good dreams
come from a spirit that loves them, and desires to give them
good advice; bad dreams, in particular the night-mare,
render them sad and iielancholy, and lead them to dread the
arrival of painful events.

AND MIBSIONAKIKS.

145

Not a day passes in an Indian family without some one
having seen or heard something that augurs evil. This
always excites an anxiety : hence their superstitions become
a kind of torment.

I have the honor to be, very dear Father,

Your devoted Serv't and Bro. in Christ,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

P. S. — I hope to send you, in a few days, some account ol

' Indian hunts, and especially of a great bison-hunt made by

the Assiniboins in a kind of inclosure or park. If possible,

I will add a sketch, to enable you to understand what I try

to describe.

The thermometer stands here at 96°, and even 102°. I
am afraid my style shows it. The heat is so excessive that
several persons have fallen dead in the streets.

I hope you have received my itinerary, my letter on our

shipwreck on the Humboldt, and the address sent me by the

Bear, the Assiniboin chief. Please acknowledge receipt of

ftll my letters.

146

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XI.

To THE Editor of the Precis IIistoriques, Brussels.

Indian Hunts.
Cincinnati, College of St. Xavier, August 3, 1864,

Rev. and very Dear Father :

According to promise, I pioceed to offer you the de-
S(^ripti<>n of a Imtit. If I succeed in making my nanation
intelligible, I shall be satisfied, and shall not regret devoting

my time to tlie writitig of it.

To be a good hunter and a good warrior are the two qual-
ities ^wr excellence tliat constitute a great man among all the
nomadic tribes of North America. In this communication
1 sha.l limit mvself to the manner of conchictiiiof a hunt.

The cliase absorbs the whole attention of the savage. The
knowledge that he has acquired, by long experience, of the
nature and instinct of animals, is truly marvellous. He is
occupied with it from his tender infancy. As soon as a child
is capable of managing a little bow, it is the first instrument
his fatlier puts into his hands, to teach him how to hunt lit-
tle birds and small animals. The young Indians are initiated
in all their stratagems. They are taught with as much care
how to approach and kill the animals, as in civilized society
a youth is instructed in reading, Avriting, and arithmetic.

An expert Indian hunter is acquainted minutely with the
habits and instinr:ts of all the quadrupeds whiidi form the
object of the chase. He knows their favorite haunts. It is
essential for him to distinguish what kind of food an animal

«i,j-*

AND MISSIONARIES.

147

first seeks, and the most favorable moment of quitting liia
lair for procuring nourisliment. The hunter must be fauiiliar
with ail the precautions tlmt are necessary to elude the
attentive ear and watchful instincts of his intended victims;
he must appreciate the footstep that has passed him, the
time that has elapsed since it passed, and the direction it
has pursued. The atmosphere, the winds, rain, snow, ice,
forests, and the water, are the books which the Indian reads,
consults, and examines, on leaving his cabin in pursuit of
game.

The tribes of the desert find their subsistence in the
chase ; the flesh of animals affords them food, and the skins
clothing. Before the arrival of the whites, the method of
killing the ditFerent species of animals was very simple, con-
sisting ordinarily of stratagems and snares. They still have
recourse to the primitive method in the liunt for large ani-
mals, when they have no horses capable of pursuing them,
and powder and ball for killing them are wanting.

The trap prepared for the bison is an inclosure or pen,
and is one of the more early ways, and perhaps the most re-
markable in its execution ; it demands skill, and gives a
high idea of the sagacity, activity, and boldness of the In-
dian. As on all other occasions of moment, the jugglers
are consulted, and the hunt is preceded by a great variety of
superstitious practices. I witnessed one of these hunts at
the base of the Rocky Mountains, and of this I will en-
deavor to give you a faithful detail.

The bisons roam the prairies in herds of several hundreds,
and often of several thousands. On many of my travels I
have seen with my own eyes, as far as I could discern on
these immense plains, thousands and thousands of these no-
ble animals moving slowly, like an interminable troop, in
one direction, and browsing the grass as they progress.

Til

148

WE8TERN MISSIONS

N-

They have a fearful appearance ; their hairy heads inspire
with terror those who are ignorant of the pacific habits of
this noble qna<lriiped. Indeed, such is their timidity that
one man can put to flight the most numerous herd, When
alarmed, the tramp of their hoofs, their bellowings, and the
columns of dust which they raise, resemble the deep mur-
murs of a tempest mingled with peals of thunder, lessening
as ihey grow more remote. The flesh of the bison is much
esteemed and very nourishing ; it is deemed the daily bread
of all the Indian tribes on the gieat plains.

A tribe that has few guns, few horses to run down the
animals, which needs provisions, and skins for clothing (and
such was the condition of oar As^iniboins), must employ the
old or primitive method of hunting, which has existed from
time immemorial.

The Indians whom I saw engaged in it were encamped on
a suitable placte for the construction of a park or inclosure.
The camp ot which I speak contained about three hundred
lodges, which represents 2000 or 3000 souls. Thev had se-
lected the base of a chain of hills, whose gentle slope pre-
sented a narrow valley and a prair'e, in -'.vhicli all the lodges
were ranged. Opposite the hills there wms a fine large prairie.

After the construction of the lodges, a great council is
held, at which all the chiefs and all the hunters assist. They
first choose a band of warriors to hinder the hunters from
leaving the camp, either alone or in detached companies,
lest the bisons be disturbed, and thus be driven away from
the encampment. The law against this is extremely s( vare ;
no* only all the Indians of the camp must conform to it,
bi . it reaches to ail travellers, even when they are ignoraiit
of the cincampment or do not know that there is a hunt in
t( jtemplatiou. Should they frighten the animals, they are
»L*> punishable ; however, those of the camp are more rig-

^ND MISSIONARIES.

149

orojsly chastised in case they transgress the regulation.
Their guns, their bows and arrows, are broken, their lodges
cut in pieces, their dogs killed, all their provisions and their
hides are taken from thera. If they are bold enough to re-
sist the penalty, they are beaten with bows, sticks, and clubs,
and this torment frequently terminates in the death of the
unhappy aggressor. Any one who should set fire to the
'prairie by accident or impvudence, or in any way frighten
oti' the herd, would be sure to be well beaten.

As soon as the law is promulgated, the construction of the
l^n is commenced.* Everybody labors at it with cheerful
ardor, for it is an affair of common interest, on which the
subsistence of the entire tribe during several months will
depend. The pen has an area of about an acre. To inclose
it in a circular form, stakes are firmly fixed in the ground,
and the distance between them filled with logs, dry boughs,
masses of stone — in short, with whatever they can find that
will answer the purpose. The circular palisade has but one
opening ; before this opening is a slope embracing fifteen or
twenty feet between the hills: this inchned plane grows

» Plan of the Pen.— ABC, Pen ; AC, Opening; D, Slope •, A E and
C F, Hills and Fences ; G, Medioine-mast.

13«

150

WESTERN MISSIONS

^ii

'I'l- >i

■i ':i

wider as it diverges from the circle ; at its two sides they
coutinue the fence to a long distance on the plain.

As soon as these preparations are completed, the Indians
elect a grand-master of ceremonies and of the pen. He is gen-
erally an old man, a distinguished personage, belonging to
Wah-kon, or medicine-band, and famous in the art of jug-
glery, which the Indians, as I have remarked, deem a super-
natural science. His office it is to decide the moment for
driving the bisons into the inclosure, and give the signal for
the commencement of the hunt. He plants the medicine-
mast in the centre of the park, and attaches to it the three
charms which are to allure the animals in that direction, viz.,
a streamer of scarlet cloth <two or three yards long, a piece
of tjbacco, and a bison's horn. Every morning at the early
dawn he beats his drum, intones his hymns of conjuration,
consults his own Wah-kon, and the manitous or guiding-
spirits of the bisons, in order to discover the favorable mo-
ment for the chase.

The grand-master has for" runners at his disposal, who go
out daily and report to him the true result of their observa-
tions; they tell at what distance from the camp the animals
are, their probable number, and in what direction the herd
is marching. These runners frequently go forty or fifty
miles in different directions. In all their courses they take
with them a Wah-kon ball, which is intrusted to them by
the grand master : it is made of hair and covered with skin.
When the runners think that the suitable moment has ar-
rived, they immediately dispatch a man of their number to
the grand-master, with the ball and the good news. So
long as the mysterious ball is absent, the master of ceremo-
nies cannot take food ; he prolongs this rigorous fast by ab-
itaining from every meat or dish that does not come from
K)me animal killed on the area of the park, until the hunt is

i ii "■,

AND MISSIONARIES.

151

over; and as they often remain a month or more awaiting
the most favorable moment of beginning, the grand-master
must find himself reduced to very small rations, unless he
makes some arrangement with his conscience. It is proba-
ble that he eats stealthily at night, for he has no more ap-
pearance of fasting than his brethren of the camp.

Let us now suppose all to be in readiness, and the circum-
stances all favorable to the hunt. The grand-master of the
park beats his drum, to announce that the bisons are in nu-
merous herds at about fifteen or twenty miles distance. The
wiud is favorable, and comes directly from the point in which
the animals are. Immediately all the horsemen mount their
coursers ; the foot-soldiers, armed with bows, guns, and
lances, take their positions, forming two long oblique diverg-
ing rows, from the extremity of the two barriers which
spring from the entrance of the pen and extend into the
plain, and thus prolong the lines of the inclosure. When
the footmen are placed at distances of ten or fifteen feet, the
horsemen continue the same lines, which separate in propor-
tion as they extend, so that the last hunter on horseback is
fuund at about two or three miles dista, from the pen, and
at very nearly the same distance from the la^t hunter of the
other line, in an opposite direction. When nicu are want-
ing, women and even children occupy stations.

After the formation of these two immense lines, one single
Indian, unarmed, is sent upon the best courser in the canip
in the direction of the buffaloes, to meet them. He ap-
proaches, agf Jnst the wind, and with the greatest precaution.
At the distance of about one hundred paces he enveh>jjs
himself in a buffalo-hide, the fur turned outside, and also
envelops his horee as much as possible in the same manner,
and then makes a plaintive cry in imitation of that of a
bison calf. As if by enchantment, this orj attracts the at-

152

WESTERN MISSIONS

1 1 flifl

Mi ■ ?

li 'ii

tention of tbe whole herd ; after some seconds, several thou-
sands of these quadrupeds, hearing this pitiful plaint, turn
towards the pretended calf. At first they move slowly, then
advance into a trot, and at last they push forward in full
gallop. The horseman continually repeats the cry of the
calf, and takes his course towards the pen, ever attentive to
keep at the same distance from the animals that are follow-
ing him. By this stratagem he leads the vast herd of bisons
through the whole distance that separates him from his com-
panions, who are on the qui vive, full of ardor and impa-
tience to share with him in his sport.

"When the buffaloes arrive in the space between the extrem-
ities of the two lines, the scene changes ; all assumes an ap-
pearance of eagerness. The hunters on horseback, giving
rein to their steeds, rejoin each other behind the animals.
At once the scent of the hunters is communicated among
the frightened and routed animals, which attempt to escape
in every direction. Then those on foot appear. The bisons,
finding themselves surrounded and inclosed on all sides, ex-
cept the single opening into the circular pen before them,
low and bellow in the most frightful manner, and plunge
into it with the speed of fear and desperation. The lines of
hunters close in gradually ; and space becomes less necessary
as the mass of bisons and the groups of hunters become
more and more compact. Then the Indians commence firing
their guns, drawing their arrows; and flini^ing their lances.
Many animals fall under the blows before gaining the pen :
the greater number, however, enter. They discover, only
too late, the snare that his been laid for them. Those in
front try to return, but the terrified crowd that follow forces
them to go forward, and they cast themselves in confusion
into the inclosure, amid the hurrahs and joyful shout of the
whole tribe, intermingled with the firing of guns.

AND MISSIONARIES.

153

As soon as all are penned, the bufialoes are killed with ar-
rows, lances, and knives. Men, women, and children, in an
excitement of joy, take part in the general butcher^ , and
the flaying and cutting up of the animals. To look at them
without disgust in this operation, one must have been a
little habituated to their customs and manners. While men
cut and slash the flesh, the women, and children in particu-
lar, devour the meat still warm with life — the livers, kidneys,
brains, <fec., seem irresistible attractions: they smear their
faces, hair, arms, and legs with the blood of the bisons;
confused cries, clamorous shouts, and here and there quar-
rels, iiil up the scene. It is a picturesque and savage scene,
a very pandemonium — a sight very difficult to depict oy
words or to recount in minute details. In the hunt which I
have just described, and at which I was present, six hundred
bison were taken.

After the butchery, the skins and the flesh are separated
into piles, and these piles are divided among the families, in
proportion to the number of which they are composed. The
meat is afterwards cut in slices and dried ; the boues are
bruised and their grease extracted. The dogs also receive
their portion of the feast, and devour the remains on the
arena of the pen. Two days after the hunt not a vestige of
the carnage remained. Before separating, the Indians pass
several days in dancing and mirth. One of your Keysers or
Ver Broeckhovens should assist at one of these spirited, pic-
turesque scenes of the Great Desert ; he would find a new
subject for a painting.

Tlie old proverb says, " One half of the world knows not
how the other half lives." The American Indians, who live
on the spontaneous products of the soil may say as much : the
countless herds of bison that roam over the vast plains, serve
as daily bread to the numerous tribes of the Great Desert.

mmm

154

WESTERN MISSIONS

The Soshocos are the most degraded of the races of this
vast continent. The Americans call them " Poor Devils"
and the French and Canadian voyageurs denominated them
"Ze5 dignes de pitie" They roam over the desert and bar-
ren districts of Utah and California, and that portion of the
Rocky Mountains which branches into Oregon. In my mis-
sions and journeys I have sometimes met with families of
these wretched Soshocos, who are really worthy of pity. I
was so happy as to baptize several of their sick children just
before they died.

While the Indians of the plains, who live on the flesh of
animals, become tall, robust, active, and generally well-clad
with skins, the Soshoco, who subsists chiefly on grasshoppers
and ants, is miserable, lean, weak, and badly clothed ; he
inspires sentiments of compassion in the minds of those who
traverse the unproductive region which he occupies.

After having described to you the inclosure hunt, as prac-
ticed by the Assiniboius, I will show you the reverse of the
picture, by describing the great grasshopper hunt practiced
among the Soshocos. This hunt deserves mention, I think,
especially as a contrast to the other.

The principal portion of the Soshoco territoiy is covered
with wormwood, and other species of artemisia, in which the
grasshoppers swarm by myriads ; these parts are consequently
most frequented by this tribe. When they are sufficiently
numerous, they hunt together. They begin by digging a
hole, ten or twelve feet in diameter by four or five deep ;
then, armed with long branches of artemisia, they surround
a field of four or five acres, more or less, according to the
number of persons who are engaged in it. They stand
about twenty feet apart, and their whole work is to beat the
ground, so as to frighten up the grasshoppers and make them
bound forward. They chase them towards the centre by

"'•i'

AND MISSIONARIES.

155

degrees — that is, into the hole prepared for their reception.
Their number is so considerable that frequently three or four
acres furnish grasshoppers sufficient to till the reservoir or
hole.

The Sosliocos stay in that place as long as this sort of pro-
vision lasts. They, as well as other mortals, have their
tastes. Some eat the grasshoppers in soup, or boiled ; others
crush them, and make a kind of paste from them, which
they dry in the sun or before the fire : others eat them en
appalas — that is, they take pointed rods and string the largest
ones on them ; afterwards these rods are fixed in the ground
before the tire, and, as they become roasted, the poor Soshocos
regale themselves until the whole are devoured.

As they rove from place to place, they sometimes meet
with a few rabbits, and take some grouse, but seldom kill
deer or other large animals.

The contrast between the Indian of the plain and the des-
titute Soshoco, is very striking ; but poor as he is, like the
Hottentot, he loves devotedly his native soil.

I shall soon leave Cincinnati for Louisville, in Kentucky,
and then for St. Louis ; from thence, in order to comply
with your request, I shall continue my Indian memoirs.
Among other things, I will give you the description of the
peace expedition sent by the Crows to the Black-Feet. I
collected the facts on the spot, in my mission of 1851 ; for
in the superstitious and religious ideas and practices of the
savages, in their expeditions of war and hunting, their char-
acter and manners are best described. I will give you these
curious details with as much fidelity as I can.

Rev. and dear Father,
Your devoted servant and brother in Christ,

P. J. De Smet, S. J,

156

WESTEBN MISBIOKS

Letter III.

I ft

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Indian Warfare.

University of St. Louis, August, 1854,
Rev. and Dear Father :

In my last I spoke of the Indian hunting in the Great
Desert. I will give you, to-day, some general observations
ou their wars, and especially what I could learn of an un-
happy joeace expedition, during my last visit to the Crows.

It may be said that war is the ne plus ultra of an Indian's
glory. The ambition of becoming a great warrior absorbs
all his attention, all his talents, all his bravery ; it is often
the object of all his voluntary sufferings. His pr«^i0nged
fasts, his long war-paths, penances, and macerations, and his
religious observances, have principally this sole end. To wear
an eagle's plume, the emblem of an Indian warrior, is in his
^yes supreme hono", and the most magnificent of ornaments ;
for it betokens that he has already distinguished himself in
battle. Generally at the age of seventeen or eighteen years,
after the first fast, and after having selected his wah-kon,
manitou, or tutelary spirit, the youthful savage joins the war-
parties, which are composed solely of volunteers.

A chief, or a partisan, who wishes to form a war-party,
presents himself in the midst of the camp, tomahawk in
hand, and painted with vermilion, the symbol of blood. He
intones his war-song : this kind of song is short. The wur-

Ei ,>

AND MISSIONARIES.

157

chief proclaims with emphasis his bfty deeds, his patriotic
and martial ardor — the sentiments and motives which prompt
him to vengeance. His song is accompanied with the drum
and the sischiquoin, or gourd filled with little pebbles. He
stamps on the ground, as though he could shake the carta to
the centre. All the youth listen to him with attention, and
any one who rises becomes a volunteer in his party ; he,
in his turn, intones his war-song, and this ceremony has the
force of a solemn pledge, from which a young man cannot
honorably withdraw. Each volunteer arms and equips him-
self with all that will be necessary for him in his expedi-
tions. The whole force of public opinion among the Indians
appears to be concentrated on this point. The narration of
their adventures and of their valorous deeds, their dances,
their religious ceremonies, the speeches of their orators in
their public assemblies ; whatever, in tine, that can serve to
inflame ambition in the mind and heart of a barbarian, is
referred to the idea of being one day distinguished in war.

I have now to speak of the Crows. Among all the tribes
of the northwest portion of North America, this nation is
considered as the most warlike and valiant. It counts about
four hundred and eighty lodges, ten individuals to a lodge,
and roams over the valley of the Yellowstone, principally
in the region of the Wind River Mountains, or Bh.ck Hills,
and the Kocky Mountains. This race is one of the noblest
in the desert ; they are tall, robust, and well-formed, have a
piercing eye, aquiline nose, and teeth of ivory whiteness. If
they are considered as superior in intelligence to all their
neighbors, they also surpass them in their wah-kon, or super-
stitious ideas and ceremonies, which reign in all their move-
ments and actions. In illustration, I will cite the following
trait, of which I was innocently and ignorantly the cause.

In 1840, I first met the Crows, in the valley of the Big

'ii!!'

It if!

158

WESTERN MISSIONS

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III

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Horn, a tributary of the YcllowRtoiic. In my quality of
Black-gown, they received mo with all possible demonstra-
tions of respect, and with a sincere joy. I had with me a
stock of lucifer-matches, which I used from time to time to
light my pipe, and the calumet used in the Great Council.
The etfect of these matches surprised them greatly ; they
had never seen any. They conversed about them in all the
lodges, and called them the mysterious fire which the Black-
gown carried. I was at once considered the greatest medi-
cine-man that had ever visited their tribe. They consequently
treated me with distinguished respect, and listened to all I
said with the greatest attention. Before my departure, the
chiefs and principal warriors of the council requested me to
leave them a portion of my matches. Unconscious of the
superstitious ideas which they attached to them, I readily
distributed them, reserving only what was necessary for my
journey. In 1844 I visited them again. The reception
they gave me was most solemn. I was lodged in the largest
and finest lodges of the camp. All the chiefs and warriors
were habited in their emb: ^idered mocc-Hsins, leggins, and
bnckskin shirts ornamented with beads and porcupine quills,
while eagle's feathers crowned their heads, and they con-
ducted me in grand ceremony from lodge to lodge. That I
might participate in a grand banquet, I was provided with
my band of eaters, who would do honor to the viands and
eat for me. One of the great chiefs testified a special friend-
ship for me. "/< is to thee, Black-goion^'' said he to me,
" that I owe all my glory in the victories I have gained over
my enemies.^'' His language astonished me greatly, and I
begged him to explain. Without delay he took fi'om his
neck his wah-kon, or medicine-bag, wrapped in a bit of kid.
He unrolled it, and displayed to my wondering view the
remnant of the matches I had j^iven him in 1840! "I use

AND MISSIONAKIES.

159

them," said he, "every time I go to battle. If the myste-
rious fire appears at the first rubbing, I dart upon my
enemies, sure of obtaining victory." I had considerable diffi-
culty in disabusing their minds of this singular superstition.
As you see, it requires little to acquire a reputation among
the Indians : with a few lucifer-matches, you may be a great
man among the Crows, and receive great honors.

The Crows have been invested during several years,
on the north by the Black-Feet, on the east by the Assini-
boins and Crees, and on the south by the Sioux. Each of
these invading nations being more numerous than the nation
invaded, the Crows were necessarily engaged in perpetual
war, sometimes with one and sometimes with the other of
these tribes. Hence the last ten years show a great diminu-
tion in their population, which numbers at the present time
not more than four hundred warriors.

Occasionally the Crows have enjoyed peace with the tribes
of the Black-Feet, Sioux, Bonacks, Assiniboins, etc.; and it
is a quite remarkable fact, tliat they have never been the first
to violate a treaty of peace, except in the following instance,
whicfi I will narrate in full.

In 1843, the great chief of the nation was known by the
title of Tezi-Goe^ a word which sounds bad enough, meaning
Rotten Belly. He was as much renowned for his bravery in
war as for his wisdom in council, and the patriotic love that
he testified to the whole nation. Seeing with pain the great
losses that the continual incursions of so many enemies
caused hi j tribe, he resolved to conclude a solemn treaty of
peace, if iiot with all, at least with a great part of the Black-
Feet. H(3 made all suitable arrangements, and convoked his
council, to deliberate on the most prompt and the most etH-
cacious means of success in his great design. All the war-
riors hastened to his aid. After having discussed the dif-

160

WESTERN MISSIONS

l"B

i,;4-

!i'!

ferent points, it was unanimously decided that a party of
twenty-five braves sliould re[)air to the Black-Feet camp, to
offer them the calumet of peace.

The guide chosen to conduct the band was one of the
nation of Black-Feet, taken prisoner by the Crows some
years before, and l.itherto retained in captivity. In order to
attach him more securely to the good cause, the Crows
granted him his liberty, with the title of brave, and the per-
mission to wear the eagle's plume. He was, besides, loaded
with presents, consisting of horses, arms, and ornaments of
every kind. Having received his instructions, he set out
joyfully and with signs of gratitude, fully resolved to neglect
nothing to obtain and consolidate an honorable and lasting
peace between the two nations. A place had been desig-
nated in which the two tribes might meet as friends and
brothers, to celebrate the grand event. The deputation,
therefore, set out for the Black-Feet camp of four hun-
dred lodges, commanded by the great chief '.'Spotted
Deer," or Ponukah-kitzi-Pemmy, which they found encamped
in the valley of the Maria River, a pretty large branch
of the Missouri River, in the neighborhood of the Great
Falls.

About a month before the departure of this expedition,
two Crows had been killed, near their own camp, and their
scalps carried away, by a war-party of Black-Feet. The two
brothers of these unfortunate victims fasted, and took their
oaths according to custom. These oaths consisted in vowing
that they would each kill a Black-Foot, the first good chance.
They communicated their intentions to no one. The bravery
and determination of these two men were well known.
They were elected to join the band of deputies, and promised
ostensibly to forget their private wrongs for the public wel-
fare ; but in secret they renewed their first intentions, fore-

! i

*;.':*■

AliD MISSIONARIES.

161

seeing that this excursion would probahly furnish an occasion
of avenging tlie <iouble niunler of their brothers.

The band progressed slowly, usin^^ many precautions, and
redoubling thein as they approached the camp of the Black-
Feet. When within a few days' distance from it, they sep-
arated in companies of two or three, to scour the country
and assure themselves whether any Black-Feet parlies were
out of the village. In the course of the day the two brothers
stayed together, and discovered two Black-Feet Indians re-
turning from the chase, with several horses laden with buf-
falo-meat. Having with thera a calumet-handle, they ad-
vanced boldly towards their enemies, and offered them the
pipe, as on similar occasions. The Black-Feet Indians re-
ceived the calumet, and were informed that a great deputa-
tion, commissioned on the part of the Crows, was repairing
to their village, with pacific intentions. They acted with
80 much address, that, after some moments, the Black-Feet
were entirely reassured, and conceived no suspicions nor suf-
fered the least anxiety. One of them presented his gun to
one of the two Crows, and the other gave his horse to the
second. They took the same way together towards the
camp, but their path led through a deep and lonely ravine.
There the snare was discovered. The two Black-Feet sud-
denly received moiliil blows, and were thus cowardly assassi-
nated by the two Crows, who scalped their victims. They
then killed the horses with arrows, and concealed their car-
casses beneath the underwood and briers. The two scalps
were carefully secured in their bullet-bags. Havini^ removed
all traces of blood from their habiliments, they r jjoined their
companions, without making known the ct-ucI act of private
vengeance they had consummated, secretly and in violation
of all received Indian usages. The day which followed this

atrocious crime the deputation made a solemn entrance into

140

162

WESTERN MISSIONS

the camp of the Black-Feet, and were received by the chiefs
aud braves with the greatest cordiality, and with every atten-
tion of Indian hospitality.

The Black-Feet declared themselves favorable to the
treaty of peace. They received joyfully the proposition
which the Crows made by their guide and interpreter, the
recent prisoner. All the politeness and attention of which
Indians are capable were lavished upon the deputies. They
were luvited to a great number of feasts, to amusements and
public sports, which lasted late in the night. They were
afterwards distributed to the lodges of the principal chiefs,
in order to repose after their fatigaing journey.

The inclination to steal is very common among the
women of several tribes o* the Northwest. The Black-Feet
women share largely in this bad reputation. One of these
feminine pilferers, favored by the darkness of night, silentl)
entered the lodges where the Crows were peaceably sleeping.
She relieved their pouches of all that could prove valuable
to her. While searching, she laid her hand upon a damp,
hairy object, and instantly perceived it to be a scalp. She
seized it, quitted the camp in the greatest possible silence,
and, by the glimmering of the watchfire which was burning
:n the middle of the camp, examined the bloody trophy. It
Is very difficult to move an Indian, for he is habituated to
strp.nge sights. Such an event would have spread alarm
among white men, but it only tended t'^ render the Indians
more circumspect and more prudent in taking measures.
The woman, after reflecting a moment, turned her steps to-
wards the lodge of the great chief, awoke him, and commu-
nicated to his ear in the softest whisper the important discov-
ery she had made. He lighted a pine torch, in order to ex-
amine the scalp. At the tirst glance he recognized it as that
of a young hunter who had not yet come back from the chase.

V, 'H

AND MISSIONARIES.

163

The chief instantly formed his plan. He made signs to
the woman to follow him, recommended her to retire to her
own lodge, because nothing could be done before daylight,
and forbade her to divulge her secret, or to excite the
slightest suspicion. He feared that in the confusion which
would probably arise, and sheltered by the darkness, some of
the Crows might escape.

The Spotted Deer then, alone and noiselessly, made the
rounds of his camp. He aroused his bravest warriors, to the
number of twenty or thirty, by a single touch, and also those
whom lie desired to consult in this circumstance. They fol-
lowed him, asking no questions, and were conducted to a
solitary place in the vicinity of the camp. There, forming a
circle and lighting a torch, the chief displayed the scalp, and
related to them the adventure of the woman.

The youngest of his counsellors desired instant revenge on
the Crows, but the prudent chief represented to ihem that
the night was not a favorable time ; besides, that having
smoked together the calumet of peace, to kill theui in their
own lodges, and in the very camp of the Black-Feet, would
be at variance Avith all their customs and practices, and
would draw upon them the contempt of all other Indian
nations. He, however, commanded them to hold themselves
armed and ready at daybreak.

The Crows rose early. They were somewhat surprised to
see the lodges they occupied surrounded by a band of four
01' five hundred warriois, armed and mounted on their
fleetest coursers, and with countenances far from friendly, as
on the previous eve. But Indians are not easily discon-
certed ; they awaited the result in silence. As soon as the
daylight appeared in the camp, the S])otted Deer convened
a grand council and summoned the Crow deputies to ap-
pear. They at once obeyed, and took their places with the

164

WESTERN MISSIONS

Li ' Jl

air of haughty indifference, peculiar to the Indian, in the
centre of a circle of enemies who were burning with ven-
geance. When all were in order, the Spotted Deer arose,
and thus addressed the Crows : " Strangers, only yesterday
you arrived in our camp. You declared yourselves the
deputies of your principal chiefs, sent to conclude with us,
hitherto your foes, a solid and durable treaty of peace. We
listened to your message. Your words and propositions
seemed reasonable and advantageous. All our lodges have
been open to you ; you have shared in our feasts and hospi-
tality ; you joined in our games. Yesterday we had the inten-
tion of showing you to-day still greater liberality. But, before
discoursing further, I have one single question to ask you.
Crows ! I must have an answer ; and that answer will de-
cide whether peace be possible, or whether a war of destruc-
tion must continue." Then drawing the scalp fi'om the bullet-
pouch, and displaying it before them, he cried, "Tell me,
Crows, whose hair is this ? Who among you claims this
trophy 1" Those of the Crows who were ignorant of the
aftair, looked on with amazement, and could only imagine
that the Black-Feet sought a pr^^text for quarrelling. No
one replied. The chief resumed : " Will no one ai-swer ?
Must I call a woman to question these d'ow braves ?" Then
beckoning to the stealer of the scalp, he said to her, " Show
us to which warrior this trophy belongs." Without hesita-
tion, she pointed to one of the brothers. Eve'y eye wjis
fixed upon him. The chief. Spotted Deer, approaching the
murderer, said to him, "Knowest thou this scalp? Didst thou
take it ? Fearest thou now to avow it ?" With one bound
the young Crow placed himself opposite the chief, and shout-
ed, "Spotted Deer, I fear not! It is I who took the scalp !
If I endeavored to conceal it, I did so with the desire of
doing more evil ! Thou askest whose hair is this. Look at

.'U||«

AND MISSIONARIES.

165

the hairy fringe of thy sliirt and thy leggins. In my turn,
I ask, whose hair is that ? Belongs it not to my two broth-
ers, slain by thee or thine, hardly two moons ago ? or be-
longs it not to the relations of some Crow here present I
'Tis vengeance brings me here ! My brother holds in his
shot-bag the companion of this scalp. We determined, be-
fore leaving the camp, to cast into thy face these bloody
tufts, at the same moment, as our challenge of defiance."

This language determined the Black-Feet. "Young man,
thou hast spoken well," replied the Spotted Deer; "thou art
valiant and fearest not death, which will strike thee and thy
companions in a few moments. Yet we have smoked the
calumet together. It is not suitable that the ground on
which that ceremony took place should drluk thy blood.
See, Crows, the hill before yuu ! It is in the way that leads
to your lodges. So far we allow you to go. When you get
there, we will pursue you. Go on, and leave us."

The Crows instantly left the place, and advanced towards
the hill designated by the Black-Foot chief, determined to
sell their lives dearly in this unequal combat. Their ene-
mies mounted their horses, and awaited with ardor the order
for the pursuit.

As soon as the Crows reached the hill, the terrific war-
whoop — the Sassaskivi — resounded through the camp. The
Black-Feet, burning to avenge the outrage received, rushed
forward with the greatest impetuosity. The Crows, after
running some moments, found a deep ravine eixavated in the
plain by the running waters: judging the position favorable,
they took refuge in it, and maintained themselves for some
time. As soon as, in their first ardor, the Black-Feet ap-
proached the ravine to dislodge them, a general discharge
of muskets and arrows from the Crows killed eighty Black-
Feet, and wounded a great immbor. This discharge routed

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166

WESTERN MISSIONS

them, and forced them to draw off. The Black-Feet dis-
mounted, and on foot there were several skirmishes between
the two bands; but all were disadvantageous to the Black-
Feet, for the Crows were protected in the hole, and only
showed their heads through necessity, while their enemies
fought in the open plain. A great number of Black-Feet
lost their lives in these different attempts, while the Crows
lost not a man. Spotted Deer, seeing thfi danger and the
useless destruction of so many warriors, made an appeal to
his braves. He proposed to them to place himself at their
head, and to fall simultaneously on their enemies. His propo-
sition was accepted ; the war-whoop resounded anew through
the bloody plain ; they attacked the Crows en masse, and
after having discharged on them their guns and arrows,
armed only with their daggers and tomahawks, they darted
with confused violence into the ravine, and in a few moments
horribly massacred the whole band. In this last attack, it
is worth noting that not a single Black-Foot lost his life.

The combat ended, the scalps were carried off by the war-
riors who had most distinguished themselves in the affair.
The women cut the corpses of their slain in such small pieces,
that it would be difficult to detect among them the smallest
trace of the human form. The scalps, with all the torn
scraps of flesh, were then attached as trophies to the extrem-
ities of poles and lances, and triumphantly borne through
the camp, mid chants of victory, yells of rage, with howling
and vociferations against their enemies. There was also a
general mourning, caused by the loss of so many warriors
fallen in this hon'ible engagement. Since that day, war con-
tinues without relaxation to the present time.

This shocking recital I learned in 1851, on that very battle-
field, and from a chief who was in the engagement.

I request you, in a special manner, to pray very particu-

AND MISSIONARIES.

167

Lirly for these poor Indians. During fourteen years they
have iniplored the favor of having some of our Fathers sent
to theui. The scripture, " They asked bread, and there was
none to break it to them," may be justly quoted in regard
to them. In my short visits to them I have been touched
with their affability, their beneficent hospitality, and the re-
spectful attention they gave to my instructions. I augur
very favorably of their good dispositions, and am convinced
that two or three fervent and zealous missionaries could
gather consoling fruits for religion from these barbarians,
who sigh to know and practice the Gospel of Peace. Since
my last interview with them, in 1851, I have received sev-
eral letters from them.

Do not forget me in your prayers, and be so good as to
remember me to the Fathers and Brothers of St. Michael's
College.

I have the honor to be, with the most profound respect
and esteem,

Rev. and dear Father,
Your most devoted servant and brother in Christ,

P. J. De L^bt, S. J.

i<: m

168

WESTERN MISSIONS

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Letter XIII.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Tchatka.

Eeverend Father :

You have received the address of Matau-Witko, or the
Bear, the present chief of the Assiniboins. This has shown
the favorable dispositions entertained by that chief for our
holy religion. I spoke to you of their hunts, of an expedi-
tion of peace and war sent by the Crows, or Absharokays, to
the Black-Feet, or Ziarzapas* their inveterate enemies. I
have described the Assiniboin worship, which, in regard to
ceremonies, superstitious practices, and various points of be-
lief, resembles all others in use among the different Indian
tribes of the Upper Missouri.

These details must have given you an idea of the depth of
heathen darkness in which the North American Indians are
yet shrouded. How worthy, alas ! are they of exciting
Christian compassion and devotedness ! How noble the

* The Black- Feet are one of the most powerful tribes in the new ter-
ritory of Nebraska, They nuniber about 10,000. Their war and hunt-
ing parties go as far north as 52°, and cover all the valley of the Upper
Missouri and its tributaries from the Rocky Mountains to 103" north.

I have already given a table of the different tribes of the Upper Mis-
Bouri, and of the Sioux, as well as some notions on the bands, territo-
ries, language, names, names of principal chiefs, and explained the
word wah-kon or medicine.

AND MISSIONARIES.

169

mission of rescuing the minds and hearts of this despised
and forlorn race from the degrading superstitions and infa-
mous cruelties to which they are abandoned : of sowing in
that uncultivated soil the mustard-seed, which will spring up
and bear the immortal blossoms of present and future
happiness !

Some of our Fathers are already engaged in this noble
task. It is to be hoped that a greater number may be
inspired to join them in bearing the torch of faith to all the
nations which desire it, and incessantly implore lilack-gowns.
I speiik from actual knowledge when I say that most of the
nations of the Great Desert manifest a desire for instruction,
and listen willingly to the word of the Lord.

To initiate vou still further in the kno\vledo;e of Indian
manners and customs, I have thought that you would be
pleased to receive a sketch of the life of the most renowned
chief of the Assiniboins. He was a crafty, cruel, deceitful
man, a bad Indian, in every sense of the woid ; his whole
life was full of horrors. For forty years he led his tribe in
the forest. At the commencement of his career, his band
numbered over 2000. He led them fiom war to war, some-
times with success, often with reverse. Disease thinned the
band — poison and battle wasted them like snow. When
they were but p. handful, he beheld the remnant of his gal-
lant band disperse, and seek an asylum in a more powerful
and numerous camp. He died as he had lived. Either from
fear, jealousy, or hatred, he had recourse to poison to rid
himself of all who opposed him. Pursued by remorse and
despair, he used the same means to put an end to his own days.
He died in most terrible convulsions. This story will show
you that the Indians, too, have their Neros and Caligulas.

All the accounts that I have read on the statistics of the
Indians, show that their numbers constantly decrease. To

* ■Kit. I

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170

WKSTERN MISSIONS

wliat h tliis remavlvable decline to be ascribed ? The history
of till' Assiniboiii tribe, led by this wicked chief, is more or
less the liistnry of the decline of the other tiibes. Ambi-
tious chiefs jind paitisans keep np incessant wars in their
tribes, and uiiknovvn diseases thin them. Then comes the
acquaintance with the whites; the Indians leain, and easily
ad(>j)t, the vices and excesses of the pioneers of our civiliza-
tion. The spirituous liquors, which they offer the Indians
in abundance — inoie terrible than war — sweeps them off by
liundreds, and they disappear, leaving behind iheni only sad
mounds, as tombs, which dot the plains and highlands by
the river-side, till the plough at last levels these last vestiges
of a race.

If time permits, I will hereafter give some details on the
actual conditi(jn of the Indian tribes under the domination
of the great Ke])ublic. The government has just organized,
in the western desert, two new territories — Kanzas and
Nebraska.* They embrace an extent of neither more nor
le>s than between five and six hundred thousand square miles.
They will then be divided into several States, and each of
these States will be larger than France. Whites are already
pouring in in thousands, all hastening to take possession of
the best sites. The law has just passed ; no steps are yet

* Nebraska Territory extends to 49° north, tlie northern bonndary
of tlie United States; on the south, tlie line of 40" separates it from
Kauzas ; its eastern limit is the Wliile Kiver and the Missouri, wliioli
sep.iriite it from Minnesota and Iowa-, on the west, it extends to tlie
Kockv Mountains.

Kansas Terrilory extends three degrees, or 208 miles, further sotith ;
01) the oa^t -s the State of Missouri : on the north, tlie 37tii degree sepa-
raier, it from the I liorokee Kescrvation ; on the west, it is buuntled by
the Iiocky Mountains.

These two territories contain over 500,000 square miles, or forty
times the surface of Belgium.

AND MISSIONARIES.

171

taken to protect the Indians, and already fifty new towns
and villiiges arc in progress ; barns, farms, mills, &c., rise
on all sides as though by enchantment. I did not then
think that the moment of invasion was so near.

The narrative with which I will entertain you to-day is
well known in all the region where the scenes occurred. I
have it from two most reliable sources — that is to say, fiom
a man of tried probity and veracity, Mr. Denig, of the St.
Louis Fur Company, and from a worthy Canadian inter-
preter. Both resided many years among the Assiniboins,
and knew the subject of the story, and witnessed many of
his acts.

This hero i.^ Tchatka or Gaucher, an Assiniboin chief. He
exercised, during his long career, more power over the band
or tribe that he led and governed, than any other savMge
Nestor whose history I have learned. He had received sev-
eral names; but that of Gaucher, or Awkward, is that by
which he was known among the voyageurs* and fur-traders.
His other names were, Wah-kon-kangta, or the Great Medi-
cine; Mina-Yougha, or the Knifeholder; and Tatokah-nan,
or the Kid. These titles were bestowed on him at different
periods of his life, in memory of some remarkable deed by
which he had distinguished himself, and which will appear
in the course of my narrative.

The family of Tchatka was very numerous, and enjoyed
great influence. As the members purposed electing him
their chief, and conductor of the camp, as soon as he should
attain his majority, he attracted the attention of the north-
ern fur-traders of Upper Canada and the Hudson Bay Com-
pany's territory. The intimacy which he cultivated with

* I use the word voyageur^ a Canadian term, adopted in English to
detiguauj the white hunters of the West, a peculiar set of men.

172

WESTEKN MISSIONS

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the whites, united to a liigh degree of native cunning, proved
the means of his acquiring many arts, whicli gave him on his
return a kind of distinction among Iiis peopU\ lie had also
obtained, by means of a white man, a quantity of poison,
and liad learned its properties and use. Tchatka was an un-
principled, deceitful, cunning, cowardly man. Although
young and vigorous, he always kept out of danger. While
the warrior;^ of his tribe were fighting in the plain, he would
be seated on a hill or some other spot fiom which he could
observe all that passed. lie had been initiated into all tlie
tricks of tlie jugglers. lie never performed incantation and
juggleries without a good horse beside him, on which he
sprang in case of defeat. He was always the first to escape,
abandoning tlie combatants to their own hi . and got oft' as
well as he could. As we shall see in the sequel, he became
chief of two hundred and eighty lodges, or about twelve
hundred warriors. The gicat confidence which they had in
their leader seems to have been the cause of his a'reat sue-
cess in the war against the Black-Feet and other enemies of
the nation.

As soon as Tchatka had attained the requisite age, he
used every effort to attain his object and satisfy his ambition.
He calctilated the advantages and ascendency he would ob-
tain over the people by becoming initiated in ihe great band
of medicine-men or jugglers,* and he pretended to the gift

* The Wali-kons, or Medicine-men, among the American Indians,
and the Panomoosi of Northern Asia, belong to the same class. In both
hemispheres these charlatans pretend to heal diseases by witchcraft;
they predict the issue of wars and hunts. In all cases they pretend to
be inspired by Manitous; that is, divinities or spirits. They generally
retire to the deptli of the forests, where they pretend to fast for several
days, and often practice very vigorous penances, consisting especially in
oorporal macerations ; then they beat the drum, dance, sing, smoke,
cry, and howl like wild beasts. All these preparatives are accompanied

AND MISSIONARIES.

173

of prophecy. A second

CO nee

motive for this initiation was, that

he might thereby conceal \m want of bravery — a quality in-
dispensable in a chief. Many remarkable stoiies are related
of his exactitude in predicting future events, and for which
the simplo savages could give no explanation. -

Tchatka was not ignorant that there were several persons
in the tribe whose iniUience was great, who were older than
he, and who had acquired by their valor in war, and by I heir
wisdom in the council, real titles to the dignity of great c^'ef.
In order to arrogate to himself the sole government of the
camp, he conceived the frightful design of getting rid of his
competitors. He brought to the execution of his project all
his cunning and deceit. I have already alluded to the
poisons in his possession. By secret experiments he becajne
well inforuied concerning their power and influence. lie
administered it himselt^ or by the hands of others, so adroit-
ly that nut the least suspicion was excited. His character
of prophet came to his aid. He predicted to his victims,
often several weeks and months before the event, that they
had not long to live, according to the revelations of his
Wah-kon, and mauitous or spirits. The accomplishment of
this species of prediction established his reputation ; he ob-
tained the title of "Strong in Jugglery." The poor savages
regarded him with fear and respect — as a being who could
at his will dispose of life. Many made him presents of

by a host of furious actions, and such extraordinary contortions of body,
tliat tliey would seem possessed. Tliese jugglers are visited secretly by
night by accomplices in their craft and hypocrisy, who carry them all
the news of the village and its neighborhood. By these means the jug-
glers, on leaving the forest and returning to the village, easily impose
on the credulous. The first part of their predictions consists in giving
an exact account of all the events of the village since their departure —
marriages, deaths, returns from the war or the hunt, and all other re-
markable items.

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174

WESTERN MISSIONS

horses and other objects, in order to escape figuring on the
list of iiis fatal predictions.

The

of th(

most iiinuential and courageous personage
Assiniboins, the principal obstacle to the ambition of Gau-
cher or Tchatka, was his own uncle. Tci a lofty stature, liis
uncle joined a bravery, a boldness, and a violence which no
one dared oppose. lie bore the name of the Walking Bow,
or Itazij)a-man. He was renowned for his valorous deeds in
combat. His robe, his casque, his clothing, his tomahawk,
lance, and even the bridle and saddle of his steed, were
adorned with scalps and trophies taken from his enemies.
He was surnamed The One-eyed, or Istagon, because he had
lost an eye in battle by an arrow.

Tchatka was jealous of the power of Istagon, and of the
influence the latter exercised over the whole tribe. Hither-
to he had not attempted the life of his uncle ; as he feared
his anger, he desired to assure himself of his protection.
He needed him as long as those were living who might op-
pose his ambitious march, the success of which was so little
merited on his part: no deed of arms, no trophy gained
from the enemy, could authorize him to carry his preten-
sions higher. By his arts and flattery, by an assiduous at-
tention and feigned submission to the smallest desires of the
chief, the cunning young man succeeded in gaining the
friendship and confidence of his uncle. They saw each other
more frequently : they gave each other feasts and banquets,
in which the greatest harmony seemed to reign. One even-
ing Tchatka presented his guest a poisoned dish : the latter,
according to the Indian custom, ate the whole. Knowing,
by experience, that in a few hours the ingredient would pro-
duce its eft'ects, Tchatka invited all the principal braves and
soldiers of the camp to repair to his lodge, announcing, that
he had an aflfaif of the highest importance to communicate

AND MISSIONARIES.

1 •" "^

to tlieiii. He placed his Wjih-kon in tlie most suitable and
iMost cuuspioiioiis part of iii.s lodge Tliis Waii-koii of G.iu-
cljL'r'a Consisted of a stone, painted red, and surrounded by a
little fence of small sticks about six inches in lenirth. It
lay at a little distance from the lire, which was burning ia
the centre of the hulgf, and opposite the place wh<3re he sat.
It had occupied this pla(;e for several years.

As soon as the whole assembly were arranged, Tchatka
disclosed his Wah-kon. He declared to them that the thun-
der, during a noeturnal storm, had launched this stone into tho
middle of his lo^Ige ; that the voice of the thunder had told
iiim that it jx)ssessed the gift, and the spirit of prophecy;
that the Wah-kon stone had announced that a great event
was about to take place in the camp ; for that very night
the most valiant brave of the tribe would strufju-le in the
arms of death, and that anothei", more favored than he by
the spirits, would take his place, and would be proclaimed
great-chief of the camp; that at the very moment the chief
ex])ired, the Wah-kon stone would vanish, and accompany
the spirit of the deceased into tho country of souls.

A mournful silence succeeded this singular declaration. Ar,-
tonishment, mingled with superstitious dread, was depicted on
the faces of all those who composed the assembly. No one
dared to contradict the discourse of Tchatka, or call in doubt
his words. Besides, on so many other occasions his predic-
tions had been realized at the appointed time. He whoso
death had been foretold, without being named, was present.
As several occupied nearly as high a rank as himself in the
camp, and shared the power in concert with Istagon, the
latter did not at first apply to himself exclusively the an-
nouncement of death which had just been made so mysteri-
ously. He did not yet feel the eflfects of the poisoned dish,
aad had not even the slightest suspicion on the subject

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176

WESTERN MISSIONS

Each withdrew to his own lodge ; but dark apprehensions
troubled their minds, and agitation controlled their hearts.
Who will be the victim announced ?

Towards midnight a messenger informed Gaucher that
his uncle and friend was very sick, and wished positively to
speak with him. The uncle suspected the perfidy of his
nephcivv, and was resolved to stretch him dead at his feet
while he yet possessed suflScient strength. The wily Tchatka
answered the messenger, "Go, tell Istagon that my visit to
him would prove useless. I could not possibly at this mo-
ment quit my lodge and my Wah-kon."

In the mean time a great tumult and great confusion arose
throughout the camp; consternation became general. In
his horrible convulsions, and befoie they had deprived him
of the use 3f speech, Tstagon declared to the braves who first
ansvvercd his call, that he suspected Tchatka of being the
cause of his death. They at once uttered shrieks of rage
and veno-eance against the latter, and hastened to his lodeco
to execute their ihreats. Tchatka, apoarently grieved and
melancholy, on account of the unhappy lot of iiis uncle,
and trembling with fear at the sight of so many uplifted
tomahawks, besought these avengers of Istagon to suspend
their wrath and deign to listen to him. " Relations and
friends," said he, " Istagon is my uncle ; the same blood
flows in our veias ; he has ever loaded me with marks of
his friendship and his confidence. How then could I injure
him ? A few moments ago you saw him vigorous with
health ; now that he is grappling with death you come to
discharge your vengeance upon me ! What have I done to
deserve it ? I predicted the event ! How could I help doing
so ? Such was the decree of my great Wah-kon ! Ap-
proach, and observe it closely, for I announced at the same
time that my Wah-kon would disappear, in order to accom-

i'l ^9

AND MISSIONARIES.

177

pany the soul of the chief into the region of spirits. If iny
word is accomplishe \ and my Wah kon stone disappears, is
it not an evident sio-u that tiie death of Tstaijon is rather a
decree of the manitous tlian a treachery on my part ? Wait,
and judge for yourselves." These few wordf. ]ia<l the desired
effect; they seated themselves as sentinels around the mys-
terious stone. Neither calumet nor dish was handed round
in this mute circle — silent in appearance, but tumultuous in
reality, for their hearts vi^ere agitated with different emo-
tions, to which the discourse of the perfidious Tchatka had
given rise.

During the two hours that this scene lasteil, the firo
gra<lua!ly became dim, and slied only a few feeble glimmer-
ings, which were from time to time reflected from ihese
sombre and sinister faces. In the interval, some runners
arrived, to announce the progress of the mala<ly. " Istagon
is in convulsions, and utteis nauMit but shrioks of rajje and
despair against his nephew — his convuls'ons grow more fee-
ble — he is losing his speech — he can only be heard with
difficulty — he is in agony — Istagon is dca<l." Cries of dis-
tress accompanied this last message. At the same instant
the mysterious stone burst into a thousand fragments, with a
noise like thunder, which palsied all the assistants with fear.
In scattering, it filled the lodge with cinders and fire, and
wounded severely the nearest of the observers. Stunned
and frightened, all took fiight from this scene of prodigies.
The indignation and revenge which animated them a mo-
ment before against Tchatka, gave place to fear, mingled
with awe and respect for him, and they no longer dared
apj>roach him. The supernatural power of the Wah-kon was
acknowledged, .md he who had received it from the thunder
was honored throughout the camp with the title of Wah-
kon-Tangka, that is, Great MedicUe.

178

WESTERN MISSIONS

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This pretended supornatural affair is thus explained : The
wily savage had been a long time preparing the part he in-
tended peiformiiig. Some days beforehand he pierced the
stone, and charged it with nearly a pound of powder. A
train of powder, carefully covered over, conducted from the
place in which he was seated to the hole excavated in the
stone — a distance of six or eiijht feet. He seized a favorable
instant for lighting a piece of tinder, and at the very mo-
ment that the death of the " One-eyed'''' was announced, he
firt^d the train — the stone exploded.

All these subtle and perfidious means of Gaucher must
appear very simple in the civilized world, where poison and
powder are so often em})loyed in all manner of crimes and
misdemeanors ; but among the Indians the case was widely
different. They were then ignorant of the destructive power
of these two articles. It is not, therefore, astonishing that
they saw only Wah-kon — that is to say, the supernatural and
incomprehensible — :j all this.

At his death, Istagon left a great number of friends, espe-
cially among the warriors, who were sincerely attached to
him on account of his bravery. Several among them, less
credulous perhaps than the others, eyed Tchatka with stern
and threatening looks every time that he appeared in public.
But as he lived retir'^d, rarely quitting his lodge, their dis-
dain and aversion for him were not much remarked. Besides,
as I have already observed, he had a numerous band of rela-
tives; the members of his family, on whom he could rely,
with his partisans, formed a fouith part of all the camp, or
about eighty lodges.

Tehatka was well persuaded that a politic "troke was still
necessary to gain the undecided, the discon(*mted, and the
incredulous. Circumstances seemed to favor this measure ;
he resolved to have recourse to it while the prodigy of the

•i ^^Sim*-

AN M 1 sSK )X A RI KS .

170

stone was still fi'osli in their nicmorv. It has occasionallv
happened, too, tliut on th(3 denth of a cliicf, a numerous
camp divides into different eompanies, above all ii" theie
liad existed any anterior discord. Tchatka, therefore, sliut
liimself in liis lodu'c during several davs, without eommuni-
eating openly with any one. The camp exp(*cted som^'thititr
marvellous. The causes of this lono- retreat were discussed ;
they lost themselves in conjecUires ; all, however, wei'e fully
persuaded that some new manifestation, either good or evil,
would be the result. On the fifth day of Tchatka's letreat,
a general uneasiness was manifested among the savages, and
they spuke of divi<ling.

Wliat was the famous Tidiatka, the Great Medicine — the
liope of some, and the terror of otliers — doing? Xothiiig
else than making a dmm, or tchant chee<ja-kahi\ of such
dimensions that never any Indian had imajxined. Sometime
beforehand, in the premtnlitation of his exph^it, he had
secretly sawed a piece of an enormous hollo v tree, very suit-
able to his design Its licight tliree feet, and its breadth
two, his drum resembled a churn. One end was covered
with goatskin, and the other only with wood. lie emj)loyed
several days in cutting and scraping the interior of this
famous instrument, in order to render it lighter. On the
exterior of this tchant-cheega-kaho^ he painted the figures of
a grizzlv bear, of a tortoise, of a bison bull — three superior
genii in the catalogue of the Indian manitous. Betw^een
these figures were painted human heads, without scalps, fill-
ing every space, about eighty in number. On the skin of
the drum, a chief of tlie Black-Feet tribe was represented,
without a scalp, in hlack^Mul daubed with vermilion.

He had finished his work, and made ail his preparations.
At midnight the voice of Tchatka was heard, with the muf-
fled sound of his tckant-cheefja, \\'\v\v\\ resounded through the

t:mhWn-:

.1 "'

180

WESTKKN MISSIONS

ifw^^'™

camp. As ihougli just coming forth from an ecstasy, he
offered ahjud his thaiiksii'ivinufs and his invoja.ions to the
Great Spirit, and to all his favorite manitous, to tliank them
for the new favors with which they had just crowned him, the
effects of which were to retlect upon the whole tribe. With-
out delay, every one listened to his call, and repaired to his
lodge. Observing the usual customs, the counsellors, the
priiK'ipal among the braves and soldiers, entered the first, and
soon tilled his abode; while hundreds of the curious, old
and young, collected and besieged it without. Curiosity is
at its highest pitch : they are on tire to learn the explana-
tion of the mysterious news ; they wait with anxious
impatience.

As a preliminaiy, Tchatka intoned a beautiful war-song,
without paying the slightest attention to the midtitude vhicli
pressed around liim. In his (]uality of inedicine-man, his
head-dress was made of swan's-down ; his face and his breast
were painted in figures of diiferent colors; his lips, dyed
v.'ith vermilion, indicated that he thirsted for blood, and
breathed the spirit of war. When he perceived that the
whole band was around him, he arose, and with the voice of
a stentor, a^ldressed the assembly.

"I dieamed," said he, "friends and warriors, I dreamed !
During five days and five nights, I was admitted into the
land of spirits ; living, I walked among the dead. My eyes
liave witnessed frightful scenes; my ears have heard fright-
ful moans, sighs, lamentations, and bowlings ! Have you
courage to listen to me ? Can I suffer you to become the
victims of your most cruel enemies ? For, know that danger
is near — the enemy is not far distant 1"

An aged man, whose wdiite hairs announced seventy win-
ters, the grand counsellor of the nation, and a juggler, replied :
A man who loves his tribe, conceals nothing froip th'

.M&L».

AND MISS10NAKIK8.

181

people. AVhen danger is at hand, he speaks; when the
enemy is in siglit, he goes out to meet him. You say you
have visited tlie region of souls ; I believe in your words. I
also, in my dreams, have frequently conversed with the ghosts
of the departed. Tchailra, though young, has given us ex-
traordinary proots of his p(nver; the last hour of Istagoa
was terrible, but wlio dares rise to blame you? You ou'y
preilicted the two events : the chief died, and the Wah-koc
disappeared. I also' performed wonders in my youth. No^v
I am old ; but although my limbs begin to be feeble, I have
yet a clear mind. We will listen to your words with atten-
tion, and then we will decide on the course we ouglt to take.
I have spoken."

The speech of the old man had a favorable effect on the
whole assembly. Perhaps be was in Tchatka's secret. All
the succeeding oiations manifested a feeling of inclination to
the murderer. The latter, reassured concerning the dispo-
sitions in reuiird to him, continued his recital with firmness
and showed confidence respecting his future plans.

"Let those who have ears, hearken to me! those who
have not, are free to go ! You know me. I am a man of
few words, but what I advance is true, and the events which
I predict arrive. During five days and five nights ray spirit
was wafted amid the spii'its of the dead, especially of our
relatives and friends — of our friends whose bones are whiten-
ing on the plains, and which the wolves drag into their lairs
— <^ our friends who still, unavenged, wander up and down,
amid swamp, and snow, and ice, in sterile and forsaken
desert-3, which produce neither fruit, nor root, nor animal, to
subsist on. It is a place of darkness, where sunlight never
enters. They are subject to all privations — cold, hunger,
tl'/rst. We, their friends, their relatives, their brethren, are

Their
It)

the cause of their long sufferings and fearful woes

I • ¥'

it .

i m'''\ '^' 1

182

WESTERN MISSIONS

sighs and moans were iinsu))porfable. I trembled ',n every
limb; my hair stood erect on my head ; I believed my lot
fixed with theirs; when a kindly spirit touched my hand
and said : ' Tchatka, return to the place wdiich thou hast left;
return to thy body, for it is not yet time for thee to enter the
land of spirits. Return, and thou shalt be the bearer of
good news to thy nation — the shades of thy deceased rela-
tions shall be avenged, and their deliverance is nigh. In thy
lodge thou wilt find a drum, painted with fig;;:i8 that soon
thou shalt learn to know.' At this instant the spirit left me.
Coming forth from n)y dream, I found my drum, painted as
you now behold it. When my body was restored to anima-
tion, I found that I had not changed position. During four
days and four nights I Iniu the same vision, varied sometimes,
but always accompanied with complaints and leproaches
concerning our recent defeats by our enemies, the Black-Feet.
The fifth night, the manitou addressed me anew, and said :
'Tchatka, henceforth the tclLant-cheega-kaho shall be thy
Wah-kon. Arise, follow without delay the war-path which
leads to the Black-Feet. At the source of the Milk River
thirty lodges of the enemies are encamped. Set out instant-
ly, and after five days' march thou shalt reach the camp.
On the sixth thou shalt make a fearful carnage. Every
head painted on the drum represents a scalp, and the taking
of these scalps will appease the manes of thy deceased
parents and friends. Then only will they be enabled to quit
the frightful abode where thou beholdest them, to enter the
beauteous plains where plenty reigns, and where sufiering
and privaticm arc unknown. At this moment a Black-Fett
war-party is prowling around the camp. They sought a
favorable moment, but not finding it, have gone in seaich of
a weaker enemy. Set out, then, without delay ; thou shalt
find an easy victory ; thou shalt find in the Black-Feet camp

AND MISSIONARIES.

1S3

only old men, women, and children.' Such were the words
of the manitou, and lie disappeared. I returned to my body.
I recovered ray senses. I have told you all."* Thus s})oke
this extraordinary man.

Before continuing the strange history of Tchatka and of
his predictions, it will be necessary to explain that he gained
over to his cause ^nd person several active young men, the
best runners in the camp. From them he obtained in secret
all the news and intbraiation that they could gather in their
long expeditions, either as to the hunt, or as to the proximi-
ty, nunibei', and position of the enemy. The juggler, as
soon as he is informed, makes his medicine or incantations,
and then prophecies to the people, who, not suspecting the
trick, deem all supernatural that comes from the impostor's
mouth.

Let us continue : the discourse of Tchatka (for we will so
style him in our narrative, althouijh he had now received
that of Wah-kon-Tangka or Great Medicine) had produced
the effect he desired on all his auditory. The Assiniboins
entertained a mortal hatred against the Black-Feet; this
detestation had been transmitted from father to son, and
augmented by continual aggressions and reprisals. We may
form an idea of the propensity that Indians have for war,
from the expression which they use to designate it. They
call it *' The Breath of their Nostrils." Ea(;h family num-
bered some member slain by their dreadful adversary.

* Many of our Indian tribes celebrate, towards the close of winter,
the " Feast of Dreams," The ceremonies arc often prulonwed to ten
days or a fortnisrht. Tliey miglit rather be termed Bacchanalia or Car-
nival. p]ven the Indians call it the " Feii'^t of Madmen." Tiiese are
days of great disorder ; — when all they dream or pretend to dream must
be executed. Dances, songa, and music form the principal ceremonies
of the feast.

184

WESTERN MISSIONS

Tcliatka's words aroused in their hearts the most violent
thirst of vengeance. The sassaskwi, or war-whoop, was tlie
unanimous response of all the warriors in the camp. They
lighted bonfires, formed groups for chanting invocations to
their manitous, and executed the scal])-dance. Then each
one examined liis arms, and the whole scene changed into
a vast workshop. The soldiers sharpened the double-edged
knives and daggers, filed anew the lances and arrows, ver-
milioned the battle-axes and the tomahawks, bridled and
saddled the horses; while the women mended and prepared
the moccasins, the leggins, and the sacks of provisions ne-
cessary for the journey. As though it were a grand gala
occasion, every one daubed his face with vermilion, accord-
ing to his fancy, and arrayed himself in his handsomest
ornaments. Never had so livelv and so unanimous an en-
thusiasm appeared in the tribe. All relied implicitly on the
promises of Tchatka, and counted on certain victory. The
warriors felicitated themselves on having at last found an
opportunity to efface the shame and opprobium inflicted on
the nation, and to avenge the death of their kindred. The
camp breathed naught but war. The man who had set all
in motion remained silent and alone. Tranquil in his lodge,
beside his big drum, he would neither take part in the public
rejoicings, nor join in the singing and dancing the war-dance.
When the war-party was formed, and ready to depart,
sev^?ral old men and soldiei's were deputed to Tchatka, to
ask him to take the lead, and conduct the enterprise in per-
son. He replied : " You have seen that the two events
that I predicted have drawn upon me the ill-will of a great
number. I am young — I am n' warrior — choose an older
and more experienced man than to lead the braves to
battle. I will stay here; leave me to my dreams and my
drum." The deputies leported his response to their com-

AND MISSIONARIES.

185

rades ; but the latter insisted anew that Tchatka be of the
company. A new deputation, composed this time of the
nearest relatives of Istau'on, souii'ht Tchiitka in the name of
the whole camp, and announced to liim tliat henceforward
he should be their war-chief, and all promised him respect
and obedience. After some hesitation, Tchatka surrendered
to their entreaties, saying- : " Friends and relations, I forget
the wrongs that I have ejidured. If my predictions are ac-
complished — if we tind the camp of the Black-Feet which I
have designated — if we tear from the enemy as many scalps
as are on my drum, will you in future believe in my great
medicine ? If I declare to you that on the second day after
our departure we shall detect the trail of the war-party that
has passed near our camp — if we slay on the battle-field tlie
gieat chief of the Black-Feet, and you see him as he is
painted on my drum, without a scalp and without hands ; — if
all this be accomplished literally, will you in future respond
to my call ?" They all accepted his conditions.

Immediately Tchatka arose, intoned his war-song to the
sound of his drum, and to the acclamations of the whole
tribe. He then joined his band, but without arms, not even
a knife. He ordered them to fasten his drum on the back
of a good horse, which he had led beside him by one of his
faithful spies and runners, by the bridle.

In order to understand better the issue, it may not be
irrelevant to say a few words on the Indian chiefs. Each
nation is divided into different bands or tribes, and each
tribe counts several villages. Every village has its chief, to
whom they submit, in proportion to the respect or terror
which his personal qualities inspire. The power of a chief is
sometimes merely nominal ; sometimes, also, his authority is
absolute, and his name, as well as his influence, extends be-
yond the limits of his own village, so that the whole tribe to

160

; I

1 !l

V "tif

186

WESTERN MISSIONS

wliich lie belongs acknowledo-c liiin as their head. Tliis
was the case among the Assiniboiiis in the time of Tc.hatka.
Courage, a<ldiess, and an enterprising spirit may elevate
every warrior to the highest honors, especially if his father
c • an unjle enjoyed the dignity of chief before him, and that
he has a numerous family ready to maintain his anthoi-ity
and avenge his quarrels. Yet when the seniors and war-
riors have installed him with all the requisite ceremonies, it
must not be supposed that he, on this account, arrogates to
himself the least exterior appearan(;e of rank or dignity, lie
is too well aware that his rank haiiirs bv a frail thread, whii h
may quite easily be broken, lie must gain the confidence
of his uncertain subjects, or retain tluMn by fear. A great
many families in the village are better oft' than the chief; —
dress better, are richer in arms, horses, and other possessions.
Like the ancient German chiefs, he gains the confidence and
attachment of his soldiers, first, by his bravery, more fre-
quently by presents, whi<;h only serves to im[)overish him
the more. If a chief does not succeed in gaining the love of
his subjects, they will despise his authority and quit him at
the slightest opposition on his part; for the customs of the
Indians admit no conditions by which they may enforce
respect from their subjects.

It rarely happens, among the Western tribes, that a chief
attains great power, unless he is at the head of a numerous
family. I have sometimes seen whole villages composed of
the descendants and relatives of the chief. This kind of
nomadic community has a certain patriarchal character, and
is generally the best regulated and the most pacific. The
chief is less a master than a fathei', who ieigiis in a numer-
ous household by the wish to do all in his power to render
all happy. It may be said in general of the Indian na-
tions, that tribes httle united with each other, rent even by

AND MISSION A RIKS.

187

)os.sess

littU

CXXTCl

discord and jealousy, ca
it less.

Let us return to Tchatka, the grand cliicf-eli'ct of the
princi[)al band of the Assiniboins. lie found hiiMself in
command of four hundred warriors. They marched the
rest of ili'i night, and during the whole of the next day,
with the greatest precautions and in the best order, so as to
prevent all surprise. Some scouts alone ran over and beat
the surrounding country, leaving in their passage signals and
rods planted in the earth, and inclined in such a manner as
to indicate the route that tlie little army ought to follow.
About evening they descried a thick wood, on the boi'der of
a little stream, and there erected, hastily, a kind of [)arapet,
or defence, with the dried branches and tiunks of trees, and
thus passed behind it a peaceful night. In the morning
'hey found themselves in the midst of an innumerable herd
of bisons, and stopped some instants to renew their stock of
provisions.* Towards nightfall a faithful scout returned and
commanicated secretly with Tchatka. After marching still
several miles, the chief, with the beating of his drum, Wah-
kon, collected all his warriors, and pointing with his finger
to a high hill, some miles distant, he informed them that

* I have (iften spoken of the bisons, improperly called bufTaloos,
•without mentioning the great use which the Indians make of this in-
teresting anim.''!. Tliey supply almost all the necessaries of life. Their
skins form lodges or dwellings, and serve as clotliing, litters, bridles, and
saddle coverings, vessels to hold water, boats to cross lakes and rivers ;
with the hair, the Indians make their cordage ; with tlie sinews, bow-
strings and thread for clotlies, as well as due ; the shoulder-blade is
spade and pic';axe. The bison is their daily bread, their chief food.
The dung cl' the imimal, called bois-de-vache, funushes abundant fuel.
Last year 10' ',000 buffalo-skins were sent from the desert to the ware-
houses of St. Louis. With the proceeds the Indians obtain arms and
all they need.

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188

WKSTERN MISSIONS

there they would trace the war-party of the Black-Feet, of
which he had dreamed before leaving the camp. Several
horsemen set out witiiout delay to reconnoitre the enemy.
At the spot indicated they found the path tracked by nearly
a liundred horses. All the warriors redoubled their zeal,
ardor, and confidence in their new chief. The two succeed-
ing days offered nothing very singular. They again stopped
in the evening of the fifth day, without discovering the small-
est vestige of proximity to the hostile camp they sought.
The watchful scouts were gone, during the day, in diflferent
directions, without bringing back the least news, except the
one who had been in secret communication with Tjhatka.
Several of the most ancient of the warriors nmrmured boldly,
saying, "that the day predicted by the chief, on which they
would surely see the enemy, had passed."

But Tchatka silenced them all, replying to them : " You
seem still to doubt my words — the time is not past ! Rather
say, tie time is arrived. You appear still young in experi-
ence — and yet a great many winters are beginning to whiten
your heads. Where do you think you will find the lodges
of your enemies ? Is it in the open plain, or on the summit
of an elevation ? With a single glance of the eye we perceive
all that is there, and is it there you pretend to discover them ;
and that, too, in a moment in which those who should pro-
tect their wives and children are afar ? The bear and the
jaguar hide their little ones in their dens, or in the depth of
impenetrable forests ; the wolf hides them in a hole ; the
goat and the deer cover them with hay. When you hunt
the deer, do you not peep through the trees and the briars ?
In the fox and the badger hunt, you seek their lairs. Let
some one go and examine the little point of forest near the
large rock, at the end of the plain in which we are."

Instantly, several of the most courageous and the most

AND MI88IONARIK8.

189

experienced in the Rtralagcms of warfare were sent to the
(iiscoveiy. Favore(' by tlie niglit, and witli all possible pre-
cautions, they entered the little wood, and made all their ob-
Bei vations without being perceived. In the silence of n)id-
night, they reported their news to Tehatka and his com-
panions — "tliat they had discovered the lilack-Feet en-
campment in the place indicated by the chief; that the
lodges were occupied solely by old men, women, and chil-
dren ; that they could not hear the voices of any youth ; and
that all the horses were gone.'* This account tilled these
barbarous hearts with joy. The rest of the night was passed
ill songs and datices to the sound of the great drum, in jug-
gleries and invocations to the manitous who had inspired
Tchatka during his five days and five nights of dreams, and
which had cond'icted his spirit into the regions of souls.

At the break of day the four hundred Assiniboin war-
liurs surrounded the thirty feeble wigwams of the Black-
Feet. The cry of war and of vengeance, which they shouted
simultaneously, like so many bloodthirsty furies, awakened
and filled with dreadful fear those unhappy mothers and
children left unprotected there. In accordance with their
expectations, the Assiniboins found few men in the camp;
all had gone with the war-party of which I have made men-
tion. The small number of Black-Feet youth detended
themselves with desperate bravery ; but they could not long
lesist so many enemies. The combat was short ; the car-
nage bloody and hideous. Old men, women, and children,
fell an easy prey to the cruel Assiniboins. Only two young
Black-Feet escaped this shocking butchery. An Assiniboin
who participated in the combat gave the recital of it to M.
Dcnij):, and declared that with his own hand he had killed
fourteen children and three women. M. Denig asked him if
he had killed them all with arrows. "Some of them," an-

Er3F-.g^T^3

1^0

WESTERN MISSIONS

!-■ ■;':!: It

swered he; "but failing in arrows, I had recourse to the
tomahawk and the dagger." He added, at the same time,
that they tore from the arms of their mothers, and took
■with them a great nuniher of little children, and that on
their way, amid their songs and the scalp-dances, they
amused themselves with flaying them alive and running
pointed sticks through their bodies, in order to ror.st them
alive befce the fire. The piercMig shrieks of these little
creatures fell upon the car of these barbarians, amid their
inhuman orgies, like the sweetest and most delightful mel-
ody. All that a pitiless and savage heart could invent of
torture, was put in practice on this occasion. The Assini-
boins declare that they satiated themselves with cruelty, to
satisfy the manes of their deceased parents and kindred,
and their implacable and long-wished-for vengeance against
the greatest of their enemies, the Black-Feet. Tbe number
of scalps taken surpassed greatly the number of heads paint-
ed on the drum.

When returning to their own grounds, at the first en-
campment which they made, one of the warriors remarked,
and loud enough for Tchatka's ear, " that the Black-Foot
chief had neither been seen nor slain." The chief replied :
" Our work is not yet finished ; we will therefore have an-
other encounter before repairing to our homes. The Black-
Foot chief shall die ! I saw him scalped in my dreara : such
he was painted on the drum by the manitous. His scalp
shall be taken from him with his own knife."

A gentle shower fell during the night ; a heavy fog ob-
scured the sky during the morning, which obliged the whole
company of warriors to remain together, in order not to lose
their way. After some hours* march, the sound of a gun
discharged in front of the line, informed those who brought
up the rear that an attack had commenced. Every one

AND MISSIONARIES.

191

pressed forward to join the combatants. It was a rencontre
with a troop of twenty or thirty Bhick-Feet that the fog had
separated from their companions. Notwithstanding ail the
manceuvivs of Tchatka to slielter himself from danger, he
found himself enveloped in the midst of the fight, ignorant
which way to turn. The Black-Feet defended themselves
courageously, but they were forced to yield to the superior
number of adversaries. Several escaped by means of the
fot;, which covered them from view.

In the heat of the enijafjement, Tchatka's horse was killed
mv ^v him; the horseman and his steed rolled in the dust.
At the same instant a Black-Foot, of lofty stature and pro-
digious strength, hurled his lance at him, which only grazed
the head of his enemy, and struck deep, quivering in the
earth. Then he attacked him, knife in hand. Tchatka rose
rapidly from his fall, and, coward as he was, in self-defence
he displayed skill and strength. He seized the arm of his
terrible adversary, and used every effort to wrest the knife.
As the combat in front of the line had ceased, the Assini-
boins, perceiving the absence of their chief, returned to look
for him. They found him prostrate, and still combating
with this powerful enemy. The Black-Foot now disen-
gaged, raised his arm to plunge his knife into the heart of
Tchatka, when he received the blow of a tomahawk on his
skull, which stretched him without consciousness beside his
vanquished adversary. The latter, in his turn, seized the
murderous instrument and finished the Black-Foot. Oa
rising he shouted : " Friends, behold the chief of the Black-
Feet, for bis medal reveals and proclaims him ! I hold in
my hand the knife of Mattan Zia (BearVFoot), whose
mighty deeds you know, and who has been, during many
years, the terror of our nation." With the same blood-
stained knife he scalped him and cut off his two hands, in

192

WK8TERN MISSIONS

i.i

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in order to aoconiplisli tho last point of his great prophecy,
which will be repeated from father to son among the
Assiniboins, to the last generation. On this occasion
Tchalka received the third name, Minayougha, or the Knife-
holder.

The whole tribe gave themselves up to a delirium of joy,
which I could not describe, when the expedition returned
with so many trophies gained from their most cruel enemies.
The dances and incantations to the sound of the mysterious
drum, and the public rejoicing which commonly accompany
the scalps, were renewed a hundred times during the space
of a single moon. The glory of Tchatka and his manitous
was chanted in the whole camp. They announced him,
with the highest acclamations, tho Minayougha and the
Wah-kon-Tangka par excellence^ whom none could resist. He
lost none of the advantages which he had gained in public
opinion by his profound and cruel stratagem. The whole
command of the tribe was intrusted to him, and never
chief among the Assiniboins attracted so much respect and
fear.

Like a true bashav/, or modern Mormon, he selected three
wives at once, without even consulting them. Two of these
had been already betrothed to two young and very influen-
tial warriors. Notwithstanding their protest, the parents
believed themselves honored in being allied to the family of
the great chief, by the choice which he made of their daugh-
ters, and they were conducted to the lodge of Tchatka. To
maintain peace in his new household, and put the discon-
tented in good-humor, by destroying every hope, he gave
orders to one of his partisans to poison, in secret, his two
competitors. The better to shield himself from all suspicion,
he set off in the chase. On his return, they gave him the
news of their death. He contented himself by saying,

AND MISSION AlilKS.

193

"t.liat diosc who were capable of contradicting him in the
smallest trifles, or who presumed to despise his power, were
in imminent danger of death."

In this manner the principal accomplice associated with
Tchatka, for executing his numerous poisonings, fulfilled his
mandates. We shall say a word concerning the relations in
which these two detestable men stood. The hidden abettor
was a near relative of the chii^f. IIe*was about five iWl in
height, and of a robust and vigorous frame. He had lost an
eye in a quarrel with a young man; over the other hung a
gieat flap of flesh, beginning from the middle of his fore-
head, and extending as far as his under-jaw. He had a fiat
nose, thick lips, a large, gaping mouth, which displayed two
rows of oval teeth, as white as ivory. He concealed lightly
his ugly frontispiece under tufts of thick, filthy black hair,
matted together with gum and resin, mingled with verinil-
i(m. For several years, when he visited Fort Union, at the
mouth of the Yellowstone, he was the terror of all the chil-
dien, fur it was impossible to meet a human face more fright-
ful and more loathsome. Undoubtedly, the marks of con-
tempt that he everywhere received, on account of his ex-
terior, excited in him the inveterate hatred that he bore to
his race. The artful Tchatka, perceiving some advantages
that he might draw from a man of this nature, in the execu-
tion of his designs, had long before taken him as associate.
He always treated him with kindness, made him presents,
sought his confidence on various occasions, and flaiteied his
vicious inclinations. He could, in consequence, always rely
upon this man, when there was occasion to injure his e<juals,
and the poison had been administered so adroitly to the two
young warriors that neither he nor Tchatka were suspected.
On the contrary, in the opinion of the whole tribe, a new
gem had been added to the brilliant reputation of Wah-koa-

194

WESTERN MISSIONS

Taiigka, who could, when distant or near, control the h'vea of
his sul)j«ict8.

During the first years that Tchatka found himself at the
head of his tribe, success very generally crowned all his un-
dertakings, and his renown passed into all the neighboring
tribes. However, it sometimes happened that his warriors
were beaten. On such occasions he was always the first to
tak(^ fliglit, giving for gxcuse to his comrades that his great
medicine (his drum) carried him away in spite of himself.
It was most prudent to credit his word, for should any one
be so rash as to doubt, lie would be scarcely sure of escaping
the sudden and mysterious death which seemed promptly to
attack all liis enemies in his own camp.

In 1830, after having predicted success, he experienced
his fiist great defeat, on the part of the Black-Feet, leaving
on the plain beyond sixty warriors slain, and nearly an equal
number wounded. From this moment dates the commence-
ment of his fall ; the prestige which hitherto surrounded his
name and his deeds befjan to fail. About this time the fur-
company had received a new and very large stock of pro-
visions at Fort Union. It had been furnished during two
years with merchandise, for executing the treaty among the
Indian nations in Upper Missouri.

In liopos of repairing, in some manner, the great loss that
he had just undei'gone, to arouse the dejected courage of his
soldiers, \o "cover the dead," — that is to say, to put an end to
the mourning in the families which had lost near kindred in
the last battle, TchaJtka promised tliem boldly, " that ho
would render them all rich, and would load them with an
abundance of spoils, so that all the horses of the tribe would
not be able; to carry them. He had been favored witii a
new <lream, — a dream which will not deceive them, providi'd
they enter into his designs, and that they be faithful in the

.;ift

AND MISSIONARIES.

195

execution of his orders." lie liad formed the project of
seizing Fort Union, with a band of two hundred select war-
riors. Tchatka presented himself there. He afVccted a
singular friendship for the whites. He attempted to make

the superintendent, M. M , believe that he was en route^

with his band, for the country of the Minataries of Missouri,
their enemies ; that they had need of some munitions of
war ; and that they intended continuing on their way at
daybreak. Hospitality was kindly accorded to them. The
cliief played his part so well, that the ordinary precaution of
disarming guests, and putting their weapons under lock and
key, was neglected on this occasion. The plan that Tchatka
had developed to his wariiors, was, to retire to the difterent
chambers of the fort, and to massacre, during their sleep, at
a given signal, all those who occupied tliem. By a happy
incident, some days previous to this enterprise, all the Cana-
dian employees at the fort, to the number of about eighty,
had come to Fort Union for goods to trade with the Crows
and the Black-Feet. Notwithstanding this strong reinforce-
ment, the savages might have succeeded in their design.
An Assiuiboin had a sister married to one of the merchants
from the Noith. Desirous of saving the life of his sister,
and of sheltering her in the mUee which was to take place,
he communicated to her, under the strictest secrecy, the in-
tentions of the chief, inviting her to come and pass the night
in his room, that he might the bettor protect her. The
woman promised to follow him ; but went immediately to
warn her husband against the danger which menaced him
as well as all the whites at the fort. The Imsb.'ind an-
nounced the plot to the superintendent and to all the gentle-
men in charge.

Tlie employees, one after the other, were called, without
arousing the least suspicion. They quitted their apartmenta

196

WESTERN MISSIONS

quietly, were armed in the twinkling of an eye, took possos-
sion of the two bastions and of all the important points of
the fort. When all the precautions were taken, Tchatka
and the principal braves of his band were invited to repair
to the parlor of the commandant, who openly reproached
them with their black treachery. Giving no heed to tlieir
protestations, he gave them their choice, either to quit the
fort without blows, or to, be chased from it by the big guns
(cannon), which were levelled at tliem. Tchatka acccpte<l
the former without hesitation, and instantly withdrew, con-
fused and vexeil at having lost so fine an opportunity of en-
riching himself and his tribe, at having failed in his promise,
and in the accomplishment of his pretended dream.

Tchatka had exhausted all his medicine SMck, or provision
of jjoisons. His former Northern friends had refused to
furn. im any more. He was absolutely determined on
proc ., some, for poison was his only means of getting
rid of those who opposed his ambition or contradicted him
in his plans, lie peiturmed his diabolical deeds with such
skill an<l secrecy, that the Indians were firmly persua^hid
that their chief had only to will it, ;ind they would die.
Hence their abject submission to his every and least cnprice.
This people, formerly free as air, was reduced, during a suo-
ce8si(»n of veai*s, to the condition of slaves to the most cow-
ardlv and pitiless tvrant.

In the course of the year 1836, Tchatka presented liimself
again at Fort Union, at the head of a band of hunters. They
went there to sell their peltry, — viz., buff'alo- robes, beaver-
skins, and the fur of badgers, foxes, bears, deer, goats, and
big-horns; in a word, the fruits of their hunting excursions,
in exhange for tobacco, ornaments, blankets, guns, ammuni-
tion, knives, daggers, and lances. A large portion of the
peltry belonged to Tchatka. He offered them to a mer-

AND MI8BIONAKIE8.

197

clmnt for a very small quantity of tobacco, telling him, se-
cretly, "that he was in absoUito want of poison, whaU.'vcr it
might cost," and be^'ging iiim to procure a large amount;
" witliout which, the charm which surrounded him among
his peo}>le would abandon him hopeles.sly." His proposiliou
was heard with great horror, lie only received in reply
severe represenlations on the baseness of his conduct and ou
his infamous and frightful proceedings. J3ut these were in-
etfectual on his j)erverted heart, hardened by an astonishing
succession of unheard-of crimes and atrocities. He left the
fort with evident tokens of discontent, at having been frus-
trated in his attempt.

During the two years which succeeded, Tchatka conducted
several war-parties, sometimes with success and sometimes
with reverses. It was perceptible that his years were ad-
vancing; that his manitous wtre less faithful than formerly ;
that his predictions were no longer realized ; that those who
criticised his arrangements lived, notwithstanding. Several
even dared to defy his power.

In the spring of 1838, the small-pox (it was not well
known how) was oommunicated to the Indian tribes in Upper
Missouri. The ravages of this disease entirely changed the
position which Tchatka had hitherto held among the In-
dians. The fine camp of Tchatka, composed of twelve hun-
dred warriors, was reduced, in this single season, to eighty
men capable of bearing arms. Other tribes experienced
trials still moi-e severely. This scourge counted more than
10,000 victims among the Crows and the Black-Feet; the
Minataries were reduced from one thousand to five hundred ;
the Mandans, the noblest among the races in the Upper
Missouri, counting six hundred warriors before the epidemic,
were reduced to thirty-two, others say to nineteen solely !

A great number committed suicide, in despair ; some with

170

198

WESTERN MISSIONS

tlioir Iftnrcs and otlier warlike instruments, but the greater
pari l)y tlirowinjjf thunisclves from a high rock which over-
h)oks tlie Missouri.

In tho course of the following year, Tchatka formed tho
design of suizirjg, by stratagem, the largo village of the Man-
dans,* and of tjiking all the horses and effects which they
could find in it.

The village of the Mandans was then permanent, and in
the neighborhood of the present site of Fort Clark. About
five miles lower dwelt the Arickarao, new allies and friends of
the Mandans, who numbered about five liundred warriors,
and had escaped the contagion, because they were absent in
the hunting-grounds when tho scourge broke out.

Tchatka was ignorant of the circumstances of the position
of the Arickaras, in respect to the Mandans, and had scarcely
given a thought to tho proximity of the two tribes. Having
collected the sad remnant of his warriors, he communicated
to them the design he had formed. " We will go," said he,
"to otter the calumet of peace to the Mandans. They will
accept it with joy," added he, "for they are feeble, and have
the hope of finding in us a protection against the Sioux, their
most furious enemies. As soon as we are admitted in the
village, under these appearances of friendship, we will scatter
ourselves here and there throughout their lodges, then, by a
simultaneous movement, we will fall, with cutlass and dag-

* I have mentioned tho Mandans, and some of their traditions, in
several of my letters. Their Indian name is See-pohs-ka-nn-ma-ka-keo,
which signifies a partridge. They have a remarkable tradition concern-
iug the deluge. On a high hill existing in their territory, they say that
the big canoe (tho ark) rested. Every year, when the willow buds,
they celebrate this event by grand festivals and noisy ceremonies.
Their tradition says that tho branch brought back to tlie great canoe by
tlio bird was a willow-branch, full of leaves. Tiie bird they allude to
waa the dove, and it is forbidden, in their religious code, to kill it.

AND MISSION AUIKS.

11)0

gor, on ill! that remain of tlio Maiulaiis. Tliey cannot escapo
U8. All tiiat they possess will Ix'Ioiitjj to us." TIk^ plan ap-
peared practicahle to them. Ihisirinj^ to do something
whicii might ameliovato their con<lition, the Assiniboiiis ac-
cepted iieartily the proi)08ition of their chief.

The secret of tliis expedition wjis confided to no one.
The) passed by Fort Union, so as to procure powder, as
well as tlie balls necessary, and a few pounds of tobacco,
"wherewith to smoke peace." Arrived in sight cf the vil-
hige, they stopped, and made signal,, of friendship to the
Mandans, lequcstmg them to come and join them. Tchatka
placed himself on a high hill, and beating his drum, he
chanted his invocations to his manitous. Ibi deputed twelve
men of his tribe, i earing a little flag and the calumet of
peace, with orders to smoke it when half way between hini
and the village. Through good fortune for the Mandans,
some Arickaras, friends and allies, when returning from the
chase, had stopped among them. Of all the nations of the
Upper Missouri, the Arickaras are considered the most de-
ceitful and treacherous. Tchatka, without suspecting it,
found himself taken in his own nets. He came to over-
throw the little Mandan tribe, and then return laden with
booty and with scal])s. lie fell into the snare which he had
spread for others, and found himself at the mercy of worthy
competitors.

After the Assiniboin deputies had smoked the calumet
with the Mandans, the Arickaras set forth witli all haste to
go and announce to their chiefs this sudden and unforeseen
reconciliation. The occasion was very favorable. Imnae-
diately the war-whoop resounded throughout the camp of
the Arickaras. A few moments sufficed to saddle their
horses and arm themselves. They had evidently a great
advantage over their adversaries. Hidden by a headland

'iifi

,!.!'%

:? h. -m'\ (1

11:

200

WESTERN MISSIONS

of the forest, in the low valley, or bottom of the Missouri,
they filed silently, and without being perceived, into the
villaofc of the Mandans.

The ceremony of smoking the calumet of peace is ordi-
narily prolonged during several hours. First takes place a
friendly interchange of news, a conversation in which each
party boasts his lofty deeds, or the exploits he has achieved
over his enemies, an exposition which is intended to excite
the admiration of the opposite party. They then pass to
speeches, in which the points in question are to be discussed.
If the calumet is accepted, and passes from mouth to mouth,
the resolutions are ratified and peace is concluded.

They weie at this point, and were disposing themselves to
enter the village together, when suddenly the Arickaras pre-
sented themselves and shouted their war-cry. At the first
discharge of guns and arrows, the twelve A.ssiniboin deputies
lost their lives. Their scalps were at once taken off and
their bodies horribly mutilated. It was the afiair of a mo-
ment. About three hundred Arickaras, shouting cries of
victory, mingled with imprecations, directed their steps to-
wards the hill, in r der to continue the massacre of the
Assiniboins. At the first signal of attack, Tchatka sprang to
his horse and fled. The greater part of the Assiniboins,
being on foot, were easily overtaken by their enemies on
horseback, and soon fell under the blows of the latter.
Many among them, however, defended themselves like braves.
Notwithstanding their great inferiority in number, they
kil'ed three Arickaras ; and, although wounded, were so
nappy as to gain the forest, and escape the slaughter.

After the battle, the corpses of fifty-three Assiniboins re-
mained stretched on the plain, a prey for vultures and wolves.
But where is their leader, the great chief of the Assiniboins?
Where was he during the fight ? This famous Tchatka, this

AND MI8SIONAKIE8.

201

Wah-kon Tangka, this Minayougha, this hero of the great
drum had been the first to fly on his fleet horse. But the
Arickaras had fresher animals, and pressed on in hot pursuit.
As they gained on him they fired repeatedly, and at last
killed his horse beneath him. Tchatka rose instantly. The
forest is before him ; if he can reach it, there is yet a shadow
of hope. He spares no effort ; fear lends him wings ; old as
he is, he takes the start and gains the goal before his most
impetuous enemies in the pursuit can reach him. Some of
his own soldiers, witnesses of this famous running-match,
conferred on him the name of Ta-to-kah-nan, or the wild-
goat, the fleetest animal of our plains.

Tchatka rejoined his soldiers in the forest. Thirty only
had escaped the tomahawk and scalping-kuife of the Arick-
aras ; the greater number were wounded, and some of them
mortally. They were the feeble remains, the last men of a
baud of twelve hundred warriors. Tchatka hung his head,
and hardly dared to look at them. All his nation had dis-
appeared. Two of his sons fell in the last combat. His
tchant-cheega-kaho^ or great drum, was in the hands of his
enemies ; his favorite horse killed. He had no longer a
band, over whom he could exert his influence, and accom-
plish his execrable intentions of poisoning.

Airier this defeat, the baud of Tchatka having become too
reduced to form a camp, was united to the " Gens du nord^''
or Northern people, as they termed them ; that is, to another
great branch of the Assiniboins. From that time Tchatka
no longer mingled with public affairs. However, he always
continued to pass for a great medicine-man, and was some-
times consulted, particularly on great and dangerous occa-
sions. He never ceased, until his death, to inspire all who
approached him with a certain respect, mingled with fear
and terror.

202

WESTERN MISSIONS

"As we live, so we die," says the proverb. The end of
this wicked chief was not less remarkable than his whole
life. What follows I have from an eye-witness. I cite the
authority of Mr. Denig, an intimate friend, and a man of
high probity, from whom I have received all the information
that I have offered you concerning the Assiniboins, and who
resided among them during twenty-two years.

In the autumn of 1843, the "Northern People" repaired
to Fort Union to make exchanges in trade with their pelfry.
The first who presented himself at the entrance of the fort,
to shake hands with M. Denig, was old Tchatka. " Brother,"
said he, laughing, " I came to the fort to die among the
whites !" M. Denig, attaching no importance to these words,
the aged man repeated them to him anew. "Did you un-
derstand what I said ? This is my last visit to the fort. I
shall die here !" M. Denig then inquired concerning the
health of Tchatka — whether he felt ill. He spoke of it to
other Indians, but all assured him that Tchatka was in good
health as usual ; they added, however, that before quitting
the village he had predicted to them, " that his last hour
was approaching, and that before the next sunset his spir.t
would be in the region of souls." The gentlemen of the
fort, informed of this news, ordered Tchatka to be called,
and questioned him concerning his strange declaration.
They also feared some artifice on his part, and recalled the
tricks, deceits, and cruelties that he had practiced on his
tribe, as well as his black treason, and his odious plots
against the occupants of the fort, in 1831. He declared
positively to these gentlemen that he was quite well ; that
ho experienced no kind of indisposition. He added : " I
•"V^ftt to you, my hour is come — my mauitous call me — I
Aiave seen them in my dieam — I must depart ! Yes, to-
morrow my spirit will take flight into the laud of ghosts !"

AND MISSIONARIKS.

203

lu the evening he took a good supper, and slept peacefully
after, while the other Indians amused themselves during the
whole night. On the morrow, Tchatka presented himself
once more at the office of Mr. Denig, and had a slight spit-
ting of blood. They tried to make him take some remedy,
but he refused, saying ; " All is useless — henceforth life is
insupportable to me — I will and I must die — I have told
you Eo." A little time after he left the fort with the other
Indians, and went to the margin of the river. He soon had
a second attack, more violent than the first. They placed
him on a sleigh, intending to transport him to the Indian
camp, but he died on the way, in the most terrible convul-
sions. It was, according to all appearances, the same "graiid
medicine" which he had administered on a great number of
occasions to his unfortunate victims, during his sad and long
administration as chief, that at last terminated his own
career.

The lifeless body of this too famous chief was carried in
great ceremony into the Indian village, twenty-two miles
distant from the fort. The whole tribe assisted at his obse-
quies. The corpse, after being painted, ornamented with
their richest decorations, and wrapped in a scarlet-colored
blanket and a beautiful buffalo-robe embroidered with porcu-
pine* quills, was at last elevated and fastened between two
branches of a large tree, amid the tears, cries, and lamenta-
tions of the multitude.

Such was the ascendency that his name and deeds exerted
over the minds of the whole Assiniboin tribe, that the place
where his mortal remains repose is at the present day an

* En porc-ej^ic is the term of the voyageurs. The long quills of tiie
animal resemble tliose of a bird, and are stripped otf by the women ia
threads, for embroidering.

204

WESTERN MISSIONS

Ihl

object of the highest veneration. The Assiniboins> never
pronounce the name of Tchatka but with respect. They
believe that his shade guards the sacred tree ; that he has
power to procure them abundance of buflfalo and other
i/nimals, or to drive the animals from the country. Hence,
■whenever they ptiss they offer sacrifices and oblations; they
present the calumet to the tutelary spirits and manes of
Tchatka. He is, according to their calendar, the Wah-kon-
Tangka par excellence^ the greatest man or genius that ever
visited their nation. The Assiniboins never bury their dead.
They bind the bodies with thongs of raw hide between the
brandies of large trees, and more frequently place them on
scaffolds, to protect them from the wolves and other wild
animals. They are higher than a man can reach. The feet
are always turned to the west. There they are left to decay.
When the scaffolds or the trees to which the dead are at-
tached fall, through old age, the relatives bury all the other
bones, and place the skulls in a circle in the plain, with the
faces turned towards the centre. They preserve these with
care, and consider them objects of religious veneration. You
will generally find there several bison skulls. In the centre
Stands the medicine-pole, about twenty feet high, to which
Wah-kons are hung, to guard and protect the sacred de-
posit. The Indians call the cemetery the village of the
dead. They visit it at certain seasons of the year, to con-
verse aftoctiouately with their deceased relatives and friends,
and always leave some present.

The Assiniboins give their name to the Asjnniboin River,
the great tributary of the Red River of the North, in the
English Hudson's Bay Company's territory. The word As-
siniboin signifies stone-cooking people. This tribe had, in
former times, for want of better utensils, the custom of boil-
ing their meat in holes dug in the ground and lined with

AND MISSIONARIES.

205

raw skins. The water and the meat were put together in
these holes ; then large red-hot stones were cast in until the
meat was boiled. This custom is now almost obsolete, since
they get pots from the whites. The original mode is used,
however, on great occasions or medicine-feasts. The Assini-
boin language is a dialect of the Dacotah or Sioux. They
separated from this great nation for a trifle — a quarrel be-
tween two women, wives of the great chiefs. A buffalo had
been found by these two women ; ench of them persisted in
having the whole heart of the animal; from words they
came to fisticuffs ; and in their rage they used their nails
and teeth. The two great chiefs had the folly to take part
with their better-halves in the quarrel, and separated in last-
ing discontent. From that epoch the two tribes have been
at war.

In this last shoit recital, I furnish your poets with materi-
als for a new Iliad. The two great chiefs possessed, with-
out doubt, names more sonorous than those of Achillea and
Agamemnon. I leave you to continue the similitude.

P. J. Ds Smet, S. J.
18

j.iWjKinnl' I

1 1;^ jij

:|l:.

I '^^ m

206

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XIV.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Indian Question,

Univkrsity of St. Louis, Dec. 30, 1854.
Reverend Father;

The " Indian Question" has been much agitated in the
United States during the course of this year. Two great
Territories, Kansas and Nebraska, well henceforth form a
portion of the great Confederation. They embrace all that
part of the wilderness included between the confines of the
State of Missouri and the forty-ninth degree of north lati-
tude, and extend westward to the summit of the Rocky
Mountains.

Questions concerning the future of the Indians have fre-
quently been laid before me by persons who appear inter-
ested in the destiny of these poor creatures. Knowing the
afi'ection and the interest which you, Reverend Father, en-
tertain for them, I propose giving you my views and appre-
hensions in regard to them — views and apprehensions which
I have long entertained. I have already said a few words
on the subject, in a letter written in 1851, and inserted in
the fortieth number of your Precis Historiques. In the
course of that same year I received a letter from a much
respected gentleman in Paris, who requested me to give him
some details of the condition and present stnte of the Indian
tribes of North America. I will give you in this letter the

AND MISSIONARIES.

207

questions of that correspondent, and my replies. I will add
what has passed since ; above all, the resolutions taken and
the treaties concluded, from 1851 till December of the year
1854, between the American government and the aborigines

First Question. — Do you think that the aborigines west
of the Mississippi will be exterminated like those east of that
river ? In other words, will the Indians west of the Missis-
sippi share the same fate as their brethren east of it ?

Reply. — The same lot that the Indians east of the Missis-
sippi have experienced, will at no distant day overtake those
who dwell on the west of the same river. As the white
population advances and penetrates into the interior, the
aborigines will gradually withdraw. Already, even (in 1851),
it is perceptible that the whites look with a covetous eye ou
the fertile lands of the Delawares, Potawatomies, Shavvnees,
and others on our frontiers, and project the organization of a
new Territory — Nebraska. I should not be surprised if, in a
few years, negotiations were entered upon for the purchase
of those lands, and the removal of the Indians, who will be
forced to retire further west. The great openings offered to
emigration by the definitive arrangement of the "Oregon
Question," as well as the acquisition of New Mexico, Califor-
nia, and Utah, have alone, thus far, hindered any eftbrts for
extinguishing the Indian titles or rights to the lands situated
innnediately west of the State of Missouri, and those situated
on the south side of the River Missouri, between the Rivers
Kansas and Platte, and probably as high as the Niobrarah or
Eau-qui-couri.

Second Question. — In case the Indians, having formed a
constitution for their own government, should find them-
selves in the territory of one of the United States of Ameri-
ca, would there not be reason to fear that these rising coii;-
munities would be treated with the same barbarity and

208

WESTEltN MISSIONS

I :

1 1

injustice as were the Cherokees, who, contrary to all equity,
were deprived of their territory by the State of Georgia, and
transported to the lands of Upper xVrkausas ?

Reply. — I answer in the affirmative. In a few years
hence (1851), treaties will probably be concluded with those
tribes for "reserves," that is to say, for portions of their
lands set apart for their future residences. But, although
the letter of the treaty guarantees them such " reserves,"
you may rest assured, that as soon as the necessities of a
thriving white population will demand these lands, the
whites will find pretexts for dispossessing the Indians. This
is accomplished, either by negotiation or nominal purchase,
or by rendering their situation so painful, that they find no
alternative but a transfer or emigration.

Third and Fourth Questions. — When the Territory of
Oregon is incorporated as one of the States of the Union,
could not the missionaries of that region organize the con-
verted tribes into districts and distinct counties, peopled
with American citizens of Indian origin ? Then the proper-
ty of the Indians would become inviolable, and the mission-
aries would have time to persuade them to abandon their
wandering, hunter life, and embrace the pastoral ; after a
time they would cultivate the soil, without being disturbed
oy the pretensions of the whites.

Reply. — When Oregon takes her place as a State in the
Union, she will follow the same policy that has been hither-
to followed by the other States ; that is, she will subject all
the inhabitants to her juiisdictiou and laws. The policy of
the United States has ever been to remove the Indians from
each new State as soon as it is admitted as a part of the
Confederation ; and in case portions of the tribes remain on
their lands, as was the case in the States of New York, In-
diana, Michigan, and Ohio, the situation of the Indians is

AND MISSIONARIES.

200

»>

extremely disagreeable, their progress very slow. Comparing
themselves with the whites who surround them, and whom
they see, ordinarily, so enterprising and industrious, they
generally experience a sentiment of inferiority, which over-
whelms and discouiages them. The Stodibridges (Mohe-
giins), who enjoyed, for several years, all the rights of
citizens in the State of Wisconsin, petitioned the authorities
to relieve them from their obligations as such, and earnestly
solicited the government to giant them an abode, either in
Minnesotji or west of Missouri. Even those who live in the
"reserves," fine sections of land granted and secured by
special treaties, in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, find-
ing themselves strangers on their native soil, sold all they
had, and rejoined ^heir tribes in the West. The neighbor-
hood of the whites had become intolerable to them. When
the lands of the Indians cease to be valuable, and the whites
will and can do without them, then only will the Indians
enjoy the privilege of retaining them.

Fifth Question. — The following is an extract from a law
of the 2*7 th of September, 1850: "It is granted to each
inhabitant, or occupant of public land, including heiein the
half-breeds above eighteen years of age, citizens of the United
States, or having made a declaration of intention to become
citizens, or who shall make such declaration either before the
1st of December, 1851," &c. Remark that this law proves
two things : first, that there are half-breeds in Oregon ; sec-
ond, that the half-breeds have the rights of white citizens.
Do you not think that at some future day, say in the course
of a century, Oregon will be peopleu sr»lely by a heteroge-
neous race, with striking traits of a mixed race of Indian
and white blood, and a remnant of the aborigines in the
defiles or valleys of the mountains, like the Celts of Scotland
and the Araucanians of Chili ? Then Oregon would enter

18*

210

WESTERN MISSIONS

'i!*||i

ilih;l

in the category of all tlic Spanish States of South America,
in which the red men, far from being exterminated, have, on
the contrary, used efforts to assimilate themselves to the
whites.

Reply. — I answer to this last question, that in case the
missionaries should collect the half-breeds with the most
docile Indians, in districts or counties, under this territorial
law of Oregon, and give the youth an education, both religious
and agricultural, the result would be a greater mingling of
Indian and white blood, and thus the future population of
Oregon would be in some manner heterogeneous.

The future prospect of the Indian tribes is very dark and
melancholy. Placed, as they are, under the jurisdiction of
the United States, surrounded on every side by whites, their
ruin appears certain. Tliese savages disappear insensibly as
the emigrations of the whites succeed each other and ad-
vance. In fifty years there will be few traces of the native
races in the western portion of this hemisphere. Where
are those powerful tribes which, at the commeuoement of
this age, dwelt in the extensive and beautiful region, now
divided among the States of the West ? Remnants only
exist on our western frontiers. In our own day the same
causes are in full play, and produce the sama effects. And
for the last four years, the great tide of European emigra-
tion but makes the effect more certain. These emigrations
multiply more and more in the present day, and succeed
like the waves of ocean. They must find room ; that room
is the West.

Such are the responses which I gave in 1851 to M. D .

In the space of three years, what was simply an opinion has
become a fact. My answer to the second question has been
literally verified.

In the course of this year, 1854, treaties were concluded

AND MISSIONARIES.

with the Omahas, the Ottoes, and Miasouris, the Sues, the
Foxe8 of Missouri, the lowas, the Kicapoos, the Sliawiiees,
, and the Delawares, as well as with the Mianiis, the Weas,
the Piunkeshaws, the Kaskaskias, ai.d the Peorias. ]5y
these treaties, these different tribes cede to the United Suites
the most extensive and most advantageous portions of their
respective territories, and retain, as we have already said, but
a limited and circumscribed demesne, termed a " reserve,"
for the wants of each particular tribe, and intended as their
future residence.

We remark daily in the newspapers, that great numbers
of emigrants are spreading already over the territories ceded ;
yet the conditions precedent of the treaties between the gov-
ernment and many of the tribes, expressly forbid the whites
to settle there befOTe the survey and sale of the lands to the
profit of the Indians. Notwithstanding these conditions,
the whites settle there, and even defy the authorities to de-
ter them.

The new organization of the Territories of Kansas and Ne-
braska abrogates the protecting " intercourse laws." There-
by it has overthrown the feeble barrier which opposed the
introduction of intoxicating liquors, which the inhabitants
80 expressively define by the term " Indian fire-water." In
a few short years these little " reserves," or Indian settle-
ments, will be surrounded by a white population ; these
whites, being for the most part vicious and corrupt, will
introduce and furnish liquors in abundance, in order to sat-
isfy the depraved taste of the Indian. In all this the sole
object is to deprive these unfortunate men of all that remains
to tham in land and money. In this position of afi'airs, I
cannot conceive how the Indians can be piotected against
the dangerous influences which will inevitably surround
them on all sides. Ere long (perhaps by the close of 1856)

212

WESTERN MISSIONS

tho delegates of the Territory of Kansas will knock at tlio
door of Congress for admittance into the Union. If tiiis
request be granted, we may at once bid farewell to the
independence of the Indians and the maintenance of their
"reserves." The new State will directly establish her juris-
diction over all the iidiabitants found within her limits.
Although the Indians ap})ear to be necessarily protected by
the general stipulations acconled on the part of the govern-
ment itself constant experience demonstrates that they can-
not exist within the limits of a State, unless they become
citizens thereof. Witness the Creeks and Cherokees in the
SUite of Georgia, who at c»io time were on the point of
bringing the General Government and tho State into conflict.
In several of the late treaties that I have mentioned, tho
Indians have renounced their permanent annuities, and, in
exchange, have consented to accept considerable sums for a
limited number of years, and payments at fixed terms.
However liberal be the annuity, the Indian never lays any
thing aside for his future necessities : this is his character.
lie lives from day to day. All is expended in the course of
the year in which the payment is made. Let us suppose,
therefore, that the amount of the last payment has been
poured forth, what will consequently become of those poor
tribes ? Here, it appears to me, is the solution of the prob-
lem : they must either perish miserably, or sell their re-
serves, or go and rejoin the wandering bands of the plains,
or cultivate the soil. But, observe well, they are surrounded
by whites who contemn them, hate them, and who will de-
moralize them in a very short time. If it be asked, to what
must be attributed the improvidence of the tribes, which
neglect to exhange their permanent annuities for sums to be
paid at limited terms, but of greater length ? The reason is
found in the disparity of the parties who make the treaty.

AND MlssrONARrES.

213

On one side stands a slircwd and, perhnps, nnsorupiilous gov-
ernment officer ; on the other, a few ignorant ciiiefs, accom-
panicil by their halt-breed interpreters, whose integrity is tar
from being proverbial.

Adiliiig to these facts the ravages caused every year by
the small-pox, the meask's, the cholera, and otlier maladies,
as well as their incessant wars and divisions, I think I may
repeat the melancholy foresight, that, in a few years, there
will remain but very feeble vestiges of those tribes in the
reserves guaranteed to them by the late treaties. At this
moment the agents continue to make new treaties, by whicrh
the government proposes to purchase the hinds of the Osages,
I'otawatonnes, and several other tribes.

Since the discovery of America the system of retnoving
and of exiling the Indians further itdand or in the interior,
has been assiduously exercised by the whites in this portion
of the continent. In the early times, they went by slow de-
grees; but as the European colonies multiplied and increased
in power, the system has been pushed with more vigor. At
present, this same policy marches with gigantic steps. Re-
sistance on the part of the natives but hastened their ruin.
The diama of population reaches its last scene at the east
and west bases of the Rocky Mountains. In a few years the
curtain will ^'all over the Indian tribes and veil them forever.
They will live only in history. The whites continue to
spread like a torrent over California, over Washington, Utah,
and Oregon ; over the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa,
Texas, and New Mexico ; and lastly, over Kanzas and Ne-
braska.*

* On the 1st of August, 1854, in the Territories of Kanzas and No-
braskii, tlioro was not a town or vllhijire of whites. On the 30ih of
December, of tiiu same year, thirty or forty sites had been chosen for
building vj'iages and towns without dcUiy. hubor was begun at many

214

WESTERN MISSIONS

Within a recent period, and since I have resided in
America, all these States and these Territories were still the
exclusive domain of the Indians. As the whites settle and
multiply in them, the Indians disappear, and seem to die out.
The immense regions that I have just named include several
millions of square miles.

Father Felix Martin wrote me recently froni Canada :
"The Indian Missions are reduced almost to nothing. They
follow in the train of thuse sad tribes which are no more
what they once were. It is like a body which gradually
sinks in itself. It is losing its grandeur, its force, its primi-
tive forms. They have lost the character of nations ; they
are individualities, with some ancient traditions, and even
these traces are gradually becoming effaced."

If the poor and unfortunate inhabitants of the Indian Ter-
itory were treated with more justice and good faith, ihey
would cause little trouble. They complain, and doubtless,
justly, of the dishonesty of the whites. These banish them
from their native soil, from the tombs of their fathers, to
which they are devotedly attached, and from their ancient
hunting and fishing grounds: they must consequently seek
what is wrested from them, and build their caoins in another
and a strange clime. But they are scarcely at ease in their
new abode when they are removed a second and third time.
With each successive emigration, they find their grounds re-
stricted, their hunts and fishing-places less abundant. Yet,
in all the treaties, the agents promise them, on the part of
the President, whom they call their Great Father, protection
and privileges that are never realized. Is it, therefore, aston-
ishing tb.tt the savages give the whites the name of forked-

points ; houses are building, tUrms luiJ out.
these virgin territories.

All is life uud activity in

AND MIS8IONABIE8.

215

tongues, or liars? They say tbjit the whites "march in
winding tracks to attain their olijccts;" that their declara-
tions of friendship, all beautiful and favorable as they appear,
" never entered their hearts," and pass, ever with the same
facility, "from the end of the tongue;" that they approach
the Indian, " a smile on their lips," take him by the hand,
to deceive him more easily, inebriate him, and corrupt hia
children. "Like serpents," said Black-Hawk, in his famous
spt.ech, " they have glided in among us ; they have taken
possession of our hearth-stones. The opossum and the deer
have disappeared at their approach. We are overwhelmed
with misery. The very contact of the whites has poi-
soned us."

These complaints and lamentations have been a thousand
times repeated, in vain, in the speeches of the Indian orators,
when the agents of the United States government endeavor
to make propositi(^ns for the purchase of their lands. A
feeble ray of hope for the preservp'.ion of a great number of
Indians is left, if the law proposed by Senator Johnson is
adoj)ted in sincerity on b'th sides, by the governmeiit and
by the Indians. Mr. Johnson proposes to establish three
territorial governments in the Indian Territory inhabited by
the Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, the Chickasaws, and other
tribes, with the provision of being admitted later as distinct
members of the Confederated United States. On the 25th
of last November, Harkins, chief among the Choctaws, ad-
dressed a speech on this subject to his nation, assembled in
council. Among other things, he said to them : " I appeal
to you, what will become of us if we reject the proposition of
Senator Johnson ? Can we hope to remain a people, always
separate and distinct? This \u not possible. The time must
come ; yes, the time is appro.-u-hing, in which we shall be
swallowed up; and that, notwithstanding our just claims I

, ■ > .. i.

216

WESTERN MISSIONS

I speak boldly. It is a fact ; our days of peace and happi-
ness are gone, and forever. No opposition, on our part, can
e^'or arrest the march of the United States towards grandeur
and power, nor hinder the entire occupation of the vast
American continent. We have no power nor influence over
the most minute project of this government. It looks upon
and considers us in the light of little children, as pupils
under its tutelage and protection ; it does with us as seems
to it good. Can the Choctaws change the face of things ?
If the desire of life is not extinct in our hearts ; if we will
preserve among us the rights of a people, one sole means re-
mains to us : it is to instruct and civilize the youth, promptly
and cflBcaciously. The day of fraternity has arrived. We
must act together, and by common consent. Let us atten-
tively consider our critical situation, and the course now left
us. One false step may prove fatal to our existence as a
nation. I therefore propose that the council take this sub-
ject into consideration, and that a committee be named by
it to discuss and deliberate on the advantages and disadvan-
tages of the proposition made to the Choctaws. Is it just
and sage for the Choctaws to refuse a liberal and favorable
offer, and expose themselves to the destiny of the Indians of
Nebraska «"

According to news rece'ved recently, through a journal
published in the Indian country, the speech of the chief has
produced a profound impression, and was loudly aj "audcd
by all the counsellors. All the intelligent Choctaws approve
the measure. The Protestant missionaries oppose the bill,
and employ all their artifices and influence to prevent its
success. Harkins proposes their expulsion. " It is our
money," said he, " that these mercenaries come here to get.
Surely, our money can get us better teachers. Let us,
therefore, try to procure good missionaries, with whom we

-% ''■]^i:

AND MISSIONABIES.

217

can live in harmony and good understanding ; who will give
us the assurance that their doctrine is based on that of the
apostles and of Jesus Ghnst."

The Chickasaws are represented as opposed to Senator
Johnson's measure. We trust, however, that the vote of
the majority will prove favorable, and that the three terri-
torial States will be established. It is, in my opinion, a last
attempt and a last chance of existence for the sad remnants
of the poor Indians of America.

It is, I will say, if I may here repeat what I wrote in my
second letter m 1853, their only remaining source of happi-
ness : humanity and justice seem to demand it. If they are
again repulsed, and driven inland, they will infallibly perish.
Such as refuse to submit, and accept the definitive arrange-
ment, the only favorable one left, must resume the noinade
life of the praries, and close their career with the vanishing
buffaloes and other animals.

I have the honor to be, Rev. Father,

Your very humble and devoted
Servant and brother in Christ,

P. J. D£ Smet, S. J,
19

> 1

218

"WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter IV.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Watomika and the Delawares,

liii: ■ m

Cincinnati, College of St. Xaviek, March 15, 1855.

Rev. and very dear Father:

I am ,«ure you will be gratified to make the acquaint-
ance of Watomikji, the swift-footed, or celeripes. He is the
son of a renowned waiTior, chief of the nation of the Dela-
wares, or Lenni-Lenapi, who formed one of the most pow-
erful Indian nations at the epoch of the discovery of the
American continent by Christopher Columbus. Later, I
will speak to you of his early years; at present, I will inform
you of the particulars attending his conversion to the true
Faith.

Watomika received his education in a Calvinistic or Pres-
byterian college. He adopted the tenets of that sect in good
faith. Naturally inclined to piety, he passed, daily, whole
hours in the meditation and contemplation of heavenly things.
He fasted regularly one day in the week, taking no nourish-
ment until sunset. This kind of life was not relished by the
disciples of Calvin, and Watomika frequently found himself
the sport and butt of his youthful schoolmates.

After concluding his course of study, he resolved to be-
come a niinistor. He prepared himself for this step with
great assiduity ; prayed more, and fasted more frequently.
In proportion as he sought to understand and penetrate

.11

AND MISSIONARIES.

219

point by point the doctrines of Calvin, there arose in his
soul, doubt upon doubt, at the same time that he experi-
enced a great interior commotion, which neither his prayers
nor his fasts could allay. Frequently, in all the sincerity of
his soul he entreated the Lord to enlighten his mind by
heavenly truths, and grant him grace to understand them.
He petitioned fervently, he knocked at the door courageous-
ly, and, Hke the widow in the Gospel, sought the lost treas-
ure perseveringly. The ways of God are wonderful, and his
aid is never invoked in vain. Watomika was sent as a
preacher to St. Louis, to replace an absent brother^in one of
the houses of woi-ship of his sect. One day, he was walking
out to breathe the fresh air, and Providence cotiductod him
into the street in which our church stands, uiid tluiL at the
moment, when the children were flocking in to catechism.
He knew the word Catholic only by having heard it asso-
ciated with the most absurd and inconsistent doctrines,
which the sectaries insinuate with ^o much malice, audacitv,
and presumption, not only in their school-books, their Read-
ers and Spellers, their works on Geography and History,
but which they adroitly introduce into their prayer-books
and works of piety. Watomika, therefore, only knew the
Catholics through the prisms of falsehood and calumny.
Attracted either by curiosity or by novelty, he entered the
church with the children. A certain sentiment of respect
seized hijn ; he found it inexplicable. The altar, the cross,
the images of the Blessed Virgin and of tlie Saints, emblems
of faith, all spoke strongly to his eyes. The Holy of Holies,
who dwells in his tabernacle, and of whose real presence he
was ignorant, secretly touched his heart and insjnred him
with respect for his temple. He followed the catechetical
instructions of the children with the greatest interest and
liveliest attention. The instruction of Father D had

1 '

li '

'■'k '-ml

220

WESTERN MISSIONS

reference to several points, concerning which he had long
and sincerely desired to be enlightened. He returned home,
delighted and astonished at having found in a Catholic
church a portion of the treasure that he had so long hitherto
sought in vain. He afterwards had the courage to overcome
his prejudices and repugnances, and have recourse to a
priest — nay, to a Jesuit. He proposed to this religious, all
his doubts, perplexities, and anxieties. In short, Watomika,
a child of the forest, a worthy descendant of a powerful
American race, abjured his errors, embraced our holy reli-
gion, ancj, some time after, enrolled himself among the fol-
lowers of St. Ignatius. His scholasticate is nearly ended, at
the moment in which I write these lines; Watomika will
soon receive Holy Ordei-s, to which he aspires with a devout
ardor. This is sufficient on my part concerning Light-foot;
let us now hear his own exposition of the religious ideas,
traditions, manners, and customs of his tribe.

The name Delawi'res, that the Indians of his nation bear,
was given them by the whites. It is derived from Lord
Delaware, one of the early English colonial governors in
America. Among themselves these people aie called Lenni-
Lenapi, or " the primitive nation." They resided anciently
in a great country west of the Mississippi. With the "Five
Nations," so renowned in the Indian history of this continent,
they seized and occupied a large territory southeast of their
ancient domain. In the course of this long migration, the
Delawares divided into three great tribes, called the " Tor-
toise tribe," the " Turkey tribe," and the *' Wolf tribe." In
the time of William Penn, they occupied the whole of Penn-
sylvania, and extended from the Potomac to the Hudson.
As the white population began to increase, strengthen, and
extend over these vast territories, the Delawares (like all the
other tribes) found it necessary to plunge deeper into the

II!

AND MISSI0NABIE8.

221

forests, and yield to their conquerors or usurpers. While a
great part of the nation established themselves on the Ohio,
on the margin of the Muskingum, others regained the shores
and the forests of the Mississippi, whence, according to their
traditions, their ancestors had set forth. When colonies of
Europeans came to take possession of that large and hand-
some river, which the celebrated Father Marquette first dis-
covered, and gave the now consoling and sublime name of
the Immaculate Conception, they repulsed once more the
Delawares, and Government granted these Indians a little
territory southwest of Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri.
In the course of the year that has just closed (1854), the
Delawares have ceded to the United States this last foothold.

These Indians had received from the President of the
United States, whom they call their Great Father, the most
formal assurances that their rights should be respected, and
that he would see that all the conditions of the treaty were
faithfully executed, viz., that the lands should be sold to the
highest bidder, and exclusively to the profit of the nation.
It was, therefore, very astonishing to the Delawares, imme-
diately after the conclusion of the treaty, to find themselves
invested on every side by the whites, who, disregarding the
clauses of the treaty, seize all the sites favorable for towns,
cities, villages, farms, and mill-seats, and declare that they
will only pay a dollar and a quarter per acre ! Will the
Government yield to this ?

The Delawares, or Lenni-Lenapi, believe that the Great
Spirit first created the land and water, trees and plants, birds
and fishes, animals and insects ; in the last place, he created
the first Lenap or Delaware. He placed a snail on the shore
of a beautiful and large river, which took its source in a dis-
tant mountain, near the rising of the sun. After twelve

moons, the snail produced a red-skinned man. The latter,

19«

222

WESTERN MISSIONS

discontented with his solitary lot, made a bark canoe, and
descended the river, in search of society. On the third day,
at sunset, he met a beaver, which addressed him the follow-
ing questions : " Who art thou ? whence comest thou !
whither art thou going ?" The man answered : " The Great
Spirit is my father. He gave me all the earth, with its riv-
ers and its lakes, with all the animals which roam over the
plains and forests, the birds which fly in the air, and the
fishes that swim in the sea." The beaver, surprised and ir-
ritated by so much audacity and presumption, imposed si-
lence on him, and commanded him to quit his domain with-
out delay. An animated and noisy quarrel took place be-
tween the man and the beaver, who defended his liberty
and rights. The beaver's only daughter, frightened at the
noise, quitted her abode and placed herself between the man
and her father (ready to tear each other in pieces), entreat-
ing them, by the mildest and most conciliating words to
cease their dispute.

As the snow melts at the approach of the sun's benignant
rays, as the turbulent waters of cascades and waterfalls run
on then peaceably and clear, as calm succeeds to tempest,
so, to the voice of the young child, the anger of the stranger
and the wrath of his adversary gave place to a profound and
eternal friendship ; they embraced affectionately. To render
the union more durable and more intimate, the man asked
the beaver's daughter for a companion. After a moment's
reflection, the latter presented her to him, saying : " It is
the decree of the Great Spirit, I cannot oppose it ; take my
daughter, cherish and protect her. Go in peace !" The
man, with his wife, continued his voyage to the mouth of the
river. There, at the entrance of a meadow enamelled with
flowers and surrounded with fruit-trees of all kinds, in the
midst of animals and birds of every kind, he chose his abode

AND MISSIONARIES.

223

and arranged his wigwam. From this union sprang a nu-
merous family : tliey arc called the Lenni-Lenapi, that is to
say, the primitive family, or the ancient people, at the pres-
ent day known under the name of Delawares.

The Delawares believe in the existence of two Great
Spirits, that they call Waka-Tanka and Waka-Cheeka ; that
is, the Good Spirit and the Bad Spirit, to which all the ma-
nitous, or inferior spirits, whether good or wicked, must ren-
der homage and obedience.

According to their religious code, there is a future state.
It consists in a place of pleasure and repose, where the pru-
dent in council, intrepid and courageous warriors, indefatiga-
ble hunters, and the kind and hospitable man, will obtain
an eternal recompense ; and a place of horrors for the wick-
ed, for the forked tongues^ or liais, for the slothful and indo-
lent. They call the first place Wak-an-da^ or country of
life, and the other, Yoon-i-un-guch, or devouring and insa-
tiable gulf which never gives up its prey.

They say that the country of life is an island of ravishing
beauty and of great extent. A lofty mountain rises majesti-
cally in the centre, and on the summit of this mountain is
the abode of the Great Spirit. Thence lie contemplates at
once the extent of his vast domain ; the cx)urses of the thou-
sand rivers, clear as crystal, which extend through it like so
many transparent threads, adorning the shady forests, the
plains enamelled with flowers, and the tranquil lakes, which
reflect continually the beneficent rays of a glorious sun.
Birds of the handsomest plumage fill these forests with their
sweet melodies. The noblest animals, — bisons, elk, deer,
goats, big-horns, — graze peaceably in these smiling, hand-
some, and luxuriant plains. The lakes are never agitated
either by wind or tempest; and slime nor mire can never
mingle with the limpid waters of their streams. Aquatic

' I

224

WESTERN MISSIONS

■1 I :

« 4„

birds, the otter, the beaver, and fishes abonnd in thera. The
sun illumines the country of life : in it, eternal spring reigns.
The blessed souls who are admitted within its realms, re-
sume all their strength and are preserved from all diseases «
they experience no fatigue in the chase or in other agreeable
exercises that the Great Spirit allows them, and have no ne*
cessity for repose.

The Yoon-i-un-ffuchy on the contrary, which environs the
country of life, is a broad and deep water; it presents at
once a terrible succession of cataracts and yawning gulfs, in
which the roaring of the waves is frightful. There, on the
top of an immense rugged rock, which rises above the loftiest
and most turbulent waves, is the residence of the spirit of
evil. As a fox lies in wait, — as a vulture ready to dart upon
its prey, — Waka-Cheeka watches the passage of souls, con-
ducting to the country of life. This passage is so narrow,
that only one soul at a time can possibly occupy the bridge
which composes it. The bad spirit presents himself under
the most hideous form, and attacks each soul in its turn.
The cowardly, indolent soul immediately betrays its baseness,
and prepares for flight ; but at the same instant, Cheeka
seizes it, and precipitates it into the open gulf, which never
yields up its victim.

Another version says, that the Great Spirit has suspended
a bunch of beautiful red bay-berries about the middle of the
bridge, in order to try the virtue of those who cross it in
their voyage to the country of life.

The Indian that has been active and indefatigable in the
chase, or courageous and victorious in war, is not attracted by
the tempting fruit ; he continues his onward progress with-
out attending to it. On the contrary, the indolent and cow-
ardly soul, tempted by the fascinating bays, stops, and
stretches out his hand to seize it ; but instantly the timber

AND MIU8lUNAUIIi».

225

which forms the bridge sinks heavily beneath his feet ; he
falls, and is lost forever in the dire abyss.

The Delawares believe that the existence of good and evil
spirits dates back to so remote an epoch that it is impossi-
ble for man to conceive its commencement ; that these spirits
are immutable, and that death has no empire ;ver them ;
they created the manitous, or inferior spirits, who enjoy, like
themselves, immortality. They attribute to the good spirit
all earthly blessings : light, the heat of the sun, health, the
varied and beneficent productions of nature, their success in
war or in the chase, &c. From the wicked spirit proceed
all contradictions and misfortunes, darkness, cold, failure in
hunting and war, hunger, thirst, old age, sickness, and
death. The manitous cannot of themselves do either good
or evil ; for they are only the faithful mediators of the
great spirits, for the execution of their ordei's and their
designs.

They believe the soul is material, although invisible and
immortal. They say that the soul does not quit the body
immediately after death, but that these two parts of man
descend into the grave, where they remain together during
several days, sometimes during weeks and months. After
the soul has left the tomb, it retards anew its departure for
a time, before it is capable of breaking the bonds which have
so intimately attached it to the body on earth. It is on ac-
count of this strong attachment, this intimate union between
the body and the soul, that the Indians paint and carefully
adorn the body before interring it, and place provisions,
arms, and utensils in the tomb. This custom is not only a
last duty of respect paid to the dead, but at the same time a
profession of their belief that the soul will appear under the
. Jiue form ir ikiQ " cK'.uiixj ci Jife," if it he ec ii-^ppy «fl tc
attain it. They are convinced that the utensils, arms, and

226

VVK8TKKN M1HSI0N8

'ifl

provisions, are indispensable to the soul in traversing the
long and dangerous trip which leads to the "island of hap-
piness."

Watomika, of whom I have spoken, assured me that he
daily placed a favorite dish on the tomb of his father, during
a whole month, persuaded each time that the food had dis-
appeared,— that the soul of the departed had accepted the
viand, lie never discontinued repeating this last testimony
of filial love and fidelity to the manes of his father, whom
ho tenderly loved, until a dream assured him that that soul
so dear had entered the " regions of life," and was in the en-
joyment of all the favors, and all the advantages that the
Great Spirit grants so liberally to those who have faithfully
accomplished their obligations on earth.

It is unnecessary to indicate to you the striking points of
resemblance with several ancient traditions of religion. A'-
though fabulous in several circumstances, this Indian narra-
tive includes ideas on the creation, the terrestrial pai'adise,
heaven and hell, angels and demons, &c.

The Lenni-Lcnapi offer two kinds of sacrifice, namely, to
the good spirit and to the evil spirit ; that is to say, to Waka-
Tanka and to Waka-Cheeka.

One of these ceremonies is pai formed in common, and
the whole tribe or village take p;.rt in it ; the other is pri-
vate, one family or several households sharing in it. The
solemnity of the general sacrifice takes place in the spring of
the year. It is made to obtain the benedictions of Waka-
Tanka on the entire nation, that the earth may be rendered
fruitful, the hunting-grounds abound with animals and birds,
and the rivers and lakes crowded with fish. This particular
sacrifice comprehends all the sacrifices which take place in
x^itain circumstances and in certain seasons of the year.
They are offered to either the good or evil spirit, for ob-

AND MISSIONARIES.

227

taining personal favors, or preservation from all accidents
and misfortunes.

JJefore the great feast or annual sa(rrifice, the great chief
convenes his council. It is composed of inferior chiefs, of
senior warriors who have taken scalps in war, and juggleis
or medicine-men. They deliberate on the proper time and
suitable place for the sacrifice. The decision is proclaimed
by the orators to the assembled tribe. Iminediattdy every
individual begins taking his measures, and making liis prep-
arations for assisting worthily at the festival and giving bril-
liancy to the ceremonies.

About ten days previous to the solemnity, the principal
iugglers, to whom the arrangement of the ceremonies has
been confided, blacken their foreheads with powdered char-
coal mixed with grease; this is their token of mourning and
penance. They retire, either into their own lodges, or into
the most hidden and inaccessible thicknesses of the neigh-
boring forests. Alone, they j.ass the time in silence, in jug-
gleries, and in superstitious practices; they observe a most
rigorous fast, and often pass ten days in a complete absti-
nence, without partaking of the least nourishment.

In the mean time the medicine-lodije is erected in its
widest dimensions. Every one contributes to it whatever ho
possesses of value, or that he considei's precious, to serve as
ornaments on this grand occasion.

On the day named, early in the morning, the chiefs, fol-
lowed by the medicine-men and all the people, each in full
costume and carefully painted with different colors, niarch in
procession to the lodge, and [>articipate in a religious ban-
quet hfistily prepared. During the repast, the orators make
their customary discourses ; these tui'u principally upon uU
the events of the year just elapsed, and on the success ob
tained, or the misfortunes experienced.

228

WESl^RN MISSIOI78

s ?

After the banquet a fire is kindled in the centre of the
lodge. Twelve stones, each one weighing three pounds, are
plained before the fire and heated to redness. The victim,
which is a white dog, is presented to the jugglers by the
great chief, accompanied by all his grave counsellors. The
sacrificant, or master of ceremonies, attaches the animal to
the medicine-post, consecrated to this use, and painted red.
After making his supplications to Waka-Tanka, he immo-
lates the victim with a single blow, tears out his heart, and
divides it into three equal parts. At the instant they draw
from the fire the twelve red-hot stones and arrange them in
three heaps, on each of which the sacrificant places a piece
of the heart enveloped in the leaves of the kinekinic,* or
sumac.

While these pieces are consuming, the jugglers raise with
one hand their idols, and holding in the other a gourd
filled with little stones, they beat the measure, dance, and
thus surround the smoking sacrifice At the same time they
implore the Waka-Tanka to grant them a liberal share of
blessings.

After the heart and the leaves are entirely consumed, the
ashes are collected in a Seautiful loeskin, ornamented with
beads and embroidered vviih porcupine, and presented to tho
sacrificant. This last immediately gc^s forth from his lodge,
preceded by four masters of ceremonies, bearing the skin,
and followed by the whole band of jugglers. After ha-
ranguing the multitude in the most flattering terms, he
divides the ashes of the sacrifi(;e into six portions. He casta
the first towards heaven, and entreats the Good Spirit to

♦,The Kinekinic (Sasakkomcnah, in Ojibway) is a shrub of the genus
Rhus. The Indians generally use the leaves to mix with tobacco when
they smoke.

AND MISSIONARIES.

229

grant them his blessings; he spreads the second on the
earth, to obtain from it an abundance of fruits and of roots.
The remaining four portions are offered to the four cardinal
points. " From the east the light of day (the sun) is grant-
ed them. The west sends them the greatest abundance of
showers, which fertilize the plains and forests, and supply
with water the spriogs, and those rivers and lakes which
furnish them with fish. The north, with its buows and ice,
facilitates to them the operations of the chase ; the hunters
can in the cold season, with more ease and security, follow
the tracks of the animals. In the spring the southern gales
call forth the new verdure, blossoms, and fruits ; it is the
season when all the wild animals bring forth their young,
that they may feed on the fresh herbage, and the tender
branches of trees and shrubs." The saorificant implores all
the elements to be propitious. Finally, he addresses the
medicine-men, thanking them for all that they have done to
obtain the assistance and favor of Waka-Tanka in the course
of the ensuing year. Then the whole assembly shout joy-
fully their approbation, and withdraw to their wigwams, to
pass the remainder of the day in feasting and dancing. The
white dog is carefully prepared and cookod. Each member
of the confraternity of jugglers receives his portion in a
v/ooden dish, and is bound to eat the whole (cAcepting the
bones). This repast terminates the grand festival and the
r.nnual banquet.

The difference between the particular and the general sac-
rifice consists in this, — the heart of any other animal may be
offered to the good spirit by one juggler only, and in presence
of one single individual, or of one or several families, in favor
of whom the offering is made.

When any misfortune happens to one or to several families,
they immediately address the chief of the juggl i-s, impji ting

. ^^r

r (

imi

: '.f

Ml .

230

WESTERN MISSIONS

iiiM

to him their afflictions and difficulties. Thi3 communication
is made in the most submissive terms, in order to obtain his
intercession and his aid. He at once invites three individuals
among the initiated to deliberate together on the affair in
question. After the customary incantations and juggleries,
the chief rises and makes known the causes of the anger of
Waka-Cheeka. They then go to the lodge, prepared for the
sacrifice ; kindle a large fire in it, and continue accoiding to
the ritual of the grand sacrifice. The jugglers endeavor to
render themselves as hideous as possible, painting their faces
and bodies, and wearing the most fantastical accoutrements.
Undoubtedly they wish to resemble more closely (at least il
the exterior) the hideous and evil spirit whom they serve,
and thus obtain his favors.

The unhappy suppliants are then introduced into the
lodge and present the sacrificant the eu'„iails of a crow, by
way of offering. Th iy place ^hemselves opposite the jug-
glers. The red-hot stones, mounted in one heap, consume
the entrails, wrapped in the leaves of kinekinic, or sumac.
The chief secretly diaws from his sack of juggleries, which
contains his idols and other superstitious objects, a bear's
tooth, and hides it in his mouth. Then he co\er8 his right
eye with his hand, moans and shrieks, as though he were
undergoing the greatest sufferings and the most excruciating
agony. This play continues some moments. He pretends
to draw the tooth fiom his eye, and presents it triumphantly
to his credulous clients, making them believe that the anger
of Waka-Cheeka is appeased. If the affair is very import-
ant, the jugglers often feceive several horses, or other objects
of value, and all retire satisfied and joyous.

.'Is cMS^

AND MISSIONABIES.

231

Letter IVL

Iw 'CE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Kistalwa and Maria^ parents of Watomika.

Namub, January 80, 1857.
Rev. I <fD dear Father :

I jarrated to you, in one of my letters, the conversion
of Wa-^raika (Light-foot) and his vocation to tlie religious
state. A. short notice concerning his parents will interest you.

Wat)mika was born in the village of Muskagola, in Indian
Territory. His father, called Kistalwa, the Runner of the
Mountain-path, was grandson of llobokou, or the Tobacco-
pipe, a distinguished chief and warrior of the tiibe of Dela-
wares, or Lenni-Lenapi, which figure worthily in the Indian
history of the United States. Ketchura, his cousin, is the
actual chief of the Delawares, and the successor of Kistalwa.

During the last fifteen years of his life, Kistalwa exercised
the functions of great chief. On many an occasion, he proved
by his boldness, while hunting the bear, tiger, and buffalo,
and especially by his bravery in war, that he was worthy at
I lice of the high position which he occupied in his nation,
and of the title of descendant of a long succession of chiefs
and illustrious warriors. Educated in the superstitions of
pagjinisui, Kistalwa was ignorant of the Christian religion.
lie saw in the whites who visited his tribe, naught but
;,:iir|>5ii> oi iLe lands of his ancestors, who coniinuaiiy
pushed them into unexplored wilds ; but government agents,

232

WESTERN MISSIONS

i. : ;f::

h '

who, little by little, and in proportion as it extended its vast
empire, would succeed in exterminating the whole Indian
race. He saw them introducing themselves among them —
men, who, under the appearance of friendship, extended the
hand, addressed them kind and flattering words, encouraged
the Indian to drink fire-water (as the latter call liquors),
inebriated them, in order the better to deceive them in their
infamous traffic, and fomented the most abject vices. He
was witness of tho fatal influences that these perverse and
hypocritical i:- <erted in the tribe. Is it then surprising
that he hated no jnly those individuals, but even the reli-
gion to which they pretended to belong, even the very name
of Christian, which they presumed to bear ? Like the aged
Hamilcar, father of Hannibal, Kistalwa never ceased to in-
spire the young Watomika with an eternal hatred towards
the treacherous white race.

The mother of Watomika was of French orign. Accord-
ing to the accounts of this woman, her parents came from
the province of Auvergne, and, after crossing the ocean,
they settled in a rich and lovely valley, on the shores of the
Rio-Frio, a tributary of the Nueces, in Texas, which then
formed a part of Mexico. Green plains, with which the val-
ley abounded, served as pasturage to countless troops of wild
cattle and thousands of wild horses. The Comanches, not
less savage and wandering, came there from time to time to
make their great hunt, and provide themselves with those
impetuous coursers, which render them the terror of their
enemies in war. Here Maria, mother of Watomika, was
born. She had a brother, called Louis, three years older,
and born in France.

Days, months, even years, rolled on, without the peace of
the solitary cottage of the intrepid Frenchman, as he w-vs
denominated, ever being dibuUi'iL/od. ^w **-»! us.

kXti llTJUiif

AND MISSIONABIES.

233

bors than the wandering savages, who, at certain seasons of
the year, visited him, testified much friendship and attach-
n jnt for him, and bringing him their peltry and provis-
ions, received in exchange those articles which were suited
to their wants or would afford them pleasure. This little
family, so tranquil, so happy in the lonely wild, sheltered
from those political commotions, from those furious tempests
which arise and scatter fear, disorder, and ruin into the most
charming provinces of fair France, their native country — the
Bucheur family, remote fiom those tragical and bloody spec-
tacles, believed they had found repose in the solitude, far
from the confusions and vicisitudes of which they had been
witness in the last century. But, alas ! the dreams of life
are very deceitful, and often very short ! The visions of
man's imagination here below are illusory and uncertain.
Passing for the greater part with the speed of lightning,
they dazzle but an instant. The intrepid Frenchman counted
upon a long continuance of happy years. Eight years had
already elapsed, and peace and happiness ever reigned in his
little household. The savages appeared to be sincerely at-
tached to him ; he was their friend, their benefactor ; he
thought himself securely sheltered from all danger on their
part.

Suddenly, an unforeseen event annihilated his fondest
hopes. A little party of Comanche hunters were massacred
by so e Spaniards on the Rio Grande. Instantly the cry of
war and of vengeance resounded in all the camps of the
triba. The Indian warriors already scour the plains and the
forests, in search of the scalps of the white man, and eager
to drench their hands in his blood. They had sought in
vail) for weeks, when the remembrance of the solitary of the
Rio Frio presented itself to the thought of one soldier of the
band. He proposed the blow; it was accepted. In their

20«

234

WESTERN MISSIONS

WiO

.1^

r. I'

frenzied rage they forgot the benevolence and friendship of
which they had continually received proofs in the cabin of
the honest Frenchman, and of his faithful companion. They
even forgot the innocent caresses of the two little children.

Favored by the darkness of night, they approached this
peaceful dwelling. While the whole family were buried
in a profound slumber, the w.T-whoop of the barbarians
aroused them. Armed with clubs, the aggressors burst in
the doors, and ere the fanyly had time to recover from their
panic, they seized the father, mother, and the children.
They led them to a little distance from the house, so that
they might themselves be the melancholy witnesses of the
destruction by fire of all that the savages could not transport.

This was only the commencement of their misfortunes.
The wrath and revenge of the Indians, inflamed by all the
injuries received from some whites, was, in the absence of
the really culpable, to fall upon these innocent victims.
They loaded them with opprobrium and overwhelmed them
with cruelties. After a precipitate and painful march, con-
tinued during several days, almost without being able to take
the least repose, and with very little food, they arrived at
the village of the great Comanche chief, a near relation of
the hunters massacred by the Spaniards.

The camp was warned beforehand of the approach of the
warriors. They were received with all the honors of a real
triumph, consisting in scalp-dances, songs, and festivals, as if
these miserable wretches had actually distinguished them-
selves by a heroic action and in battle array. While the
council was sitting in the lodge of the chief, in order to de-
liberate on the lot of the prisoners, these last were conducted
all around the village, amid the most atrocious injuries which
each barbarian had the right to inflict on them. The chief
at last proclaimed the sentence, which was heard and ac-

AND MISSIONARIES.

235

cepted with loud acclamations. The post was immediately
erected in the camp and surrounded with fagots. The
Frenchman and his wife were fastened to it together, in
order that they might perish in the flames. The savage
dances, the frenzied gestures, the cries, vociferations, and
bowlings of these infuriated barbarians, augmented the deep
anguish and horrible agony of their unfortunate victims.
The father and mother never ceased, until their latest breath,
conjuring their cruel executioners to take pity on their
poor, innocent children. Little Louis and Maria were spared,
on account of their infant years. The former was ten years
of age ; the girl was only seven. They were, however, forced
to witness the sacrifice of their beloved parents, whom they
could neither deliver nor comfort. They trembled in every
limb, shed torrents of tears, called their father and mother
by their sweetest names, and supplicated, but in vain, those
cruel and merciless hearts to spare their lives. The moaning
of the father, amid his cruel tortures, and the agonizing
shrieks of the dying mother, rent the hearts of these tender
children. In their despair, they would have thrown them-
selves at their feet, heedless of the flames, if the monsters
that surrounded them had not opposed them.

Immediately after this tragical and shocking scene, the
two unhappy orphans were subjected to a new trial, not less
hard and afflicting in the melancholy circumstances in which
they found themselves. Hitherto they had passed together
the innocent and joyous days of their childhood ; they shared
each other's sports, and made little excursions together : now
that their tender hearts wished to sympathize in this bitter
trial, they were pitilessly separated, never to see each other
again on earth. The only son of a chief who was present
had lately fallen in war. This chief claimed Louis, to take
the place of his son, put him on a beautiful horse, and con-

m. 1
1 ''

ifl

■ -

t I

^t^

236

WE8TEBN MISSIONS

ducted him to his country. From that time they have never
heard of him. If he still lives, he probably now replaces his
adopted father as Comanche chief, and wanders with his red
brothers in the boundless prairies of Texas, New Mexico, and
the Great Desert. Maria was adopted in the family of a
great Comanche warrior, who treated her as his own child,
and who resumed, soon after, the trail leading to his own
country, situated to the north of Texas. She passed seven
years in this family, when she accompanied her Indian
parents to a trading-post, established in the upper part of
Red River. They there met a great party of Delawares, led
forth by the young and brave Kistalwa, son of Buckongohela,
The two companies at once paid the customary compliments,
and smoked the calumet of peace and of fraternity.

Maria attracted the attention of the Delaware party,
especially of Kistalwa, who conversed with her. She con-
sented to accompany him to the lodge of Buckongohela,
provided her adopted parents gave their approbation. Kis-
talwa hastened to propose the matter to the old Comanche.
The latter, surprised, rejected the proposition with severity,
and refused, positively, to hear it mentioned. He even took
steps to prevent any interview between the young Delaware
and his adopted daughter. Kistalwa was firm ; he did not
suffer himself to be easily intimidated, and this first refusal
only served to encourage him to persist in his request, at
every hazard. The history of the young white girl had
deeply touched his heart. He determined absolutely to take
her, to tear her, if necessary, from one of the tormentors of
her unfortunate father and mother. He, therefore, returned
to the charge with such determination, and with such posi-
tive arguments, that the Comanche began to reflect on the
consequences of a second refusal, and to tremble for the se-
curity of his whole family. The affair assumed a new aspect;

AND MISSIONARIES.

237

the old Indian lent a more attentive ear to the discourse of
tlie youthful warrior. Kistalwa perceived it, and imme-
diatoly put his calumet and tobacco at his feet. According
to Indian usages, if the adverse party pays no attention to
the calumet, it is a sign that he refuses all arrangement
But the Comanche, to the perfect delight of his guest,
hastened to light the calumet, and offered it to the Great
Spirit and to all the manitous in his calendar, as a token of
his sincerity. The calumet then passed from mouth to
mouth, as in conclusion of the treaty. The one promised
his daughter ; the other, in testimony of his gratitude, made
a present to the father of two splendid horses and an ample
supply of tobacco and of munitions.

Kistalwa Poon made his preparations for departure, and
caused the white girl to be informed of his intentions. She
found it difficult to quit her Comanche parents, to whom she
was sincerely attached. Maria, by her mildness, her intelli-
gence, and her other good qualities, which distinguished her
from her companions, had won every heart in the Comanche
family. They, on their side, had manifested towards Maria,
during her long sojourn in their lodge, all the respect and
affection oi real brothers and sisters. The jf:^aration was
therefore painful ; and their mutual grief was evidenced by
an abundance of tears in exchanging the last farewell.
Hence, in bidding adieu to Maria, the old Comanche im-
plored his manitous to protect the path through which she
would pass : having placed her under their safeguard, he com-
mitted her into the hands of Kistalwa and his band of warriors.

Proud of the treasure which the) took with them, they
resumed, as if in triumph, the way to their own country.
The sun shone, the plains abounded with animals, the chase
was successful, no enemy disputed their passage, all was pro-
pitious and happy during their long journey.

238

WESTERN MISSIONS

Maria, at her arrival among the Lenni-Lenapi, hencefor-
ward her own nation, was received there with every mark of
tenderness and affection by the great chief Buckongohela.
He gave her the name of Monotawan, or the White Ante-
lope, on account of her delicate form and her exceedingly
fair complexion.

Two years after, Monotawan was married to Kistalwa,
with the ceremonies and rites used in that tribe. The fol-
lowing are the details of this kind of solemnity : when a
young man desires to marry, he declares his intention to
the father an'^ lother of the young person of his choice, if
they are living, if not, to the nearest relations and friends.
These decide on the suitableness of the marriage. The
young man then takes his gun, his shot-pouch, and his pow-
der-horn, and passes three consecutive days in pursuit of
game in the neighboring forests and plains. If he obtains
success and returns with his hjrses laden with the products
of the chase, it is a certain presage of happiness and peace
in the new state which he is about to enter ; if, on the con-
trary, he returns to the lodge with empty hands or with poor
game, the augury is unfavorable, and the friends often defer
the marriage to a more propitious time. The hunter, on his
return, chooses the most delicate spe(imeus of his game,
places them at the entrance of the wigwam of his intended,
and then retires without saying a word to any one whomso-
ever. When tl.9 present is accepted, it is a sign that no
objection exists on the part of the fiimily or friends to tl>e
projected union. Without delay the betiothed make all
the preparations which prelude the marriage. The young
man and young woman carefully paint their faces with dif-
ferent colors and devices, and adoin themselves with their
finest or .laments. These last consist in bracelets, neck-
laces of glass and porcelain beads, handsome birds'-feathers,

AND MISSIONARIES.

239

habits of antelope and buck skins, richly embroidered and
worked with porcupine-quills of various tints. The bride-
groom ties fox and wolf tails around his heels and knees in
the fashion of garters, and inserts feathers of the eagle's tail
in his hair — the last are marks of great distinction. The
piincipal jugglers make an offering of tobacco to Waka-
Tanka, or the Great Spirit, in order to obtain his favors for
the young couple, and present him a beaver-skin in sacrifice,
as a mark of their gratitude for the future blessings which
they implore for them. The friends and near relations pre-
pare the grand marriage-feast together. There the young
man is presented to the family by the great master of cere-
monies. He places a beaver-skin in the hand of each of the
betrothed. They exchange these between them, and thus
ratify their consent to the marriage. The repast commences,
the guests do honor to the viands, they dance and sing to
the drum and the flute, and amid these amusements and the
recitation of interesting talcs, terminates the nuptial cere-
mony among the Lenni-Lenapi.

Monotawan became the mother of two sons ; the elder was
called Chiwendota or the Black Wolf, the junior received
the name of Watomika or the Light-foot.

Please accept my best respects, and believe me,

Your devoted brother in Christ,

P. J. Dk Smet, S. J.

;

f. 1

giJO

wvorrvwN MtSWTONS

, ' f,

Letter XVII.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiqubs, Brussels.

Mre-worship.

St. Louis, November 14, 1857.
Rev. and very eear Father :

The ancient worship of fire exists among our Indians
from time immemorial. It is found in their traditions, as in
the history of almost all the nations which have had temple
and altars in which was a pyre, a hearth, a brasier, in ordc
to entertain continually the fire used in their sacrifices. The
Greeks adored fire under the name of Ilaitos, and the Latins
under the name of Vesta. Father Charlevoix represents the
tribes of Louisiana, and especially the ancient tribe of the
Natchez, as keeping up a perpetual fire in all their medi-
cine lodges or temples. Among the Moquis of New Mexico
the sacred fire is constantly maintained by aged men. They
believe that great misfortunes will aflOiict the whole tribe
should the fire be extinguished.

The superstitious devotion to fire was general among the
Mexicans at the period of the Conquest. In a book en-
titled, Inie Calotle in Ilhuicac, or Way to Heaven^ printed
in 1607 and 1612, we scd that each one of the eighteen
months of the Mexican year was consecrated to a particular
divinity, honored by festivals more or less solemn, and al-
most always by human sacrifices.

The first month, which begun on the second of February,

AND MISSIONAKIKSt.

241

was consecrHt<!(l to Altachualn, god of the detention of vmtera ;
the second, to the destroying (jod of nations • the third, to
the f/od of the loaters ; the fourth, to the god of maize ; the
fifih, falhng about Easter, to the god Tezcatlipoca^ which was
the Jupiter of the Romans; tl\e ninth was consecrated to the
f/od of ivar.

The tenth month, called Xocolh-huetzi, began on the 4th
of August Then took place the great feast of the go»l of
fire, or Xiichten-hctU, with numerous human sacrifices. They
thrust living men into the flames. When these were half
burnt, but still alive, they tore out the heart, in presence of
the image of the god. Then they planted in the middle of
the court of the temple a lofty tree, around which they per-
formed a thousand ceremonies and sacrifices worthy of the
founder of this feast. It lasted lonuer than the others.

In the eleventh month fails the festival of Toci, mother of
the gods; on the twelfth, that of the Comim/ of the gods ;
on the thirteenth, the Feasts ujjon the mountains ; the fif-
teenth month was reserved to the god of war, and the seven-
teenth to the god of the rains.

The 12th of January commenced, with the eighteenth
month, called Itzcali, another feast of fire. Two days pre-
vious (the 10th), in the middle of the night, they kindled
the new fire before the idol of the god, elegantly ornamented.
With this fire they lighica a grand pile. The hunters
brought all that they had killed or fished from the waters,
and presented it to the priest, who cast it into the furnace.
Then all the assistants were obliged to eat very hot the ta-
malillos, that is to say, little loaves of corn-meal containing
a small portion of roasted meat. What was most singular
in this festival, is that, three successive years, no human vic-
tim was immolated, and the fourth year, the number of vic-
tims surpassed that of other feasts. The king in person and

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24:2

WESTERN MISSIONS

the lords presented themselves in the midst of this heap of
corpses to dance, and all sung, with respect and solemnity,
the restrved chanty which they call in their language, Neteu-
hicuicaliztli.

In r. Treatise on the Idolatry and Superstitions of the
Mexicans, a manuscript of 1629, we perceive that what par-
ticularly attracted the veneration of the Mexicans was fire.
For this reason this element presided at the birth, and at al-
most all the actions of life among these victims of error.
The infant was born in this superstition. At the moment of
its birth, fire was kindled in the room of the mother, and it
was maintained four consecutive days, without removing any
of it. They believed that if th3 live coals were drawn out,
a cloud would suddenly appear over the eye of the newly
born. On the fourth day, the elders took the child and the
fire out of the chamber ; then they passed the fire four times
around the child's head, twice in one direction and twice in
its opposite. Then the new-born infant received its name,
which was in general that of the animal or of the element
to whi(5h its birthday was consecrated, — as the alligator, the
serpent, the tiger, the eag'e, etc. ; or the water, the fire, the
house, etc.

In the different sacrifiv^es, tapers and incense almost alwaya
had a share.

We also find among them a mythological recital, which
shovs that a personage, formerly covered with leprosy, ob-
tained the empire of tiie future world, for having passed by
the ordeal of fire, and was transformed into ,lie sun, to the
great diwippoiutment of other great personages who shrank
from the test. Is this the cause of their resj)ect for fire, and
th»^ reason why they Mttribute to it a mystericjus power?
The Poiavvatoniies say that Chipiapoos, or the Dead-man, is
the grand manitou that presides in the country of souls and

AND MISSIONABIES.

243

there rnaintains the sacred fire, for the happiness of all those
of his race who arrive there. I have spoken of it in my
" Oregon Missions^'' p. 285.*

Fire is, in all the Indian tribes that I have known, an em-
blem of happiness or of good fortune. It is kindled before
all their deliberations. " Having extinguished the enemy^s
fire," signifies with them, to have gained the victory. They
attribute to fire a sacred character, which is rema-kable ev-
erywhere in their usages and customs, especially ir their re-
ligious ceremonies. They generally maintain mysterious
ideas concerning the substance and phenomena of fire, which
they consider supernatural. To see a fire rising mysteriously,
in their dreams or otherwise, is the symbol of the passage of
a soul into the other world. Before consulting the manitous,
or tutelary spirits, or before addressing the dead, they begin
by kindling the sacred fire. Tlrs fire must be struck from
a flint, or reach them mysteriously by lightning, or in some
other way. To light the sacred fire with common fii-e, would
be considered among them as a grave and dangerous trans-
gression.

The Chippeways of the north kindle a fire on every new
tomb, during four successive nights. They say that this
symbolical and sacred light illumines their solitary and ob-
scure passage to the country of souls. The following is the
origin of this sacred and funereal fire among tWs people. I
received the legend from the mouth of our worthy Watomika.

A Httle war-party of Chippewa} s met some enemies in a
large and beautiful plain. The war-whoop was instantly
shouted, aid the contest commenced. Their chief was a
valiant and distinguished warrior. On this occasion he sur-

* Longfellow has embodied this legend of Chipiapoos in his poem,
" Hiawatha," but ascribes it to a plagiarist, who copied Father De
Smet'B narrative without tlio least credit.— JSi/itor.

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passed himself in bravery, and a great number of his enemies
fell beneath the redoubled blows of his tomahawk. He was
giving the signal and the cry of victory to his braves in
arms, when he received an arrow in his breast and fell life-
less on the plain. The warrior who receives his last blow
in the act of combating is never buried. According to the
ancient custom, he remains seated on the battle-field, his
back resting against a tree, and his face turned in the direc-
tion which indicates the flight of his enemies. It was the
case with this chief. His grand crest of eagle feathers was
properly adjusted on his head, — each plume denoted a trophy
or a scalp won hi combat. His face was carefully painted.
They clothed him and adorned him with his most beautiful
habiliments, as though he were yet alive. All his equipment
was placed at his side, his bow and quiver of arrows, of which
he had made such noble usage in war, reposing on his
shoulder. The post of the brave was planted before him in
solemn ceremony. He received all the honors due to an
heroic and illustrious warrior. The rites, the chants, the fu-
nereal speeches, all, all were celebrated according to the ci.s-
tom of his nation in similar circumstances. His companions
at length offered him their last farewells. No one had the
slightest doubt of his deathy — of the glorious death of their
great chief. Were they deceived ? The sequel of the legend
will show.

Although deprived of speech and of all other means of
giving signs of life, the chief heard distinctly all the words
of the songs and of the discourses, the cries, the lamenta-
tions, and the bravadoes of his warriors. He witnessed their
gestures, their dances, and all their ceremonies around the
*'post of honor." His icy hand was sensible to the pressure
of the friendly grasp; his lips, though pale and livid, felt the
ardor and heat of the farewell embrace and salute, without

AND MISSIONARIES.

245

his being able to return it. Perceiving himself thus forsaken,
his anguish became excessive, as also his desire to accom-
pany his companions in their return to the village. When
he saw them disappear one after the other, his spirit agitated
him in such a manner, that he made a violent movement, —
he arose, or rather seemed to rise, and followed them. His
form was invisible to them. This was for him a new cause
of surpiise and contradiction, which swelled at once his grief
and his despair. However, he determined to follow them
closely. Wheresoever they went, he went also. When they
marched, he marched ; whether riding or on foot, he was in
their midst. He camped with them ; he slept by their side ;
he av/oke with them. In short, he shared in all their fa-
tigues, in all their troubles, in all their labors. While he
enjoyed the pleasure of their conversation, while he was
present at their repasts, no drink was presented to allay his
thirst, no dishes to appease his hunger. His questions and
his responses equally remained without response. "War-
riors! my braves!" cried he, with bitterness and anguish;
"do you not hear the voice of our chief? Look ! Do you
not see my form ? You remaiii motionless, — you seem not
to see and hear me. Stanch the blooil which is flowing
from the deep wound I have received. Suffer me n<r to die
deprived of aid, to famish amid abundance. O you braves !
whom I led often into the thickest of the fight, who have
always been obedient to my voice, already you . oem to for-
get me! One drop of water to quench my feverish thirst, —
one mouthful of sustenance 1 In my distress, how da' you
refuse me !"

At each halt, he addressed them in alternate supplication
and reproach, but in vain. No one understood his words.
If they heard his voice, it was rather for them as the passage

or the whispered murmurs of the wind of summer through

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the foliage and branches of the forest, unnoticed and un-
heeded.

In fine, after a long and painful journey, the war-party
arrived on the summit of a lofty eminence, which overlooked
the whole village. The warriors prepared to make their
solemn entrance. They decorated themselves with their
handsomest ornaments, carefully painted their faces, attached
to themselves their victorious trophies, especially scalps,
which they fastened on the ends of their bows, tomahawks,
aud lances. Then burst forth a unanimous shout, the cry of
jt>y and of victory of the Chippeways, the " Kumaudjeewug !
Kumaudjeewug ! Kumaudjeewug !" — that is to say, they
have met ; or, they have fought ; or, they have conquered.
This enthusiastic shout resounded throughout the whole
camp. According to custom, the women and children went
forth to meet the warriors, in order to honor the'r return
and proclaim their praises. Those who had lost some mem-
bers of their family, approached with anxiety aud eagerness,
to find out whether they were really dead, and to assure
themselves that they died valiantly, in battling with the
enemy. The old man, bowed by the weight of years, con-
soles himself for the loss of a son, if he sank like a brave
man, arms in hand ; and the grief of the youthful widow loses
all its bitterness when she hears the praises bestowed on the
manes of her valiant spouse. The stirring recitals of the
combat awaken a martial fire in the hearts of all the youth ;
and children, yet incapable of understanding the cause of the
grand festival, mingle their infantine shouts of joy and glad-
ness with the boisterous and reiterated acclamations of the
whole tribe.

Amid all this clamor and all these roioicings, no one
was conscious of the presence of the grenl war-chief. He
h':"*xd the information that his near relation-, and his friends

AND MISSIONARIES.

247

rcceiveil concerning his fortunes. He listened to the recital
of his bravery, of his lofty deeds, of his glorious death in the
midsL of his vanquished enemies. He heard them speak of
the post of the brave, planted in his honor on the field of
battle. " Here I am T' cried he ; "I see ! I walk ! Look
at me ! Toucli me ! I am not dead ! Tomahawk in hand,
I shall renew ray march against the enemy, at the head of
my braves ; and soon, in the banquet, you will hear the tones
of my drum !" No one heard him ; no one perceived him.
The voice of the great chief was no more to them than the
perpetual din of the falling waters from cascade to cascade at
the foot of their village. Impatient, he took tlie direction of
his lodge. There he found his wife in deep de'ipair, cutting,
in token of mourning, her long and floating jjcks, lamenting
her misfortune, the loss of a cherished husband, and the
desolate state of her orphan children. He strove to unde-
ceive her, and to comfort her with words of tenderness ; he
sought to clasp his infants in his arms; but here again, vain
and futile were his efforts ; they remained insensible to his
voice and his paternal caresses. The mother, bathed in
te;u's, sat inclining her head between her hands. The chief,
suffering and dejected, besought her to dress his deep wound,
to apply to it the herbs and roots contained in his medicine-
saek; but she moved not; she answered only with tears and
groans. Then he approached his mouth close to the ear of
his wife, and shouted aloud, "I am thirsty! I am hungry!
Give me food and drink !" The woman thouuht she heard
a rumbling in her ear, and spoke of it to her companions.
The chief, in his vexation, struck her a severe blow on the
brow. She quietly pressed her hand to the stricken place,
and said, " 1 feel a slight headache."

Frustrated at every step, and in all his attempts lo make
himself known, the great chief began to reflect on what he

248

WESTERN MISSIONS

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had beard, in his youth, from the distinguished jugglers.
He had learned that sometimes the spirit or soul quits the
body and wanders up and down at hazard, according to its
own will and pleasure. lie therefore thought, that per-
chance his body was lying on the field of battle, and that
his spirit only had accompanied the warriors on their return
to the village. He instantly resolved to return by the path
he had pursued, at a distance of four days' march. The
three first days he met no one. In the afternoon of the
fourth, when approaching the battle-field, he remarked a fire
in the centre of the path which he was following. Wishing
to avoid it, he quitted the track ; but the fire, at the same
instant, changed position, and placed itself before him. In
vain he tried to go from right to left, the same mysterious
fire ever preceded him, as if to bar his entrance to the field
of battle. " I also," said he to himself, " I am a spirit ; I
am seeking to return into my body; I will accomplish my
design. Thou wilt purify me, but thou shalt not hinder the
realization of my project. I have always conquered my
enemies, notwithstanding the greatest obstacles. This day I
will triumph over thee, Spirit of Fire 1" he said, and, with
an intense eff'ort, he darted towards the mysterious flame.
He came forth from a long trance. He found himself seated
on the battle-ground, liis back supported against the tree.
His bow, his arrows, his clothes, his ornaments, his war
accoutrements, the post of the brave, all were in the same
state and occupied the same position in which his soldiers
had left them on the day of strife. He raised his eyes and
perceived a large eagle, perched on the highest branch of a
tree above his head. Instantly he recognized his manitou-
bird, the same that had appeared to him in his earlier days,
when he came forth from the state of childhood ; the bird
that he had selected for his tutelary spirit, and of which he

AND MISSIONARIES.

249

had always worn a talon suspended from his neck. His
niaiiitou had carefully guarded his body, and had prevented
the vultures and other birds of prey from devouring it. The
chief arose, stood some minutes, but found himself weak and
reduced. The blood from his wound had ceased to flow,
and he dressed it. He was acquainted with the efficacy of
certain leaves and roots suitable for healing bruises. He
sought them, gathered them with care in the forest, and
crushing some between two stones, applied them. He
chewed and swallowed others.

After the lapse of a few days, he felt sufficient strength to
aitenipt to return to his village; but hunger consumed him.
In the absence of large aninmls, he lived on little birds that
his arrows brought down, insects and reptiles, roots and
b Tries. After many hardships, he arrived at length on the
shore of a river that separated him from wife, children, and
friends. The chief uttered the shout agreed upon in such
circumstances, the shout of the happy return of an absent
friend. The signal was heard. A canoe was immediately
sent for him. During the absence of the canoe, the conjec-
tures were numerous concerning the absent person, whose
friendly voice of approach had just been heard. All those
who had belonged to the warlike band were present in the
camp. The dead alone remained on the field of battle.
" Might not the unknown on the other shore be an absent
hunter? Or might not this shout prove a bold ruse of an
enemy to take the scalps of the rowers ?" To send a canoe
was therefore judged imprudent, because they were not sure
of the absence of an individual from the village.

While on the opposite shore all these conjectures were in-
creasing, the war-chief embarks. He soon presents him-
self before them, amid the acclamations and joyful shouts of
all his relatives and friends. The Indians eagerly pour forth

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WESTERN MISSIONS

II! I!

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from every lodge to shake hands and celebrate the happy
return of their chief and faithful conductor. That day will
be for thera ever memorable and solemn. They return
thanks to the Master of Life, and to all the manitous of the
Indian calendar, for the preservation and return of their be-
loved chief. The whole day is consumed in dances, songs,
and banquets.

When the first burst of astonishment and universal joy
had a little subsided, and the usual tranquillity was restored
to the village, the chief beat his drum in order to convene
his people. He related to them the whole story of his ex-
traordinary adventures, and terminated his recital by making
known to them, and imposing dn them, "the worship of the
sacred and funereal fire" — that is to say, the ceremony which
consists in maintaining, during four consecutive nights, a fire
on every newly-closed sepulchre. He told them that this
devotion is advantageous and agfreeable to the soul of the
deceased ; that the distance to the country of souls is four
long days ; that in this journey the soul needs a fire every
night in its encampment ; that this funereal-iire, kindled on
the tomb by the near relations of the departed, serves to en-
lighten and warm the soul during its peregrination. The
Chippeways believe that when this religious rite is neglected,
the soul Oi' spirit is forced to discharge the difficult task of
making and maintaining a fire itself, and that with the
greatest inconvenience.

Here I am, dear Father, at the close of the legend of the
Chippeways. I give it as I received it. I am assured that
it is very ancient. The worship of fire among our Indians
springs from the worship of the primitive pagans, who, in
order to purify themselves, leaped over fire, either a myste-
rious one, or lighted in honor of some divinity. The laws
of Moses prohibited this practice among the Jews.

AND MISSION AKIES.

251

Yet, one word more, reverend Father, and 1 finish tliis
lengthy epistle. If you will read over one of my former
letters, you will there find that in my visit to the Crows,
camped at the base of the Rocky Mountains, I was the ob-
ject of an extreme veneration among these savages. Why,
I was considered as the bearer or the guardian of the mys-
terious fire. In effect, I carried a box of phosphoric matches
in the pocket of my soutane. The savages [Xirceived tliat I
used them to light my pipe or their calumet. In a second
vis't I learned the cause, very futile in itself, which had at-
tached such great importance to my poor person.

I receive from time to time news from these poor and un-
fortunate pagans. They do not forget the visits which ihey
have received, and I certainly never forget these dear chil-
dren of my heart. They continue to beg, earnestly, every
year, that missionaries be sent them to baptize their children
and instruct them in the holy faith, which can alone render
them happy here and hereafter.

You asked me one day, reverend Father, in an excursion
which we made together during my last visit in Belgium,
" What is the degree of civilization of the tribes that you
have visited ?" I replied to you : " I dp not know all that
Europeans wish us to comprehend by the word civilization.^''
These savages are spoken of as exceptiorial beings, possess-
ing another nature. They are men like ourselves. They
only diff'er from us because they are ignorant, poor, and un-
fortunate. But their hearts are so good ! There are some
who have much natural ability, and what is more valuable,
a great deal of faith and virtue ! Is not the close of my
letter a confirmation of what I said to you ? What giati-
tude ! What desire to know God ! If, therefore, tiiere is
question of civilization of souls for heaven, oh ! we have no
need of European civilizers. Cause prayers to be otFered

'252

WESTERN MISSIONS

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that God may send us missionaries, and we will make thera
hapi)y !

I commend all these dear savages, our brethren in Jesus
Christ, redeemed by the same blood, and inclosed in the
same Sacred Heart — I commend them all most earnestly to
your holy sacrifices, and to your kind prayers.

Deign to believe me, with the most profound respect, rev-
erend F'ather,

Rce. Vse. servus in Christo,

P. J. Be Smet, S. J

}i.i''f}i

AND MISSIONARIES.

253

Letter XVIII.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

The Four Tribes of the Blach-Feet — Oros-VentreSj PeganSy
Blood-tribe^ and Black-Feet proper.

Univebbitt of St. Louis, October 28, 1855.
Rev. and dear Father :

In some of my letters of 1846, I spoke of my visit to the
Black-Feet. I sojourned among the tribes, the Gros- Ventres,
Pegans, Gens du Sang, and Black-Feet proper, about six
weeks, and had the happiness of regenerating in the holy
waters of baptism several hundred children and adults. In
the month of October, after having bid adieu to Father
Point, who proposed passing the winter in the Indian camps,
in order to sound further their dispositions in a religious
point of view, I left the country of the Black-Feet, in or-
der to repair to St. Louis, where the afl'airs of the missions
were awaiting me. During the residence of Father Point
among those Indian populations, he collected many interest-
ing traits concerning the character and manners of the sav-
ages; he had the kindness to communicate them to me. I
sent a copy of his relation to our superiors in Europe ; but
I do not think it has ever been published. In the hope that
it will atibrd you pleasure, and that it will prove worthy of
your attention, I transmit to you some of the principal ex-
tracts. In 1847, Father Poiut wrote me :

U Mil

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WESTERN MISSIONS

*' I think I can say, to the gloiy of the only Author of all
Good, that with his grace I liave not lost my time among the
Black-Feet. I have performed six hundred and sixty-seven
baptisms, the records of which are in due form ; I liave taken
notes of whatsoever appeared to me suitable for interesting
the curious or edifying the pious. During the winter I was
accustomed, daily, to give three instructions, or catechetical
lessons, proportioned to the three very different classes of my
auditors. It is unnecessary for me to say that the prayers
have all been translated into Black-Foot, and learned in Fort
Louis and in the camp of the Pegans, and there is scarcely
any camp among the Black-Feet in which the sign of tlie
cross is not held in veneration, and even practised, at least
among those individuals who have had any intercourse with
the missionary.

" Of the twenty-five or thirty camp-leaders, or chiefs, who
visited me, or whom I have visited, there is not one who
has not given ideas of his people or tribe less disadvanta-
geous than those generally entertained, and of course among
the whites who inhabit the Indian Teritorv as elsewhere.
Among the ditferent camps, there is a species of emulation
as to which shall have the Black-gown, or rather the mission,
on its lands. Concerning this article I have decided nothing.
I have only said, that in case a Reduction were formed, it.
would be built in the position or locality which would aflford
the greatest advantages to all the tribes, taken collectively.
All found this idea reasonable, and have promised that they
would exert their utmost endeavors to satisfy the Black-
gowns.

"The Gros- Ventres of the plains appear to me to have the
advantage over the others, in being more adroit, more docile,
and courageous; but they are more strongly attached to their
old superstitions, and are terrible demanders^ as the Canadian

il:!i

AND MISSIONARIES.

255

employees here call shameless beggars : happily, they are not
offended when refused. The Fegans are the most civilized,
but the most noted thieve-i. The Gens du Sang are well
made, of fine blood, and generally less dirty. It is said that
the Black-Feet proper arc the most hospitable.

" Such are the most striking traits of these four nations,
80 long at war with almost all their neighbors, and some-
times among themselves, at least, partially. Since tliey have
had the proof that the true prayer renders men more valiant,
happier, and generally tends to make him live longer (three
adv:tutages which they exalt above all others, and which
they believe they perceive united in the Flat-Heads), the
medicine-sack, or idolatry, with many, is falling into dis-
credit.

" Several traits of divine justice, against those who have
shown themselves less docile in following our counsels, and,
on the contrary, several striking evidences of protection, in
favor of those who followed them, have contributed greatly
to work an admirable change in their ideas. By that, I do
not mean to pronounce them saints : no ; theft and assassina-
tion are not yet, in the eyes of the young, particularly, desti-
tute of attractions. For this reason, notwithstanding the
peace concluded with the Flat-Heads, and the inclination of
the great me'.i to maintain it, there were many depredations
committed during the winter, to the detriment of ihe latter.
But, let it be said, to the praise of the chiefs, the wliole w;is
disapproved by them. Nine or ten thieves have received
their deserts from the Pends-d'Oreilles. This pacification, so
desirable, under the double reltfcion of iUimanitv and social
commerce, is the condition, sine qu.ci non, of the conversion
of the greater part of those poor Indians, unless God is
pleased to work a miracle, which rarely has happened, ex-
cept among the Flat-Heads.

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WESTERN MISSIONS

" I pursued in the hunt, during nearly six weeks, the fifry
lodges of the Pegans, which are under the command of the
chief, Amakzikinne, or 'The Great Lake.' This camp is
one of the seven or eight fi actions of the Pegan tribe,
amounting in all to about three hundred lodges. This tribe
forms a part of the four, known under the generic title of
Blaok-Feet. I hav^ spoken of them already. The Pegans
are the most, civilized, on account of the relations of a por-
tion of their people with the Flat-Heads. If the Gros-
Ventres were less importunate, I would willingly entitle
them 'the Flat-Heads' of the Missouri. They have some-
thing of their simplicity and their bravery. They are im-
properly ranked among the Blaok-Feet : besides, they did
not originate in the country, they do not speak their lan-
guage, and are different in many respects *

"However this may be, these four tribes may contain
about a thousand lodges, or ten thousand souls. This is not
half what they were, before the contagion of small-pox intro-
duced among them by the whites. I believe that women
constitute more than two thirds of them, if not even three
quarters. This inequality, so baneful to morals, is the result
of war. In the visit that I paid to the Gros- Ventres, divided
into two camps, t counted two hundred and thirty lodges.
I visited, or received visits from, several fractions or detach-
ments of Black-Feet, and further, an entire camp of Gens du
Sang ; and all were in such dispositions, that only a word on
my part would have been necessary to enable me to baptize,
with their consent, all the children from the largest down to

* The Gros-Ventres of the plains nre a branch of the Kapahoes, who
roam over the plnins of New Mexico, and those on the Platte and Ne-
braska rivers. They separated from the nation a ceiitury and a half
ago, on account of ditferences between their chiefs. The Gros-Veutres
gave Luo this information. — {Note by Father de Sinet.)

AND MISSIONARIES.

267

those of only a day old, which the mothers brought me of
their own free will. I could have baptized a great number
of adults ; they even seemed to desire it ardently ; but these
desires were not yet sufficiently imbued with the true princi-
ples of religion. I could not content myself with the per-
suasion generally existing among the savages, that when they
have received baptism they can conquer any enemy what-
soever. The courage and the happiness of the Flat-Heads
have inspired them with this belief. This explains why
some wretches, who seek only to kill their neighbors, were
the first to petition for baptism. All say that they would
be glad to have Black-gowns ; but why do the greater part
desire them ? Because they think that all other imaginable
blessings will come with them ; not only courage to fight,
but also every species of remedy to enable them to enjoy cor
poreal health. The Gros- Ventres conducted to me a hump-
backed person and a near-sighted person that I might heal
them. I said that this kind of cures surpassed my abilities ;
which did not, however, hinder them from making other
similar requests. But at last, by continually repeating to
them, that the Black-gowns can heal souls, but not always
the body, some at last believe me. They believe also that
we can excite diseases, and cause the thunder to roll when
we are not satisfied. Quite recently, there was an earth-
quake in the land of the Gros- Ventres, and directly the re-
port was spread abroad that I was the cause of the Earth's
trembling ; and that this shock was an indication that the
small-pox was about to return into the country, etc., and all
this happened because the Indians did not give attention
sufficient to the discourse of the Black-gown. There is ac-
tually a malady raging among the Pegans, said to be mortal,
and which indeed has proved fatal to a few persons. As
this disease begins in the eai-, they consider themselves more

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WESTERN MISSIONS

justified than the Gros- Ventres, in saying 'that this punisli-
ment arrived to them ou account of their hardness of heart/
in listening to the words of the Great Spirit. For myself,
what appeared most striking, was the sudden death of a
dozen of persons, stricken down either in their lodges or in
war, but at the moment that they were straying most widely
from the right path. One of these, belonging to the Black-
Feet, had robbed me of three mules ; he died on the mor-
row after his arrival home, and after finding himself divested
of his capture, which were conducted back to me. This
death was certain to provoke the saying : ' Woe to him who
robs the Blaek-gowns !' Thus in one way or another Al-
mighty God is preparing the way for the conversion of these
poor idolaters.

" To return to the Pegans, with whom I have lived about
six weeks, I will observe that those who, among the savages,
call themselves 'Great Men' would be disposed to listen
wholly to us, could we but make terms with them on the
article of plurality of wives ; that the youth, in their turu,
would as cheerfully, if we could immediately make ' Great Men'
of them; but this being icarcely possible, all the reasonings
of the wise can with difficulty induce them to refrain from
robbery. If they can rob adroitly and in large value from
the enemies of their nation, they never fail to do it ; but if
the theatre of their legitimate thefts is too remote, it is not
rare to find them seeking among friendly tribes (for example,
the Pends-d'Oreilles or the Flat-Heads) what would prove
too troublesome to seek elsewhere. A few days since, the
three brothers of The Great Lake, to one of whom the Flat-
Heads have three times granted life, came with two good
and handsome horses taken from the Pends-d'Oreilles, who
had just spared the lives of two of their youth. Already
twice befoie, after similar misdeeds, The Great Lake, not-

AND MISSIONARIES.

259

Mil

withstanding my strong remonstrances, had not the courage
to blame them. Among the Bhick-Feet, the rich people,
who undertake to rebuke the wicked who possess nutiiing,
have naught to gain and all to lose. As there is neitlier
lawful authority on one side nor conscience on the other, a
second theft, or a musket-shot, is not rare.

" In these thefts, however, there is one thing which ex-
cuses, to a certain degree, the silence of the chief of whom I
have just spoken ; it is the robbery of two horses to his det-
riment committed by a young Flat-Head ; but this precedent
cannot certainly justify the reprisals ; for, besides restitution
having been promised to him, he knew well that the thief
in question was an outcast from his tribe ; that he ought not
to imitate him ; that he was only to fellow the example of
the good, who were all desirous of dwelling in peace with
the Black-Feet, etc. But in vain we instruct them and re-
fresh their memories, we discover that these reasons enter
their minds with difficulty, and still less their hearts, which
have neither the uprightness nor the generosity of their allies.
Aside from these miseries, and some false maxims denved
from the whites, the remainder, and even the very efforts of
hell to resume a prey which is escaping her, all that is ac-
complishing at this moment in this country announces that
the day of its regeneration is not remote. What most con-
soles us, is that this regeneration, if things continue, will be
due, in great measure, to the present exemplary conduct at
the fort.

"Every day after mass, I teach the children their prayers;
every evening the men recall them to memory mutually ; at
six o'clock in the evening these recite their prayers in com-
mon in my own room, after which I give them an instruc-
tion ; then comes the turn of the women. Now^ these wom-
en, baptized and lawfully married, or preparing for baptism

>&-i^

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260

WESTERN MISSIONS

and marriage, oblige their husbands to say (the latter haviug
almost all approached the sacraments) : ' What a change !
what a difference !' In fact, this difference is so sensible,
that it is obvious to all the savages who come in throngs to
the fort, and do not return without coming to assuie me,
* that they also wish to learn and follow the way to heaven,
since it is only in that path and in heaven that real happi-
ness is found.' What are their narrations when they return
to their families? New visitors, better disposed than ever
in regard to the fort and on the subject of prayer, easily
make known.

"I have yet one consoling piece of news to announce.
On my route, travelling with the Pegan camp, I baptized
fourteen little infants of the Crow nation, so well did I find
them disposed, — these were on their way to visit the Gros-
Ventres. They desire to see you among them again. In-
dulging this hope, they will go to meet you in the spring.
At a distance, as when present. Reverend Father, I shall
never cease to offer devout and heartfelt petitions for the
success of an enterprise, to which it has pleased Divine Prov-
idence to associate me from its commencement. It will al-
ways be allowable for me to do by prayers, what I cannot
effect by my works. I am, etc.,

"N. Point, S. J."

The project of going to these poor Indians has never been
abandoned. Every returning sprmg they send pressing in-
vitations to the Black-gowns to come and establish them-
selves among them, in order to be taught the way of the
Lord. During the current year, we have received invitations
from the Black-Feet, the Crows, the Assiuiboins, the Sioux,
Ponkahs, and Omahas, with many other tribes; the number
of these Indians surpasses 70,000. A great number of iu-

''i i :'?fl

AND MISSIONARIES.

261

fants and adults have received baptism. The vast wilderness
that they occupy boasts not a single priest at this moment!
During fifteen years they supplicate pastors !

Allow me, Reverend Father, to request the aid of your
prayer and holy sacrifices, and deign to commend the poor
Indians to the kind remembrance of the pious souls of your
acquaintance, that the Lord may condescend to hear these
unhappy men, and send good pastors into this wide-spread
*' vineyard," so long neglected, but which promises such a
glorious harvest.

In union with your devout petitions and holy sacrifices, I
have the honor to be, with the most profound respect and
highest esteem, Reverend and dear Father,

Your very devoted servant and brother in Jesus Christ,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

262

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XIX

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

The Sioux.

Paris, November 17, 1856.
Rev. and dear Father :

I find with pleasure in your number of the 15th inst.,
the interesting letter of Father Adrian Hoeken, written to
me from the Flat-Head camp, which I sent you from St.
Louis before I started for Belgium.

Herewith are four letters of his brother, Father Christian
Hoeken, which will, I think, be found as interesting as Fathei
Adrian's. In a few days I shall see you at Brussels.

' (

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First Letter of Father Christian Hoeken. — To Father De Smet.

Sioux County, Post Vermilion, Dec. 11, 1850.

Rev. and dear Father:

You have doubtless learned, by Father Duerinck's let-
ters, that I set out last June for the Sioux country. The
season was quite favorable when I left Kansas, but I had a
pretty cold time as I crossed Missouii, Iowa, and Minnesota,
till I got to the post of the American Fur Company, called
Post Vermilion. My inability to find a good guide to lead
me to Fort Pierre, the great post of the Missouri, made me
lose five days of excellent weather.

AND MISSIONARIES.

263

At last I succeeded in finding a companion who had
crossed backward and forward, for the last thiity-three years,
every plain, mountain, forest, and prairie of the West. I set
out the day before the weather cliauged. On the third day
the snow overtook us. On reaching James Eiver we found
it impassable ; the water was too high and too cold for our
horses to swim it. We had to ascend it to find a ford. We
travelled eight or nine days without finding any place or
means to cross. A violent north wind set in, so that we were
nearly frozen to death. We accordingly began to descend
the valley of the river, but had not made over five or six
miles wlieu night surprised us, and we had to encamp in a
spot which offered scarce wood enough for one night. We
had hardly encamped when the north wind began to blow
with horrible violence ; the snow fell so thick and fast, that
you would have said the clouds had burst. You may im-
agine our position, and how much we pitied each other.
Sleep was out of the question. The next morning we struck
our camp. The snow and wind raged with unabated fury
for two days and two nights. In some spots there were six,
fifteen, and even twenty feet of snow. Conceive our position
if you can, as we made our way along the valley of James
River, which runs between two chains of mountains, with
deep ravines near each other.

We were almost out of provisions, entirely alone, in a sad
desert, where we could see nothing but snow ; we had no
one to encourage us, except the spirit of divine charity, at
whose voice I had undertaken this painful journey. The
snow grew high around us, our horses would not proceed;
The gloomy thought that we could never cross the river
crushed out all courage ; but I was consoled when I remem-
bered the words of Divine Wisdom : "It is good for you to
suffer temptation." To fill up our misery, rheumatism seized

264

WJ:STE11N MISSIONS

f.«~b

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both my knees, so that I could not set one foot before an-
other. One of our horses fell lame and was no better than
myself. Moreover, the keen norther froze my ears, nose,
and feet, and my companion's feet. The poor man com-
plained of violent pains in the bowels, caused doubtless by
fatigue and hunger. Tiie elements seemed to conspire against
us ; and it is only by a special assistance of heaven that we
did not perish in this strait. "I never saw any thing like it.
I have lived, wandered, travelled, for thirty-five years all
over the upper Missouri, but never, never was I in such a
scrape as this." Such were the frequent exclamations of my
guide. For my part, I was forced by a dire necessity to
march against my inclination, or rather to drag myself along
as best I could. I gathered up what little courage I had
left. I walked on in the snow from morning to night, play-
ing and weeping in turns, making vows and resolutions.
The aspirations of the prophets and apostles were the subject
of my communications with Heaven. ''Confirm me, O Lord,
in this hour. Rebuke me not in thy fury, and chastise me
not in thy wrath." This I repeated at almost every instant.
When I sank to my waist in snow, I cried: "Have mercy.
Lord, have mercy on us. For thee and for thine have we
come unto this hour. Stretch out thy arm to lead us. Lord,
we perisk." Meanwhile, we advanced painfully over the
mountains of snow, till night summoned us to plant our tent,
which consisted, be it said here, of a square piece of a skin
tent-cover. We set to work with courage, clearing away
the snow, getting down a framework and wood enough for
our fires at night. The fire is kindled ; we have finished our
night prayers ; we have only a morsel to eat. Now, then,
repose for a few hours. Impossible. Sleep has fled our eye-
lids ; the smobs blinds and stifles us, at almost every instant
we bad to cough ; my companion said that it was impossible

AND MISSIONARIES.

26j

to distinguish one object from another, the smoke had so
blinded him. How sleep, with the wolves howling and
prowling around us ! The snow and sometimes rain and hail
fell on us all night long. Often, while listening for any
noise, the prayer, " From nil danger, rain and hail, deliver
us, O Lord !" escaped my trembling lips involuntarily.
Thank Heaven, the Almighty heard our humble supplica-
tion ; every day he gave us fine weather, though bitter cold.
My greatest fear every moining, was that my companion
would bring word that our horses were dead of cold or liun-
ger in those bleak and sterile tracts. Had this loss befallen
us, our misfortune would have been complete. I put myself
and all belonging to me under the special protection of our
good and amiable patroness, the Blessed Virgin Immaculate,
and I often reminded her, with filial confidence, that we had
been committed to her care at the foot of the cross.

From day to day, my guide was the more urgent tliat
we should abandon the lame hoi"se so as not to be frozen for
him. We had to lose a good part of the day in unloading
and reloading him, because he fell at almost every step on
the slippery snow ; yet by care, pain, fatigue, and patience,
•we arrived with our two horses at Post Vermilion. Fam-
ished and almost dying as we were (having had nothing to
eat for ten days, but a little bread and a prairie-hen that my
companion killed by chance), sleepless and wearied to death,
we reached Vermilion on the 8th of December, the feast of
the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Viigin Mary. To
express the joy that ov^flowed my soul on that happy day
I would need write in tears, not in ink, and you could trace
my feelings better than if delineated with a pen. I was at
the end of hunger, cold, snow, rain, hail, tramping, and blas-
phemy that fil'ed me with horror every time my companion
vented his wrath on the horse or the evils we experienced. I

fir

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266

WESTERN MISSIONS

relmked him frequently and begged him to refrain, but in
vain ; the poor man had always the same excuse : "It was a
second nature with him, and he meant v.o harm." Wretched
excuse ! I suffered more from his troubles and murmurs than
from all the other miseries put together. To my prayers of
blended hope, and fear, and anguish, succeeded now hymns
of gratitude and joy. Instead of my ordinary aspirations:
" Enough, Lord, it is enough. Command the winds and there
shall be a great caltn. Lord, thou hast said : Ask and you
shall receive. Give us this day our daily bread," and so on,
I now exclaim : " We praise thee, Lord ! great is thy power,
Lord God of hosts."

Mr. Charles Larpenteur, whose hospitality you have often
enjoyed when travelling in the dc^' t to visit the Indian
tribes, is now in charge of the post, and he received us
with all the goodness of a father. He procured us all that
he could. May the Lord bless him, for he deserves it.
*'The Samaritan in the Gospel," said he, "took care of an
unfortunate man, and poured oil and wine into his wounds.
Sir," lie added, "you are welcome. I offer you all I have;
I wish to treat you as welf as is in my power." The dignity
and worth of charity are never better felt than on similar
occasions, and by beggars like us.

I shall spend some days instructing hud baptizing a score
of people who live around here. I shall endeavor to recover
from my unusual hardships before I start. In the mean while
the snow will melt, the roads become better, and I wil) re-
sume my journey.

Receive the assurance of my respect. Present my re-
spects to the Fathers and Brothers, aud believe me,
Rev. and dear Father,

Your devoted servant and brother in Christ,

Christian Hoeken, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

267

You see, Rev. Father, by this letter of Father Iloeken. that
the consolations of heaven are constantly tempered by tlie
desolations of earth. This is the support of the laborers in
the vinevard of the Lord.

I have come to Europe for missionaries. Belgium has
already furnished many. St. Francis Xavier asked f«>r Bel-
gians. Shall I succeed in getting some ? Cannot I count
on luy own land as much as on lloUand, France, or Italy ?

Second Letter of Father Chriatian Hoel-en. — To Father Flet.

Tekritory of the Platte, Dec. 28, 1850.
Reverend and dear Father Puovincial :

According to my express promise in my letters, I write
to tell you where I have been, and what I have done since
I left the Kansas, till my return from the Upper Missouri.

I travelled by the way of Weston, without a cent in ray
pocket. I had to trust entirely to Providence. A draft of
ten dollars on Father De Smet, enabled me to get the actual
necessaries for my journey. I should have drawn more, but
it was all they could let me have.

On the way I met several old friends, whose liberality did
not improve my poverty. I reached St. Joseph at the foot
of the Black-Snake Hills. My horse could not stand the
hard travel. Others were of my opinion, among them was
Mr. Scan Ian, who offered me an Indian horse to go as far as
Bellevue, and also to take charge of mine. I accepted his
kind offer. In two days I was quite disappointed. The horse
was very lazy, and weak in the bargain. I changed Iiim at
the great Pacoa river for a good horse, whose exterior prom-
ised better in the long journey before me. I gave the man
a draft on Mr. P. A. Sarpy to pay the difference.

268

WESTERN MISSIONS

■

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',,{■■

On reaching Bellevue, I learned from Mr. Sarpy that
Messrs. ]3ruyeie and Argot had started the day before, and
that I could easily overtake them ; that there was no guide
for me, and they knew none about there. I bought the
necessary utensils, a little pot, tin-pans, provisions, &c., and
started in pursuit of the gentlemen, who live about thirty
miles below Post Vermilion at the mouth of the great Sioux.
I overtook them next day at Boyer River. I travelled in
their company seven days, when we reached the great Sioux.

I spent three days there instructing the people, and bap-
tized foui'teen persons. Tliey treated me with great kind-
ness, and expressed their extreme delight at the [)r()spect of
the establishment of a Sioux mission. They promised to
pay for their children's board. They are not only full of
good-will, but capable of acting.

As for the mixed race of the Santies (a Sioux tribe), they
receive from governinent about a thousand dollars a head,
according to the treaty made last year at St. Peter's River
in the Upper Missouri. You see, then, Reverend Father, that
if we defer founding a mission among them, they will send
their children elsewhere. Do not iniaicine that the number
of these poor children, all baptized by Father De Smet and
others, is insignificant. The halfbreeds exist in great num-
bers everywhere, with thousands of Indians. Must all these
children, of whom several thousand have already received
holy baptism, perish for want of instruction ? Are they
doomed to remain sitting in the shadow of death? May I
not announce to them all, the precious tidings of vocation to
grace? I trust, in God's mercy, the day of their deliverance
is at hand ; that they will soon perceive the aid of the
Saviour and Redeemer. My daily prayer is (above all at
the Holy Altar) that their expectations and frequent appeals
may at length find a term.

AND MISSIONARIES.

209

I forgot to say, that on arriving at Linden, a village situ-
ated eight miles below the River Nishnebatlana, I found
Major Matlock very dangerously ill with dysentery, lie
recognized rae at once, and cried out : "Father Iloeken, I am
extremely glad to see you. I wished to see you much a long
time; but I am so indisposed at this moment that I can-
not converse with you. Could you not come a little later?"
" Most willingly," I replied : " I will see you by and by."
An hour after I returned to his room in the hotel ; I found
him half asleep. He heard my voice, and after having dis-
missed those who were with him, he spoke to me of his
reliffious convictions. He informed me that he had been
brought up in the Metliodist sect, but that ho did not believe
in their views, and that his most ardent desire was to be-
come a Catholic. He then made his confession to me ; after
which, I baptized him conditionally. He appeared to me to
be perfectly contented and resigned to die. I have since
learned that he did not long survive his baptism. May he
rest in peace.

I commend myself to your prayers and sacrificss, Rev.
Father Provincial,

Your most humble servant,

Christian Hoeeen, &. J.

Third Letter of Father Christian Hoelcen. — To Father Elet.

St. Joseph's, Jan. 3, 1851.

Rev. and very dear Father Provincial :

I was obliged to wait in order to regulate my account
with Mr. P. A. Sarpy, who was absent when I arrived at
Coiincil Bluffs. That time was not lost. I had the happi-

23»

270

WESTERN MISSIONS

■; .i

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ness of baptizing a great number of children of the Omaha
tribe, and I met the young cliief, Logan Fontenelle. He is
a spiritual child of Father De Stnet. He is very worthy of
the post he fills in his tribe, and will do all in his power to
convert his people and bring them to the true faith.*

I quitted Council Bluffs on the 2'7th of December. I
arrived on the River Nishnebatlana at a placo called French
Village. It is occupied almost exclusively by Canadians, by
half-breeds, and a mixture of Indians united among them-
selves. I was received with much kindness, and employed
Saturday and Sunday in confirming and strengthening them
in the faith.

As soon as my arrival was known, the people collected on
all sides, in order to secure to their children the grace of bap-
tism. You can easily imagine what a consolation it was to
me after the fatigues of the late journey. On examining the
state of things, I found that those people needed instruction in
regard to the sacrament of marriage. They listened to me
with profound attention, and lollowed my advice on this
point I baptized sixteen persons, among whom was one
converted from Mormonism and one Sioux squaw. I gave
the nuptial benediction to three couples. In the mids: of a
meeting held in a private house, the conversation fell on the
construction of a village church ; each one oftered his ser-
vices, and promised to approach the sacraments. How great
and plentiful is the harvest, but alas, how few are the reap-
ers ! We must, in truth, but in sadness, repeat with the
prophet Jeremy : " Tne children ask bread and there is no
one to break it to them." What a vast field ^r them of
whom the Scripture says : " How beautiful upor: the moun-

I', i

f -'^

* He fell, in 1855, in a combat agaiast a great war-party of the Sioux.
—{Note hy Fatlur De JSmet.)

AND MISSIONARIES.

271

tains uro the footsteps of those who proclaiin the glad tidings
of peace r"(l salvation." A month's travelling in the desert
thnjugh which th(!se people are wandering deprived of in-
struction, would bestow on our missionaries greater experi-
ence of the evils of ignorance and of superstition, than manj
years passed in studying them in books and writings, and
one hour of conversation would inspire Christian hearts with
sentiments of more real compassion, than all the discourses
of rhetoric and all the artifices of eloquence could ever pro-
duce. If the Catholics t.f civilized countries, and provided
witli all the advantaofes that civilization otters for the soul
and for the body, could, during one single week, experience
what is endured in the midst of the ravages and violciice of
this poor Indian country, thdr hearts would open to the sen-
timents of a truly active compassion, and they would extend
a charitable hand to relieve the misery and mitigate the bit-
terness of their wretched and afflicting condition. There are
in human life certain marks of degradation which, at first
sight, awaken the tender sentiments of a Christian heart;
there are interior trials and sorrows which need to be related
to excite charity towards those who suffer them. Such are,
my dear Fathei-, the troubles and sulferings of the Indians.
Deprived of civilized society, destitute of all the advantages
of social life, ignorant of the very elements of individual
duty, they are a prey to exterior deceptions, lo interior illu-
sions, and their days are counted by overwhelming evils and
misfortunes as numerous as the hours which mark their du-
ration. 13ut when it pleases a wise Providence to permit
that they be visited by other and extraordinary trials, as it hap-
pened to the Potawatomies, who lost their harvest, their ills
are increased a hundredfold, and nothing but the consolations
of the Gospel are capable of ameliorating the hard lot of
barbarism and the &hg\xmh of igaoraace. May Heaven deiga

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Mro "

^fff .

' ' 11 :i

272

WESTERN MISSIONS

to inspire a large number of worthy ministers of the Church
"with a zeal in conformity with the will of God, and inspire
also a great number of Christians with that charity which
covers a multitude of sins, in order that they may come to
their aid amid the painful sutierings which they are at this
moment undergoing.

My respects to all,

Rev. Father Provincial,

Your most humble servant,

Christian Hoeken, S. J.

■ "I

Fourth Letter. — To Eev. Father Elet.

Bellevue, December 23, 1850.

Rev. and vert dear Father Provincial :

I left Post Vermilion on the third Sunday of Advent ;
I descended the Great Sioux as far as its confluence. There
I met with Major Ilalton, who is agent for the Upper Mis-
souri.

He employed all his eloquence to persuade me to accom-
pany him as far as Fort Pierre, which is the post of the Little
Missouri. 'lie will probably stop there, at about the middle
of January. God alone knows what the weather will prove
at that time. He presented us a beautiful buffalo-robe, and
told me, that if we would establish a mission in these sec-
tions, he would contribute annually a hundred dollars. An-
other gentleman added, I have three children to educate ; I
will furnish three hundred dollars per year, and be assured,
continued he, that every white man residing in thih lo-
cality that has a family of mixed race (and there are a great
number of them), wiJi assist you to M#« best of their ability
—one in one mauuer and auutliQ)' JA AQOtiier, according to

4.',, ..

AND MISSIONARIES.

273

their means. The Brules, the Jantons, and the other Sioux
tribes, assembled in council said: "The missionaries shall
not perish with hunger among us ; we will bring them an
abundance of buffalo-robes and buftalo-meat, so that they
can purchase clothes for the children who will be confided
to them."

For the love of God and of souls, I conjure you, reverend
Father, not to defer any longer. All the good that Father
De Smet and others have produced by their labors and visits
will be lost and forgotten, if these Indians are disappointed
in their expectations. They weigh men's characters in the
balance of honesty ; in their eyes whosoever does not fulfil
his promises is culpable ; they do not regard or consider
whether it be done for good reasons, or that there is an im-
possibility in the execution. Some of them have sent their
childreu to Protestant schools, and they will continue to do
80 as long as we form no establishments among them.

From all this you may easily conclude that there is apos-
tasy and all its attendant evils. Immortal souls are precious
m the sight of God. You are acquainted with my disposi-
tions — arrange every thing according to your own good will
and pleasuie. My sole desire is to endure fatigue and sufl'er-
ing, as much as I can with God's assisting grace, and as long
as I shall live. I have deposited my hopes in the bosom of
my God ; I expect my recompense from his goodness, not in
this life, but in the next.

Yours, &c..

Christian Hoeken, S. J.

;if

; '

fii

These four letters of Rev. Father Hoeken show sufficient
ly, my dear and reverend Father, the spiritual wants of these
nations and their desire of boing assisted. Apostasy is more
frequent than is generally believed in Europe. Oh ! if the

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274

WESTERN MISSIONS

zealous priests of the Continent know what we know, had
they seen what we have witnospod, their generous hearts
would transport them beyond the seas, and they would has-
ten to consecrate their lives to a ministry fruitful in salutary
results. Time presses; already the sectaries of various
shades are preparing to penetrate more deeply into the
desert, and will wrest from those degraded and unhappy
tribes their last hope — that of knowing and practising the
sole and true faith. Shall they, in fine, obtain the Black-
gowns, whom they have expected and called for during so
many years?

Accept, Rev. Father, the assurance of my sincere friend-
ship.

P. J. De Smet,

AND HI&SrONAKIES,

275

;tie

Letter XX.

To THE Editor of the Precis IIistoriques, Brussels.

Tributes to tlie Flat-Heads.

To the Mother Superior of the Convent and Academy of Erps-Querbs, between

Brussels and Louvain.

Brussels, bEAST of St. Xavier, December 3, 185G.
Reverend Mother :

The festival of to-day renews in my mind the recollec-
tion of the pl(.^asant time I spent at Erps, last Monday.

I must again thank you for the kind reception I received
at your convent and academy.

The repeated invitations you have extended to iiiOj since
my return to Belgium, through Father Terwecoren, who
took me there, made it a duty on m}- part to go. I owed
you this visit also personally, Reverend Mother, on account
of the ties which always have existed, and still exist, betweeu
your family and mine. This recommendatioii was made to
me at Tennond. It was, indeed, pleasant for me to meet
you, after thirty-five years' absence, and especially to find
you conseci'ated to God by the vows of religion. During
my long travels over the world, I have always found in re-
ligious coniniunities the greatest amount of happiness to
which man can aspire here below.

But independent of this })ersonal motive, the Academy of
the Servants of Mary would leave, in my mind, a most pleas-
ing recollection. I shall never forget this little family festi-
val, the chaiitable and pious words addressed to me by one

276

WK8TEEN MISSIONS

11 3-;

of your sclioLirs, in the name of her companions ; the earnest
att«3ntion paid by them to my accounts, and the prayers they
promised Jiie for my poor ludians ; that beaiitit'ul hymn in
honor of St. Francis Xavier, the patron of missionaries ; the
happiness of the little village-children, gathered in the day-
school, wliere their hearts learn to love God and serve him
by labor; the respectful deference of all the sisteis, and of
your worthy director.

I thank you, then, Reverend Mother, for this welcome ;
and, in the name of the Indians,, I thank you especially for
the alms which the convent has confided to me for them,
and the vestments which you prepare. The Indians pray
for their benefactors; they will pi ay especially for the Ser-
vants of Mary, an^^ for their young pupils, as soon as I tell
them all.

As an anticipated testimony of their gratitude, and that
the remembrance of this day may abide, your community
ever prosper more and more, your young ladies, when they
come forth from that house of the Lord, preserve preciously
the inappreciable gift of piety and the pure lustre of all
virtue, I propose to give to the first little Indian girls that I
baptize after my return, the Christian names of the religious
and pupils whom I saw assembled, that they may pray for
their benefactresses. Please to prepare a list, and send it to
Father Terwecoren, who is collecting all that is ofiered for
the mission.

I add to this letter a copy of the tributes of admiration
paid to the Flat-Heads, as well as the Pater and Ave in
Osage. It is a little souvenir for the Academy of Erps-
Querbs.

I. Tribute of admiration rendered to the Flat-Heads^ by
an officer of the United States armij^ sent with Governor
Stevens to exjilore St. Manfs Valley. These lines are drawn

i M.

AND MISSIONARIES.

277

from a report recently issued by order of government. Ex-
plorations, d'c.^ from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, p.
308. Lieutenant Mullun says :

"When I arrived at the camp with my guide, three or
four men came out to meet us, and we were iuvited to enter
the lodge of the great chief. With much eagerness they
took care of our horses, unsaddled them, and led them to
drink. As soon as the camp had been informed of the
arrival of a white man among them, all the principal men of
the tribe collected at the lodge of the chief

"All being Jissembled, at a signal given by the chief,
they prayed aloud. I was struck with astonishment, for I
had not the least expectation of such conduct on their part.
The whole assembly knelt. In the most solemn manner,
and with the greatest reverence, they adored the Lord. I
asked myst'lf : Am I among Indians ? Am I among people
whom all the world call savages ? I could scarcely believe
my eyes. The thought that these men were penetrated with
religious sentiments, so profound and beautiful, overwhelmed
me with junazenient.

" I could never say enough of those noble and generous
hearts among whom I found myself. They were pious and
firm, men of confidence, full of probity, and penetrated at the
same time with a lively and religious faith, to which they
remain constant. They never partake of a repast without
imploring the blessing of Heaven. In the morning, when
rising, and at night, when retiring, they offer their prayers
to Almighty God. The tribe of the Flat-Ueads among the
Indians is the subject of their highest esteem ; and all that I
"witnessed myself justifies this advantageous opinion."

Here is another testimony from the Hon. Isaac J. Stevens,
governor of Washington Territory. Giving orders to Lieut.
M^ he says :

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278

WKSTKRN MISSIONS

" Tell those good Flat-ITeads that the words of Father Do
Smet in their behalf have been received bv their Great
Father, the President of the United States, and that all good
people are devoted to them. I would like to rebuild St.
Mary's. Let them know that I am attached to them, and
read) to aid their old benefactors in their well-being. This
would be most pleasing to me."

He wrote to the Indian agent :

" You are already aware of the character of the Flat Heads.
They are the best Indians of the mountains and the plains —
honest, brave, and docile, they only need encouragement to
become good citizens — they are Christians, and we are
assured that they live up to the Christian code."

This passage is from the report to the President, in 1854.
You see, reverend brother, that my eulogium at Erps-Querbs,
on the Flat-Heads, is also in the mouths of the Americans.
It is the same with the other Indians. The sisters and the
pupils may then rely on the prayers and gratitude of the lit-
tle girls A-ho bear their names. May these children of the
desert have the same means of salvation as the children of
Belgmm.

II. Poier and Ave^ in Osage.

Int&tze ankougtapi manshigta ningshe, shashe dichta
Father our in htaven who art, name thy

ouchoupegtseloUjWawalagtankapi dichta tshighselou. Hakistse
be hallowed. kingdom thy come. Will

ingshe manshingta ekionpi, manshan lai ackougtsiow.
thy in heaven be done on earth be it done likewise.

Humpale luimpake : i watstitse ankougtapi wjikupiow.
To-day and day evej bread our to us give.

Ouskan pishi wacshiegchepa ankionle ankale, aikou

Action bad to us which haa been done, we it forgive, ko

AND MISSIONARIES.

279

onskan pislii ankougtapi waonlapiow. Ouskan pishi
action bad ours us forgive. Action bad

ankagchetapi wasankapi ninkow. Nansi pislii ingshe
to do by us lead us not. But evil from

walietsi sapiow. Aikougtsiou.
deliver us. Aineu.

Hawai Marie, Wagkonda odikupi odishailow.

Hail Mary, of the Great Spirit of gifts thou art.

Wagkonda shodigue acchow. Wakoki odisanlia
The Great Spirit with thee is. The women among them

odichoupegtsiow. Jusus tsaitse oulagian ingshe

thou art blessed. Jesus of the womb the fruit thy

ougoupegtsiow. Walagui Marie Wagkonda, Ehonh,
is b'essed. Holy Mary, of the Great Spirit the Mother,

wawatapiow, dekousi autzapi aitchanski. Aikougtsiou.
pray for us now and at the moment of our death. Amen.

Accept, reverend Mother, this trifling homage of my grati-
tude, and express the same sentiments to your worthy
Director, community, and pupils.

Your servant in Christ,

P. J. De Smet.

.*«u

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280

WESTERN MISSIONS

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Letter XXI.

To THE Editor of the Precis IIistoriques, Brussklb.

Oregon Mimiona.

Univeiisity of St. Louis, July 16, 1857.
Reverend Father :

Since my return to St. Louis I have been very busy, and
not very well, in consequence of the sudden transition from
a cold climate to one where the thermometer stands at 90*
Fahrenheit. I have not been able, thus far, to send you any
interesting article. I liave lately received a long and beauti-
ful letter from Father A. Hoeken, in the Rocky Mountains.
It appeared, on the 11th instant, in the FrecmarCs Journal^
which you receive regularly. I shall try and send you a
translation.

I inclose to-day a short notice of Father Eysvogels. If
you give it a place in your Precis^ it will give pleasure to
the friends and acquaintances of that good Father in North
Brabant.

As you propose terminating a volume of my letters, you

would do well, perhaps, to add, if there is time, a letter to

the St. Louis Xea</er, dated June 19, 1855, which you can

liave translated.

St. Louis, June 19, 1855.
Mr. Editor :

From a letter received from the Rocky Mountains about
two months ago, I learn that the Indians, in our different
missions in Oregon, continue to give grent satigfactiop to

AND MISSIONARIES.

281

tlicir missionaries, by their zeal and fervor in the holy prac-
tices of lelij^ion. " I hope," writes Father Joset, " that the
lioly Sacrament of Confirmation, wliieh many Ijuve lately
received, will add still more stability to their guod resolu-
tions. The arrival of Monseigneur Blanchet, of Nesqnaly,
had been announced only a few hours before, yet, notwith-
standing that one half of the neopliytes were absent on
their hunting-grounds, the zealous prelate gave confirmation
to over six hundred persons, lie expressed tlie greatest
satisfaction at the flourishing condition of the missions, and
the exemplary and Christian conduct of the Indian faithful."
The conversions to our lioly faith, if you consider the
small number of our missionaries, are very consoling and
encouraging. Father Joset says, that in the mission of St.
Paul's alone, among the Shuyelpies or Kettlefall Indians, he
bad one hundred and sixty-three converts in the course of
the year. He further states in his letter, that Lieut. Mullan,
of the United States Army, visited the Flat-Heads, and
several others of our missions, by order of Governor Stevens,
of tu'j new Territory of Washington, and that the distin-
guished oflficer had expressed great delight at all he saw
among the Indians, promising withal to favor them and to
speak well of them in his report. Governor Stevens him-
self, in '.lis report to the President of the United States, com-
mends ihem highly, and calls upon the government for aid
and assistauce "They are," says he, speaking of the Flat-
Ileads, " the best Indians of the mountains and the plains —
honest, brave, and docile — they only need encouragement to
become good citizens; they am Christians, and we are
assured that hhey live up to the Christian code," &c.
Most respectfully, dear sir,

Your humble and obedient servant,

P. J. De Sm£t, S. J.
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282

WESTERN MISSIONS

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You sec, Reverend Father, that I have cited the testimon
of Governor Stevens, as to our Indi;in missions. The details
which I sliall give you in this letter emanate from the same
source, as honorable as it is truthful. They form part of an
official report on the state of Oregon, sent by that magis-
trate to the President of the U» ited States, in 1855, and
published by order of government.

Speaking of the tribe of Pends-d'Oreilles, the governor
says :

" I am indebted to Dr. Suckley for many interesting facts
in relation to the mission of St. Ignatius, established among
the lower Pends-d'Oreiiies ; it would be difficult to lind a more
beautiful example of successful missionary labors. The mis
sion was established nine years ago, by Kev. P. J. De Smet,
the whole country at that time being a vast wilderness.

" For the first two years the missionaries lived in skin
lodges, accompanying the natives on their periodical hunts
Slid visits to their fishing-grounds.

" During this time they found it very hard to live. Their
food consisted principally of camash-roots and dried berries,
which at best contain very little nourishment. They raised
some wheat, which they boiled in the beard, for fear of
waste ; parching some of the grains to make a substitute for
coftee. After this, they slowly but steadily increased in wel-
fare. Each year added a small piece to their tillable ground.
They then obtained pigs, poultry, cattle, horses, agricultural
implements, and tools. Their supplies of tools, seeds, gro-
ceries, clothing, (fee, are shipped direct from Europe to the
Columbia river. There are two lay brethren attached to
the mission. One of them, Brother Francis, is a perft^ct Jack-
of-all-trades. lie is by turns a carpenter, blacksmith, gun-
smith, and tinman ; in each handicraft he is a good work-
man. The other, Brother McGean, superintends the farming

ssss^

AND MISSIONARIES.

283

operations. They both worked hard in bringing the mis-
sion to its pn^sent stale o. perfection, building successively a
■wind-mill, blacksmith's and carpenter's shops, barns, cow-
sheds, &c., besides an excellent ciiapel, in addition to a largo
dwelling-liouse, of hewn timber, for the missionaries.

" The church is quite large, and is tastefully and even
beautifully decorated. I was shown the handsomely carved
and gilded altar, the statue of our * Mother,' brazen crosses,
and rich bronzed fonts — work which at sight appears so well
executed as to lead one to suppose that they must all have
been imported.

" Works of ornament are not their only deedi?. A grind-
stone, hewn out of the native rock, and modelled by the
same hand which made the chisel which wrought it, tin-
ware, a blacksmith's bellows, plough-shares, bricks for their
chimneys, their own tobacco-pipes, turned with the lathe out
of wood, and lined with tin, all have been made by their
industry. In household economy they are not excelled.
They make their own soap, candles, vinegar, &c., and it is
interesting and amusing to listen to the account of their
plans, shifts, and turns, in overcoming obstacles at their first
attempts, their repeated failures, and their final triumphs.
The present condition of the mission is as follows :

" The buildings are : the house, a good, substantial, com-
fortable edifice ; the chapel, a building suflBciently large to
accommodate the whole Kalispelum nation. A small build-
ing is attached to the dwelling-house; it contains a couple
of sleeping-rooms, and a workshop, a blacksmith's shop, and
a store-room for the natives. These are all built of square
or hewn timber. Besides these there are a number of
smaller out-buildings, built of logs, for the accommodation
of their horses and cattle during the winter, and an excel-
lent root-house.

284

WESTERN MISSIONS

h :

" The mission farm consists of about one hundred and
sixty acres of cleared land : wheat (spring), barley, onions,
cabbages, parsnips, peas, beets, potatoes, and carrots. Father
Hoekeu suys, that if the children see carrots growing, they
must eat some. Says he, ' I must shut my eyep to the
theft, because they cannot resist the temptation. Any thing
else than carrots, the little creatures respect.'

" TiiO Indians are vrery foiid of peas and cabbages, but
beets, and particularly onion:), they dislike. The other pro-
ductions of the farm are cattle, hogs, poultry, butter, and
cheese. Around the mission buildings are the houses of the
natives. These are built of logs and hewn timber, and are
sixteen in number. There are also quite a number of mat
and skin lodges. Although the tribe is emphatically a wan-
dering tribe, yet the mission and its vicinity are locked upon
as head-quarters.

" When the missionaries came among the Indians, they
found them to be a poor, miserable, half-starved race, with
an insuflSciency of food, and nearly naked ; living upon fish,
camash and other roots, and, as the last extremity, upon tho
pine-tree moss. They were in utter misery and want. The
whole time was occupied in providing for their bellies, which
were rarely full. They were of a peaceable disposition,
brave, good-tempered, and willing to work.

" Of spiritual things they were utterly ignorant. Unlike
the Indians east of the mountains, they had no idea of a
future state or of a Great Spirit, neither had they any idea
of a soul ; in fact, they had not words in their language to
express such ideas. They considered themselves to be ani-
mals, nearly allied to the beaver, but greater than the beaver,
' because,' they said, ' the beaver builds houses like us, and
he is very cunning ; true, but we can catch the beaver, and
he cannot catch us, therefore we are greater than he.'

AND MISSIONARIES.

285

! '

They thouglit that when they died, that was the last of
them. While thus ignorant, it was nothing uncommon for
them to bury the very old and the very young alive, because,
they said, ' these cannot take care of themselves, and we can-
not take care of them, and they had better die.'

"The missionaries had an arduous labor before them
They commenced by gaining the good-will of the inhabit-
ants, by means of small presents, and by manifesting great
interest in their welfare, in attendance upon the sick, and by
giving the poor creatures food, seeds, and instruction as to
farm ig.

"The Indians could not help seeing that no hopes of tem-
poral or personal benefit induced the missionaries thus to
labor among them.

" The missionaries told them that tliey had a Creator, and
that he was good. They told them of their Saviour, and of
the manner of addressing him by prayer. To this they
listened, and believed.

"The people look up to the Father, and love him. They
say that if the Father should go away, they would die.

" Before the advent of the missionaries, the inhabitants,
though totally destitute of religious ideas, still believed that
evil and bad luck emanated from a fabulous old woman or
sorceress. They were great believers in charms or medi-
cine. Every man had his particular medicine or charm, and
from it they expected either good or ill. With some it
would be the mouse, with others the deer, buffalo, elk, sal-
mon, bear, <fec. ; and whichever it was, the savage would
carry a portion of it constantly with him. The tail of a
mouse, or the fur, hoof, claw, feather, fin, or scale, of whatever
it might be, became the amulet. When a young man grew
up, he was not yet considered a man until he had discovered
his medicine. His father would send him to the top of a

286

WESTERN MISSIONS

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high mountain in the neigliborhood of tlie present mission ;
here he was obliged to remain without food until he had
dreamed of an animal ; the first one so dreamed about
becoming his medicine for life. Of course, anxiety, fatigue,
cold, and fasting, would render his sleep troubled, and replete
with dreams. In a short time he would have dreamed of
what he wanted, and return to his home a man.

" The missionaries say that these Indians are industrious,
and not lazy, as compared to other Indians ; that they are
willing to work ; but the land is so poor, and so little of it is
susceptible of cultivation, that they cannot farm enough.

"The mission farm, as already stated, contains about ono
hundred and sixty acres. This is kept up for the natives, as
but a few acres would be amply sufficient for the mission-
aries. Each Indian who wishes it, is allowed a certain
amount of land to cultivate for his own use, and is provided
with tools and seeds.

" Before reaching the mission of St. Ignatius, Dr. Suckley
found four lodges of the Pends-d'Oreilles about half a mile
above the outlet of Lake Deboey. These lodges were all
built after the fashion of the Sioux lodge, with the single
difference that they were covered with mats of reeds, instead
of skins. These mats are made of rushes laid parallel, and
fastened together at their ends. For convenience in travel-
ling, the mats are rolled into cylindrical bundles, and are
thus easily carried in canoes. Dr. Buckley's provisions being
out, he concluded to lodge all night with All-ol-stargh, the
head of the encampment. The other lodges were principally
occupied by his children and grand-children. 'Shortly after
our entrance,' says Dr. Suckley, * All-ol-stargh rung a little
))ell ; directly the lodge wp^ filled with the inhabitants of the
camp, men, women, and children, who immediately got on
their knees, and repeated, or rather chanted, a long prayer,

AND MISSIONARIES.

287

.n their own lani^uage. The repetition of a few pious sen-
tences, an invocation, and a hymn, closed the exercises. In
these tlie squaws took as active a part as the men. The
promptness, fervency, and earnestness, all showe<l, was pleas-
ing to contcmj)late. The participation of the squaws in the
exercises, and the apparent footing of efpiality between them
and the men, so much unlike their condition in other savage
tribes, ajjpear remarkable.' "

The followiiig trait, mentioned by Mr. Doty in his report,
attests their good faith and decision of character :

"On the ist of November, six Pends-d'Oreille Indians
came to this post, and delivered up all the liorses that were
stolen. It aj)pears that they were taken by two young Pends-
d'Oreilles, and run to the Pends-d'Oreille camp, then hunting
bevond the Musclt'-Shell, under the command of a chief of that
nation, ' Alexander.' The horses were recognized, by the
statnps, as belonging to the wliites, and the young men con-
fessed having stolen them at this post. A council was held,
and it was determined that it was a great sin to steal horses
from the wliite men who were friendly to them ; that the
wishes of the 'Great Soldier Chief,' who had been at St. Mary's,
were known to them, and they had promised compliance
with them ; thfit stealing these horses would give the Pends-
d'Oieilles the name of liars and triflers ; that they had
always borne a good name, aiwl were ashamed to Irave mean
things said of them now ; therefore the horses must be taken
back by the great chief and five principal men of the ^ribe.
Accordingly, they came boldly to the fort and delivered up
the horses, without asking any reward, but, on the contrary,
expressing much sorrow and shame that they had been
taken .

"Thus the six Indians proved themselves not only honest,
but brave in the highest degree, coining, as they did, five

288

WESTEiRN MISSIONS

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days and nights into an enemy's country, simply to do an act
of justice to strangers. They remained here two days, and
on departing were accompanied by Mr. Clark and myself
fifteen or twenty miles on their journey."

In regard to the Flat-Heads, the governor says :

** Lieut. MuUan, in his journal of September 20, relates
the following incident, illustrative of their noble character :
^We had to-night a great luxury, in a string of mountain
trout, brought into camp by one of our Flat-Head friends.
Our Indians displayed, on this occasion, a trait worthy of
notice. They were without meat or any thing to eat. We
were without meat, but had a little flour left from our small
stock of provisions. These being the first fish caught by any
of the party, they insisted on our taking them. This we
refused, but they insisted, until we were compelled to accept
them.* He continues : * I cannot say too mucli of the three
noble men who were with us. They were firm, upright,
reliable men, and, in addition thereto, entertained a religious
belief, which they never violated. They did not partake of
a meal without asking the blessing of God ; they never rose
in the morning or retired at night without ofiiiring a prayer.
They all knew the country well, and were excellent guides
and hunters. When they could not find fresh meat, they
accepted the remnants from our scanty table with the great-
est contented ness.'

The Flat-Heads recognize Victor as their chief, an Indian
of the same name being the chief of the lower Pends-
d'Oreilles. These two tribes usually accompany each other
in their great hunting expeditions east of the Rocky Moun-
tains. The heroism of the Flat-Heads in battle, and their
good faith towards others, have been the theme of praise,
both from priest and layman."

Speaking of the Coeur-d'Alenes, the governor says :

! I

AND MISSIONAKIKS.

2S9

"The Cceur-d'Al^iie Indians are under-estimated by all
the autlioritics. Tiicy have some seventy lodges, and ninn-
her about five liundred inhabitants. Tliey are much indebted
to the good Fathers tor making considerable progress in agri-
culture. They have abandoned polygamy, have been taught
the rudiments of Christianity, and are greatly improved in
morals and in the comforts of life. It is indeed extraordi-
nary what the Fathers have done at the Canir-d'Alene mis-
sion. It is on the Coeur-d'Alene river, about thirty miles
from the base of the mountains, and some ten miles above
the Coeur-d'Alcne lake.

"They have a splendid church, nearly finished by the
labors of the Fathers, brothers, and Indians; a large barn;
a horse-mill for flour ; a small range of buildings for the
accommodation of the priests and brothers ; a store-r. om ; a
milk or dairy room ; a cook-room, and good arrangements
for their pigs and cattle. They are putting up a new range
of qua'teis, and the Indians have some twelve comfortable
log-cabins. The church was designed by the superior skill
of the mission, Pere Ravalli, a man of skill as an architect,
and undoubtedly, judging from his well-thumbed books, of
various accomplishments. Pere Gazzoli showed me his sev-
eral designs for the altar, all of them characterized by good
taste, and harmony of proportion. The church, as a speci-
men of architecture, would do credit to any one, and has
been faithfully sketched by our artist, Mr. Stanley. The
massive timbers supporting the altar were from larch-trees
five feet in diameter, and were raised to their place by the
Indians, with the aid simply of a pulley and a rope.

" They have a large, cultivated field, of some two hun-
dred acres, and a prairie of from two to thi'ee thousatid acres.
They own a hundred pigs, eight yokes of oxen, twenty cows,
and a liberal proportion of horses, mules, and young animals.

290

WPSTEKN MISSIONS

"Tlie Indians have learned to plough, sow, till the soil
gouHially, milk cows (with both hand»), and do all the
duties iiKMdeiit to a farm. They are, some of them, expert
wood-cutters ; and I saw at work, getting in the harvest,
some thirty or forty Indiana. They are thinking of cutting
out a goo<l trail to St. Mary's valley, over the Coeur-d'Alene
mountains (on the route passed over by me). They need
agri(uiltural implements and seeds.

"The country generally, on both sides of the C<Bur-d*A16ne
river and lake, is roiling and beautiful. It is interspersed
with many small j)rairies, all affording excellent grazing, and
most of them adapted to crops. The rolling country could
be easily cleared, and would yield excellent wheat and vege-
tables. I have no question that all the country, from the
falls of fhe Coeur-d'Alene to some distance above the mis-
sion, thence to near Clark's Fork, a region of three or
four tn(/usand square miles, is adapted to grazing and culture.
A small portion will be overflowed by the melting of the
mountain snows, and another portion will be occupied by
the mountain spurs or isolated peaks, capable simply of fur-
nishing timber and fuel.

" The Fathers state that a better site for the mission is
furnished by a river flowing from the southeast into the
western end of the Coeur-d'Alene lake, and called by them
St. Joseph's river. It is said to be larger than the CoBur-
d'Alene river, to have many prairies along its banks, and the
country generally to abound in wood, grass, and water.

*' On the return of the Indians from the field above spoken
of, I talked to them in these words :

" * I am glad to see you, and to find that you are under
such good direction. I have come four times as far as you
go to hunt the bufialo, and have come with directions from
the Great Father to see you, to talk with you, and to do all

AND MISSIONARIES.

291

I can for your welfare. I see cultivated fields, a churcli,
houses, cattle, and the fruits of the soil — the works of your
own hands. The Great Father will be delighted to hear this,
aud will certainly assist you. Go on ; and every family will
have a house and a patch of ground, and every one will be
well clothed. I have talked with the Black-Feet, who prom-
ise to make peace with all the Indian tribes. Listen to the
Good Father and to the Good Brothers who labor for your
good.' "

These details are drawn from the Message of the President
of the United States to Congress, 1854-5, p. 416.

Accept, dear Father, my respectful homage, and believe me
Your devoted servant and brother in Christ,

P. J. D£ Smkt, S. J.

292

WESTERN MISSIONS

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Letter XXI l.

To THE Editor of the PHftcis IIistoriques, Brussels.

Indiana of the Rochj Mountnlm.

St. FitANcis Xavier, Feb. 4, 1856.
Urverend Father:

I have just received a letter from Father Adrian Hoe-
ken, dated Got. 18th, at the united camp of the Fiat-IIeads
and Ponds-d'Oreilles, in the region of the great plains, east
of the Rocky Mountains. The Indians had gone there to
attend a peace council, held by order of the United States
Government. Father lloeken attended, at the express re-
quest of Governor Stevens of Washington Territory, who
shows every regard to the Fathers, and whoso reports to the
President evince the lively interest which he feels in the
improvement of the material condition of the Indians under
our care.

The Black-Feet, Crows, Flat-Heads, Pends-d'Oreilles,
Koetena^'s, and a great number of chiefs of other tribes
attended the council. It is to be hoped that the stipula-
tions of the new treaty will be ratified by government. On
the one hand, the Indians promise to remain at peace with
each other; on the other, the whites and the government to
aid them by subsidies in educating their children, and by
farming implements to encourage them to leave their no-
made life and settle in a convenient spot on their own lands.
It is to be hoped that the council will succeed in realizing
this laudable plan.

AND MJ6^IO^ ARIES.

293

Father Ilockcn tells me that the Indians of our missions
west of the Rocky Mountains (the Flat-IIeads, Peiuls-
(rOreilles, Pointed Hearts, Koetenays, Skoyelpies, or Kot-
tie-Falls Indians), continue, by their regular and religious
conduct, to give the mis-sionarifs great consolation. Ho
speaks also of the good dispositions of the CrowF, IJIack-
Feet, and others east of the mountains. These Indians
earnestly solicit missionaries. Colonel Cuinminga, superin-
tendent of ludian Affairs, who presided iit the great Indian
council, assured me, on his recent retuir to St. Louis, that
all the tribes of the Upper Missouri are uc\oted to us. lie
would gladly use his influence with government for the suc-
cess of our missions among them. Before settting out for
the council, he expressed the wish that I should accompany
him to the great Indian assembly.

In a letter from Father Congiato, dated at Santa Clara,
Nov. 29, that superior of the mission of California and Ore-
gon, speaks of his visit to the missions in the mountains. It
lasted three mouths. The following is an extract :

" The Fathers do nmch good in that remote region. Like
his venerable brother, who died on the Missouri in 1851,
Father Hoeken does the work of several men. He has suc-
ceeded in uniting three nations and a part of the Flat-Heads
to live together under his spiritual direction.

" All was going on wonderfully well when I was in Ore-
gon ; now all is on fire. The Indians who live on the banks
of the Columbia, from Walla Walla to the Dalles, have joined
the Indians of northern California to make war on the
Americans or whites, and commit great depredations. One
of the Oblates (Father Pandory) has been massacred.* The
last tidings which I received from the mission of St. Paul at

* This was a false report. — Ed.
260

294:

WESTERN MISSIONS

Colville, inform me that your Indians express their horror
for the excesses committed by the Indians, and show no dis-
position to join them in the war. Pray for your fellow mis-
sionaries in Oregon."

Several papers in this country ascribe the origin of this
war to the cruelties perpetrated by some whites on a peace-
ful and tranquil band of Indians. I do not think that our
Indians will take the least part in the difficulties which have
arisen between the Araericans and the Indians of the Colum-
bia. They will doubtless follow the advice of their mission-
aries, who will divert them from such a great danger and so
sad a misfortune. Moreover, they are at some distance from-
the actual seat of war, and have had but trifling intercourse,
if any, with the hostile tribes.

Do not forget me in your prayers, and obtain prayers for
the wretched. I have just received a second letter from
Father Hoeken from the Flat-Head village of St. Ignatius.
He has several nations there. The conversions among the
Indians have been very consoling and numerous in the course
of last year.

In the name of all tho Indians east and west of the moun-
tains, he implores me to revisit them. The Black-Feet,
Crows, Assiniboins, Sioux, and others, incessantly implore
our aid. These nations are still very numerous. They num-
ber over 70,000 souls. Religious should, before all else, be
children of obedience. It is the affair of our superiors. We
shall never cease to aid them by our prayers, and commend
them in a special manner to the remembrance of the pious.

Yours &c.

P. J. Be Smbt, S. J.

h J

AND MISSIONARIES.

295

Letter XXIII

To THE Editor of the PRficis Historiquks, Brussels.

The FUt'Heada.

Untveksity of St. Louis, April, 1356.
Rev. and dear Father:

I inclose you a letter of Rev. Adrian Hoeken, brother of
Christian, whose death you announced in your volume of
1853, p. 394.

Father Adrian Hoeken was one of my earliest travelling
companions in the missionary jouruoys to the Flat-Heads.
He has ever labored, and still continues to labor here, with
the greatest zeal and the most plentiful results.

I have this mouth dispatched a perfect cargo to him, by a
steamer which was about to ascend the Missouri. It con-
sisted of tools, clothes, and provisions of all kinds. The boat
will go 2,200 miles; then the goods will be transported by
a barge, whicli will have to stem the rapid current about 600
miles; there will then rrmain 300 miles by land with wag-
ons, through mountain defiles : so that the objects shipped
in xVpril can arrive among the Flat-Heads only in the month
of October.

We hope that other evangelical laborers will soon go to
assist Father Hoeken. The savages request missionaries.
We shall perceive that this mission and that of the Pends-
d'Oreilles continue to flourish.

296

WESTERN MISSIONS

Flat-Head Camp, in the Black-Feet Country, Oct. 18, 1855.
Rev. and deau Father :

You will tliiink Cod with me for the consoling increase
he has given, through the intercession of Mary, to the mis-
sions which you began in those remote parts. During the
many years that I have passed among the Kalispels, though
my labors have not been light and my trials have been nu-
merous enough, God has given me in abundance the conso-
lations of the missionary, in the lively faith and sincere piety
of our neophytes. We have found means to build a beau-
tiful church, which has excited the admiration of even Lieu-
tenant Mill Ian, of the United States army. This church is
sufficiently large to contain the whole tribe, and on Sundays
and festival days, when our Indians have adorned it with
what ornaments of green boughs and wild flowers the woods
and prairies supply ; when they sing in it their devout
hymns with fervor during the Holy Sacrifice, it might serve
as a subject of edification and an example to quicken the
zeal of many an old Christian congregation. There is among
our converts a universal and very tender devotion to the
Blessed Virgin, a most evident mark that the Faith has ta-
ken deep root in their souls. Every day, morning and even-
ing, the families assemble in their lodges to recite the rosary
in common, and daily they beg of Mary to thank God for
them for having called them from the wild life of the forest,
spent as it is in ignorance, rapine, and bloodshed, to the
blessings of the true religion and its immortal hopes.

The Kalispels have sustained a great loss in the death of
their pious chief, Loyola, with whose euphonious Indian
name, Etsowish-simmegee-itshin^ " The Grizzly Bear Erect,"
you are familiar. Ever since you baptized this excellent
Indian chieftain, he was always steadfast in the faith. He

lll'Ji

AND MISSIONARIES.

297

daily made progress in virtue, and became more fervent in
the practices of our holy religion. He was a father to his
people, firm in repressing their disorders, and zealous in ex-
horting them to be faithful to the lessons of the missionaries.
In the severe trials to which Divine Providence subjected
his virtue in his latter years, when within a short space of
time he lost his wife and three of his children, he bore the
heavy stroke with the edifying resignation of a Christian.
During his last illness, of several weeks' duration, he seemed
more anxious to do something still for the promotion of piety
among his people, than to have his own great sufferings al-
leviated. His death, which occurred on the 6th of April,
1854, was lamented by the Indians with such tokens of sin-
cere grief, as I have never before witnessed. There was not
that false wailing over his tomb which Indian usage is 3aid
to prescribe for a departed chieftain ; they wept ove ' him
with heartfelt and heartrending grief, as if each one had lost
the best of fathers, and their grief for the good Loyola has
not died away even at this day. Never had I thought our
Indians capable of so much affection.

As Loyola, contrary to Indian customs, had not designated
his successor, a new chief was to be chosen after his death.
The election, to which all had prepared themselves by prayer,
to lead them to a proper choice, ended in an almost unani-
mous voice for Victor, a brave hunter, whom you as yet
must remember as a man remarkable for the generosity of
his disposition. His inauguration took place amid great re-
joicing. All the warriors, in their great costume, marched
to his wigwam, and ranging themselves around it, discharged
their muskets, after which eacli one went up to him to pledge
his allegiance, and testify his affection by a hearty shaking
of hands. During the whole day, numerous parties came to
the mission-house to tell the Fathers how much satisfaction

298

we8Tp:rn missions

n ■; ''

N h

'I ^

they felt at having a chief whose goodness had long cince
won the hearts of all. Victor alone seemed sad. He dreaded
the responsibility of the chieftainship, and thought he should
be unable to maintain the good effected in the tribe by the
excellent chief Loyola.

In the following winter, when there was a great scarcity,
and almost a famine among the Kalispels, Victor gave an af-
fecting proof of his generous self-denying charity. He dis-
tributed his own provisions through the camp, hardly reserv-
ing for himself enough to sustain life, so that on his return
from the annual chase, when yet at a considerable distance
from the village, he fell exhausted on the ground, and had
to be carried by his companions, to whom on that very day
he had given all the food that had been sent up to him for
his own use.

The Indian is often described as a being devoid of kind
feelings, incapable of gratitude, and breathing only savage
hatred and murderous revenge ; but, in reality, he has, in
his untamed, uncultured nature, as many generous impulses
as the man of any other race, and he only needs the soften-
ing influence of our holy religion to bring it out in its most
touching forms. We need no other proof of it than the grate-
ful remembrance of all the Indians of their late chief Loyola,
the generous character of Victor, and the affectionate feel-
ings of all our converted tribes for their missionaries, and es-
pecially for you, to whom they look up as to their great
benefactor, because you were the first to bring them the
good tidings of salvation.

Among our dear Flat-Heads, Michael Insula, or Red
Feather, or as he is commonly called on account of his small
stature, "The Little Chief," is a remarkable instance of the
power which the Church has of developing the most amiable
virtues in the fierce Indian. He unites in his person the

AND MISSIONARIES.

290

greatest bravery with the tenderest piety and the gentlest
manners. Known amid his warriors by the red feather
whicli he wears, his approacli is cnougli to put to iiiglit the
prowhiig bands of Crows and Black-Feet, that have frequent-
ly infested the Flat-Head territory. He is well known and
much beloved by the whites, who have had occasion to deal
with him, as a man of sound judgment, strict integrity, and
one on whose fidelity they can implicitly rely. A keen dis-
cerner of the characters of men, he loves to speak especially
of those whites, distinguished for their fine qualities, that
have visited him, and often mentions with pleasure the so-
journ among them of Colonel Robert Campbell, of St. Louis,
and of Major Fitzpatrick, whom he adopted, in accordance
with Indian idetis of courtesy, as his brothers. He has pre-
served all his first fervor of devotion, and now, as when you
knew him, one can hardly ever enter his wigwam in the
morning or evening without finding him with his rosary in
his hands, absorbed in prayer. He cherishes a most affijc-
tionate remembrance of you, and of the day he was baptized;
he longs ardently to see you once more before his death,
and but yesterday he asked me, when and by what road you
would return. In speaking thus, he expressed the desire of
all our Indians, who all equally regret your long absence.

It was proposed, during the summer of 1854, to begin a
new mission about one hundred and ninety miles northeast
of the Kalispels, not far from the Flat-Head Lake, Jibout fifty
miles from the old mission of St. Mary's, among the Flat-
Heads, where a convenient site had been pointed out to us
by the Kalispel chief, Alexander, your old friend, who often
accompanied you in your travels in the Rocky Mountains.
Having set out from the Kalispel mission on the 28th of Au-
gust, 1854, I arrived at the })lace designated on the 24th of
September, and found it such as it had been represented — a

300

WESTERN MISSIONS

{ ^r-'T'?

,s;)

beautiful region, evidently fertile, uniting a useful as well as
pleasing variety of woodland and prairie, lake and river — the
whole crowned in the distance- bv the white summit of the
mountains, and sufficiently rich withal in fish and game. I
shall never forget the emotions of hope and fear that filled
my heart, when for the first time I celebrated mass in this
lonely spot, in the open air, in the presence of a numerous
band of Kalispels, who looked up to me, under God, for their
temporal and spiritual welfare in this new home. The place
was utterly uninhabited, — several bands of Indians live with-
in a few days' travel, whom you formerly visited, and where
you baptized many, while others still remained pagan. I
was in hope of gathering these around me, and God has been
pleased to bless an undertaking begun for his glory, even
beyond my expectation. In a few weeks we ^/.d erected
several frame buildings, a chapel, two houses, carpenter's and
blacksmith's shops ; wigwams had sprung up at the same
time all around in considerable numbers, and morning and
evening you might still nave heard the sound of the axe and
the hammer, and have seen new-comers rudely putting to-
gether lodges. About Easter of this year, over one thousand
Indians, of difi:erent tribes, from the Upper Koetenays and
Flat-Bow Indians, Pends-d'Oreilles, Flat-Heads, and Moun-
tain Kalisptls, who had arrived in succession during the win-
ter, when they heard of the arrival of the long-desired Black-
gown, made this place their permanent residence. All these
Indians have manifested the best dispositions. Besides a
large number of children baptized in the course of the year,
I have had the happiness to baptize, before Christmas and
Easter, upwards of one hundred and fifty adults of the Koet-
enay tribe, men of great docility and artlessness of character,
who told me that ever since you had been among them,
Bome years ago, they had abandoned the practice of gam-

AND MISSION AICIES.

301

bling and other vices, and cherished the hope of being in-
structed one day in the religion of the Great Spirit.

By the beginning of spring, our good Brother McGean
had cut some eighteen thousand rails ; and placed under
cultivation a large field, which promises to yield a very plen-
tiful harvest. Lieutenant Mullan, who spent the winter
among the Flat- Heads of St. Mary's, has procured me much
valuable aid in founding this mission, and has all along taken
a lively interest in its prosperity. I know not how to acquit
the debt of gratitude I owe this most excellent oflScer, and I
can only pray, poor missionary as I am, that the Lord may
repay his generosity and kindness a hundredfold in blessings
of time and eternity. We are still in want of a great many
useful and important articles — indeed, of an absolute neces-
sity in the establisliing of this new mission. I am confident,
many friends of the poor Indians may be found in the United
States, who will most willingly contribute their mite in such
a charitable undertaking — we will ho most grateful to them,
and our good neophytes, in whose behalf I make the appeal,
will not cease to pray for their kind benefactors.

Please make arrangements witJi the American Fur Com-
pany to have goods brought up by the Missouri river to Fort
Benton, whence I could get them conveyed in wagons across
the mountains to the missionary station.

The Right Rev. Magloire Blanchet, bishop of Nesqualy,
who in his first visit confirmed over six hundred Indians, al-
though he arrived unexpectedly, when a great many families
had gone to their hunting grounds, among the Kalispels and
our neighboring missions, inteaded to gi've confirmation here
this summer. I was very des'rous of the anival of this pious
prelate, who has done so mu h go'], by his fevv^nt exhorta-
tions, to strengthen our neo, \iytf\ in the faith. It had al-
ready been agreed upon tha •. p^rty of Indians should go to

|i! ',' '

I ;;

302

WESTERN MISSIONS

meet him as far as the village of the Sacred Heart, among
the Coeur-cl'Alenes, about two hundred miles from St. Igna-
tius' mission, when our plans were b»(jken up by a message
from Governor Stevens, summoning all our Indians to a
council, to be held some thirty miles otl", in St. Mary's or
Bitter Root valley, at a place called Hellgate, whence a
number of chiefs and warriors were to accompany him to a
Grand Council of Peace among the Black-Feet. I was ab-
sent on a visit to our brethren among the Coeur-d'Alenes,
the Skoyelpies, and other tribes, when I received an invita-
tion from the governor to be present at the councils. I had
found, in my visit, all our missions rich in good works and
conversions, though very poor in the goods of this world —
all the Fathers and Brothers were in the enjoyment of ex-
cellent health. Father Joset, among the Skoyelpies, at the
Kettle Falls of the Columbia, had baptized a large number
of adults und children. During the late prevalence of the
small-pox, there were hardly any deaths from it among the
neophytes, as most of them had been previously vaccinated
by us, while the Spokans and other unconverted Indians,
who said the " Medicine (vaccine) of the Fathers, was a poi-
son, used only to kill them," were swept away by hundreds.
This contrast, of course, had the effect of increasing the in-
fluence of the missionaries.

With mingled feelings of joy at all the good effected, and
of sorrow at the miserable death of so many of God's crea-
tures — thankful to God for all his blessings, and submissive
to the mysterious judgments of his Providence, I set out, ac-
companied by my neophytes, for the Black-Feet territory.
The grand council took place in the vicinity of Fort Benton.
Our Indians, who were in great expectation of seeing you
with Majors Cummings and Culbertson, were indeed much
disappointed at not finding you. The Black-Feet, although

1 !

AND MISSIONARIES.

303

they are still much given to thieving, and have committed
more depredations than ever, during the last spring, are very
anxious to see you again, and to have missionaries among
them. Governor Stevens, who has always shown himself a
real father and well aftected towards our In:':an8, has ex-
pressed a determination to do all in his power to forward the
success of the missions. The establishment of a mission
among the Black-Feet would be the best, and indeed the only
means to make them observe the treaty of peace which has
just been concluded. Until missionaries are sent, I intend,
from time to time, to visit the Black-Feet, so as to do for
them what good I may, and prepare the way for the conver-
sion of the whole tribe. I hope a new mission may soon be
realized, for it is ab olutely necessary, both for their own
sake and for the peace of our converted Indians on the west-
ern side of the Rocky Mountains.

From all I have seen, and from all I have learned during
this last trip, I may say, that the Crows and all the tribes on
the upper waters of the Missouri, as well as the various bands
of Black-Feet, where so many children have already been
regenerated in the holy waters of baptism, by you and by
Father Point, are anxious to have the Black-gowns perma-
nently among them, and to learn " the prayer of the Great
Spirit." The field seems ripe for the harvest. Let us pray
that God may soon send zealous laborers to this far-distant
and abandoned region.

The chief, Alexander, the Kalispel, Michael Insula, and
the other Flat-Head chieftains, the leaders of the Koetenay
and Flat-Bow bands, and all our neophytef*, beg to be re-
membered in your good prayers — they, on their part, never
forget to pray for you. Please remember me.

• Your devoted brother in Christ,

Adrian Hoeken, S. J.

304

WESTERN MISSIONS

t;l:

r'M 'ii

The following extract from a letter of Rev. T. Congiato,
superior of the Missions of the Society of Jesus in California
and Oregon, written since the conimencLment of Indian hos-
tilities, and dated Santa Clara, 29th of last November, will
perhaps prove not uninteresting to those who take an inter-
est in the success of our Catholic mission. Rev. T. Con-
giato writes :

"On my return from our missions among the Rocky
Mountains, which it took me three months to visit, I found
here a letter of yours full of edifying news, for which I am
very thankful. Our college here is progressing. The num-
ber of members of our Society is on the increase, and reaches
nearly forty. All over California, our holy religion is making
great progress, and priests and churches are multiplying. In
the Oregon missions our Fathers are doing much good. At
the mountains. Father Adrian Hoeken, a worthy brother of
Father Christian Hoeken, the apostle and zealous missionary
among the Potawatomies, who died in 1851, while on his
way to the Upper Missouri tribes, has succeeded in ^ringing
three nations and a part of the Flat-Heads to live under his
spiritual guidance. Every thing seemed to be going on well
when I left Oregon, but now the country appears on fire.
All the Indians living on the banks of the Colombia, from
Walla Walla down to the Dalles mountains, together with
the Indians of North California, are in arms against the
whites, and commit great depredations. One of the Father
Oblates, Father Pandory, has been killed. Please pray, and
make others pray for our brethren in Oregon. The last
accounts I received from St. Paul's mission, at Colville,
stated that our Indians disapproved highly of the depreda-
tions committed by the other Indians, and showed no dis-
position whatever to join them."

It may, indeed, be confidently anticipated that the Indians

i: !;

AND MISSIONARIES.

805

of the Catholic missions of the mountains who have al-
ways shown great kindness to the whites, and have always
lived in peace with them, will continue to listen to,the good
counsel and advice of their missionaries, and will abstain
from any act of hostility. Moreover, they are removed from
the seat of war, and have seldom had any intercourse with
the hostile tribes. Most respectfully, dear sir,

Your obedient servant,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.
26*

806

WESTERN MISSIONS

■li

Letter XXIV.

To THB Editor of the Pr4cis Historiques, Brussels.

The Flat-Eeada^ etc.

Univeksitt of St. Louis, Augnst 4, 1857.

Rev. and dear Father :

You will find inclosed in this letter a recent letter from
Rev. Adrian Hoeken, S.J. I hope that it will merit a place
in your Precis Historiques. In Holland I am sure it will
afford pleasure.

* * * It % %

The expression of the sentiments of the poor Indians in
my regard, fill me with confusion, and I would not have
sent the letter entire, but that you insisted on ray sending
each piece entire. For the rest, we must never forget, that
these wretched Indians, deprived of everjr thing, and neg-
lected by other men, experience an excessive joy for the least
benefit, and feel grateful to any one who treats tliem with a
little attention. A great lesson for our fellow-countrymen.
Among those whom infidel and revolutionary writers in
Belgium style savages and barbarians, you could not find
one enough so to figure in the b: nds of Jemappes, or even
in the rioters of Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Mons. Here
the Black-gown is respected, loved. The Indians perceive
in him the emblem of the happiness that the missionary
brings him in presenting him the torch of faith.

AND MISSIONARIES.

307

Letter of Rev. Father Adrian Jloeken.

Mission of the Flat-IIeaus, April 15, 1857.

Rev. and beloved Father :

Before entering into a few details, I beg you to excuse
the want of order in this letter. Much time has elapsed
since I had the pleasure of receiving news from you, who
have so many titles to my love and gratitude, and whose
name is frequently on the lips, and always in the hearts, of
each of the inhabitants of this remote region. Your letter of
the 27th and 28th of March reached us towards the end of
August, it was read, or rather devoured, with avidity, so dear
was it to our hearts. It was remitted to us by our chief,
Alexander, who accompanied Mr. R. H. Lansdale to the
Cceur-d'Alenes. Scarcely had we cast a glance at the ad-
dress, and recognized your handwriting, than, not being able
to contain our joy, all, with one consent, cried out, " Father
de Smet 1 Father de Smet 1" You cannot imagine the de-
light your letters afford us and our dear Indians. God be
praised ! Your name will be ever held in benediction among
these poor children of the Rocky Mountains. Ah ! how
often they ask me these questions : " When, oh when ! will
Father de Smet come to us ? Will he ever again ascend the
Missouri ? Is it true that he will not come to Fort Benton
this fall ?" These, and many other similar questions, show
how dear to them is the remembrance of their father in
Christ ; of him who first broke to them the bread of eternal
life, and showed them the true way to happiness on earth
and bliss hereafter. It is not strange, then, that your letters
should have been read seijeral times, and that every time
they gave us new pleasure and excited new interest.

I can never cease admiring Divine Providence, which pre-
sides over all, and which in particular takes care of our be-

308

WESTERN MISSIONS

loved missions. Among the unnumbered proofs of its con-
tinual protection, your assistance in our late distress, and the
liberality of our benefactors, are not less remarkable, nor less
worthy of our gratitude. Our storehouses were empty, and
the war between the Indians nearest the seaboard took away
all hope of procuring other resources. Never, never was
charity more appropriate, nor received with greater joy.
May Heaven prolong your days and those of our benefactoi's !
May you continue to foster the same interest towards us that,
until the present moment, you have never ceased to testify 1
Yes, beloved father, let the recollection of our missions be
ever equally dear to you. They are the fruit of your own
heroic zeal, fatigues, and labors. Ah ! never forget our dear
Indians ; they are i/our children in Christ, the offspring of
your boundless charity and your unwearied zeal !

During the months of June, July, and August, disease
raged cruelly in our camp, as well as in that of the Flat-
Heads. However, there were few victims of its terrible
attacks.

Father Men6trey, my co-laborer, visited the Flat-Heads,
where he had been asked for by the chief, Fidelis Teltella
{Thunder)^ whose son was dangerously ill. Later, I visited
them myself in their camash prairies. A second time, in
the opening of the month of June, I remained some days
with them, at Hellgate, and I distributed medicines to all
those who had been seized with the epidemic, and a little
wheat flour to each family. Victor, the great chief, Am-
brose, Moses, Fidelis, Adolphus, and several others, came
here of their own accord, to fulfil their religious duties.
Since last spring there has beei» a notable amelioration in
the whole nation. Ambrose has effected the most good.
He had convened several assemblies, in order to arrange and
pay off old debts, to repair wrongs, etc. The Indians appear,

AND MISSIONARIES.

309

ions be
' own
• dear
ns of

however, very reluctant to part with their lands ; they will
scarcely hear of the dispositions to be taken.

Father Ravalli labored as much as he could to pacify the
tribes which reside towards the west, namely : the Cayuses,
the Yakamans, the Opelouses, etc. As our neophytes hith-
erto have taken no part in the war, the country is as safe for
us as ever. We can go freely wheresoever we desire. No
one is ignorant that the Black-gowns are not enemies ; those,
at .east, who are among the Indians. Almost all the Coeur-
d'Alenes, in order to shield themselves from the hostilities of
the Indians, and to avoid all relations with them, are gone
bison-hunting. A few days since, Father Joset wrote me
that Father Ravalli had already written to him several
weeks before : " I fear a general rising among the Indians,
towards the commencement of spring. Let us pray, and let
us engage others to pray with us, in order to avert this ca-
lamity. I think that it would be well to add to the ordinary
prayers of the mass, the collect for peace."

If the less well-intentioned Indians from the lower lands
would keep within their o u territory, and if the whites, the
number of whom is daily augmenting in St. Mary's valley,
could act with moderation, and conduct themselves pru-
dently, I am convinced that soon the whole country would
be at peace, and that not a single Indian would hencefor-
ward imbrue his hands in the blood of a white stranger.
Were I authorized to suggest a plan, I would propose to
have all the upper lands evacuated by the whites, and form
of it a territory exclusively of Indians ; afterwards I would
lead there all the Indians of the inferior portion, such as the
Nez-Peices, the Cayuses, the Yakomas, the Coeur-d'Alenes,
and the Spokans. Well-known facts lead me to believe that
this plan, with such superior advantages, might be effected,
by means of missions, in the space of two or three yeare.

310

WESTERN MISSIONS

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Our Indians here are doing well. Last spring we sowed
about fifty bushels of wheat, and planted a quantity of po-
tatoes, cabbages, and turnips. God has graciously blessed
our labors and our fields. Here all generally like agriculture.
We give the seeds gratis to everybody. Our ploughs and
our tools are also free to be used by them. We even lend
our horses and oxen to the poorest among the Indians, and
we grind all their grain gratuitously. But our mill, which
goes by horse-power, is very small, and we are not able to
build another.

Mr. R. H. Lansdale, agent of the government, a very just
and upright man, has assumed his functions at the Plum-
trees, a place situated quite near the place where we cross
the river, a few miles from this. We gave him all the
assistance of which we were capable. I had indulged the
hope that the government would come to our aid, at least
for the building of a small church ; but so far my expecta-
tions have been frustrated. Alas ! are we never to ceaso
deploring the loss of our little church among the Kalispels ?
Several of these latter-named, and among others, Victor, on
seeing the chapel, formerly so dear to them, but now for-
saken and neglected, shed tears of regret.

When, oh when ! shall the oppressed Indian find a poor
corner of earth on which he may lead a peaceful life, serv-
ing and loving his God in tranquillity, and preserving the
ashes of his ancestors without fear of beholding them pro-
faned and trampled beneath the feet of an unjust usuiyer?

Several among the Kalispels, Victor and others, already
have possessions here. However, they have not yet re-
nounced those which they own in the country lower down.
Twelve very poor habitations are the beginning of our town
called St. Ignatius. Our little abode, although very modest,
is sufiicieutly comfortable. To any other than you, this

AND MISSIONARIES.

311

sowed
of po-
blessed
culture,
hs and
n lend
ns, and
which
able to

ery just
Plura-
^e cross
all the
^ed the
at least
^xpecta-
.0 cease
lispels ?
ctor, on
ow for-

a poor
e, serv-
ng the
m pro-
lyer ?
already
yet re-
down,
r town
nodest,
u, this

word comfortable might sound singular ; but you, Reverend
Father, who understand perfectly what it means when ap-
plied to a poor missionary, will comprehend the relative
application of the word. Our community numbers six mem-
bers. Father Joseph Menetrey, who is missionary, prefect
of our chapel, and inspector in chief of our fields, etc. ;
Brother McGean, farmer ; Brother Vincent Magri, dispenser,
carpenter, and miller; Brother Joseph Spegt, blacksmith,
baker, and gardener ; Brother Francis Huybrechts, carpenter
and sacristan.

I intend going to Colville after the harvest and during the
absence of the Indians.

Father Menetrey, of his own free will, went to Fort Benton
with a pair of horses. The distance by the great road is
294 miles. He took horses because we could with difficulty
spare our oxen, and also because, according to information
received from Mr. Lansdale, the road is impassable to oxen
which have not, like horses, iron shoes. Father Menetrey
arrived at the fort on the lYth of September, and was very
favorably received by the occupants ; but he was obliged to
wait some time for the boats. He speaks with high eulogi-
ums of the Black-Feet, and regrets that he has not jurisdic-
tion in that part of the mountains. He returned on the 12th
of November.

How express to you, Rev. Father, the joy that filled our
hearts, when we opened your letters and the difterent cases
which you had the charity to send us ? We each and all
wept with grateful joy ! In vain, the night following, I
strove to calm the emotions that these missives, as well as the
liberality of our benefactors, had produced in my heart; I
could not close my eyes. All the community, yes, the whole
camp, participated in my delight. In unison we rendered
thanks to Divine Providence, and that day was a perfect hoi-

312

WESTERN MISSIONS

■f- :l'S'l

|!l t

i ' li II

rr r s

r|;:,h

^i i.

-i'f

iday. The next day, having a little recovered from my ex-
citement, I was ashamed of my weakness. You who know
what it is to be a missionary ; you who know so well his pri-
vations, his trials, his pangs, you will easily forgive my exces-
sive sensibility.

I had agreed with Father Congiato that he would send
your Reverence my lists, as well as the money that he might
allow me. I was bolder in soliciting your charity and your
benevolence in our favor, because I knew the love and inter-
est that you bear to our missions ; and that, on the other
hand, I only executed a plan that yourself had conceived and
suggested, when, in consideration of the circumstances, it
would have appeared to every one else illusory and incapa-
ble of execution.

Scarcely had Father Menetrey gone than I received a let-
ter from Father Congiato, in which he said to me : " If you
thiuk that your supplies can be furnished at a more reason-
able price from Missouri, order them thence, I will pay the
cost. Write on this subject to Rev. Father De Smet." Had
I received this letter somewhat later, I scarcely know what
would have been my decision ; for it is very doubtful that
we should have been able to find any one who would return
to Fort Benton. I entreat you, be so good as to excuse the
trouble that we give you ; our extraoidinary situation is the
sole excuse that I can offer in favor of our importunity. A
thousand thanks to you, and to all our benefactors who con-
curred so generously in the support of our missions. I also
thank our kind brethren in St. Louis, for the very interesting
letters that they had the kindness to write me. Receive too,
our grateful sentiments. Rev. Father, for the catalogues of the
diflferent provinces, the classical books. Shea's Catholic Mis-
sions, the woiks of controversy, etc., etc. I should never
conclude did I attempt to enumerate all your gifts, which we

AND MISSIONARIES.

313

were so overjoyed to receive. Brother Joseph was beside
himself with gladness when his eyes fell on the little pack-
ages of seeds, the files, scissors, and other similar objects.
Accept, in fine, our thanks for the piece of broadcloth you
sent us ; by this favor we continue to be ^^Black-^otcns.''*
Ah ! with mv whole heart I wish that vou could have seen
us as we were opening the boxes. Each object excited new
cries of joy, and augmented our grateful love for the donors.
All arrived in good order. The snufF had got a little mixed
with the clover-seed, but no matter ; my nose is not very
delicate. It is the first donation sent into these mountains,
at least since I have been here. We bless God, who watches
over all of his childien with so much care and liberality,
even over those who appear to be the most foi-saken.

On the following day 1 sent Father Joset his letters. I
found an opportunity that very day.

It would have been very agreeable to me to receive a copy
of all your letters published since 183G. The portraits were
very dear to me. I could not recognize Father Verdin's, but
Brother Joseph knew it at the first glance. Yours was also
recognized at once by a great number of the Indians, and on
seeing it they shouted " Pikek an !" It made the tour of the
village, and yesterday again, an inhabitant of Koetenay came
to me with the sole intention of " paying a visit to Father
De Smet." This did them an immense good, only seeing
the portrait of him who was the first to bear them the light
of faith in these regions, still overshadowed with the dark-
ness of moral death ; and who first dissipated the mists in
which they and their progenitors during untold ages had
been enveloped. Believe me, reverend father, not a day
passes, without their prayers ascending to heaven for you.

In what manner can we testify our giat'tude in regard to
the two benefactors who so generously charged themselves

314

WESTERN MISSIONS

■1 .;

with the care of transporting and delivering to us our
cases without consenting to accept the slightest recompense?
Undoubtedly they will reap a large share in the sacrifices
and prayers that daily rise to Heaven for all our benefactors,
and which are with a grateful heart and the remembrance
of their beneficence towards us, the only tokens of our
thankfulness that we can offer them. How noble the senti-
ment which prompted them gratuitously to burden them-
selves and their boats, with the charitable gifts destined by
the faithful, to the destitute missionaries of the Indians!
Heaven, who knows our poverty, will reward them with bet-
ter gifts than we could have imagined suitable to their lib-
erality.

The package destined for Michael Insula, the " Little
Chief^'' lies here for the present. He has not yet opened
it. The good man is abroad on a hunting excursion ; but
we expect him back in a few days. I doubt not that he will
be very sensible to i-hese marks of friendship, or, as he usu-
ally expresses it, " these marks of fraternity." He set out
from here, when he had harvested the grain he had sowed.
Always equally good, equally happy, a fervent Christian, he
is daily advancing in virtue and in perfection. He has a
young son, Louis Michael, whom he teaches to call me papa.
It is a real pleasure to him to be able to speak of your rev-
erence and of his two adopted brothers, Messrs. Campbell and
Fitzpatrick. I will give him the packet directly after his
return, and will inform you of the sentiments with which he
will have received it, as well as his reply.

Here in our missions, we already observe all the conditions

";nilated in the treaty concluded last year by Gov. Stevens,

at Heilg'ate. Our brothers assist the Indians, and teach them

how to cultivate the ground. They distribute the fields

and the seeds for sowing and planting, as well as the ploughs

.. '^ \

AND MISSIONARIES.

315

and other agricultural instruments. Our blacks. nith works
for thera : he repairs their guns, their axes, their knives ; the
carpenter renders them great assistance in constructing their
houses, by making the doors and windows ; in fine, our little
mill is daily in use for grinding their grain, gratis ; we dis-
tribute some medicines to the sick ; — in a word, all we ^'ave
and all we are is sacrificed to the welfare of the Indian. The
savings that our religious economy enables us to make, we
retain solely to relieve^ their miseries. Whatever we gain
by manual labor and by the sweat of the brow, is theirs !
Through love of Jesus Christ, we are ready to sacrifice all,
even life itself Last year we opened our school ; but cir-
cumstances forced us to close it. Next spring we shall
have a brother capable of teaching, and we intend opening
it a second time ; but in the interval we shall not earn a
cent. During last October, the snow forced Fathers Joset
and Ravalli and Brother Saveo to return to the Cceur-
d'Alenes.

We have done, and shall continue to do, all that lies in
our power for the government officers. Still our poor mis-
sion has never received a farthing from the government. Do
not think, reverend father, that I complain — oh no ! you are
too well assured no earthly good could ever induce us to
work and suffer as we do here. As wealth itself could never
recompense our toils, so privations are incapable of leading
us to renounce our noble enterprise. Heaven, heaven alone
is our aim ; and that reward will far exceed our deserts. On
the other hand, we are consoled by the reflection that He
who provides for the birds of the air will never abandon his
tenderly loved children. Yet it is not less true, that, if we
had resources (humanly speaking), our missions would be
more flourishing; and that many things that we now accom-
plish only with great patience and sore privations, and which

Li <'l

1 t

» y

; <

I '

. .*

316

WESTERN MISSIONS

again frequently depend upon contingencies, could be effected
more rnpidly and with less uncertainty of success.

In our mission, there are persons of such a variety of
nations, that we form, so to speak, a heaven in miniuture.
First, our community is composed of six members, all of
whom are natives of different lands. Then we have Creoles :
Genetzi, whose wife is Susanna, daughter of the old Ignatius
Chaves ; Abraham and Peter Tinsley, sons of old Jacques Boi-
teux ; Alexander Thibault, a Canadian, and Derpens. There
are some Iroquois : old Ignatius is settled here, ms well as the
family of Iroquois Peter. The death of this venerable old
man is a great loss to the mission. Then we have Creoles
from the Creek nation ; Pierrish, and Anson, with his bro-
thers; then some Flat-Heads; Kalispels; two camps of Pends-
d'Oreilles ; then several Spokans ; some Nez-Perces, Koe-
tenays, Cceur-d'Alenes, and Kettle-Falls Indians ; a few
Americans settled a few miles from here; and some Black-
Feet. All, though of different nations, live together like
brethren and in perfect harmony. They have, like the
primitive Christians, but one heart and one mind.

Last spring, and during the summer following, we had
several Black-Feet here. They behaved extremely well.
Among others, the Little Dog, chief of the Pegans, with
some members ()f his family. They entered our camp with
the American tlag unfurled, and marching to the tones of
martial music and an innumerable quantity of little bells.
The very horses pranced in accordance with the measure,
and assumed a stately deportment at the harmony of the
national hynm.

We held several conferences with the chief concerning
religion. He complained that the whites, who had been in
comnmnication with them, had never treated this so impor-
tant affair. So far the best understanding reigns between us.

AND MISSIONARIES.

317

and it would appear that all the old difficulties are forgotten.
May Heaven keep them in these favorable dispositions. Last
summer the Crows stole about twenty horses from our nation.
A few (lays after, others visited our camp. The remembrance
of this theft so excited the people that, forgetting the law of
nations, which secures protection to even the greatest enemy
as soon as he puts his foot within the camp, they fell upon
the poor guests, and killed two of them ere they had time to
escape.

May God bless the government for establishing peace
among the Black-Feet ! However, as hitherto the means
have not proved very efficacious, I fear that the quiet will
not be of very long duration. I trust that our society will
one day effect a more enduring peace. A mission among
them would, I am persuaded, produce this blessed result.
And if to bedew this hitherto ungrateful soil requires the
blood of some happy missionary, it would bring forth a hun-
dredfold, and the Black-Feet would respect our holy religion.

I am much distressed at learning that an epidemic disease
is making terrible ravages among the Black-Feet. Accord-
ing to the last news, about 150 Indians had perished in one
camp alone, near Fort Benton. When the malady had ceased
scourging men, it fell upon their horses. Many are dead
already, and many are dying. "We have lost five. Our
hunters are forced to go to the chase on foot ; for, according
to their account, all the horses are sick. If the Nez-Perces
lose their horses in the war with government, horses will be
very dear here.

Michael, the Little Chief, has arrived. I presented him the
gracious gift of Col. Campbell. He was astonished that the
colonel should think of him, and was much moved at this
mark of attachment. Then he cited a long list of kindred,

dead since his last interview with Col. Campbell, and enter*

270

318

WF8TRRN MISSIONS

tained me at length with the great number of Americans
that he had seen annually passing Fort Hall. He told me
with what solicitude and anxiety he sought his friend among
those successive multitudes, and when at length he could not
discover him, he believed that ho was dead.

Om- Indians are bison-hunting, and quite successful. Five
Spokans have been killed by the Banacs, and six of these
last killed by the Spokans and Coeur-d'Alenes. The Flat-
Heads have had a man killed by the same Banacs. Louis,
Ambrose's son, was killed last fall by the Gros- Ventres. All
last winter a good understanding prevailed among the Black-
Feet. Many of them will come, I think, and reside with us.

The Nez-Perc'6s and the Spokans endeavor to spread a
bad spirit among the Indians who reside in the country be-
low. They endeavor to communicate their hatred of the
Americans ; but our chiefs are firm, and will in no wise
acquiesce in the desire of their enemies. Victor, the great
chief, and Ambrose, are here again, in order to accomplish
their spiritual duties. Unfortunately a great antipathy pre-
vails among these tribes.

Mr. McArthur, formerly agent of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany, has now settled at Hellgate.

To conclude, Rev. Father, I entreat you to believe that,
notwithstanding your reiterated exhortations to assure me, it
is not without a feeling of restraint that I inclose you anew
the list of things we need this year. I am aware that you
are weighed down with business ; but who, as well as your-
self, can know and understand our position ?

I entreat you to present my respects to all my kind friends
who are at the university, at St. Charles, and elsewhere.
Your reverence's most respectful servant,

A. HOBKEN, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

319

Letter XXV.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

The Potawatomies.

TuBNHonr, December 16, 185d.
Rev. and dear Father :

I am, this day, in the city where one of the most zeal-
ous benefa(;tors of foreign missions, I mean the late M. De
Nef, resided manyyeare. From this, I shall set out for Hol-
land, and I purpose meeting you again in Brussels, please
God, in the month of January.

I yield most cheerfully to the wish you express to publish
the letter that I addressed, in 1838, to the excellent Superior
of the Orphanage of Termonde, and of which a fragmentary
copy was given you at Erps, on the occasion of your pleasant
trip to the pious servants of Mary and their edifying pupils.
The original letter will, no doubt, be communicated by the
house of Termonde. I rely on you for all other pieces you
may find in your search for manuscripts.

Nation of the Pot aw atomies, St. Joseph, July, 1838.

Very kind Mothee :

I received your letter of March 13th, with all your good
news of Termonde, even dat Charles Qeyzel hosier geworden
is. Ongelwyfelt zat het eenen goeden koster zyn,* All your

* << Oliarles Geyzel is uaoied Vicar. No doubt he will prove a good one

320

WE8TEKN MISSIONS

'H-i

ii^i'm

communications give me /rreat piensure and much consola-
tion. I do not forget my imlive place. Continue, tlieretbre,
to send me very tVetiuently the most minute details. All
that a Ternioutois can learn of tliat point of the globe, even
when he finds himself in an American desert, two thousand
miles avvuy, amid Indians and wild beasts, is always charm-
ing to him. Indeed, the reception of your letter was a holi-
day for me.

What shall I say to you, Mother, on all that you write
me of the actual state of your house, and of the good Ma-
rolles that the Lord destines to take care of so many poor
and miserable, under the direction of your worthy director ?
Ah ! I assure you, 1 bless God for it, in the sincerity of ray
heart. If he deigns to hear me, he will keep you all, your
orphan boys and girls, your old men and your children, be-
neath his powerful jind holy grace. It is my ardent and
daily prayer before the altar. I thank you all, teachers and
pupils, that you do not forget me, above all, in your prayers.
I hope you will continue to implore the Blessed Virgin to
protect our poor missions, and obtain for us, from her Divine
Son, who can refuse her naught, the giace and strength ne-
cessary to overcome the numerous obstacles which separate
the savage from the path of salvation.

You no doubt expect a little reotal from the depth of our
wilderness. Well, I will exhibii you the hght and the shade.
It is just that you, who pray so much for us, should know
somewhat of the exact state of our aflfairs. Your prayers for
Is, I am sure will, if possible, increase in fervor.

First I will narrate to you the great loss that we expe-
rienced towards the end of April. Our superior sent us,
from St. Louis, goods to the amount of $500, in ornaments
for the church. A tabernacle, a bell, and provisions and
clothes for a year. I had been for a long time without

AJSIJ MI«8I0N ARIES.

321

shoes, and from Easter we were destitute of supplies. All
the l*ot.iwjitoinie nation were suffering from scarcity, having
only acorns and a few wild roots fur their whole stock of
food. At last, about the 20th of April, they announced to
to us that the much-desired boat was a})proaching. Already
we saw it from the highest of our hills. I procured, without
delay, two carts to go in search of our baggage. I reached
there in time to witness a very sad sight. The vessel had
struck on a sawyer, was pierced, and rapidly sinking in the
waves. The confusion that reigned in the boat was great,
but hap[»ily, no lives were lost. The total damage was val-
ued at $40,000. All the provisions forwarded by govern-
ment to the savages were on board of her. Of our etFects,
four articles were saved : a plough, a saw, a pair of boots,
and some wine. Providence was still favorable to us. With
the help of the plough, we were enabled to plant a large
field of corn ; it was the season for furrowing. We are using
the saw to build a better house and enlarge our church,
already too small. With my boots, I can walk in the woods
and prairies without fear of being bitten by the serpents
which throng there. And the wine permits us to offer to
God every day the most holy sacrifice of the mass, a privi-
lege that had been denied us during a long time. We,
therefore, returned, with courage and resignation, to the
acorns and roots until the 30th of May. That day another
boat arrived. By that same steamer I received news from
you, as well as a letter from my family and from the good
Carmelite superior.

Our congregation already amounts to about three hun-
dred. At Easter we had fifty candidates for the first com-
munion. I recommend, in a very special manner, these poor
Indians, that they may maintain their fervor. The dangers
and scandals which surround them are very great. I have

'■) I

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322

WESTERN MISSIONS

J-

■' f.

Ml'

remarked, in one of my preceding letters, that one of the
prineipal obstacles to the conversion of the savages is drink-
ing. The last boat brought them a quantity of liquors.
Already fourteen among thera are cut to pieces in the most
barbarous manner, and are dead. A father seized his own
child by the legs and crushed it, in the presence of its
mother, by dashing it against the post of his lodge. Two
others most cruelly murdered an Indian woman, a neighbor
of ours, and mother of four children. We live in the midst
of the most disgusting scenes. The passion of the savages
for strong drink is inconceivable. They give horses, blankets,
all, in a word, to have a little of this brutalizing liquid.
Their drunkenness only ceases when they have nothing more
to drink. Some of our neophytes have not been able to re-
sist this terrible torrent, and have allowed themselves to be
drawn into it. I wrote an energetic letter to the govern-
ment against these abominable traffickers. Join your prayer?,
to our eflForts to obtain from Heaven the cessation of this
frightful commerce, which is the misery of the savages in
every relation.

I visit the Indians in their wigwams, either as a mission-
ary, if i-hey are disposed to listen to ne, or as a physician
to see their sick. When I find a little child in great dan-
ger, and I perceive that the parents have no desire to hear
the word of God, I spread out my vials : I recommend my
medicines strongly. I first bathe the child with a little
camphor; then, taking some baptismal water, I baptize it
without their sutpeciing it — and thus I have opened the
gate of heaven to a great number, notwithstanding the wiles
of hell to hinder them from enteriuof.

During the winter a chief of a neighboring nation broughi
me his child, attacked with u very dangerous malady ; it
only had a breath of life remaining. The father asked mod-

AND MISSIONARIES.

323

icine from me. I gave him to understand that his child was
past recovery, but that I had the means of rendering it, after
death, the happiest of his nation. I exphiiued to him the
favors arising from the sacrament of baptism. The chief,
quite deligiited, offered me his son in order to secure its
happiness, and the child died on the following day.

I might cite you a great number of other consoling traits
with which Heaven favors us, but my sheet is tv^ small to
allow of it.

I will consecrate this last page to a description of the prin-
cipal incidents of my excursion of 3G0 miles further into the
Indian Territories, through the country of the Omahas, and
in the immense tract of country occupied by the Sioux.
The object of this journey was to afford the benefit of bap-
tism to some children, to give adults some ideas of our holy
religion, and to establish a durable and advantageous peace
between the two nations. Our savages have lived, during
the last two years, in a terrible dread of this numerous and
warlike nation ; lately, also, two of our people had been
massacred.

I embarked on the Missouri, the 29th of April, in a steam-
boat. I met on board, to my great joy, two old friends :
the one a French mathematician, Mr. Nicollet, a very learned
and pious man ; the other, Mr. Gayer, a German. These
gentlemen are making a scientific excursion of 4500 miles
into the Indian countries. The waters of the river were low ;
the sand-banks and the sawyers very numerous and difficult
to pass ; the winds strong and contrary. Our progress was
very slow. We had many an opportunity to make excur-
sions in the woods and prairies, searching for new minerals,
which abound in these wilds, and nire and curious plants,
among which we made some beautiful discoverie?. I thought
of you, my good mother, when I found myself 'a tht)8e

:iie:-v*»»".*j-*— ..

324

wp:stern missions

•'1 'i

beautiful parterres. I imagined once, for an instant, that
you were there, with your little children. I heard your ex-
(ih\\na,Uoi]^ : ^' Potten^ potten, kinderen / wel, ivel / .... Dat
zyn schoone bloemen ! Wie zoude hit konnen f/elooveri .<?...
Mae7' zietj maer zietf .... Komt hier, moeder ; hier heb
ik eene schoone^'' etc., etc.* Indeed it was truly the most
beautiful view one could fancy. When the bell called ua
back to the steamer, I quitted those little parks of wild flow-
ers with much difficulty. I gathered a great number of
plants, which I preserved in my herbal. We passed over
several spots where there were only onions, round, and about
as large as the marbles children use for play, but excellent
for eating. In another place we gathered a great quantity
of asparagus, as thick as a man's thumb. All the passengers
of the steamboat regaled themselves with it during: f<->ur days.
I will tell you nothing of our little encounters with the
wolves and the serpentp ; dat zoude hcl spel verbrodden —
(that would dispel the charm).

On the route, I instructed and baptized, on the vessel, a
woman with her three children, and heard the confessions of
a great number of Canadian voyageurs, who were going to
the Rocky Mountains.

A tomb attracts attention in these regions ; it is the tomb
of Black Bud, the great chief of the Omahas. This chief
became celebrated by the ascendency which he possessed
over his nation ; he was an object of terror and respect to
his people, for they believed that he could control life and
death. The origin of their belief is as follows : He had pro-
cured a large quantity of arsenic, by the aid of a merchant;
the latter at the same time instructed him in the method of

* Vnaea — flower-pots — ciriKlron— oli ! what a beautiful flower I Here
—here, mother, 1 liave one ^till more lovely, etc., etc. Come here, <fec.

' i

AND MISSIONARIES.

325

using it; but the wretch soon received his recompense.
Black Bird invited him to dine with him on a day appointed,
and adroitly administered to him a good dose of his terrible
medicine. The merchant, to the great pleasure of his host,
died some hours after, in frightful torments. Proud of his
attempt, Black Bird soon meditated a perfidious blow, and
made great preparation for its execution. He dispatched a
party of hia people to the chase, so as to kill some deer and
buffaloes for his banquet. The principal warriors and the
miiior chiefs had become jealous of the ascendency that the
great chief exercised for some time over the nation. Black
Bird, informed of their discontent and murmurs, invited to
his feast to the very last of his warriors who had murmured.
He lavished his attentions upon them, and showed the most
distinguished marks of cordiality to his guests, wishing
apparently to be reconciled with them, and to etlace the bad
impressiou that his hard-heartedncss and haughty bearing
had caused. As soon as each one had emptied his plate,
and the poison had begun to act on some, he threw off the
mask, and began to harangue them on the great power of
his manitou or genius which guided him, and, brandishing
his tomahawk in triumph, bade them, with sarcasm and bit-
terness, " to intone their death sonffs, if any warlike blood yet
circled in their veins;" adding, with the accent of revenge,
''that before the sun's rising" — it was night — "the vultures
would fly above their wigwams, and that their wives and
cliiMren would mourn over their lifeless corpses." It was a
night of coutusiou, tears, fear, and tumult. No one escaped

th,

3 poison

The whole life of this man was a chain of crimes and cru-
elties. Tired of "pouring out blood," as the Indians say, or
rather pursued by remorse and despair, he allowed himself
to die with hunger. Before expiring, he gave orders to his

326

WESTERN MISSIONS

h V

f ' ;

failliful warriors to bury him on the highest of the hills, an
elevation of three hundred feet, seated on his most beautiful
courser, facing the impetuous Missouri, — "so that," said he,
" I can salute all the voyageurs." His tomb resembles a little
hillock. It is surmounted by a pole, to which the Indians
attach a flag. It can be easily distinguished eighteen miles oflf.

Our boat passed near the village of the Omalias, com-
posed of about 1400 souls. It is situated at the extremity
of a beautiful prpine, about three miles in extent, at the foot
of a little range ot i No one came to the shore to see

us pass, — fearing, it scv is, that the small-pox was on board,
and might be introduced among them. Only two years ago,
by an unpardonable imprudence of the captain, this disease
was introduced into the Indian country by the same vessel,
and produced ravages frightful and unheard of in the Indian
annals. Twenty-five or thirty thousand died in a few weeks.
Of twelve hundred men of the tribe of the Mandans, only
seven families escaped the contagion. About eighty warriors
of this little nation committed suicide in the days of calam-
ity, some in despair at the loss of their children and friends,
others through fear of becoming the slaves of their enemies,
and the greater number saying that they were horrincd at
the idea of seeing their bodies corrupted while yet alive.

On the 11th of May I reached my destination, and quitted
with regret my four new children in Christ and my two
friends. It would have been very gratifying to me to have
accompanied these two gentlemen in thoir lengthy course,
if my health and circumstances would have allowed me, so
as to visit the numerous nations of the mountains.,

On my arrival among the Sioux, the chiefs and warriors
of the tribe of Jantons invited me to a ft-ast. All were seat-
ed in a circle in a grand lodge or tent of buffalo hides. Each
one rested his chin on his knees, the legs drawn close up to

,ii! ;'

AND MISSIONARIES.

327

the body, a position that my corpulency would not allow me
to ji'^sume. I therefore seated myself like a tailor on his ta-
ble, with my legs crossed. Every one received a big piece of
venison in a wooden trencher ; those who cannot finish their
portiou are permitted to take away — it is their custom — the
remains of his plate. I was among this number, and I had
enough left for two days.

The repast concluded, I disclosed to them the principal
object of my visit among them, viz. : a durable peace be-
tween the Sioux and the Potawatomies their neighbors.
Having discussed the different points, refuted the false re-
ports that divided the two nations, I persuaded the Sioux to
make some presents to the children of such of our Potawat-
omies as they had killed, which is called covering the dead,
and to come and smoke with them the calumet of peace.
The feast and the council were terminated with the most
perfect cordiality. The same evening 1 gave them an in-
struction on the Apostles' Creed, and I baptized a great
number of their little children. This nation, dispersed over
a wide extent, reckons 32,000 souls.

The object of my voyage being attained, I seized the first
opportunity of returning to my mission. The savages, be-
sides, hi. \ already struck the camp to follow the bison, which
were moving away. My vessel, this time, was a tree hol-
lowed (vit, which is called a canoe, ten feet in length, by one
and a half in width. I could just seat myself in it. Before
this, I had crossed the river in this sort of craft, but never
without fear, it being evidently very dangerous ; now I had
three hundred and sixty miles to descend on the most peril-
ous and most impetuous of rivers, and it was necessary, for I
had no other way. Happily I was accompanied by two very
skilful pilots, who, in paddling on the right and left, darted
with the fleetuess of an arrow through the numerous sawycjis

328

WESTEKN MISSIONS

1:^1

i .j!

. i

with which the river was filled, the frail bark which tlie
slightest shock could overturn. Judge how swift its course
is: in three days, sailing from four o'clock in the morning
until sunset, we had passed over one hundred and twenty
leagues. Two nights only I slept in the open air, having no
bed but my buffalo-robe, and no pillow but my travelling-
bag. Yet, I can assure you, that my slumbers were as peace-
able and profound as I ever enjoyed in my life. A good
appetite, for the air on the water is fresh, prepared us for
three excellent meals each day. My companions were well
provided with bread, butter, coffee, and sugar ; the game was
also abundant, and we had but to select. I never saw so
many ducks, geese, bustards, swans, and wild turkeys, in
such a short trip. At our last encampment, attiacted with-
out doubt by the sight of the fire which sparkled at our feet,
a noble stag approached us, trampling with his feet — a little
more, and we might have had our skulls broken in by this
enraged animal. It aroused the pilot, who, seizing the gun
that was lying beside me, discharged it about two inches
from my ear. This report awaked me suddenly, without,
however, frightening me.

During my route, except the Sioux, I saw only one Indian
hunter, and one single village, that of the Omahas. What a
contrast with tlie beautiful, little, and populous Belgium !
The huts of the Omahas are built of earth, and are conical ;
their circumference at the base, one bundled and twenty to
one hundred and forty feet. To construct them, they plant
in the ground long and thick poles, bend and join together
all the ends, which are fastened to about twenty posts in the
inside. These poles are afterwards covered with baik, over
which they put earth about a foot in depth, and then cover
the whole with turf. They look like small mounds. A
large hole in the summit, permits light to enter and smoke

AND MISSIONARIES.

329

to escape. The fire-place is in the centre, and every hut
holds from six to ten families.

A young French Creole conducted his wife to me, to have
her instructed in our holy religion. He came down with
her quite recently from beyond the Rocky Mountains, a dis-
tance of eleven or twelve hundred leagues. The recital that
she gives me of the life led by her nation, the Ampajoots, is
truly heartrending. The soil is one of the most ungrateful ;
they have no game at all. If they hazard leaving their
country, their more numerous neighbors kill them without
mercy. They are without clothes, without habitations, and
roam like wild animals in the prairies, where they live on
roots, grasshoppers, and large ants. They crush the last-
named insects between two stones, and make a species of
cake of them, which they cook in the sun or before a fire,
to regale themselves with after. This poor Indian woman,
aged about twenty-five years, had never eaten meat. Her
astonishment was excessive when she first saw chickens, pigs,
cows, and oxen, with other domestic fowls and animals, run-
ning about our dwellings. As soon as she is suflSciently in-
structed to receive baptism, I will name her Isabella, and
you shall be her godmother. Therefore do not forget the
poor Ampajoot in your prayers.

Your letter that you mentioned, dated July, did not reach
me. The distance is about two thousand miles, and the
dangers are great. My letter to the Carmelites is about the
same as this, I am, excellent Mother,

Your devoted servant,

P. J. De Sm£t, S. J.
28»

si 4 I li,

..C!

n '

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330

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XXVI.

To THE Editor op the PRficis Historiques, Brussels.

The Potawatomies.

Ffttber Daerlnck, of the Society of Jesus, to Rev. P. J. De Smet, of the saina

Society.

, 1850.

Rev. Father:

Called from Bardstown college to hasten on and com-
plete the work begun by my predecessor, who for several
' 3ars had presided over this mission, I arrived, early in No-
vember, 1849, at St. Mary's, and was received with the
■warmest welcome by my religious brethren.

I was accompanied by two lay-brothers. One was to act
as treasurer, the other as cook. A third brother joined us
in the course of the fall, and we made him herdsman. They
also sent a young Irishman to teach the boys in our school
English, having been for some time deprived of that branch
for want of a teacher. It was intended, too, that he should
form them to virtue, as far as he was capable.

We set to work. Although one of the brothers aban-
doned us suddenly, yet, thanks to the protection of the Al-
mighty, we succeeded in covering in the buildings in course
of erection before the cold set in.

We cannot here pass over in silence the aid aflforded us, in
our misery, by the Association for the Propagation of the
Faith. Their charity, which embraces the whole vyorld,
gave us six hundred dollars, and this sum, increased by the
five thousand dollars granted by government, as well as sev-

AND MISSIONARIES.

331

enteen hundred dollars spontaneously oflfeied by our neo-
phytes, furnished means to lay at least the foundation of
the work.

In the early part of 1850 our mission contained seven
members ; three Fathers and four lay-brothers. The Ladies
of the Sacred Heart were five.

Our first care was devoted to the instruction of youth.
"We felt that if we could thereby gain the parents, our school
would daily increase in numbers, while those of the Baptists
would be deserted. But the sky became clear and serene
only after a storm.

There is in t]vA country a certain class of men called
medicine-men, cc jugglers. Very ignorant, they are distin-
guished only by the pride of their character. They have re-
ceived some vague notions about the Catholic religion, and
utterly despise the acquisition of the heavenly goods, a love
of which we endeavor to infuse into the children. They de-
mr.nd from us temporal aid, which our poverty does not
enable us to give. This gives rise to dissatisfaction, and
even threats and insults. Some wicked ones made it a
ground for exciting the people against us. They drew com-
parisons between the Protestant schools and ou b. The con-
sequence of all this was, that a great number of boys and
girls were, so to speak, wrested from our school and taken,
in spite of themselves, to the Baptist school. Elated by this
first success, the partisans of that sect did not hesitate to say
openly that our school and mission would soon close. But
we are convinced, on the one hand, that there is, in the
apostolic career, no good enterprise that the devil does not
seek to embarrass ; and, on the other, relying on the justice
of our cause, and the almighty protection of God, always
hoped that this storm would soon pass, and that excited
minds would resume their ordinary calm.

! (■'

;:f.

.) ": i

it w

332

WESTERN MISSIONS

We had, too, in a manner, to maintain the war agMJnst
our own neophytes. All who have visite<l these parts are
well aware that these denizens ot" the woods boo- tlieir bread,
whether pressed by want or not, and you constantly hear
them repeating : " I am hungry." According to one of
their traditions, they believe that all that an individual pos-
sesses in private belongs, of full right, to the whole village.
The previous years, as our Fathers had no scholars to feed,
they were able to give abundant alms, with a certain pro-
fusion, to the tribe coMfided to their care, and this was a
potent means of gaiumg the affection and esteem of all : but
circumstances had changed ; we, too, had to change our tac-
tics, and we did not feel that we could give so lavishly out of
doors what we needed so much within. We had, conse-
quently, to restrict ourselves to aiding, as far as our means
permitted, those really in distress. As for the others, we
told them that they ought, by their own labor, to obtain
wherewith to live ; that such was the law of the Sovereign
Master, and that if they obeyed it faithfully, they would
soon have every thing in abundance ; that their health would
also be better. We especially sought to inculcate that, by
destroying idleness, the source of all evil, they would soon
experience in their soul the joy and happiness which a life
sanctified by the practice of Christian virtues affords. Our
counsels made some impression on a small number of the
most sensible ; but for the rest, especially at first, the food
Wf'.s too spiritual for them to relish. Hence many, if they
did not accuse us of avarice, at least, repioache 1 us with
being too hardhearted. Yet, as there was really no ill-will
among them, and, by God's grace, they saw all the pain and
trouble we tool", for the salvation of their souls, they did not
long listen to their most deadly enemy, but returned to bet-
ter feelings.

AND MISSIONARIES.

333

Towards tlie latter part of February, Father Hoeken, after
Cfiving tlie eight days' retreat in our mission, started for St.
Louis, whence he proceeded to Michigan, to assist the Pota-
watomies of tliat State. It would be impossible to describe
the joy expeiienccd by these poor men of the woods at the
sight of a minister of the Gospel, wi)ose great age rendered
him 80 venerable, and who proclaimed the eternal truth in
their own language. Father Iloeken, unable to prolong his
stay, left them, after a few days, to the great regret of all.
He immediately returned to those whom he could so justly
call his children in Christ, bringing a lay-brother to teach
the boys. Another brother had joined us, not long before,
who a(;ted as shoemaker, and, at the same time, endeavored
to restore somewhat our little church choir, which had
greatly declined.

As the Potawatomies occupy a large tract, in order to
afford more easily the consolations of religion to all the Cath-
olics, we have erected two churches beyond the Kansas, one,
dedicated to Our Lady of Dolors, is about seventeen miles from
our residence; the other, dedicated to St. Joseph, is in a little
village six miles hence. Before erecting these two churches,
we agreed that every Sunday one of our Fathers should go
to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice alternately, in one of the two.

St. Joseph's village has a Baptist establishment, where
children are instructed. Boys are mixed up with girls, and
it is needless to say that this cannot be without detriment
to morality. The superintendent of the school is a physi-
cian also ; so that, being at the same time teacher, physician,
and preacher of the Word of God, as he says, he enjoys a
triple income not to be despised. He has been among the
Potawatomies since he was a boy, but all his efforts to win
them to his doctrines have been thus far fruitless. He had
formerly one adherent, but one day he happened to sell his

334

WESTERN MISSIONS

: '1

-'.. ■•■I

friends a great deal of strong liquor, and they becoming
intoxicated, rushed on the Baptist house and burst in the
doors with great uproar. In consequence, the only neophyte
they had in the country was, iptsofacto^ visited with major
excommunication as they call it. The Catholics have such
an aversion for the Protestant ministers, that they will not
even receive them as physicians. We will cite one fact,
although we cannot approve it. It will show how greatly
the Catholics fear being perverted by the Prottjtants.

A woman was dangerously ill. As soon as the Protestant
minister heard it he went to see her as a physician, though
without ceasing to be a minister. When he arrived at the
sick woman's house he was met by some very stotJt men,
who called out : " What brings you here ?" " I come," replied
the mir. ister, *' to bring medicines to the sick person, and I
am sure that she will be helped." " We have medicines as
good as yours," they replied, roughly. " If you will not let
me give her remedies, at least permit me to oflfer her some
consolation." "Gently; she needs rest, not consolation."
*' But let me see her." " No, she will not see any one." At
these words the minister retired, accusing us as the authors
of his ill reception, and vowing summary vengeance.

In fact, a few days after, one of our community, called by
a sick man, went to see him. At the door of the lodge he
found a furious, young man, who addressed him in about
these terms : " The sick man has been confided to my care ;
tlie physician does not want him troubled, so that you shall
not see him." The Father replied in a calm but firm tone,
that he was a priest and not ?. doctor ; that he had no inten-
tion of contravening the doctor's orders ;' that he gave him
all due respect; that he had still less intention of troubling
the sick person ; that, on the contrary, he came to afford
him the consolations of our holy religion ; that as he had

m'i

AND MISSIONARIES.

335

been called in by the sick man himself, he would not go
without seeing liiin. On this the young man desisted; but
at the very moment the minister, who had kept out of sight
in tlie house, appeared and apologized for the young man's
conduct.

A Methodist minister also came along. He tried to sow
cockle among the Potawatomies. As he had resided nearly
twenty years among the Ottos, he speaks the Potawatomie
with uncommon ease. He, too, settled in St. Joseph's,
hoping to gain the people more easily, as they were remote
from us. He especially endeavored to get the chief (Joseph
Mechkomi) into his toils. Fortunately, however, he was not
a man to be caught by words. One day the minister went
to see him, and found him reading the Bible. " What are
you readiiig?" said he, as he entered. " The Word of God,"
replied Mechkomi. " And what does the Lord say to you ?'*
*' He says, ' beware of false prophets, for they will come in
the form of lambs, but within they will be ravening wolves."*
Then, he added, in a still firmer tone, " And do you stop lay-
ing snares for us, or go elsewhere, for here you lose your
time and trouble." The minister, astonished, took the ad-
vice, and withdrew to another part.

The following is a general view of the spiritual fruit that,
with God's grace, we have been enabled to gather this year.
I will sum up all briefly. Fifty 'tuples have been united in
the holy bonds of marriage ; 36 dead have been buried
with all the ceremonies of the Church ; we have heard about
5000 confessions; 11*7 persons, including 30 adults, have
received holy baptism. I will relate the conversion of but
three, because they are the most remarkable, and suffice to
show us the infinite goodness and mercy of God to sinners.

The first of these converts, Chawnekwok by name, had
experienced for years the inward struggle of grace, which

336

WESTERN MISSIONS

jl«il ^

\ylli

urged him to brirlle his passions and devote himself to God^s
service ; but he had always resisted this appeal till he was
was far advanced in years. At last, however, alarmed by
the thought of eternal pains, and pursued nigh; and day by
remorse oi conscience, he durst no longer defer, and resolved,
to give himself forever unreservedly to his Creator and Sov-
ereign Lord. Then, painting his face various colors, he went
to a priest aud imparted his courageous resolve. He told
him at the same time, that he had selected for his abode a
spot near the church ; that he would soon return to his fam-
ily to acquaint his wife with his design ; that then, having
washed his face, he would come back to be instructed in the
faith. For a month our good old uian used every imagina-
ble means to gain his wife to Christ, or at least to bring her
with him to the village. As nothing could induce her, but
instead of yielding she only increased in obstinacy, he ad-
dressed her in about these terms : " Go, wretched woman !
go on provoking the wrath of the Almighty; for my part, I
shall not expoe myself to the eternal flames of hell on your
account !" After these words he left her, and came to reside
•with the Christians. Desiro.'.s of ridding himaclf of all that
had formerly served for the worship of the devil, he placed
in the missionary's hands a bag full of medicines and herbs,
begging him to choose such as could really help the sick,
and to destroy all those to which a magical or a supersti-
tious povrer was aLtributed. Some were very strnnge. To
some were ascribed power to kill enemies, even at a great
distance; to others, power to attract whole herds of stags;
to others, power of getting the coat, pistol, or other articles of
a person met on the way. There were some, too, to win the
friendship of wrioever you wished, and to excite in others
improper thoughts. All these objects, and many others
which the devil employs to deceive the people, were commit-

AND MISSION ART KS.

337

) God's
he was
ned by
day by
esolved
id Sov-
tie went
le told
abode a
lis fam-

having
i in the
magina-
ing her
her, but
, he ad-
woman !
7 part, I
on your
;o reside

all that
e placed
d herbs,
;he sick,
supersti-
lofe. To

a great
)f stags;
fticles of

win the
n others
y others
commit-

ted to the flames, in the presence of the good old man, who
at the sight felt such profound joy that he could not refrain
from tears. After a due probation, he received holy bap-
tism. From that moment he changed completely his mode
of life; in all the difficulties and miseries of life, he main-
tained so calm and cheerful a spirit, that the missionary
could not help one day asking him the reason : " Fatlier,
once our name is inscribed in heaven in the Book of Life,
nothing siiould afflict us on this earth "

Chawnekwok, having seen and felt himself how sweet it is
to serve the Lord, ardently desired to communicate his hap-
piness to the members of his family. He took especial
care of a niece aged about eight. By a pious stratagem,
he induced her parents to let the little girl conic and live
with him. In three days he taught her all the prayers that
catechumens are accustomed to learn, and then took her to
the priest to be regenerated in the waters of baptism.

He then tried to gain his own son, vvlio, at last, gave him
as much consolation as he had given him pain at first.
This young man had formerly been among the catechumens;
but he was auch a slave to vice, and liis relapses were so fre-
quent, that the missionary, finding him deaf to his father's
counsels and exhortations, had lost all hope of ever gaining
him, and resolved to abandon him to the tyranny of his
shameful passions. The pious old man, on learning the mis-
sionary's resolution, threw himself at his feet and implored
him with tears to t..ke pity on his v/retched son, and not to
give him r.p ; he told him that he would go and see him
himself, that he would once more beseech him not to resist
the s^race of God, and that he had no doubt that if the mis-
sionary would join his prayers to his, the lost sheep would
return to the fold. The missionary could not resist this

touching appeal, and consented to accompany him, more

i IS

338

WESTERN MISSIONS

- ^'

< s

from esteem for the father, than from hope for the son. The
old man set out at once, although it was midwinter, and he
liad taken nothing that day. The missionary fjllowed him
closely, and had the consolation of restoring to the strait
path of virtue this new prodigal child, gained by the prayers
and tears of his vii'tuous 'ather.

God, who shows himself so good and so merciful to the
gri-atest sinners, will certainly not forsake those whom he
beholds leading, amid the shades of heathenism, a more
orderly life. The Supreme Truth has promised that heaven
will not I'efuse ulterior graces, to those who employ well
what they have.

The realization of this has appeared in the conversion of
a woman named Misseniko. She was dangerously sick.
Although she could not reproach herself with any grievous
fault, she was not tranquil ; for she knew that without faith,
it is impossible to please God. Hence, witiiout delay — for
she always did what she deemed the surest and most perfect
— she called in the priest. The minister of the Lord taught
hei what God required of her. She at once asked and re
ceived baptism. With every desire gratified, she constantl)
exclaimed amid the pangs of sickness: "I shall die will
ingly ; for I have received holy baptism. I shall see (toi
and all his saints for eternity." The conversion of i\\'u
woman is due, we believe, in a great measure to the prayers
of her daughter, who hail gone, a few days before, to receive
her reward in heaven. Young Misseniko was always dis-
tinguished fur her tender devotion to the Mother of God.
She preserved, with great respect, the scapular which she
had rec^-ived at school. She held this object of devotion in
such esteem iiial, during her illness, wliile delirious she
j'aised her baud Lo her scapular whenever it w,is touched, I'or
fear any one should deprive her of her precious treasure.

AND MISSIONARIES.

339

The pious girl died, and her mother bewailed her bitterly.
But one night the eldest sister of the deceased saw hor, not
in a dream, as she herself relates, but wlien perfectly awake,
— saw her all radiant with light, and heard her utter these
words : " Why do you weep so bitterly for me ? I am en-
joying eternal happiness. I died in the morning, as you
recollect, and I remained in the flames of expiation till
about noon, then the Blessed Virgin delivered rae and took
me up to heaven." Although stories of this kind should not
be lightly credited, we must nevertheless admit, that the
Lord is admirable in his saints, and in his manner of guiding
his elect.

And, doubtless, the sun of divine justice enlightens all
men. God wills not the death of the sinner, but that he bo
converted and live, lie not only, so to speak, goes forth to
meet those who come towards him, but he even pursues
those who fly from him ; he urges, he presses them con-
stantly to do penance, that thereby we may better under-
stand that what good there is in us, is iu>t due to our own
merits, but to his sole goodness. -> the infinite mercy of
God.

Here is a remarkable instance. There was in the south-
ern part of our mission, a man named Kamclias, a slav< ol
liquor, and of all the vices which usually attend tiiat bad
habit. One night, he was suddenly awakened fiom i deep
sleep, and seemed to hear a voice cry: "One of your rela-
tives has just died suddenly over the river. Get ready, for
you will soon follow him." At first, Kamchas took this cry
for a dream, endeavored to banish the <lisagreeable idc .iid
get to sleep again ; but the terrible voice troubled him. To
calm his mind, he crossed the river as soon as it was day
and came to our village. He had hardly got there, when,
to his amazement, he heard of the death of a young kins-

340

WESTERN MISSIONS

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man. You may easily conceive his feelings, his pain, and
his anguish. One day, while reflecting on the event, and
more than- usually troubled, lie met the missionary, who, see-
ing him persist in his idolatry, explained to him the duty of
all men to know and serve one only God, creator of heaven
and earth. He urged him to determine the course of his future
life, and to make an humble confession of his faults. Kam-
chas hearkened to the advice. Four weeks after, he came
to the Father, humbly to solicit baptism ; but, according to
custom, obtained this favor only after a long preparation.
The neophyte really ])Ut oft' the old man to put on the new.
Thenceforward patience, mildness, tem[)erance, diligence, a
spirit of prayer, and a remarkable devotion to the blessed
sacrament, were the virtues most resplendent in him. When
he met any thing difficult, or less agreeable to corrupt na-
ture, he was accustomed to excite his courage by words !ike
these: "To become a slave of Satan, you overcame the
greatest difticulties ; and you cannot surmt)unt a little one
to be a child of God !" Although, as warned from above,
he spent but a short time longer on earth, he thus laid up
the merits of a long life.

Such are, Keverend Father, the chief benefits receired
from heaven during the year 1850; and for which, on the
31st of December, we, with unanimous voices, thanked God
by the joyous Te Deum.

Acce})t, Rev. Father, the assurance of my profound re-
spect.

Your devoted brother in Christ,

J. B. DUERINCK, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

341

'i 1

Letter XXVI I.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Excursion among the Potawatomies.

Univebsity of St. Louis, Feb. 26, 1858.
Rev. and dear Father :

I send you a copy of a letter that I addrcssvid to Mrs.
P., a Belgian lady, residing at Brooklyn, near New York.
She is a great benefactress of the missions. My letter contains
some details concerning my recent visit to the Potawato-
mies, on tlie actual and very critical state of those Indians,
and of all the nations and Indian tribes in the two new Ter-
ritories of Kansas and Nebraska.

What T wrote to you in December, 1851, and you pub-
lished in the Precis Historiques, of 1853, pages 398, etc., has
been literally verified. A great number of towns and vil-
lages have sprung up in it as if by enchantment. The prin-
cipal towns of Kansas are : Wyandot, Delaware, Douglas,
Marysville, lola, Atchinson, Fort Scott, Pawnee, Lecompton,
Neosho, Richmond, Tecumseh, Lavinia, Lawrence, Port Wil-
liam, Doniphan, Paolo, Alexandria, Indianola, Easton, Leav-
enworth, and many othei's. They differ in population and
improvements. Lawrence and Leavenworth are the most
considerable. This latter, which is now an episcopal city,
contains already more than 8000 iidiabitants. They project
buikliiig a Territorial university in the town of Douglas. A
medical college is established at Lecompton. The Univer-

29»

342

WESTERN MISSIONS

sity of Kansas is incorporated and established at Leaven-
worth, Funds are set apart for the erection of schools, on a
vast scale. They accrue froni tlie sale of lands grduted by
the United States, which are extraordinarily extensive. All
fines, pecuniary penalties, escheats, ordained by law, are also
to be poured into the treasury of the schools and colleges.

Two months from this, the Territory of Kansas will be
admitted a;? an independent State, and will form a portion of
the great confederation of the United States. There exists
little doubt, at present, but that Kansas will adopt the laws
of the free States — that is to say, there will be no slavery.

Good Father Dueriuck has left a manuscript concerning all
that passed in the Mission of St. Mary's. If it would give you
pleasure, I will send it to you, according as time will admit.

Univkksity of St. Louis, Fetjruary 24, 1856.
Mrs. S. p., Brooklyn, N. Y.

Madam: — I have just terminated a journey of over
800 miles, going and returning in the midst of ice and
snow by the most miserable roads and in war/on.% which
increased the inconveniences of the way. On my return to
St. Louis, your kind letter and charitable donations were re-
mitted to me. Accept my most humble thanks, with my
heartfelt gratitude. I will assign the vestment to the mis-
sion of the Flat-Heads, which is very poor in church furni-
ture. I hope to find, in the beginning of spring, a good op-
portunity of dispatching it by the boats of the Fui- Company.
The marine plants will be most acceptable to the Fathers in
our colleges of Namur and Antwerp, in Belgium, and will
be admired, I am sure, in the collections of those two estab-
lishments. Once more, madam, receive, one and all, my sin-

AND MISSION A lilKS.

343

cere thanks for the new benefits that you have just added
to the long list of numerous others, commenced many years
since ; and for wliich we have naught but poor prayers to
render. We shall not cease to address them to the Lord,
for the happiness of your family ; and I will appeal to our
pious Indians, that they continue to pray for their kind
Mothers — their good benefactresses.

The occasion of the voyage, which I have mentioned in
the beginning of ray letter, was a glimmer of hope of being
able to discover the body of our dear brother in Jesus Christ,
the Rev. Father Duerinck. Some days after tlie unfortu-
nate accident, the captain of a steamboat had seen a dead
body on a sand-bank, near the place of the accident, and
had buried it. At this news I started to visit that solitary
grave, on the bank of the Missouri, near the town of Liberty.
He, whom this grave contained, was not the brother, the
cherished friend and relative I sought. His dress denoted a
hand on some boat. I was very much grieved. Our peti-
tions so far have not been heard. We hope, howeve!', that
the great St. Anthony of Padua, implored by so many pious
souls, will be propitious ; and I beg you to be so kind as to
join your prayers with these fervent invocations. It would
be a souice of consolation could we find the lost remains of
Father Duerinck, and inter them in consecrated ground, be-
side his brethren who have preceded him.

From the town of Liberty I repaired to St. Mary's, in
order to reguhite some atiairs there. I began the mission of
the Potawatomies in 1838. My heart seemed to dilate
among these good children of the plains, where, in former
days, I had found so many consolations in the exercises of
the holy ministry. I had the happiness of seeing a great
number of Indians approach Holy Communion, with the
deepest recollection. From the altar I addressed them some

344

WESTERN MISSIONS

f?!i

m \

words of consolation and encouranfement in the service of
the Divine Pastor. Tljtiy have great need, especially at
present, for the whites have surrounded them on all sides;
and they will soon hem them in more closely on their own
little reserves, or portions of earth that the government has
granted tliem.

I am aware, madam, that you take a deep interest in tlie
welfare of the poor Indians. Allow rac, therefore, to con-
verse with you some moments on their position in general,
and in particular of what concerns the Indians of St. Mary's
among the Potawatomies.

At the pel iod of my arrival among the Potawatomies (in
1838), the, nation numbered beyond 4000 souls. It is now
reduced ^ 3000, of whom 2000 are Catholics. All the sur-
rounding tribes have diminished in the same ratio.

To wliat are we to attribute this rapid decrease of the In-
dian race 1 This is one of tliose mysteries of Providence
that all the sagacity of philosophy has in vain endeavored
to penetrate. The innnoderate use of intoxicating liquors,
change of climate and of diet, vices, pestilential aladies (all
these evils which contact with the whites produces among
savages), improvidence and want of industry, all, united or
singly, give, it appears to me, but an imperfect solution of
this great problem. Whence is it that the red-man bends
with such difficulty to the manners and customs of the Euro-
pean race? Whence is it again, that the European race
refuses so obstinately to sympathize with the red race ; and
notwithstanding its philanthropy, or love of mankind, seems
rather disposed to annihilate than to civilize these poor chil-
dren, offspring of the same Father? Whence springs that
iiisuiinuuntable barrier between the two races? Whence is
it that the stronger pursues the weaker with such an ani-
mosity, and never relents until the latter is overthrown?

AND MISSIONARIES.

345

There is involved in this, perhaps, a secret that none but the
Judy'e Supreme cjin explain.

Often when I reflect on the position of so many barbarous
nations, who formerly were the owners of immense v.ountries,
and which are at the present day in imminent danger of be-
ing totally dispossessed by another people, I call to mind the
primitive inhabitants of Palestine, who, masters also of one
of the most beautiful countries in the world, saw themselves
deprived of it by a severe but most just judgment of the Cre-
ator, v.hose menaces they had despised and wiiose glory they
had profaned. Like the Canaanites, the savage tribes, taken
in general, have been punished gradually. Perhaps they, like
them, have been too long deaf to the divine voice, inviting
them to quit their gross errors and embrace the doctrines of
truth. Who has entered into the councils of Eternal Wis-
dom ? Who can accuse his judgments of injustice? Can-
not God, to whom the whole creation belongs, dispose of his
property according to his own good pleasure? But in dis-
playing his justice, he forgets not his mercy. Here below
he strikes only to heal. His divine heart is ever open to
those even whose iniquities he punishes.

The melancholy changes to which the condition of the
Indian has been subjected within a few years, has led me to
these mournful reflections. Under the administration of
President Pierce, the whole vast Indian country within the
Ilocky Mountains, comprehended in the Vicariate of Bishop
Miege (except a little portion situated towards the south), has
been organized into two territories, known under the names
of Kansas and Nebraska ; that is to say, that the Congress
has decreed that this country is incorporated into the Union
and open to the whites who are willing to settle there, in
order to form, after a lapse of time, two States, similar, in all
respects, to the other States of the great republic. Although,

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WKSTERN MI:iSI0N3

for the moment, tlie new colonists have orders to respect the
territories or the lands reserved to the savages, we may
nevertheless say that this decree has virtually destroyed all
the Indian nationalities. Scarcely was the law known than
the emigrants, like the waters of a great river which has
overflowed its banks, impetuously passed the barrier and
inundated the country. Now see the poor Indians sur-
rounded by white men, and their reserves forming little
more than islets amid the ocean. The savages, who before
had vast countries for their liunting-grounds, aie at present
restricted within narrow limits, having naught for subsist-
ence but the product of their farms, which few of them
know how to cultivate properly. Again, this state is
only precarious. Unless they hasten to divide their lands
and become citizens, they are in danger of losing all, and
of being naught but vagabonds. How replete with diffi-
culties is such a change ! What a stormy and tempestu-
ous future for these unfortunate tribes ! The evil is great,
but it is one that must be encountered, since there is no
remedy. The Indians, even the most advanced in civiliza-
tion, seem to us ill prepared to meet all the exigencies of
their situation.

In order to form a just idea of their critical position, and
of the melancholy consequences which will be the result,
unless restrained by a special protection of Divine Provi-
dence, imagine two societies — one representing the manners
and customs of barbarians, the other all the splendor of
modern civilization — coming in contact. How many years
will elapse before there will be a perfect fusion between the
two societies, before unison will exist, before they can dwell
together in complete harmony? Much time will be required
ere the barbarous state will attain the height of the civilized!
Neither the fii'st, nor the second, nor the third generation,

ill

AND MlfeblUNAUIES.

347

nolwitlist.'mcliiig uiitiiinir (iflfoiU, would obtain tliut liappy
result, such as the ihinj^ is un<h'istoocl in our <lays. lleiico,
j)revious to a perfect t'usiou between the societies, the civil-
ized society will have the advantag<i over the barbarous; it
will have it entirely at its mercy, to make it subservient to
its will and pleasure. lu a word^ the barbarian can no bet-
ter sustain itself in presence of civilization, than the sim-
plicity of childhood can contest against the malicious pru-
dence of mature age. This, in my opinion, is what will bo
realized in the Great Desert, when the cuppcr-coloied lacc
will come in contact with the white. The judgment of the
savage is not sufficiently ripe to be able to compete with the
wisdom of man born in the bosom of civilization. It is this
conviction which fills us with anxiety for the future of our
dear neophytes in the different missions. We confide solely
in Divine Goodness, which, we hope, will not fail to come to
the help of his children.

It was not difficult to descry from afar that grand event
which must engulf, in one common wreck, all the Indian
tribes. The storm which has just burst forth over their heads
was long preparing ; it could not escape the observing eye.
We saw the American republic soaring, with the rapidity of
the eagle's flight, towards the plenitude of her power. Every
year she adds new countiies to her limits. She ambitioned
nothing less than extending her domination from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, so as to embrace the commerce of the whole
world, and dispute with other mighty nati(jns the glory of
pre-eminence, ller object is attained. All bend to her
sceptic ; all Indian nationality is at her feet. Far be it from
us, however, to accuse tb.e noble republic of injusti(ie and
inhumanity in her late treaties. It seems to us, on the con-
trary, that no nation has ever furnished them more means of
civihzation. If any one must be blamed on this point, it is

mammimmmtsrv

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348

WKSTJiKN MISSIONS

..^t

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iif

rnllu'r [(I'ivatc persons, new colonists, who act and place
themselves in direct ojiposition with the good intentions of
tlie government in behalf of the 8ava<;es.

lUit though the future appears sombre and melancholy,
tlie past, at least, leaves not the missionaries comfortless. In
the space of the last ten years, our Fathers at Saint Mary's
have baptized beyond four hundred adults, and a great num-
ber of children. The Gospel seed lias not fallen on sterile
soil. The greater })art of tliese neophytes have always given
proofs of a strong faith and of a tender piety. The heart of
the missionary is soothed with an unspeakable joy, on wit-
nessing their assiduity in the church, their ardor in approach-
ing the sacraments, their resignation in sickness, their natu-
ral charity, exercised especially in regard to the poor, the
orphans, and the sick ; and, above all, their zeal for the con-
version of unbelievers. They are styled savages, or Indians;
but we may boldly assert that, in all our great cities, and
everywhere, thousands of whites arc more deserving of this
title. I'

A great number of Potawatomies have made considerable
progress in agi-iculture, and live in a certain degree of afflu-
ence. The whites who pass by, and visit the little territory
of the Potawatoniies, especially in the environs of St. Mary's
mission, are agreeably surprised. They find it difficult to
believe that they are among Indians.

It must be acknowledged that the Potawatomies have
been specially favored by Heaven. During the last quarter
of a century, they have had the happiness of having Black-
gowns among them ; and, during sixteen or seventeen years,
they have Ladies of the Sacred Heart, for the education
of their girls. The mission, on its present footing, with its
two schools, for girls and boys, is a double advantage for
those good people. The children acquire there. 'vith religioi'.s

AND MISSIONARIK8.

349

instriu'tion, the lovo of industry ; the adults find etnph)y-
meiit in it, iind hence a means ol' subsistence. 'I'lit-y sec, hy
the manual labor ot" our brothers, what man can ac(juiru by
dilii^enco.

We may add, tluit God lias treated the Pota\va'.omies with
great predilection. He lias willed that several nations
should contribute to their salvation. Such ari), among others,
]3elgium, Holland, Prance, Ireland and Italy, Germany,
Canada, and the United States. Each of these countries
has oti'ered them nuiterial aid and missionaries. Mt;r. Miejj;o
has resided among them four years ; hence their humble tem-
ple, constructed of logs, has been exalted to the rank of
cathedral.

In the critical conjuncture in which they stand at present —
on the eve of forming a last treaty with the Government of
the United States, a treaty of life or death for this poor
tribe — they have, in the person of Colonel Mur})hy, the agent
of the government, an advocate, a protector, and the best of
fathers. This, madam, leads me to hope that God has very
particular designs of mercy over them, and that he will
never forsake them. In the moment of danger, you, I am
confident, will not foigct them in your charitable prayers.

Be so kind as to recall me to the kind remembrances of
Mr. and Mrs. B., and of Miss R., and believe me, with the
most profound respect and esteem, madam.

Your most humble and most obedient servant,

P. J. Dk Smet, S. J.

I have the honor to be, reverend p.nd dear Father,
Keva3. Va3. in Xto.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

350

WESTERN MISSIONS

I .'

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v/i'':\

Letter XXVIII.

To THE Editor 0¥ the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

The Osages.

Brussels, December, 185-.

Rev. Father:

I send 57011 three 'etters of the Rev. F. Bax, deceased.
The two rirst, under date of the 1st and 10th of June, 1850,
have been published, in part, in the " Annals of the Propaga-
tion of the Faith," in the month of May, 18o2 ; the third has
not been published, that I am aware of; it is tlie last letter
written by the Rev. F. Bax. You are well acquainted with
the merit of this- man of God, so prematurely removed from
Lis labors. 1 have already given a olographical sketch in a
letter to the " Precis Historiques."

First Letter of Father Bax to Father De Smet.

Mission of St. Francis Hieronymo, AMora the Osages, June 1, 1850.
Rev. and very dear Father :

Already throe years have elapsed since we commenced
the toils of our mission. I will say nothing to you of the
embarrassments ins<^parable from such an enter})i'ise ; you
are too well acquainted with this gr >und, and are awaie,
also, that lo })repare it foi cultivation, exacts the courage that
Christian charity alone can iu>piie. I will not, therefore,

PK i

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AND MISSIONARIES.

351

stop to relate the obstacles, the fatigues of every sort, that we
encountered in our route. At present, the burden is allevi-
ated ; particularly since the arrival of a teacher and of a
brother, the affuii\s of the mission are extending, and wear a
much more favorable aspect.

I profit by my earliest leisure moments, to satisfy the de-
sire that you have several times testified to me, of having
some details concernino- our dear mission of the Osaires. I
hope, in this way, to oflfer you a slight testimony of our
gratitude for the interest you take in our labois and in our
suocetis. These marks of attention, on your part, Reverend
P'atliei', give us the assurance that, if monieniaiily you re-
main remote from your dear Indians, your heart neverthe-
less sighs continually towards our poor and isolated children
of the \\\k\ solitude.

You are aware, that this mission was, during several years,
in the hands of the Presbyterians. They were ohHged to
abandon it in 1845. Those gentlemen were forced to come
to this resolution by the Indians themselves, who were fully
determined never to adopt the doctrine of Calvin. In the
course of the same year. Major Harvey, superintendent of
the Indian tribes, having assembled in Council the different
tribes of the Osage nation, exposed to them, in the liveliest
colors, the advantages of a good education ; he added, that
if such should prove their wil', their Great Father (the Presi-
dent) would send them missionaries to instruct their chil-
dren. At this proposition, the Great Chief replied, in the
name of the Council :

"Our Great Father is verv kind; he loves his red-skinned
children. Hear what we have to say on this subject. Wo
do not wish anv more such missionarios as we have had diir-
iiijr several years; for they never did us auv Licod, Sriid
them to the whites; perhaps they may succeed bettei' with

352

\VJ':STEKN MISSIONS

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them. If our Great Father desires that we have missiona
ries, you will tell him to send us Black-gowns, who will
teach us to pray to the Great Spirit in ihe French mantier,
Although several years have elapsed since they have visited
us,* we always remember this visit with gratitude ; and we
shall be ever ready to receive them among us, and to listen
to their preaching."

The superintendent, a just and liberal man, wished only
the welfare of the Indians. Although a Protestant, he com-
municated this reply to the Government, and supported and
confirmed it with his own remarks and observations. In
puisuance with his advice, the President had recourse to the
Superiors of our Society, requesting them to assume the
charge of this mission.

At fiist, the Father Provincial offered some objections,
knowing that no one had yet been able to succeed in ameli-
orating the condition of this people, under the double rela-
tion of spiritual and temporal. In the interval, the Indians
were in the most painful uncertainty, not knowing whether
the " Gieat Father" would grant or refuse them their peti-
tion. But they were soon satisfied; our Society accepted
the mission.

In the autumn of 18-iG, the Reverend F. Schoenmakers
quitted St. Louis to go to the Osages, with the intention of
returning, after having examined the state of affairs, the
houses, etc. He came back to St. Louis in inidwintei', and
liis second departure was retarded until the following spring.

After Father Schoenmakeis had left them, the poor In-
dians counted the days and the hours until spring, at which

* Tlic Very Kevoreiul M. do l;i Ooix, now Oiiuori at Gliciit, luid vis-
ited the Osages iu 1820. Fatlier Van Ciuickeuborne visited tlieiu bev-
oral years later, as well as the licv. Mr. Lutz.

AND MISSIONARIES.

353

time he promised to return to tliera ; but they waited ia
vain! The year glided past; they lost all hope of seeing
him again. Nevertheless, they were resolved to accept none
hut Catholic missionaries.

When all our preparations w ."e completed, Father Schoen-
makers, myself, and three coadjutor brothers, quitted St.
Louis on the Vth of April, 1849, and we arrived on the bank
of the Neosho, a tributary of tlie Arkansas, situated about
130 miles from Westport, frontier town of the State of
Missouri.

To you, my dear Father, who have many times traversed
the great wilderness of the West, in its w^hole extent, from
the States to the Pacific, who have travelled over the Rocky
Mountains and their vallcj's — our pains, troubles, and fatigues
must appear truly insignificant. But this trial was very
severe to us, who were entering, for the first time, into the
immense prairies of the Indians, which we had only measured
according to the deceptive images of our imagination. Tru-
ly, the reality appeared to us very different. We endured
hunger, thirst, and cold. For a fortnight we were obliged
to pass our nights in the open air, in the dampest season of
the year, each having naught for a bed but a buffido-hide
and a single blanket.

About 100 miles from Westport we had a panic. Ar-
rived at a place named " Walnut Grove," we perceived, in
the distance, a large troop of mounted Indians, who turned
directly towards us. Unaccustomed to such sights, we were
seized with great anxiety, which soon changed to genuine
fright; for we saw those savages, on approaching us, alight
from their horses with extraordinary agility. At once they
took possession of our carts and wagons, which we fancied
destined to pillage. They examined our chests and our bag-
gage as minutely and coolly as old custom-house otiiccrs.

354

WKSTERN MISSIONS

Happily we recovered from onv fright. Wc presenled them
some rolls of tobacco. They shook hands with us in token
of friendship. Soon after we lost sight of them, congiatu-
lating ourselves at having escaped at so trifling an expense.
An idea, however, occupied us: they might repent of their
benevolence towards us, and attack us and steal our horses
during the night. We consequently left the ordinary route,
and went and camped far in the plain. These Indians, as
we learned later, belonged to the natiDu of Sauks, and had
been })aying a visit to their allies, the Osages.

On the 28th of April we reached our destination, to the
great surprise and delight of the Indians ; for, as 1 have al-
ready observed to you, they had resigned the hope of seeing
us. It would be impossible to paint to you the enthusiasm
with which we were received. They considered us as meu
whom the Great Spirit had sent to teach them the good
news of salvation ; to trace out to them the path to heaven,
and to procure them, also, earthly peace and plenty.

At the first sight of these savages, and finding myself sur-
rounded by these children of the desert, I could not suppress
the pain I felt. I saw their sad condition. The adults had
only a slight covering over the middle of the body ; the lit-
tle children, even as old as six or seven years, were wholly
destitute of clothing. Half serious, half jesting, I thought
that a truly savage portion of the Loid's vineyard had been
given me to cultivate; but I did not lose courage. The ob-
ject of my desires, and the subject of my pi-ayers, during
many long years, had been to become a missionary to the
Indians. That grace was obtained ; I felt contented and
happy.

On our airival, we found the houses unfinished, verv
inconvenient, and much too small for :i great number of
children; they were also very badly situated, not being, as

■ is

AND MISSIONARIftS.

355

tliey should have been, in the centre of all tlie villages which
compose the mission. From this resulted an increase in the
number and difficulties of our occupations.

The population of tiie tribes (compiised under the name of
Great Osages and Little Osages), is nearly 5000 souls, of
whom 3500 reside on the banks of the Neosho ; and the oth-
ers on the Verdigris, a little river smaller than the former,
although the valleys and the prairies that it waters are more
favorable to culture.

The Osages who remain on the banks of the Neosho are
divided into several villages. The Little Osages form a pop-
ulation of 1500 souls, and are twentv-two miles from the
mission. The village of Nanze-Waspe contains six hundred
inhabitants, at a distance of twelve miles; the village Bif-
cliief is composed of three hundred souls, four miles; the
Weichaka-Ougrin, of five hundred, three miles; Little-Town
numbers three hundred inhabitants, and is thirty miles dis-
tant; Bif-hill, or Passoi-Ougrin, situated on tlie Veixligris,
forty miles off, has a population of six hundred souls; les
Cheniers, or Sanze-Ougrin, amount to nearly seven hundred,
fifty-live miles ; the Black-Dog, or Skankta-Sape, village, sixty
miles off, contains four hundred inhabitants. There are, be-
sides, other small villages, dispersed at a great distance from
lis. The two rivers on which they dwell empty into the Ar-
kansas. The lowlands are in general swampy, but the plain
of the Neosho is sandy.

Formerly the Osages were represented as cruel and per-
verse, addicted to the most degrading vices ; calumny de-
picted them as thieves, assassins, and drunkards.

To this last reproach, I am grieved to say they have given
occasion ; they are passionately fond of intoxicating liquors.
The effects of this vice had become so terrible that, on our
arrival, entire tribes were nearly destroyed. In the spring

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WESTERN MISSIONS

of 1847, in one village alone, thirty young men, in the prime
of life, were victims to stronn- drink. I have met men,
women, and children, in a complete state of intoxication,
dragging themselves to their wigwams like so many brutes.
This spectacle, my dear Father, drew foilh many tears and
sio-hs from those who had been selected and sent to labor for
the happiness and salvation of these unfortunate beings. It
was extremely painful to look at those sons of the wilderness,
delivered to the enemy of God and man. Thanks to our
Lord, the evil was extirpated at its root ; the advice of a
kind and very worthy agent of government, as well as our
own eft'orts, have succeeded so well, that drunkenness has
been almost completely banished. Daily prayers are offered
that this crime, -and all the miseries which arise in its train,
may not aj)p('ar among us. At present, the Indians them-
selves comprehend the necessity of temperance. Several
among them come frequently to tell me, with great simpli-
city, that they do not fall into this vice any mt)re. These
savages exhibit in their stoical resolutions, a degree of cour-
age that should excite a blush on the cheek of many a white
man.

Those who call them thieves and assassins have calumni-
ated them. Some bands of thieves, going from the north to
the south, cross the settlements of the Osages, as well as
those of the whites who inhabit the front^ors. It is their
trade to steal every thing and carry all away, and in such a
manner that the Osages have been accused of the thefts.
We may say as much of the pillages committed on the route
to Santa Fe.

According to my experience, there are few nations, in this
region, as attable and as atFectionate as the Osages. Indeed,
it may be said, that it is natural to them to wish to live in
peace i;nd perfect friendship with all whom they know.

AND MISSIONAKIKS.

357

Peace and harmony reign among tlicm ; no harsh words
ever escape their tongues, unless wlien they have drunk to
excess. Now tliey are at, peace witli all the tribes, except
with the Pawnee-Mahas, whose manner of acting towards
them would inspii-e aversion in civilized people as well as in
barbai'ians. Scarcely arc the Osages gone forth to hunt,
than the Pawnees, who wait this moment, fall on their un-
defended villages, pillage the wigwams, and steal the horses.
The Osages have tVecpiently made peace with this nation ;
but the treaties have hardly been ratified, ere the perfidious
enemy renewed its attacks.

I have long but vainly endeavored to put an end to the
cruel mania of taking off" the scalps of the dead and wounded.
In this project, as in many others, I liave been checked by
the bad counsels and bad examples of the whites. I should
be i)leased to be able to tell the savages, with whom I am
charged, to imitate the whites, and it would be most agree-
able to me to propose them as mddels of imitation ; but my
words would be very ineftectual. Here, as formerly in Pa-
raguay, the Indian derives no advantage from the vicinity of
the whites ; on the contrary, he becomes more artful, more
deeply plunged in vice, and finding no blasphemous words
in his own tongue, curses his God in a foreign language.

To demonstrate to you the evil effects of the proximity of
the whites, I will cite you a little anecdote. The fact oc-
curred about a year ago. I was giving an instruction in a
vilhiLre named Woichaka-0u2;rin, or Cockle-Bird. The sub-
ject was intemperance. I spoke of the evil consequences of
this passion, of its ett'ects on the health, of the rapidity with
which it conducts men to the tond), or separates them from
their wives and their children, whom the Great Spirit had
intrusted to them. I added that the pleasure attending
drinking was extremely short, while the punishment would

358

WESTEliN MISSIONS

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be eternal. A.s I was concluding, Shapc-sliin-kaouk, or Tlio
Little Beaver, one of the principal men of the tribe, arose
uiul said to me: "Father, what thou sayest is true. Wo
believe thy words. We have seen many buried because they
loved and drank fire-water. One thing astonishes us. We
are ignorant ; we are not acquainted with books ; we never
heard the words of the Great Spirit: but the whites, who
know books, who have understanding, and who have heard
the commandments of the Great Spirit, — why do thej/ drink
this fire-water ? why do they sell it to us ? or why do they
bring it to us, while they know that God sees them ?"

I will now enter into some more particular details concern-
ing our niissions and our labors. Immediately after our ar-
rival in the spring of 1847, our first care was to prepare a
school. It was opened on the 10th of May. The scholar
were not very numerous at the commencement ; some half-
bloods and three Indians were the only ones that presented
themselves. The parents, full of prejudices against a "school,''
gave for excuse, that the children who had been confided to
the former missionaries (the Presbyterians), had learned
nothing, had been whipped every day, made to work con-
tinually, and at last ran away. These reports spread far
and wide. The most efficacious correction that a father
could employ against a child, was to threaten it with being
sent to school. I had proofs of this a short time after our
arrival. In one of my visits to a village of Little Osages,
called Iluzegta, having an interpreter with me, I entered
into the lodge of the first chief. On presenting myself, I
ofi'ered my hand in token of friendship. "Who are you?"
said he to me. " A tapouskn, or missionary," was the reply.
During some moments, he hung his head without uttering a
word. Then raising his eyes, he said, in a bad humor:
"The missionaries never did any good to our nation." The

AND MISSIONARIES.

359

interpreter answered that T did not belong to the (tlass of
missiunjiries that lie had seen ; that I was a French tapoiiska,
a Black-gown, who had come at their reqnest and at that of
their "Great Father." Then serenity reMpj)eared on the
visage of the chief, and he cried out, *'This is good news."
He immediately oft'ered me his hand, called his wife, and or-
dered butfalo-soup, wishing to feast my arrival. He pro-
posed several questions relative to the manner in which I
would educate the children, if they were sent to me; he de-
clared to me that he did not approve of whipping the chil-
dren ; he asked mo, in fine, if we would instruct aged per-
sons. When I told him that we came to instruct everybody,
to announce the word of God to the whole nation, he ex-
pressed much delight and gratitude. As soon as he knew
us and learned the object of our visit, his pi'ejudices and his
appsehensions vanished.

At my tiist visits, the children would not approach me.
I dissipated their fears by giving them cakes or marbles, with
which my pockets were always filled. They became ftimiliar,
and in a short time they were extremely attached to me.
The first who came to school, being veiy happy, expressed
their satisf;ictioTi and their delight to their parents, piaising
the care of the Black-gowns in teaching and feeding them.
This news spread abroad. Now the children entreat the
parents to sutler them to go to the mission ; the parents
never refuse them, for the Indian is full of indulgence towards
his little ones.

Before the close of the year, those who were received and
those who desired to be admitted, surpassed the number that
we could lodge. We have ever since been crowded. In a
house built, tor tw^enty pei'sons only, we were obliged to
lod<xe fiftv children. In order to take measures, the nation
assembled and requested the agent to petition their Great

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WKSTKRN MISSIONS

J'^uther to aujxment and cnlarmj the houses of tlie mission.
The i^uveniiiienL acceded to this deiiiund.

The chiefs cannot be too much piai.sed for the good ex-
ample that tliey have given to tlie natit)n, and llie ardent
desire that they manifested for tlie echication of their daiigli-
tcrs. When tiiey first made me this hitter request, I fuund
myself singularly embarrassed for the means of realizing so
laudable a project. Father Schoenmakers resolved to interest
a kind and fervent community of nuns in the education of
the Osage girls. With this intention he went to St. Louis;
but he knocked in vain at the door of several convents of
that city, for the enterprise frightened every one. He was
not discouraged. At length he succeeded in obtaining the
good and charitable Sisters of Loretto, ' Kentucky, for the
education of the girls of this remote mission. In the autumn
of the year 1847, four religious arrived to share our labors.
Their sulierings, their trials, and their privations were very
groat. They were obliged to sleep in tlie open aii'. That
did not hinder two other Sisters from coming to join them a
little after in their heroic enterprise. Their patience, their
kindness, their courage, and their persevciance have gained
the esteem, affection, and love of every one. They are suc-
ceeding: they have already produced a considerable change,
and are doing great good. The talents displayed in the di-
rection of their school, and the rapid progress of the children
are admired by all the strangers who visit this comnumity.

In order not to pass the limits of a letter, I will leave the
rest till another moment, and I will inclose it to you in a
few days.

In the mean time, reverend and very dear Father, I com-
mend myself to your holy sacrifices and your good prayers.

Your ever devoted Biother,

J. J. Bax, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

361

Letter XXIX.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brusse ,

The Osages. — Tlie second Letter of Father Bax.

Holland, January, 1857.
Reverend Father:

I inclose the second letter of Father Bax, mentioned in
mine of December 1st.

Village of St. Francis Hteronymo, June 10th, 1850.

Rev. and very dear Father : — In my last letter I was
obliged, against my inclination, to give you a very .abridged
description of the truly prosperous state of our schools.

Nothing astonishes the whites more than the extraordinary
progress of our little Osages in the different branches taught
them. Such are : reading, writing, arithmetic, geography,
and grammar, for the boys ; reading, writing, geography,
needlework, embroidery, and drawing, for the girls. To
these dispositions all join a very decided taste for music, and
find great pleasure in singing pious canticles. They are, be-
sides, very polite, docile, and obedient. As soon as they
perceive a white, their first movement is to go and present
him the hand. Their sensibility and good dispositions have
often alleviated the pain that we experienced when our means
would not suffer us to pi'ovide for their necessities.

If it happen that one of the Fathers is absent during three
rr four days, they are on the watch for the moment when

362

WK8TKRN MISSIONS

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he is rxpccted. As soon as tlicy perceive him, which some-
tiini-'.s t;ik('8 place at a tlistaiice of three or four miles, noth-
ing can liiiuler theni from running to meet him, and crying
out: "Father, how are you? how do you do?"

'I'he greater number among them are remarkable for truly
admirable sentiments of devotion. Hence religion is the
ujost efiicacious means for correctinjx the faults usual at their
age. The most pc^wcrful rebuke that we can make them is
to ask them : " My child, when you were baptized, did you
not promise God that you would be good?" Of a consider-
able number, we may report great progress in the catechism.
Forty have made their first communion. These last visit the
Blessed Sacrament with as much regularity and devotion as
the most fervent among the faithful.

The above, Kev. Father, gives us the highest consolation.
Hardly two yeais since, these little neophytes were running
naked in tlie woods and on the plains, addicted to every kind
of vice, {\nd having no knowledge of their Creator, nor of
the end of their creation. Never has the fjoodness of God
been more manifest to me ; never have 1 seen the divine in-
fluence more generally felt and better appreciated ; never,
before this day, have I been so intimately convinced that the
Lord otiers to all nations, to every family, and to each indi-
vidual, the means of being saved, and of being united to the
Holy Church.

What happened to us on the day of our ariival here,
serves as a powerful confiimation of tliis truth. It was re-
ported lo us that an Indian had just died in a village about
four miles distant. I expressed to my informant the grief
this misfortunt^ caused me. He told me that another man,
i)i t'l'' >'Mi!* jihico, w;is at ;1h' point of de.ith. In tiie iiope
of uriiviug in time to baptize him, I set out immediately.
Arrived at the place where the Neosho divides into two

AND MISSIONARIES.

363

bnmchos, I found tljo waters so swollen tliat it was impos-
sible to pass thern, and would be so during sev<'ral days more.

On the fourth day (it was Sunday), a half-blood passed
the river on the trunk of a tree, to come and hear mass. I
questioned him concerning the state of the sicik man. Ho
had been in his agony during four days; he had ever shown
an excellent deportment, and had manifested an earnest de-
sire to see the IMack-gown, who had come to announce the
word of God to his nation. I mounted my horse directly,
with some apprehension that my guide might delay my ar-
rival. In this I was mistaken — he reached there more
quickly on foot than I on my hoise.

I found my Indian extremely ill ; evidently he was hast-
ening rapidly to eternity. As soon as I entered the lodge,
be saluted me with joy and ati'ection. I made him compre-
hend, by means of an interpreter, that I caine to speak with
him of the Great Spirit, and instruct him in the truths neces-
sary to salvation, "I thank thee, Father: thy words are
kind and consoling; my heart is overjoyed that thou ht.st
come." Such were the words he addressed me with a dying
voice. I spoke to hira of the dispositions requisite for re-
ceiving baptism, and told him, among other things, that be
must renounce all the bad actions that he might have com-
mitted, be contrite for them, and never again do evil, though
he might be restored to health ; that if he was sincerely dis-
posed to act thus, the Great Spirit would forget all the sins
of his past life. "Father," he replied, "I always wished to
be good; I never stole, I never became drunk, I have never
killed. However, if I have olfended the Great Spirit, I re-
pent. I desire to please him, so that, if I die, he may have
mercy on me, and grant me the grace of being admitted into
his presence." Fatigued with the etlbrt he had made to
speak, he kept silence during several moments ; then, again

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WESTERN MISSIONS

T! (

opening his eyes, he said: "Father, if thou believest mc
worthy of receiving baptism, thou wilt grant me a great favor
and many blessings." Fully satisfied with the lively desire
that he manifested, I administered that sacrament to him.
Scarcely was lie n^geiierated in the he;ding waters of bap-
tism, than lie ex[>ii'('d, and went to enjoy the happiness re-
served to the children of the Church.

The consolino; death of this Indian was followed bv a most
distressing scene. I had never witnessed demonstrations of
sorrow so profonnd. The men, throwing otf that st()i(;al in-
difference which appeal's to be so natural to them, heaved
deep sighs and shed torrents of tears; the women, with di-
shevelled hair, shiieked and gave all the signs of a despair
over which reason cannot predominate. I buried the Indian,
on the followino: dav, in accoidance with the ritual of the
Church. The whole village was present at this ceremony.
The assistants witnessed the attention and lespect wliich we
pay to the dead with a deep gratitude. From that time
forth, we have- always assisted the sick in their agony. The
time for instructinii' them is verv short, and their ideas con-
cerning religion are more than im{)eivect ; but, on the other
side, they have all the simplicity and g(X)d-will of children,
and their dispositions are most consoling.

A few days ago I baptized the oldest man in the nation.
Impossible to tell you the impressions I experienced when
pouring the holy water over that head, whitened with length
of years. l>aptism is one of the sacraments of our holy re-
ligion that the Indianj^ understand the best, and it is the
one that tln^v are most desirous of receiving.

Some incidents, that a few would style providential, and
others accidental, have contributed much to augment (in this
tribe) faith concerning the efficacy of that sacrament. I
will cite but one example.

AND MISSIONARIES.

3G5

One evening — it was during the autumn of 1848— an
Indian arrived at the Mission. Grief and anxiety were de-
picted on his face. As soon as he perceived me, he said to
me: "Father, come without delay, for my wife is dying.
All despair, and T consider her ah-eady as dead. Thou didst
tell us to call thee when any one was sick or in danger of
death. I wish her to learn the words of the CJreat Spirit
before she dies. This is why I come to call thee." I liad
jiist arrived from a village '-^Med Cawva-Sliinka, or Little
Village, situated thirty miles from the Mission ; I was ex-
hausted witli fatigue. But how resist an invitation so press-
ing, and above all in a cii'cumstance so grave ? After a mo-
ment of repose, I set out with the man. Arrived at the vil-
lage at midnight, I found the hwlge filled with women and
chihlren, crying, and singing the Indian death-song. I be-
sought them to conclude these lugubrious accents, and ap-
proached the sick woman, extended on a buflalo-hide, and
scarcely covered with some tattered blankets. She was un-
conscious. As she appeared to me not likely soon to return
to herself, I resolved to remain until morning. An Indian
had the kindness to lend nie his blanket ; I wi-apped myself
in it, and endeavored tc take a few hours' rest. But it was
vain. I never passed such a miserable nigli'^,. The women
and the children recommenced their fright^'al clamor; the
dogs of the wigwam passed back and forw^vd over me with
such steady regularity, that it would have I een quite impos-
sible to me to count the number of visits. About davlip-ht,
the patient began to give some signs of lif ; but she could
not yet, speak. As soon as she liad rec vered her senses
entirely, I made her a short exhortation. 5}he appeared at-
tentive, and gave signs of real joy. I ba[ lized her, and de-
parted. Two liours after mv leaving she was perfectly re-
covered. She arose, took he ' infant, and aur.-cd it.

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WESTERN MISSIONS

Not long after, I returned to the same village, and found
myself imiiiedlafely surrounded by men, women, and cliil-
dn^n, shouting, unanimously, "Komkai" — we are very glad
to see you. This word I.-, used for giving a cordial reception.
After recounting to me the fact, and the cure of the sick
woinan, they brought me twenty-five children to baptize.
*' Father," said they to me, " we believe thy words. We
know that baptism comes from the Great Spirit. We are
poor, ignorant people ; we cannot read the book that con-
tains the word of the Great Spirit; but thou wilt explain it
to us, and we will believe thee." I have had very evident
proofs of li.e sincerity of their good intentions, and of their
firm resolution not to ofieud God, after having received
baptism.

About a month ago, I stopped at an Indian wigwam. Its
inmates had not been able to go to the chase, on account of
the illness cf their little dauo-hter. Her mother told me
that they were ^uftering with hunger, and that they had not
eaten meat for a lono; time. She added that she had seen a
stray ox in the forest, belonging to a white man, and, that
she would have killed it had she not recalled the promise
that she had made at her baptism — rather to die than do
that which is sinful ; that she preferred to die of hunger, to
oftending the Greiit S})irit; and, that if she had killed the
ox, the Great Spirit would no k)nger have had compassion
on her in her misery. This little recital pleased and edified
me. I could not refrain from reflecting, that the condition
of the world would be widely difterent, did ail Christians
remember as faithfully and practically their baptismal vows
as did this poor Indian woman.

So far, we have baptized more than fiv#* hundred persons.
One hundred adults and children have hfff the happitiess of
receiving the sacrament of regeneration before dying. When

* '■<«»..- ,

AND MISSION ARIKS.

3G7

the TiK.lians are well taiiy^ht, we liave not luucli to fear iti
regard to their exemplary con(hiot. The greatest obstacle
for us is in the diificulty that we experi<,^nce iii ac<juii'ing
their t<jngue. It contains very few words, and those quite
inconvenient for expressing abstract ideas. These people
have some confused ideas of a Supreme Being, of the im-
mortality of the soul, of the bliss or of the cliastisements of
the future life ; but. these ideas are mingled with niatei-ial
and superstitious notions. The following is an example :
They believe that those whom the Great Spirit admits into
his happy abode v.ill tiiere receive an abundance of buffaloes,
moose, deer, and coi'n ; that when a jx'rson dies, his soul
continues to inhabit tlie place in whicli it quitted the body;
that souls sometimes return from the other world, to take
and conduct there other souls. For this rea^^on they fear to
travel in the dark, especially when any one is very ill; they
tliink that then there certainly is some spirit fluttering about
in the air. Some of their Vigdcontah (jugglers) pretend, on
many occasions, to have the power of chasing this spirit, and
of saving the life of the person who is dangerously sick.
When there is danger of death, the most superstitious have
f equent recourse to these " medicine men ;" a horse, a mule,
or even several, must reward these services. I knew one of
those impostors who by this trade had gained, in one spring
only, thirty-two horses. Their efforts tend principally to
persuading the poor Indians not to call upon us in their mal-
adies. They declare, with the greatest assurance, that they
will annul the efficaciousness of our power.

Last spring I went to pay a visit to the Little Osages. The
day of my arrival, I baptized three persons who were dan-
gerously sick ; they died the next day. Some days after, a
malignant fever broke out, and proved fatal to many. The
jugglers attributed the cause of the scourge to my presence,

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WESTEKN MISSIONS

doclaring that I had annihilated tlieir pover over the spirits.
It is afflicting, but also somewhat l.iugbj.b.?, to see these jug-
glers endeavoring to drive away the spii'its. They make
themselves as hideous as possible, equip themselves with all
their instruments and weapons, discharge their guns, bran-
dish their clubs and tomahawks, beat the drum, and have
recourse, in fine, to whatever can produce a noise ; in a woid,
they employ all imaginable tricks to deceive those poor
Indians. But their power, which was formerly very great, is
beginning to decline. The esteem which the savages had
lor them is daily diminishing. The Indians are attached to
us, principally, say they, because we have no wives and
children. " If you had," they say, " you would do like the
missionaries (the presbyterians) who preceded you , you
would think too much of your families, and you would neg-
lect the red-man and his children."

I often go and visit them in their villages, and I am always
received with the greatest civility. A crier precedes me, to
announce my approach. When they are all collected in a
large wigwam, or beneath the wide-spread branches of some
stately tree, I begin my instruction. They listen most
attentively. When I have done speaking, the chief rises,
and addresses his tribe some words of paternal advice, and
i'epe?us what the missionary has said, or makes comments on
it. One Sunday a chief named Pai-nonpashe, of the Great-
Hill Village^ on the Verdigris River, came to see his two
children, who were boarding with us. A short instruction,
which I gave after mass, produced such an impression on hia
mind, that, when returning home, he said to a halt-breed who
accompanied him : " I begin now to discover what we must
do to be agreeable to the Great Spirit, and to become happj
in this life and in the other."

The excellent health enjoyed by our children at tlie mis

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AND MISSIONARIES.

369

sion school, great'y astonishes the parents. Indeed, thus far
sickness has been unknowu among them ; not one of tliem
has died since we have been here. Tliis contributes much to
augment the confidence which the Indians feel towards us,
and dissipates all ^heir fears during the season of the great
hunts, in which they are obliged to remove from us for
several months.

When the frightful ravages caused by the cholera along
the river Kansas, at Westport, and in other places, were
known here, the Osages, panic-struck, immediately resolved
to go and seek their safety in the plains. Some desired to
conduct their children with them ; but the majority opposed
it, in the firm persuasion that they would be in sec^urity un-
der the care of the Black-gowns, and protected by the Son
of God and his Holy Mother. They therefore retired to the
plains, and left their children with us. They had been but
a short time in their new abode, when the cholera declared
itself in the most terrible manner, and carried off a great
number. Perceiving their error in having fied from the mis-
sion, they hastened to return, and encamp, as they said,
quite near the kind Fathers. They consequently hastened
with such precipitation that they made no provision, and
travelled day and night. In proportion as they reached
their own lands, the scourge diminished. The last case of
death occurred at fifteen miles from the mission.

The greatest difticulties we encounter arise from the half-
bloods, almost all of French origin. They have nothing of
the Catholic but baptism, and an inviolable attachment to
their creed, of which, for want of instruction, they know
almost nothing, and they practise still less. They have,
again and again, proved to the Protestant ministers that
their eftbrts to make thein chanjjje their relitiion were abso*
hitely useless.

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WESTERN MISSIONS

Another obstacle for us is the mode of life that the Indians
are obliged to lead, in order to procure the provhions that
are necessary for their subsistence. They commonly pass six
months of the year in the chase, which forces them to remove
from us, and exposes the morality of those who would wish
to live as exemplary Christians, to great temptations and
dangers. I hope that this state of at!airs will change ; for
many are already convinced that they cannot long rely on
the game, and that they should have al'^^-ady commenced
cultivating their grounds, had they but the means necessary.

A deputation of the nation, composed of the principal
chief, of five warriors, and an interpreter, went to pay a visit
to their " Great Father." President Taylor received them
with the greatest ki: Iness, and encouraged them to com-
mence cultivating their lands. I cannot express to you the
gi'atitude that I experience when I think of the truly pater-
nal care lavished on my dear savages by their Great Father,
and by all the officers employed in the Indian department.
The savagc^s have been greatly flattered by it. I am fully
convinced that great good will result from it.

This, Rev. Father, is but an imperfect sketch of the state
of our mission, in which we hope to gather many fruits of
salvation, if it please God that we remain in it. Pecuniary
difliculties have placed, and still plnoe us in very critical
positions; but. Rev. Father, the assistance that we some-
times receive from the Propagation of the Faith, from some
generous hearts and friends of the Indians, relieves us. We
hope in divine Providence for all and in all. "God is faith-
ful." Commend us to the prayers of your pious congrega-
tion, and of your kind community in St. Louis.
Reverend and most dear Father,

Your devoted brother in Jesus Christ,

J. J. Bax, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

371

Letter XXX.

Tq "^hk Editor of the Precis Hisr^^uQUES, Buussels.

TJie Osages. — Third Letter of Father Bax.

Bbusski.s, Janimry 25, 1857.
Reverend Father :

This letter is tlie last writteu by the Rev. Father Bax,
I gave you an extract from it in my 22d Letter, when sket(;h-
ing the biography of that zealous missionary, who fell a vic-
tim to his devotedness in the maladv, the ravaofcs of which
he here mentions :

Mission among the Osaoks, St. Francis >
HiEHoxYMO, April 18, 18r)2. j

Reverend and dear Father: — I desired to write to you
much sooner, but we have been for some time, and are yet,
in a terrible crisis. I. have never witnessed aught like it ;
yet God's gracious will be done !

About three weeks before the o-rand solemnitv of Easter,
forty-five children of our boarding-school fell sick, in an
interval of three days and a half. At first, we could not
discern the nature of the malady. It commenced by a
heavy cold, attendinl with a burning fever. After four or
five days, the nieaslos broke out. At first the alarm was
not very great, but the measles disappeareil and was replaced
by a putrid fever. On Pass'on f'-inday, the sadilest of my

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372

WESTERN MISSIONS

life, we had two corpses laid out, and about twelve of our
cliiidren in danger of death. Eleven of our scholars fell
victims in a short time, and two will perhaps speedily follow
them. We are obliged to interrupt the school for some
time, until this terrible visilatiou bo passed. The contagion
is spreac'.ug among the Indians, and the mortality is very
great. It will be difficult to collect again the scattered flock.
However, 1 may say, that never liitherto, either among pv^o-
ple of color or whites, either among peisons of the world or
religious, have I been witness to so much piety and fervor on
the bed of death, as were exhibited by our young neophytes.
They may serve as models. Some, })rompled l>y their own
piety, asked to hold the crucifix in their hands, and pressed
it fervently to them, without being willing to yield it, during
more than two hours. They wished the statue of the Blessed
Virgin to be placed near the pillows of their beds. They
implored the assistance of their holy Mother, and fixed their
dying eyes on her image. I firmly hope and believe that
they already ^njoy the presence of God.

The Lord seeuis to be willing to gather into his garner the
little that we have sowed here below. What may be the
designs of Providence for the future, we cannot and dare
not conjecture. We have lost several of our best scholars,
and of those on whom we had founded our greatest expec-
tations.

Reverend and dear father,

Your very devoted servant

and brother in Jesus Christ,

J. J. Bax, S. J.

I',. »■

III

A,-.

AND MISSIONARIES.

373

Letter XXXI.

To A Father of the Society of Jesus.*
Conversion of Randolph Benton^ son of Thomas II. Benton.

Reverend and dear Father :

While Kossuth was in our midst, stirring up civil and
religious dissensions, God consoled his calumniated children
by the conversion of several Protestants. To comply with
the wish expressed in your last letter, I will relate to you
the details of the conversion of young Mr. Randolph Ben-
ton, the only son of the distinguished and Hon. Thomas H.
Benton, one of the most eminent statesmen of this vast
republic.

This great man, who, for thirty years, with the greatest
distinction and with a patriotic zeal, has served his country
as Senaior from Missouri, professes, with the rest of his fam-
il}', the Presbyterian religion. Young Randolph, possessed
of talent, and yet very young, had been difficult to manage
and had proved the source of a good deal of anxiety to his
worthy parents, particularly to his aged father, who had
formed great hopes of him. The son was only twenty- two
years and four months old when he died, and yet, though so
young, he had rambled over the greater portion of the Uni-
ted States, New Mexico, Californi;i, and Oregon. At the ago
of fourteen he accompanied his biother-in-law, the celebrated

* This letter was transmitted by Father De Sniet, after Col. Benton's
death, to the " N. Y. Freeman's Journal," and published May 1, 1858.

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WESTKRN MISSIONS

(Joloiiel Fn;nioiit, in the exploration of the Great Western
Desert. Four years later, lie resided for some time at West-
plialia, Missouri, where we had a residence, and there ap-
plied himself to the study of the German, under the instruc-
tion of one of our Fathers, and perliai)s it is owing to this
circumstance, that ever since lie has felt so nnich respect for
our holy religion. I will briefly relate the details of his con-
version.

He had returned from New Mexico to St. Louis, and for
some weeks had been staying with his parents. He con-
ceived the idea of applying himself to the study of the sci-
ences and of the ancient languages, and of rapidly acquiring
a knowledge of them. In this intention, and by the advice
of his father, he called upon the President of the Univer-
sity,* and asked to be admitted to its classes as an extern, if
his age should be an objection to his entrance as a boarder.
The arrangements for his admission had all been fixed, when
a few days later he was attacked with bilious diarrhoja,
which very quickly prostrated him.

It was at this moment that, meeting the honored Senator,
I was informed by him of the sad news of his son's danger-
ous illness. At his request I visited the invalid, and found
him in a condition truly alarming. Young Randolph ex-
pressed to me the very great joy he felt upon seeing me, and
thanked me warmly for my visit. I seated myself by his
sick couch, and exhorted him to place all his confidence in
divine Providence, and in the mercy of our Redeemer. He
listened to me with marked attention, and at the same time
manifested sentiments both of piety and resignation to God's
will. "O God," he exclaimed, — "yes, O God, thou dost
send to us what is best!" I then spoke to him of the essen-

* St. Louis University.

AND MISSIONARIES.

37;'

«i>

tial points of our ivligion, to all of which Ran<lolph ex-
pressed his assent, couched in words replete with fervor and
piety. The Senator was present during the interview, and
seeing in his son such Christian sentiments, atl'ectionately
clasped my hand, and leading me away a little distance from
the led, said to me with transport, "Oh, but it is consuling!
The words of my son fill me with joy, despite the grief vvhit'h
tears my heart. God be blessed. If he dies he will die a
Christian." The venerable f>ld man then burst into tears, and
retired into a neighboring room in order to conceal his emo-
tion. I returned to the bedside of Randolph, and he an-
nounced to me his desire of being received into the Catholic
Chui'ch. "I desire, with all my heart," he said, '"to be bap-
tized. It is a great boon which Heaven vouchsafes to me.
My father certainly will consent to it." I immediately en-
tered the apartment to which his father had retired, to
communicate his son's wish, and to console him by the
condition of his son in a religious point of view. I also
spoke of the urgency and the necessity of baptism. Tho
Seraior willingly consented. He would have desired that
the ceremony should be postponed for a few hours " until
the opiates, which for a day past had been given to the
patient, should have procured for him a little sleep," but
there was danger in thus delaying. This forced sleep made
me uneasy. I remarked to tlie Senator that the ceremony
could not in any manner disturb the patient's sieep, except
for a very few moments; it might have a beneficial efiect in
tranquillizing his mind. He atlectionately asked me to per-
form for his son the duties of nr' holy ministry. The latter
learned '.h'\? consent with joy and gratitude, and inimcdiMt' ly
prepared Irinself to I'eceive the holy sacrament of baptism.
While I was administering it to him, he devoutlv crossed his
arms over his breast, and raising his eyes to heaven prayed

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376

WKSTBRN MISSIONS

with fervor, thanking God for the signal grace accorded to
him. I then left him, urging him to try and take some
sleep. I left in order to procure the bleased sacrament of the
holy oils. An hour later I received the following note, writ-
ten by Colonel Benton :

Hai<f-past 11 o'clock, March 16, 1852.

Mr DEAR Father De Smet :

I went into the room the moment you left me. lie
immediately said to me, " Are you pleased with what I have
done ?" I said, " I am ;" and then engaged him to yield to
the opiates he had taken, and go to sleep. He saia, " Ex-
citement and happiness have done more for me than sleep
could do," and immediately turning his eyes to heaven as he
lay on his back, the head raised on the pillow, he said in a
clear, calm, modulated voice, and radiant look, " Thank God,
I am happy !" Then turning his eyes to me, with the same
voice and look, he repeated the words to me, and said, " I
intended to do it long ago, but did not know whether you
would like it." I told him he made me happy. And truly
it is the first feeling of relief I have had in these five terri-
ble days and nights. So, dear Father, all is in your hands
now. You are giving peace to me in giving it to him.

Affectionately,

Thos. H. Benton.

In another letter o? Colonel Benton to me, on the day sub-
sequent to the death of his son, he wrote as follows :

Dear Father De Smet :

This is to introduce to you Mr. Burke, a school com-
rade and friend of my poor child yeai's ago. I wish you to

ImIi!

AND MISSIONARIES.

877

talk with him. He will show that it was indeed long (in his
short life) that he meditated the step he took — even four
years ago. lie will give to you gratifying details, as lie has
to me, and will show (what you and I well knew, from him-
self and from our observation) that it was not the near
approach of death and the sick-bed that brought him to this
act, but his own heart, in the happiest state of his health
and mind.

Thos. H. Benton.

Young Randolph, during his last hours, was surrounded
by many of his near relatives and friends. During his lucid
moments he did not cease to manifest the deepest gratitude
to the divine goodness, that he should have been led back
to the fold of Chrirt. He received the last sacraments with
sentiments of great fervor ; and tranquilly, about sunrise of
the 17th March, 1852, went to sleep in the Lord, confident
in the hope that he exchanged this mortal life for another
and a happier one forever in heaven. The funeral services
were performed at the cathedral. The Most Rev. Arch-
bishop himself officiated and pronounced a beautiful dis-
course, well suited to the occasion. These circumstances,
together wifh the edifying scenes of the last moments, and
of the conversion of his son, cannot fail to leave a deep and
favorable impression upon the mind and the heart of the
venerable and illustrious Senator ; for he shared the happy
sentiments so piously and so tenderly expressed by his son,
before and after the latter had had the happiness to receive
the grace of baptism.

I have the honor to be, etc.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.
S2«

378

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XIXU.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Religious Situation of St. Louis and St. Ferdinand. — Death of
Rev. Father Bax. — The Osages.

Reverend Father :

The following is the copy of a letter which I wrote to
the Canon De la Croix, at Ghent. If that respected ecclesi-
astic will allow its publication, it may form the continuation
of those which I have already addressed you :

St. Joseph's College, Kentucky, April 16, 1855.

Reverend Sir : — I am informed, by a letter from one of
our Fathers in Belgium, that you have authorized him to
announce to us an advantageous donation, allowed by the
" Propagation of the Faith" in Lyons, for the purpose of aid-
ing the society in its labors in Missouri, which, at the present
time, extends into several otlier States and Territories, situated
in the West of this vast republic. I thank you, in the name
of the Rev. Father Provincial, with sentiments of the most
sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

Since the period of your departure, there have been many
changes in the wild-woods which you were one of the fiist
to evangelize. I thought it would give you pleasure to enter
into some details concerning the cities of St. Louis and of

AND MISSIONARIES.

379

St. Ferdinand, with which you were formerly so well ac-
quainted, and of the nomadic tribe of the Osages, of which
yon were the earliest apostle.

In 1823, St. Louis counted but 3000 or 4000 inhabitants.
There was but one- poor Catholic church — and two schools
were all that she could boast. At the present day her popu-
lation exceeds 120,000 souls; there is a handsome cathedral,
■with eleven other churches, a seminary for the secular clergy,
a large and magnificent hospital, directed by the Sisters of
St. Vincent of Paul ; a college of one hundre<l and fifty
? arders, one hundred and twenty half-boarders alid externs,
and three hundred or four hundred ijjiildren gratuitously
admitted. There is a boarding-school for the children of
good families, under the direction of the Brothers of the
Christian schools ; the Ladies of the Sacred Heart, the
Sisters of the Visitation, and the Ursuliues, have handsome
and extensive boarding-schools for young ladies. Five asy-
lums, for the two sexes, contain beyond five hundred
children ; and there is also a foundling hospital. A house of
retreat is opened to penitents, and to young girls in danger.
Eleven or twelve schools for boys and girls, are conducted by
religious. I regret that I have not the statistics of the
fructus animarum (fruit of souls) ; it must be extremely
consoling, for all the churches are very well frequented.

The fervor of the Catholics corresponds everywhere to the
zeal of their pastors. The union and harmony which reign
between the secular and regular clergy, under the paternal
administration of our venerable archbishop, contributes much
to propagate our holy religion, and to maintain the fervor of
the faithful in St. Louis. The Faith keeps pace with the
rapid and wonderful increase of our flourishing city, which
you saw in its cradle !

The following are some details of the spiritual fruits which

880

WESTERN MISSIONS

rejoice ilie pastors of the cliurch of St. Francis Xavier : In
the course of the hist year the cornnuiuions exceeded fifty
thousand. Every year the conversions of Protestants to the
Catholic religion amounts to as many as sixty or eighty. The
two Sodalities of the Blessed Virgin number more than four
hundred members, belonging to every rank of soci >.ty — law-
yers, physicians, merchants, clerks, and artists, are members
of them ; all approach the holy table once a month, and
wear the miraculous medal of our good Mother. The Arch-
confraternity numbers from iive thousand to six thousand
members ; the Confraternity of the Sacred Heart, two thou-
Hand. The sunday-school attached to the church is fre-
quented by nearly one thousand children.

From St. Louis to St. Ferdinand, or Florissant, fifteen
miles distant, there is a succession of beautiful farms and
neat country residences. You would not easily. Reverend
Sir, recognize it now. The convent, of which you were the
founder, has been enlarged since your departure, and has
passed into the hands of the Lorettines, a branch of the
house of Loretto, in Kentucky, instituted by the venerable
M. Nerinckx. The farm, formerly belonging to the bishop,
is greatly extended. Of the old cottage, and of the crib
which served you as a bed, there now remains but an edify-
ing remembrance — our brothers have replaced them by a
novitiate and scholasticate, built of hewn stone ; these two
establishments contain, at the present day, a community ol
nearly sixty religious, forty of whom are novices ; among the
latter many Americans.

You will undoubtedly be gratified to have some news ot
the mission of St. Francis Hieronymo among the Osages, to
whom you were the first to announce the consolations of the
everlasting Gospel. The seed of salvation which you planted,
and which was afterwards neglected, has not been sterile.

ANI> MISSIONARIES.

You are acquainted with the difficulties of the Osage mis-
fiion. Being in the neighborhood of the boundary line of the
United States, these Indians learn to a<lopt, very easily, all
the vices of the whites, without joining to them any of their
virtues, They forget the frugality and simplicity which for-
incily characterized them, and give themselves up to intem-
perance and the perfidiousness of civilized life. IIow<'ver,
every year a considerable number of adults enter the bosom
of the Church; a great number of children receive baptism,
and as they often die very young, they are so many innocent
souls who intercede in heaven for the conversion of their
unhappy parents, buried in the grossest superstition and
idolatry of paganism.

In the spring of 1852 an epidemic malady, which made
great ravages, became for a large number (although weaken-
ing the power of their nation) a blessed occasion of salva-
tion. The violence of this disease, against which the Indian
cannot be easily induced to take necessary precautions, the
sufferings of the whole tribe, the universal panic, the grief —
all these miseries presenting themselves under a thousand dif-
ferent forms — wrung the hearts of the missionaries. Naught
but the reflection that Providence had sent this terrible scourge
for their spiritual good, was capable of consoling them.

During this unhappy year, and when the extreme violence
of the epidemic had ceased, we were called to deplore the
loss of Father Bax, who fell a victim of truly heroic chaiity,
exercised towards the poor savages, in order to soothe their
sufferings, and win their souls to God. Father Bax was
born on the 15th of January, 1817, in a village near Turn-
hout, in Belgium. The disease, which commenced among
the children of the mission, spread rapidly throughout all
the villages of the tribe. Father Bax, by his knowledge of
medicine, and the cures which he effected, was renowned

:!l

382

WESTERN MISSIONS

throughout the nation. The savages came in troops from
every side to call him into their camps. It would be diffi-
cult to form an idea of all the fatigues he was obliged to
endure. From early morning, after having given somo
assistance to the children of the mission school, he would go
into the environs, from cabin to cabin, bearing gladness and
comfort in his passage. He afterwards would turn his steps
to the other camps of the nation, to otfer them the same
blessings. To do the last, it became necessary to employ
several days, and endure very heavy fatigue in visiting them.
The zealous religious administered the last sacraments to the
dying, baptized the expiring infants, taught the catechu-
mens, exhorted, and often succeeded in converting, the most
obstinate. He performed at once the office of physician,
catechist, and priest. He returned to the house of the mis-
eionaries, exhausted with fatigue, only to renew on the mor-
row the same deeds of charity, braving the incjlemency of
the seasons — the frequent rains of spring, the sudden and
overpowering heat of summer, with the sudden cold which
succeeds the heat in these sections, at this epoch of the year.
Ail this devotedness was not capable of hindering the
malice of some enemies — let us rather say, the rage of hell,
irritated at the view of so many souls rescued from its grasp.
The devil invented against the excellent missionary, and
against the whole mission, a calumny, — extremely ridiculous,
without doubt, in the eyes of the civilized, but entirely in
accordance with Indian prejudices, superstition, and credulity.
A I'eport was spread throughout the camps, that the whites
were the authors of the scourge ; that the Black-gowns (the
priests) had a magical charm, vulgarly called medicine,
which killed all the Indians; that this charm was a certain
hook^ in which they inscribed the names of the Osages, and
thereby obtained a power of life or death over all those

AND MISSIONAKIKS.

383

whose namos the book coiitainefl. The register of baptisms
was meant. They IidU the superstitious belief that whoso-
ever possesses a book, has an absohite empire over tiie life
of tliose whose tiames are written in it. The cahimny
spread from village to village, in all the cabins ; as it was
prop;«gated, its details assumed a darker hue. The malevo-
lent went about exhorting their companions to attack the
mission, saying that they would arrest the course of the
n»alady, if they could attain the destruction of the terrible
magical charm, by burning the enchanted book possessed by
the missionaries. This absurd tale was sufficient to engage
several parents to withdraw their children from the mission
school.

Fortunately, the Black-gowns had influential friends among
the chiefs of the Osages. They went no farther — en reason-
ing with the most intelligent Indians, they succeeded in ap-
peasing their rjige and ill-will. The Lord, who permits the
rising of the tempest, can calm it at his own good time!

Heaven accorded its benedictions to the efforts of Father
Bax and his companions in this painful ministry. Of nearly
1500 savages, who were swept away by the epidemic, all,
with a very few exceptions, had the happiness of being for-
tified by the last suciaments of the Church before dying.
Seized, at last, himself with symptoms of the illness, Father
Bax continued his oidinary labors, and dragged himself
around to visit the sick and dying- His zeal would not suf-
fer him to attend to himself. Strength soon failed him.
He was dying while still laboring ! He was obliged, at last,
to consent to allow himself to be transported about forty
miles from the mission, to Fort Scott, a military post, where
one of the most skilful physicians of the Uwited States army
then resided. It was too late, all the cares of the doctor,
proved useless. The good religious, the indefatigable mis-

384

WESTKRN MISSIONS

sioTiRry, was a fruit ripe for heaven. At the end of six weeks
}ie died as he had lived. His last aspirations showed still
his unfading zeal for the conversion of his dear savages.

During the five years that he passed in the missions, he
brought back to the faith a gieat number of half-bloods,
formerly baptized in the Church, but for want of priests
and instructions, unfortunately perverted by Protestant min-
isters ; besides, he baptized more than 2000 Indians, as well
children as adults, of every age. He instructed his neo-
phytes with the greatest care, and the most pains-taking as-
siduity. His charity had so gained the hearts, that all these
Ravages called him only by the beautiful word, which in the
Osage language signifies, " the Father who is all heart."

His death excited profumd regret. His fellow-religious
jherished him, and had always been edified by his ex-
amH* 'nd his virtues; the whites whom he visited on the
fron of the States, whom he fortified and encouraged in
the abandonment in which he found them, loved him as a
protector; but his loss was especially felt by the tribe
which he evangelized with so much constancy, ardor, and
success.

Some days before his death, Father Bax wrote me as
follows :

" The contagion is spreading among the Indians, and the
mortaUty is very great. The difficulty will be, to collect the
scattered flock ; however, I have the consolation of being
able to say, that never yet, either among the negroes, or
among the whites, or among religious, or among persons of
the world, have I ever been witness to as much fervor and
piety on the bed of death. Edifying is the death of which
our young neophytes have given the example. Some, of
their own freewill, asked to hold the crucifix in their hands;
they clasped it without leaving it, for more than two hours.

AND MI88IONAKIE8.

385

The statue of the Blessed Virgin was to be placer! by their
pillows. Imploring the assistance of their jQfood Mother, they
fixed their dying eyes on her image. I have the strong
hope that they already enjoy the presence of God. The
Lord seems to wish to gather into his granary the little that
we have sowed here below. What may be the dcsigtis o^
his Providence for the future of our mission, we cannot,
and we dare not conjecture. May His holy will be accom-
plished !"

This is the last letter I had the happiness of receiving
from Father Bax.

The Osage nation, like the greater part of the other
tribes of the Great Western Desert, which were formerly so
numerous and flourishing, is rapidly diminishing in numbers.
It is now reduced to 3000 souls, and divided into twelve vil-
lages, situated in different directicns around the centre of the
mission. Ordinarily, the Osages dwell or encamp in the
valleys on the borders of the rivers, or near some spring of
pure and overflowing water. They live, for the most part,
as in the primitive times, on the roots and spontaneous fruits
of the earth, and the animals which they kill in the chase.

There are but two Fathers to visit these different villages,
situated at the distance of fifty and seventy miles from each
other. The toils and fatigues of the holy ministry there are
excessive. The catechumens must be instructed, the neo-
phytes sustained, the sick and dying visited, and continual
efforts made to convert obstinate adults. Amid so many
obstacles, so many privations and diflSculties, the missionaries
find also sweet consolations in the fruits which the Lord
deigns to grant to their labors. Every year they baptize
among the Osages about two hundred and fifty persons.

The missionaries also visit the neighboring tribes, such as

the Quapaws, who number only three hundred and fifty,

WESTERN MISSIONS

,! I

^ii'iM

and of wbom one hundred and tliirty ndults and children
have been baptized in the courHe of the last two years. En-
tire families have received baptism among the Piorias and
the Miamis. The Senecas, the Cherc^kees, Creeks, Shaw-
nees, and other nations, situate*) two hundred miles south of
the mission, can be visited only once or twice in the year.
Notwithstanding theo'ppositio*' of Protestant ministers, there
are some Cjitholi(!s among all these tribes. A great number
of Euiopcan Catholic families live dispersed on the frontiers
of the States of Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, which border
on the Indian territory now called Krtnsas. They receive,
from time to time, the visit and the spiritual aid of one or
other Father of the mission of St. Francis Hieronymo. The
sight of a priest, the happiness of hearing mass, and of ap-
proaching the holy table, draw tears of joy from these ex-
cellent children of the Church. Without these visits they
would be entirely abandoned. The destitution of priests is
one of the principal causes of the defection of thousands of
Catholice who gradually lose their faith.

Two boardinff-schools have been established in the mission
of the Osages : one for boys, under the direction of a Father
and of several brothers ; the other for girls, under the direc-
tion of the Sisters of the Loretto, from Kentucky. These
two schools ordinarily contain more than a hundred Indian
children. They teach them the elements of literature, with
the principles of civilization, at the same time that they ex-
cite and cultivate piety in their hearts. These schools en-
conrnge the hope, that the day will come when these savage
tribes may become chanofed and civilized and Chi istian com-
iiiunities. It will be difficult, above all, in these districts, to
bring" the adults to this mode of existence: tliey are too
much accustomed to the nomadic life ; too proud of their
barbarous independence, and frequently enslaved to the de-

AND MISSIONARnSS.

387

grading vices of the whites, and to the immoderate use o^
ardent spirits, which they easily obtain by their commerce
with the latter, and in their frequent visits to the frontiers
of the States. Each sincere and durable conversion among
these, is a miracle of grace.

The United States. government grants to the Osages, for the
support of their schools, an annual subsidy, accruing from the
sale of their lands. This assistance being inoiifficient, and in
order to give a striking testimony of attachment and friendship
towards the Black-gowns, all the "h'efs of the nation have
obtained, by treaty, from the governm.nit, an augmentation of
funds destined to the maintenance ol the schools ; and also a
Hberal donation for making provision for the other necessities
of the mission. The mission owns a farm, which contrib-
utes towards defraying its expenses. With all this, it may
be said, that the missionaries are still obliged to live a poor
and hard life, in the midst of many privations. Yet it must
be admitted, that the mission among the Osages is estab-
Hshed on a tolerably solid footing.

We give the following extract from the annual message
of the President of the United States, in 1854. The agent
of the Osages, in his report to the government, speaking of
this nation, says :

" The schools, under the direction of the Fathers of the
Society of Jesus, among the Osages, are very flourishing.
These Fathers merit great eulogiums for their endeavors to
ameliorate the condition of this nation. Having had the
pleasure of assisting at the examination of their scholars, I
cheerfully add my testimony to that of others in favor of the
method pursued in these establishments. I doubt whether
there are any schools in the Indian territory which exercise
80 salutary an influence on the minds of the Indians, or that
can even be compared with them. The pupils progress rap-

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388

WESTERN MISSIONS

idly in theii studies ; they are well fed and well clothed, and
appear happy and satisfied.

"The Catholic establishment, as well as the whole nation
of the Osages, have met wiih an irreparable loss by the death
of the indefatigable Father Bax. The most rigorous season
could never hinder him from visiting the most remote tribes
of the nation, when there was question of carrying consola-
tion to the sick, and of accomplishing the duties of his sacred
ministry."

We cannot without sighing cast a look over the immense
Indian territory, which stretches far away to the liocky
Mountains. There a great number of nations still continue
their errant life. There remains but a feeble ray of hope
that they will obtain spiritual aid. It is not because the
field is barren ; it has been already explored by the Fathers
Hoeken and Point, both of the Society of Jesus, and by the
Rev. Messrs Bellecourt and Ravoux. I have gone over its
whole extent at different periods. All the missionaries de-
clare unanimously, that everywhere, in all their visits, they
have been received with the most touching deference by the
savages ; that the various tribes have testified the deepest
interest in our holy religion. Several thousand children and
a great number of adults, particularly among the Black-Feet,
the Crows, the Sioux, Poncahs, Ricaries, Minataries, Chey-
ennes, and the Rapahoes, have already been regenerated in
the holy waters of baptism. The personal and material
means have hitherto been wanting for beginning therein du-
rable ostabiishments. The Indians year after year renew their
invitations. We shall continue to supplicate the Master of
the vineyard, to deign to send us auxiliaries, so as to diffuse
our missions in this extensive region. *' The harvest is great,
but the laborers are few,"

By a letter recently received from the Rocky Mountains,

AND MISSIONARIES.

389

and written by Father Joset, I learn that the Indians of our
different missions in Oregon continue to give much consola-
tion to their missionaries, by their zeal and fervor in itio
holy practices of religion. " I hope," writes Father Joset,
"that the Sacrament of Confirmation, that they have just
received, will give greater stability to their good resolutions.
Although the arrival of Mgr. Blanch et was announced only
some hours before (for there is as yet no post in those wilds),
and that we found it impossible to assemble more than half
of the neophytes, the prelate however gave Confirmation to
more than six hundred faithful. The pastor was enchanted
with our missions and our neophytes. The conversions to
the faith in these missions are every year very consoling."

Our new establishments in California succeed well; our
college of Santa Clara has nearly a hundred boarders.

Be so good, Reverend Sir, as to present my most humble
respect and esteem to Mouseigneur, the bishop of Ghent ; to
the President of the Ecclesiastical Seminary, to the Canons,
Van Crombrugghe, De Smet Helias, De Decker, and to our
Reverend Fathers.

Commend me, if you please, to the prayers of your good
Religious, and allow me to commit myself in a particular
manner to your memento at the Holy Sacrifice, in which
union I have the honor to be

Your most humble and most obedient servant,

P. J. De Smet, S. J
330

390

WB8TERN MISSIONS

it':

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Letter XIXIII.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

The Mormons.

University of St. Loins, Jan. 19, 1858.
Rev. and dear Father :

I propose to give you in this letter a short sketch of the
fanatic sect of Mormons, against whom the government of
the United States has just sent troops, in order to subject
them to the laws, or force them to leave the country. The
facts which I will relate on the origin and history of this
singular people, are chiefly drawn from a recent work by
John Hyde, who had been an elder or minister of the Mor-
mon sect.

The founder of the Mormons was one Joseph Smith, born
of an obscure family, December 23, 1805, at Sharon, Wind-
sor county, Vermont. The whole life of this man, from
youth up, was marked by fanaticism, fraud, and vice. More
than fifty persons of good reputation and in every way
worthy of respect, who knew him at Palmyra, New York,
where he had settled with his family, have testified under
oath that Joseph Smith was regarded as a man of no moral
character and given, to vicious habits. In 1820 Smith em-
braced Methodism. In April of that ye^ he pretended to
have had a revelation from Heaven, while praying in the
wood. He said that God the Father, and Jesus Christ his
Son, had appeared to him, and had declared to him that his

AND MISSION ARIKS,

391

Sins were forgiven, that God had chosen him to restore hia
kingdom on earth, and propagate anew the truth of the
Gospel, which all Christendom had lost. In 1823, Smith,
forgetting his revelations and his pretended divine mission,
plunged as deep as ever in blasphemy, fraud, drunkenness,
and other vices. Then, he said, an angel appeared to him
and r'ivealed the existence of a book, written on gold plates,
and containing the history of the ancient inhabitants o{
America. This is the origin of the " Book of Mormon," or
Golden Bible, the Koran of these Mahometans, The next
day Smith visited the spot designated by the angel as the
spot where the book was. This w;is on the slope of a hill
between Palmyra and Manchester. There he pretended to
find in fact golden plates in a stone box ; but this time his
eflbrts to raise them were vain. There was, he says, i great
contest between the devil and the angels as to it; but al-
though the devil was beaten, the angel did not give the book
to Smith, who received it only four years after, on the 22d
of September, 1827.

The Book of Mormon is, like the Koran, a tissue of con-
tradictoiy plagiarisms and absurd inventions. The whole is
interlarded with passages from the Bible. It has been proved
that the portion given as historical is merely a plagiary of a
romance of Solomon Spalding, whose manuscript had been
stolen by Smith. Spalding had written, under the title of
The Discovered Manuscript, a romance on the origin of the
American Indians. He died before publishing it. After his
death, his widow removed to New York, and Smith is known
have worked near her house. Some time after the publica-
tion of the Book of Mormon, she discovered the loss of her
husband's manuscript. Many of Spalding's relatives and
fiiends detected the Discovered Manuscript, slightly altered,
u Smith's book. Spalding ha^l been in the habit of reading

IB.

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392

WESTERN MISSIONS

long passages from his novel ; the singularity of the tacis,
names, and style, which was biblical, had so struck them
that they did not forget it. Now, the Book of Mormon had
the same characteristics, the same strange names, the same
incredible facts, the same style. John Spalding, the author's
brother, thus expresses himself on the point : " My brother's
book was entitled the Discovered Manuscript. It was an
historical novel on the first inhabitants of America. Its
object was to show that the American Indians were descend-
ed from the Jews, or the lost tribes. There was a detailed
description of their voyage, by land and sea, from their
departure from Jerusalem to their arrival in America, under
the orders of Nephi and Lehi. I have recently read the
Book of Mormon. To my great astonishment, I have found
almost the same historical matters, the same names, <fec.,
such as they were in my brother's writings.'* Many other
persons, who knew Solomon Spalding well, and who for the
most part knew nothing of Joseph Smith, gave similar tes-
timony under oath.

The Book of Mormon probably derives its name from one
of the chapters of this novel. A descendant of Lehi ob-
tained the plates of gold, brass, &c., on which the prophets
had engraved the history of the voyages and wars of their
race, and this descendant was called Mormon. He abridged
this history, and ga' e it to his son, Moroni. The latter, hav-
ing added a sketch of the history of Jared, inclosed all in a
box, which he buried on a hill, a.d. 400. Smith, declaring him-
self chosen to give this wonderful book to the world, pretend-
ed to have received the gift of undei-standing and translating
it. He did not write this translation himself, but dictated it.
During the dictation, he was concealed behind a curtain,
made of a bed-quilt, for 'he plates were so sacred that he did
not even permit his secretary to gaze on them. To give a

AND MISSIONARIES.

393

still higher idea of his golden bible, he explained the title
after his own fashion. According to him, the word Mormon
comes from tlie Egyptian won, signifying good^ and the Eng-
lish word more ^ so that Mormon means Better I Now, the
Bible, says Smith, in its widest signification, means goody
since our Lord says in the Gospel, " I am the good shepherd."
The ignorant and fanatical believe all those fables.

The Book of Mormon, although most known, is not the
chief book of the sect. The Book of Teachings and Cove-
nants^ containing some of the revelations which Smith pre-
tended to have received from heaven, is regarded by his disci-
ples as a book of the law which God has given this genera-
tion. Smith also published other revelations, which are con-
tained in a little book called The Pearl of Great Price.
Much of the doctiine of Smith is a mere repetition of the
works of various Protestant sects. He has imitated Mahomet
in his infamous immorahty, by permitting polygamy. To
all this, his successor has added abominable doctrines on the
nature and attributes of God.

Smith organized his new religion in 1830. He could
then number only six disciples. The next year, having ob-
tained new adherents, he sent elders, two by two, to preach
the new doctrine. When the number of his disciples had
sufficiently increased, he founded a colony in Missouri, but
their conduct induced the people of that State — first those
around Independence, where the Mormons had first settled,
and then those of Liberty — to expel them from the State.
In 1834 the Mormon sect adopted the pompous title of
" Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints," and thence
the Mormons called themselves Latter-Day Saints^ or simply
Saints.

^mith and his adepts having acquired, in 1839, a large
tract in Illinois, in a beautiful section on the banks of the.

394

WE8TKRN MISSIONS

1:1! ' \J

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lii,
'iiif

Mississippi, built a flourishing city, which they called iVaw-
voo, erected a magnificent temple, now in ruins, and lived
there till 1844, when they rendered themselves odious to the
people of that State. They were attacked by an ungovern-
able mob, and the false prophet and his brother, Hiram, were
massacred in prison, at Carthage.

In 1845 these persecutions continued, and the Mormons,
driven at last from Nauvoo, resolved, in council, to seek a
solitary and permanent abode in some fertile valley at the
foot of the Reeky Mountains. They carried out this project
in 1847, penetrated into the desert some twelve hundred
miles, and founded a new city on the banks of the Great
Salt Lake, at the foot of a lofty chain of mountains forming
a portion of the eastern limits of the Great Basin. Brigham
Young, Smith's successor as prophet and chict^ was their
leader in this long and painful march.

The valley of the Great Basin is about five hundred miles
long from north to south, and three hundred and fifty from
east to west. It is formed by the Sierra Madre bounding it
on the east, and by the Goose Creek and Humboldt moun-
tains on the west. Utah Territory, thus occupied by the
Mormons, contains in all 187,923 square miles. The lake,
which is now only seventy miles long and thirty-five wide,
probably filled, at a remote epoch, the whole valley. On all
sides, on the slopes of the mountains, at a uniform height,
are traces which water alone could have made. In 1841, I
traversed much of this valley, in my rambles in the Rocky
Mountains. The country was then wooded and agreeable,
watered by springs and streams, winding through the valley.
Since the Mormon emigration, the forests have disappeared
on the slopes of the hills and mountains, and, as the snows
are more exposed to the rays of the sun and melt quicker,
the springs dry up, and the streams give scarcely water

AND MISSIONARIES.

895

enough in the spring to irrigate the cultivated fieKls and sup-
ply the domestic animals.

Salt Lake City contains, at present, 15,000 ijihabitants.
They are mostly English, Scotch, and Swedes. Hardly one
fourth of the Mormons are Americans by birth. They are
scattered up and down, in the villages and towns of all
the plains and valleys of Utah, so called from an Indian
tribe of that region. The Territory is bounded on the north
by Oregon, on the west by California, on the east by the
Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and on the south by
New Mexico. The total number of the inhabitants of the
Territory is less than 50,000, although the Mormon leaders,
for ends of their own, represent it as much higher. The
number of Mormons, in different countries, is estimated at
300,000. They send their emissaries to all parts of the
globe. These take good care not to present Mormonism in its
true colors, to those who are not as yet piepared to accept it
such as it is. Many of the Mormons at Salt Lake, it i? said,
adopted the new sect only in hopes of finding there an
earthly paradise, with unlimited abundance for every want.
Once in Utah, it is no easy matter to escape the snares and
despotic power of the leader.

Brigham Young, president of the Mormon church, and
now rebellious governor of Utah Territory, enjoys absolute
authority over his people. This man is, like Joseph Smith,
a native of Vermont, born at Whittingham, June 1, 1801.
Having embraced Mormonism in 1832, he soon became
Smith's intimate friend. Since he became chief of the
Mormons, he has displayed boundless ambition, and talents
far superior to Smith's. He labors to establish Mormonism
all over the American continent. As to the Territorv which
he governs, he wishes to make it an independent State in the
confederation. He has often declared that he will permit

396

WESTERN MISSIONS.

no one else to be governor of Utah. He defies the author-
ity of the President, and of all the Union. The judges and
other officers appointed by the general government for the
civil administration of Utah, have been expelled from the
territory, after seeing it useless to Ht<cmpt to exercise their
functions. Young has set up tribunals of his own, and in
the United States courts which he tolerated before his rebel-
lion, the juries gave verdicts according to his direction. The
government, at last, resolved to lesort even to force to make
him respect its authority. Accordingly, last fall (1857), a
detachment of 2500 men was sent to the Territory to main-
tain the new governor and his suite.

On this. Young prepared to resist. The troops have
already entered Utah, but the severity of the winter arrests
them about one hundred and fifty miles from the Mormon
(Jkf)ital. The Mormons are not idle. They have surprised a
train of seventy-six wagons, pillaged and burned them, car-
rying off all the animals, horses, mules, and oxen. This loss
is estimated at a million of dollars. The troops, ill lodged
and ill fed, will suflfer terribly if the winter is severe, as it is
usually in the elevated parts which they occupy. As soon
as the spring opens, large reinforcements will be sent.
There is a great diversity of opinion here on the matter.
Many think that the war will be long and bloody, and that
the Mormons will resist to the death. A great manifesta-
tion on the part of the government will, doubtless, be neces-
sary ; and I think that as the new forces approach the rebel
territory, the Mormons will retire after setting fire to their
towns, and march to occupy some new district — Sonova, per-
haps, or some other thinly-settled tract in the vast Mexican
territory. This fanatical sect will find repose only outside
of all other civil jurisdiction. It will master and subject all,
unless it is mastered and expelled in season.

AND MISSIONARIES.

897

One more word on the Mormons and I have done. A
new organization has been given to the Mormon troops. In
1840, Smith organized the Nauvoo Legion, and compelled
all his disciples from the age of sixteen to fifty to enter it.
This little troop has contimially increased, a id preserves its
old name. No effort is spared to render the soldiers perfect
in military discipline and exercises. They have at their
head officer who served under General Scott in the Mexican
war. Young's whole army might, in case of necessity, be
brought up to 8000 men. This number would not be foi**
midable, were they not all animated with a spirit of fanati-
cism which will make them fight, if it comes to that, with
an obstinacy like that of the first Mahometans. Besides the
community of relig on and interest, there exists among them
another bond. A great number of them are bound to the
President and Prophet Young by horrible oaths. There
exists among this people a society called the Mormon En-
dowment, into which members are admitted amid ceremo-
nies most capable of inspiring superstitious terror. The ini-
tiated take an oath of blind obedience, as understood by the
secret societies of Euiope. The penalty of death awaits
him who violates his oath. If the Mormons wish war, as
they so loudly proclaim, they will have a chance this year,
but they cannot long resist the troops of the United States.
I have the honor to be. Rev. Father,

Your servant in Christ,

P. J. Db Smet, S. J.
84

308

WESTERN MI88TON8

Letter XXXIV.

T<» THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Misaiona of Kentucky.

Reverend Father:

I inclose a copy of a letter to my nephew, Charles De
Smet, advocate at Antwerp.

Dear Charles :

I received your kind letter and read it with inexpressi-
ble pleasure and great consolation. I seize my first leisure
moments to satisfy your request by giving you some ideas
of America, and of Kentucky where I now am, and most of
which I have seen.

The United States would be truly the wonder of the
world, if the moral state of the country corresponded to the
marvellous development of its material resources, to its ever-
increasing population, its immense territory, and increasing
commerce. Hardly seventy years since, all the country west
of the Alleghany mountains, a region now so thickly set-
tled, was but a vast wilderness, traversed here and there by
a few feeble Indian tribes, decimated by war and pesti-
lence. On the waters of those rivers which irrigate the
whole bosom of the continent, where hundreds of fine large
steamers now dash along, full of passengers, loaded with
goods, naught was then to be seen but the solitary cauoe, cut

AND MISSIONARIES.

399

from a tree, gliding down the stream, or laboriously stem-
ming its current with its little band of Indian warriors, with
eagle or vulture plume, armed with bows or tomahawks.
Now, along these waters rise, as if \>y euchautinent, hun-
dreds of cities and towns. On evcrj'^ side cultivated fields,
farm-houses, and well-stored barns ; on every side, herds of
cattle and horses, browsing on the hill-side and the plain,
once covered with forests. Railroads and macadamized
roads lead to numberless colonies in the interior. English,
Irish, German, French, emigrants from every European
nation, have come hithof in hopes of finding those comforts
which they could not hope in their own densely-peopled lands.

It might be supposed that in a country which boasts of
unexampled tolerance and liberty, the Catholic Church would
be, if not protected, at least spared frpm peisecution. But it
is not so. A party, whose only principle is a hostility to the
Faith, has several times been formed. Now it flourishes
under the name of Know-nothing, and it might be termed,
" the ignorant and brutal." One of their main objects is, to
annihilate, if possible, our holy religion in the United States.
It is a secret society, the members of which are bound by hor-
rible oaths. It extends its branches over all parts of the
Union. As a general thing, ministers of the different Prot-
ertaut sects belong to it. Their fury has already been marked
by the destruction of Catholic churches in several parts; by
insults to priests and religious ; by laws passed in several
States to seize or control the Catholic Church property, laws
wiiich they threaten to pass wherever they attain power.

Kentucky, of which I have promised you a description,
evinces a more conservative and really free spirit tlian most
of the other States. Its material prosperity, fertile soil,
beautiful sites, natural curiosities, interesting history, make
it one of those most favored by nature.

400

WKSTKKN MISSIONS

I il

1 *!,

The name Kentucky, given to the countiy by the Indianfl,
signified, according to some, a dark and bloody ground, and
was so called because in old times it was the battle-field of
various tribes in their bloody wars.

Then vast herds of bison, elk, and deer roamed over the
plains and prairies, covered with rich, long grass, studded
with wild roses. No tribe resided here permanently. Every
year, at the hunting-seasons, they came from all the country
round to lay in their winter store. Here hostile tribes met :
liereditary feuds, envenomed from generation to generation,
by reciprocal reprisals, brought on fiequent engagements.

In 1769 the celebrated Dflniel Boone, whose name seems
to indicate a family of Belgian origin, advanced into the
dark and bloody ground. This courageous man first planted
his solitary cabin amid these vast forests, with no' aid against
the attack of the savages but his forecast, coolness, and
bravery. His adventures, which he made known during a
trip to the settled parts of the Atlantic, drew around him
many families from Maryland and Virginia. They formed
two principal colonies, at a distance of fifteen miles apart,
and thus became the nucleus of the flourishing State of
Kentucky, whi(ih now contains over a million of inhab-
itants.

For several years, till 1*797, the settlers were exposed to
frequent attacks from the Indians, who surprised their towns,
burning and pillaging all that they found in their way.
There is now no trace remaining of these hardy lords of the
forest : the savage form, his shrill war-whoop, which once
spread dismay through every ^lain and forest, are now as
much unknown in Kentucky as in the countries of Europe.
The Indians have been exterminated or repelled into the
plains beyond the Missouri.

Meanwhile Boone, seeing the numbers of the civilized in-

AND MISSIONARIES.

401

habitants increasing around him, soon began to perceive that
the country was too full, that the population was too dense ;
he needed a new wilderness, a freer country. He accord-
ingly retired with his family and flocks of domestic animals
beyond the Mississippi, in a remote region, where white set-
tlers had not yet penetrated. Ilere again he found himself
struggling alone against wild and uncultivated nature; agaiost
numerous hordes of sanguinary warriors, jealous of the en-
croachments of white settlers.

The State of Kentucky extends on the north along the
Ohio over five huiidred miles ; it is separated from Missouri
on the west by the Mississippi, and terminates on the east
at the base of the Cumberland Mountains, which separate it
from Virginia. The soil produces in abundance wheat,
maize, tobacco, hemp, and most of the fruits of your lati-
tudes. It abounds in picturesque sites. There is nothing
more agreeable than a steamboat-trip down the Ohio, in the
spring, along its banks, now frowning with rocks, now
stretching out into green fields of grain, with now wooded
hills, where oaks of various kinds, poplar, beech, sycamore,
wild vines, chestnut, and hickory, meet, mingle, cross, and
interlace their thick branches, presenting the grand and free
aspect of unbroken forests. From time to time, amid this
noble scenery, which won for the Ohio the name of la Belle
Hiviere, given to it by the early French explorers, new cities
rise, as if by enchantment, and spread before you all the fruits
of the active civilization of the most commercial cities of
Europe,

The eastern part of Kentucky and the banks of the Ohio
possess rich mines. Immense strata of white stone, fit for
building or making lime, are found some feet below the sur-
face, in almost all parts of the north. Near Lexington, the
first city founded in Kentucky, mummies were discovered, re-

84<»

402

WESTERN MISSIONS

sembling, it is said, those of Egypt. North of this city, on.
the banks of the Blue Lick, great quantities of bones have
been found, among the most remarkable being those of the
ancient mastodon or mammoth, an enormous animal, of a
species now extinct ; of the elephant, no longer seen in
America ; and of a kind of bison, unknown in our days.

Near our college of St. Joseph, at Bardstown, ^hich I
visited last April, the surface of the soil is covered with dif-
ferent kinds of petrifactious. There are found in that local-
ity, in abundance, trilobites, terebratula, spirifer, etc. (I use
the American geological names), as well as many others.
Limestone is very abundant ; it belongs generally to the class
known in geology as the inferior calcareous of the second
formation. It is intermingled with a great quantity of fer-
ruginous particles, and the strata are so thick and colossal
that they suffice in building whole cities.

At about sixty-six miles south of the collegt, is the famous
cavern, called, from its enormous dimensions. Mammoth Cave.
It attracts thousands of visitors, who come from all parts of
the United States to witness its wonders. It is, undoubted-
ly, one of the most extraordinary curiosities in the woild, or
rather, in the whole subterranean world, with its mountains,
its precipices, its rivers, its rugged banks, its enormous domes,
which seem like temples built by the hands of nature, and
defying art to equal the boldness of its high and immense
vaults, suspended without columns. The cavern has many
galleries, or alleys, like the catacombs of Rome. Nobody
would dare venture in without a guide ; he would probably
never find the entrance, on account of the countless wind-
ings of tills natural labyrinth.

A remarkable evenness of temperature prevails in this
cavern ; the cold of winter scarcely penetrates it, and the
heat of summer leaves a mild and moderate atmosphere.

ill

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aUl

1 . . .. i'

AND MISSIONARIES.

403

To descend to it, you enter a chamber as sombre as the Tar-
tarus of Virgil. No ray of sunlight enters it. Each bears
a torch. This pale light adds to the sublimity of the place,
especially when you find a chamber incrusted with stalac-
tites. There the reflection of the torches seems to change
the vaults and sides of the cavern into a continuous mass of
precious stones. The principal gallery, which is ordinarily
followed, leads to a distance of eleven miles under ground.
Sometimes it expands, like the corridor of a palace ; some-
times the vault descends, so that you have to creep along,
and it even forms a narrow passage, called " The fat-man's
misery ;" elsewhere the passage expands into immense halls,
with a vaulted roof three hundred feet high ; then soon,
stopping before a mountain of broken rock, or opening a
precipice, it plunges into new depths, threatening to take you
to the very centre of the earth. In these great halls, nature
seems to have assumed, for their embellishment, the most fan-
tastic forms, resembling objects of art, fields, vines, trees, stat-
ues, pillars, altars, forming as many stalactite sculptures,
produced by the action of ♦vater, which, filtering for long
centuries through the rocks, has formed all these marvellous
works. While traversing the great gallery, you pass, at two
different times, a deep and rapid river which flows in these
parts ; its source and mouth are both unknown. It contains
wLite-fish and crabs, varieties of which are found in almost
all our rivers, but which are here entirely destitute of eyes,
and evidently created to live only in this subterranean river.
There is one place where you have to row ten miu-'tes before
reaching the opposite shore, because the river follows the
course of the gallery and makes it its bed. There is at this
point a beautiful vault, perfectly arranged for prolonging and
redoubling an echo. The Magnijicit, chanted by a few
voices, had an efiect which the most numerous choir and all

404

WESTERN MISSIONS

J ■■'!

the music of a cathedral could not produce, so much does
the echo augment the volume and sweeten the harmony of
oounds. The sublime silence of this spot, the torches reflected
in the subterranean waters, the measured beat of the oars,
the idea of a world suspended over your head, and so diflFer-
ent from that where you are, all produce an indescribable
impression on the soul.

Returning to the entrance of the cavern, you experience
in summer an effect like that caused by a sea-voyage when
you near the port ; although you have been under ground
only a part of a single day, you discern the odor of the
plants and the flowers at a distance. The impressions pro-
duced by these subterranean wonders are so profound, that
the sight of the verdure of the fields, the brilliant rays of
the sun, the varied plumage of the birds warbling in the
trees, impress you with the idea that you are entering a new
world.

Let us return to St. Joseph's college. Bardstown, where
it is situated, was the first Episcopal See erected west of the
Alleghany mountains. Thence Bishop Flaget, the first
bishop, governed his immense diocese with so holy a zeal.
Now that the see is transferred to Louisville, the cathedral
of Bardstown is attached to the college, and has become a
parish church. The colhge has about tro hundred pupils,
mostly boarders. Bishop Flaget, before his death, had
placed it under the direction of the Society 3f Jesus.
Bardstown is a kind of centre of religious houses. On one
side you have the Dominican Fathers, At the convent of St.
Rose, near Springfield ; on the othev, the Trappists, who
have been for some years at New Haven. There are also
several establishments of nuns, Lorettines and Sisters of
Charity.

The city forms about the centre of the district, in which

AND MISSIONARIES.

405

reside the vast majority of the Catholics in the diocese of
Louisville. They number about YOjOOO.

It was also in this neighborhood that, early in this century,
the very Rev. Mr. Nerinckx, a Belgian, distinguished him-
self by his apostolic labors, and left among the people the
impress of his zeal and virtues. He founded, in 1812, the
congregation of sisters known here under the name of Sis-
ters of Loretto, or Lorettines. It has already spread over
different parts of the States of Kentucky and. Missouri, Kan-
sas Territory, among the Osage Indians, and to New Mexico.

I must close. Time presses. I have only a few moments
to start for Chicago and Milwaukee. Farewell. Do not
forget me, dear Charles.

Your devoted uncle,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

406

WE8TEKN MISSIONS

Letter XXXV.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiqubs, Brussels.

The Ursulines of America.

Addressed to the Bev. Mother Superiors of Saventbem and Theldonok.

Brussels, March 21, 1857.

My dear Reverend Mother :

On the point of quitting Belgium, I repass in my
memory the benefits which 1 have received there, and in
particular the reception given me in the various religious
communities.

Among these asylums of piety and virtue, your academy
holds a very high rank. As in America, so in my own land,
I have been able to see genuine proofs of the religious spirit
which animates the Ursulines, and the great good which
they do, and which they are yet called upon to perform, by
the fervor of their prayers and by the education of youth.

I congratulate all your community, Reverend Mother, be-
cause this spirit proves that God has founded this house and
designs to sustain it. I felicitate myself, because I found
lliere consoling subjects of edification, and beautiful exam-
ples to narrate to my poor Indians. I congratulate Belgium,
where the new Ursulines continue so generously the work of
their pious predecessors, to whom so many mothers are in-
habted for the sentiments of piety which animate them. I

AND MISSIONARIES.

407

rejoice with the Church, whose afflicted heart the daughters
of St. Angela console, by rendering themselves so worthy of
the religious state — one of the most sparkling gems which
adorn the brow of the spouse of Christ. Continue then,
pious souls, to walk in the footsteps of your Saviour. It is
the sole way in which real happiness is found.

I just alluded, Rev. Mother, to the Ursulines of America.
I spoke of them to your beloved pupils in my visit witl
Father Terwecoren. Nevertheless, it may prove agreeable to
you to have some more precise information. I need scarcely
say that I have no pretension to a complete notice. I must
content myself with giving a summary idea of their actual
condition and prospects.

The Ursulines were the first religious who established
themselves in the northern parts of North America. Before
the close of the I7th centuiy, there were in Canada six
communities of women, among whom two were of the Ursu-
line order: the House of Quebec, founded in 1639, and that
of Three Rivers, founded in 1697.

In the States of the American Union, New Orleans, capi-
tal of Louisiana, was the fiist of all the cities of the confed-
eracy which obtained a community of Ursulines. This con-
vent was founded in 1727. At the period of this foundation
Louisiana belonged to France. It is in this sense that Mr.
De Courcy, in his remarkable sketches of the Catholic
Church in the United States, observes that till 1790 the Uni-
ted States did not know what a nun is.

In 1730, the community of New Orleans numbered seven
Ursulines. Devoted to education and charitable works, they
directed a school, an hospital, and an orphanage. The num-
ber of their orphans increased greatly at the time of the
massacre by the Natchez, which occurred that year. The
French jxpedition delivered from slavery many fatherless

408

WKSTERN MISSIONS

T ' ' w

children, and transported them to New Orleans.* "These
little girls," writes Father Le Petit on the 12th July, l730,t
"that none of the citizens would adopt, have only aug-
mented the charity and attention of the Ursulines. They
have given them a separate hall, and two private mistresses.
There is not one of this holy community who is not de-
hghted at having braved the dangers of the sea, were she to
do naught else than preserve these children in innocence,
and bestow a polite and Christian education on the young
French girls, who are in danger of being not much better
educated than their slaves. We trust that these holy nuns
will shortly occupy the new house destined to their use, and
after which they so long sigh. Once settled in it, to the
instruction of boarders, orphans, day-scholars, and negresses,
they will also add the care of the sick in the hospital, and
that of a house of refuge for women of doubtful virtue.
Perhaps even, in time, they may be able to receive regu-
larly every year, a number of ladies to make a spiritual
retreat, according to the inclination with which we have
inspired them.

"In France, so many works of charity and zeal would
occupy several communities and several diflferent institutes.
But what cannot faith accomplish ? These diflferent labors
do not astonish seven Ursulines, and they intend to accom-
plish them, with God's grace, and not permit the religious
rule to suflFer. Those who, before being acquainted with
them, thought that they came too soon, and in too great
number, have greatly changed their sentiments and lan-
guage. Once they witnessed their edifying conduct and the

* The reader will find some account of this in Bishop Spauldiug's
Life of Bishop Flaget.
t "LettaresEdiflantes."

ill

AND MISSIONARIES.

409

groat services that they render to the colony, they found
that they came too late, and that too many could not come
if they possessed equal piety and merit."

The following will show what took place at the conclusion
of a peace that terminated a melancholy war.* " The Illi-
nois had no other house but ours, during the three weeks
that they remained in this city. They charmed us by their
piety and by their edifying life. Every evening they recited
the rosary in alternate choirs, and heard mass every morn-
ing, during which, particularly on Sundays and festivals,
they sung different hymns of the Church conformably to the
various offices of the day. At the end of the mass they
never failed to sing, with all their heart, the prayer for the
king. The nuns sang the first Latin couplet in the usual
Gregorian notes, and the Illinois continued the rest in the
same tone. This spectacle, which was new, attracted many
to the church, and inspired a tender devotion. In the course
of the day, and after supper, they often sang alone or ali
together different prayers of the Church, such as the Dies
tree, the Vexilla Regis, the Stabat Mater. It was easy to
perceive that they relished singing these devout hymns more
than the generality of Indians, and even more than many
French their fnvolous and often dissolute songs.

"You would be astonished, as I was myself, on arriving
at this mission, to see that numbers of our French people
are not nearly as well instructed as are these neophytes.
They are not ignorant of any of the narrative? of the Old
and New Testament. They have excellent methods of hear-
ing holy mass, and of receiving the sacraujents. Their cat-
echism, with its literal translation by Father Le I'oulanger, is
a perfect model for those who have need of ono in new mis-

! I

" Lettres Edifiantes." (Amerique.) Paris: 1781. Tom. vli. p. 61

410

WESTERN MISSIONS

sions. These good Indians have been left in ignorance of
no mystery or duty. What is fundamental and essential in
religion, has been explained in a way equally instructive and
solid.

" The first day that the Illinois saw the Ursulines, Maman-
touensa (<;hief of the Kaskaskias) perceiving around them a
troop of little girls, said : 'I see that you are not religious
without an object.'

" He meant that they were not solitaries who labored
solely for their own perfection. ' You are,' added be, ' like
the Black-gowns, our fathers ; you labor for the good of oth-
ers. Ah ! if we had up there two or three of you, our wives
and daughters would have more sense, and be better Chris-
tians.' 'Well,' said the Mother Superior, 'select those you
would like.' ' It is not for me to choose,' answered Maman-
touensa, ' but for you who are acquainted with them ; the
choice should fall on those who are most generous, and who
love God the most !' Imagine how delighted those good
nuns were, to hear from savage lips sentiments so reasonable
and Christian."*

Such were the commencements of the pious Ursuline
Community of New Orleans. To these details, I will add a
few others, concerning the state of the convents of your or-
der in 1855. In that year the house in New Orleans num-
bered fifty-two professed religious, three novices, and three
postulants. The academy had one hundred and thirty board-
ers, and twelve half-boarders. In the vicariate of Upper
Michigan, at Sault St. Marie, the Ursulines have a school for
i>'iils, and they were making preparations to establish a
boarding-school destiiu^d to the education of giils whose so-

* "Lettres Edifitiutea." (M^moires d'Ameriquo.) Paria Edition,
1731. Tom. vii. p. 61.

AND MISSI0NARIK9.

411

cial position exacts a more finished and a higher course of
studies.

In the diocese of Cincinnati, at St. Martin, near Fayette-
ville, in Ohio, the community of Ursulines consisted of thirty-
three professed nuns, nine novices, and four postulants. Tiie
boarding-school which they direct, numbers sixty pupils.

In the same State, at Cleveland, the community at the
same epoch was composed of fourteen professed religious, ten
novices, and four postulants. They direct a boarding-school.
This establishment is situated in the most agreeable and
healthy portion of the city. Young ladies are there taught
the common branches, and the most elevated of a select
course of tuition. Boarders, day-boarders, and day-scholars,
are admitted. Near Cleveland, four sisters direct an ele-
mentary select school and two parish schools.

At Toledo, two of the religious are charged with three
elementary select schools and two free schools. At Morrisa-
nia, near New York, they have a convent and a boarding-
school. In the diocese of Galveston, in Texas, the Ursulines
numbered, in 1855, fifteen professed religious; their board-
ing-school counted from eighty to one hundred pupils. At
San Antonio, there were fourteen professed, three novices,
and four postulants. The number of pupils varied from one
hundred and forty to one hundred and sixty. In the diocese
and city of St. Louis, where I have most generally resided
since my departure from Europe, the convent of Ursulines
is composed of from twenty to twenty-five religious, who di-
rect a school of forty or fifty young ladies. In separate
buildings they have a day-school, numbering from one to
two hundred.

When reflecting upon all these benefits of our holy reli-
gion, spread with a liberal hand over America, we owe a
testimony of gratitude to the venerable Bishop Carroll, who

■ \ J: l,4;fl^

-si

ill

■ •

412

WESTERN MISSIONS

contributed to establish, or prei>aie, the pious institutions to
which is intimately connected the well-being and ha])pines8
of these countries.

"At the moment when the Society of Jesus was suppressed
by Clement XiV., some Jesuits forsook Great Britain, to
withdraw into North America, their country. John Carroll
conducted them. Jiound to the institute by the profession
of four vows, Carroll was not long in winning the esteem of
that inimortal generation which was silently preparing the
enfranchisement of the country, lie was the friend of
Washington and Franklin, the couii elior of that Carroll, his
relation, who contributed in so elKcacioiis a manner to the
Constitution of the United States. The forethought and the
knowledge of the Jesuit were appreciated by the founders of
American liberty. Attached to the Protesiant worship, they
were about to consecrate its triuujph by law ; but Catho-
licity appeared to thein, in tiie Fathers of the Society, so
tolerant, and so proper for the civilization of the savages, that
they could not to John Carroll refuse to secure the principle
of religious independence. Carroll was admitted to discuss
the bases with them : he laid them so well, that the liberty
of worship has never been violated in the United States.
The Americans had pledged themselves to sustain them :
they never believed theniselves authorized to betray their
solemn promise even by the progress that the missionaries
elicited in the Roman Faith. When the Union was consol-
idated. Pope Pius VI., in 1789, gave a guide to all those
faithful dispersed in the cities and forest-. John Carroll re-
ceived first the title of Bishop of Baltimore ; later he became
archbishop and metropolitan of the other dioceses, and apostol-
ical legate, with another Jesuit, Leonard Neale, as coadjutor."*

• "History of the Society of Jesus," by J. Cretiueau Joly, t. vi. p. 276,

AND MISSIONARIES.

413

From this epoch dates, for all North America, the open-
ing of a new era. Bishop Carroll took the initiatory step in
a general revival of religiou. lie had had no models; he
will have a multitude of imitators.

"After providing, by the foundation of a college and a
seminary, for the education of youth and the recruiting of
the clergy, the Bishop of Baltimore occupied himself with
introducing into Maryland religious communities of females,
who would aid in educating the young, in relieving the sick
and needy, and adopting orphans. These good works have
ever been the patrimony of the Church, and a Christian
community must be considered ephemeral, as long as it has
not laid the foundation-stones of convents for the practice of
prayer and charity."*

From that time, how many works of salvation have
sprung up on the soil of America ! how many astonishing
traits have betokened the finger of a benign Providence !

Here is one. Reverend Mother, that is very interesting.
I told it, I believe, to the Ursuline nuns and pupils of Sa-
ven them and Theldonck, but having since read it again in
the remarkable work of Mr. Henry de Courcy, " The Catho-
lic Church in the United States," as translated and augment-
ed by Mr. John Gilmary Shea, 1 can write with more preci-
sion.

In ISOT, Daniel Barber, a congregational minister of New
England, had baptized in his sect Miss Alkn, daughter of
the celebrated American general, Ethan Allen, so famous in
his native State, Vermont. This young lady was then
twenty-two.

Soon after she went to Montreal and entered the academy

» H. de Courcy, *' Catholic Church in the United States," p. 76 ; and
in " Ami de la Eeligion," 1855, n. 5872.

35*

a*'

'i|li II;

li i!i
lain

414

WKSTERN MISSIONS

of the Sisters of the Congregation. Miss Allen spontaneously
embraced the Catholic religion, and wisinng to make the
Buperuatural saciitice of her whole being, she consecrated
herself to the things of Heaven in the community of Hospital
Sisters of the Hotel-Dieu, where she died piously in 1819,
after having by the edification of her last moments converted
to the Catholic faith the Protestant physician who attended
her.

The conversion of Miss Allen produced other fruits of
grace among her coreligionists. Her former pastor, Mr
Barber, became an Episcopalian, but did not stop there in
his path to truth ; in 1816 he abjured the errors of the pre-
tended Reformation. The son of this converted minister,
Virgil Barber, born in 1782, was, like his father, a Protestant
minister. He too, convinced of the necessity of being recon-
ciled to the Church of Rome, entered it with his father.
Mrs. Virgil Barber followed these examples. These two
spouses having become Catholics, did more. With mutual
consent they resolved to leave all and separate for the ser-
vice of God. In this pious view, Mr. Vii'gil Barber went to
Rome in 181*7, to obtain of the Supreme Pontiff the neces-
sary permission. He embraced the ecclesiastical state, and
was ordained in the eternal city. After remaining two years
in Europe, he returned, brinc^iiio; the authorization for his
wife to enter religion. She joined the Visitation order at
Georgetown, and for two years performed the duties of the
novitiate.

Mr. and Mrs. Barber had five children, four daughters
and one son. The last studied at the Jesuit college at
Georgetown; the daughters at the Academy of the Visita-
tion, but without knowing that their mother was a novice
in the same convent.

After her novitiate, the five children were taken to the

AND MIS9IONAKIl<:s.

415

chapel to witness their iiioIIkt's profession ; and at tlie
fir;iino limt', tlioir lather, on tiie stej>8 of the nltar consecra-
ted liiniself to (»<>d in the Society of Jesus. At tiiis toucii-
ing and un<'Xj»ccted spectach*, tlie poor children burst into
sobs, believing themselves forsaken on earth; but their
Heavenly Father watched over this privileged family, lie
called the four daughters to embrace the religiou;^ state
three of them became Ursulines; one at Quebec, another at
Boston, and tlie third at Three Rivers; the fourth sister
made her profession among the Visitation nuns of George-
town, Their brother Samuel entiMed the Society of Jesus.

Father Virgil Barber, after filling with great edification
different posts in Pennsylvania and Maryland, became Pro-
fessor of Hebrew in Georgetown College, and died there
March 27, 1847, at the age of 65.

Sister Barber of the Visitation, long resided at Kaskaskia,
where she founded a monastery. Sister Mary Barber of
St. Benedict, witnessed the destructicm of the Ursuline con-
vent at Charlestown, and di'-d at Quebec, May 9th, 1848.
Sister Catherine Barber of St. Thomas, followed Bishop Odin
to Texas in 1849; of the fourtli of these pious daughters
I find no detail.

The grace of conversion extended to other members of
the family. A nephew and pupil of Father Virgil Barber,
William Tyler, born in Protestantism in 1804, at Derby,
Vermont, became in 1844 the first Catholic bishop of Hait-
ford, and died in his diocese in 1849.

I close. Reverend Mother, by begging you to accept once
more the expression of my lively gratitude for all the as-
sistance that you have given to my mission, as well as for
the prayers promised me, not only by the religious, but
also by the pupils. I thank them all, and I recommend
them to the good remembrances of my poor Indians. May

416

WESTERN MISSIONS

your daughters in Jesus Christ continue to give themselves
devotedly to the holy work of educating the young : God,
they will find by happy experience, does not wait for eter-
nity in order to give them an ample recompense ! May the
dear children continue to profit by these salutary lessons
and fascinating examples; they will then retain in the world
their engaging piety and their gayety of heart, because they
will preserve their precious innocence.

I pray you to thank also in my name your worthy direct-
ors, M. Lambertz at Theldonck and Mr. Paeps at Saven-
them, who received me with that fraternal cordiality which
should reign among priests and religious, called to labor to-
gether for the salvation and perfection of souls, and to aim
at one sole end, in their works and their aspirations, viz.,
the greater glory of God.

Accept, Reverend Mother, the homage of my gratitude —
and believe me your devoted servant in Christ.

P. J. De Smbt, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

417

Letter XXXVL

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiquel. Brussels.
Voyage of the Leopold /., from Antwerp to New TorJe.

Reverend Father :

Time absolutely fails me, or I would cheerfully give you
long details. I send you a letter that I addiessed to the
respectable M. M*****, at M. If you deem it worthy of
the Precis Historiques^ please copy it immediately, and dis-
patch the original. Our voyage was pleasant, and all my
companions are well, and have given me great satisfaction.
On the 18th I shall set out for St. Louis, (&;c.

My DEAR Friend:

To accomplish my promise, I hasten to give the news of
our voyage. I am well aware that you will not only be
pleased, but that you will expect a letter with a certain
impatience.

We have just safely arrived in America, after a delightful
and tranquil passage. Embarking at Antwerp on the 21st
of April, we reached New York on the 7th of the mouth of
Miiry. 1 send you a sketch of our itinerary.

The eve of our departure, we were invited to dine in the
family of the worthy and honored Count Le Grelle, jate

n ,ii

t ii

il8

WESTERN MISSIONS

Burgomaster of Antwerp, who was desirous of testifying to
us on this occasion, as he did on several other departures of
missionaries, the deep interest which he takes in our cherished
American missions. The day of our departure, he was so
kind as to accompany us as far as the port. A great num-
ber of other persons, and several of our near and dear r<)la-
tives also, came to the quay, to bid us a last adieu and wish
ns a successful voyage.

They weighed anchor between nine and ten in the morn-
ing. The weather was superb. The large and beautiful
ship, Leopold I., was full of animation. A multitude of
emigrants, from Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium,
Russia, France, etc., etc., were already on board, and were
occupied with an infinity of petty cares and arrangements,
in order to render the long passage agreeable, or, as the
English say, comfortable. The sailors, attentive to the word
of command, and evfny one ''t his post, were making the
latest preparations for setting sail.

We took but a day to reach Southampton, and remained
there until the next day, to take in English and Irish passen-
gers. Our number increased then to more than six hundred
and twenty persons. During the whole of this day the air
resounded with the songs of the Germans and Hollanders,
collected on the deck ; several parties executed dances, to
the sound of the viohn and guitar ; our raaiu-deck resem-
bled a floating village at the Kermesse (annual fair). But
fine things never endure long, and here follows a proof.

Scarcely had we lost sight of the Isle of Wight, than the
scene assumed a new aspect. We found the sea in extra-
ordinary agitation. Although the wind was tolerably mod-
erate, and the weather suflSciently fine, the swell shook the
ship with such violence, bearing us now on the summit of
the highest waves, and then precipitating us into an abyss,

AND MISSIONARIES.

419

between the turbulent and foaming surges which rose moun-
tain high around us. It was an agitation which succeeded a
tempest, or many heavy contradictory winds, which had
passed, a short time before, in our neighborhood. That thiy
resembled a genuine day of mourning; the songs and dances
ceased ; no animation or vivacity was exhibited any wheie ;
the table was almost deserted ; hunger and gayety made
their exit together. Here and there might be seen groups
of men, women, and children, with sinister faces and hag-
gad eyes, pale and wan as spectres, leaning over the veasel's
side, as though making some hasty communication to the
sea. Those especially who had revelled most freely, and per-
haps looked too deeply into the wine-cup, wore the most
inelancholy and lengthened faces ; they looked absolutely
like old parchment— ;//'a«zyHe gezichten. Neptune was at
his post ; this inexorable toll-gatherer exacted the very last
portion of his tribute ; willingly or unwillingly, it must be
paid ; and, remark it well, how contradictory the humor of
the stern sea-king, for we leave the table auer dessert, but be
requires the Hl exactly rendered, from dessert«to the initia-
tory course of soup.

Though this was my eleventh trip across the Atlantic, I
was not exempted from the general sea-sickness. I endeavor-
ed to resist, but all iu vain. I was, therefore, obliged humbly
to submit, and share the common misery. The old adage
says, "violent sufferings do not last long," hence the indis-
posed insensibly recovered, and we had no deaths to mourn.
We had a worthy and excellent physician on board, M. The-
mont ; he was on his feet night and day, an'd lavished his
cares on all indiscriminately.

This little shadow passed, the lemainder of the passage
was unclouded. The weather was favorable from that day
forward. The winds were sometimes a little contrary, but

420

WE8TEKN MISSIONS

the ocean was calm and tranquil, until within six days* dis-
tance from New York.

I had the consolation of saying mass every day in my
cabin. My young companions frequently received, and
several of the emigrants enjoyed the same happy privi-
lege. You would have been edified had you seen our
little altar, neatly adorned and surmounted with a pretty
little statue of the Blessed Virgin, garlanded with flowers
that some ladi's from Holland had removed from their bon-
nets. On Sun^ I ^ aid mass in the grand saloon, where
more than a hundi\ persons could conveniently find places ;
several Protestants asked permission to be present. Hymns
were sung, during the sacrifice, in French, Latin, Dutch, and
German. It was certainly a rare spectacle on the ocean,
where one is much more habituated to hearing blasphemies
than the praises of God.

On the 2d day of May, when near the Banks of New-
foundland, the sea became covered with a dense fog. It
continued thus daring four days, so that the captain could
not make an" observation. We could not distinguish any
thing a few feet from the boat. The misfortunes of the
Lyonnais and of the Arctic are still recent. We were in
continual danger of coming in contact with some sailing ves-
sel pursuing the same route. As a precaution, the great
whistle of the steam-engine was heard day and night, in its
loudest and most piercing tones, in order to give the alarm
to vessels which might be in our passage. By means of this
manoeuvre we were able to advance with our oidinary rapid-
ity, ten or twelve knots, or four leagues, an hour.

However, as we were rapidly approaching land, and the
fog increasing in intensity, it appeared that we were pro-
gressing more or less at random ; and as the observations of
the meridian had become impossible, we were not without

it ' ■ ■ r

AND MISSIONARIES.

421

anxiety. We, therefore, had recourse to Heaven, and we
paid our beads together, with the Litany of our Blessed
Mother, and some special prayers to obtain, by the interces-
sion of the souls in purgatory, a serene sky. Our prayers
appear to have been heard. Some hours after, the fogs had
vanished, and we had one of the most glorious evenings that
can be witnessed at sea. The full moon reflected on the
waves, shone in its splendor from the starry and cloudless
firmament. The next day the sun rose majestically. We
saw a great number of vessels sailing towards every point of
the compass. At last, all eyes being turned towards the
west, we descried in the distance, above the horizon, as it
were, a long train of rising mists. The officers apply the
spy-glass and announce that those are the much-desired
coasts of America ! Songs and exclamations of joy were
siumltaneously oftered by all hearts. The emigrants, grouped
upon the upper deck, all saluted the New World, the land
of promise, which bore in its bosorn all their hopes and all
their future prospects. As the objects and shores presented
themselves more distinctly to view my young companions
could not satisfy their longing eyes at the view of that land,
to the salvation of which they came to devote their lives,
and ^n which they will be, I trust, instruments of salvation
to thousands of neglected souls. Before the close of that
lovc1 ' day, the 7th of the month of Mary, we found ourselves,
at four o'clock in the afternoon, in the roadstead off Staten
Island, in the bay of New York.

One duty remained for us to fulfil. In the name of all
the passengers of the first and second cabin, who amounted
to more than a hundred persons, I presented to the worthy
commandant of the steamship, M. Achille Michel, and to all
his officers, a document signed by all, to express our cordial
gratitude and sincere thanks for their assiduous attentions,

422

"WESTERN MISSIONS

their great kindness and politeness in regard to all the pas-
sengers ; and, at the same time, to compliment them for
their naval skill in the management of the large and noble
ship, Leopold I. In all my sea-voyages, I have never met a
commandant more capable, and officers more attentive to
their charges. The whole crew was well selected and per-
fectly organized. It is rare to find sailors more tranquil, la-
borious, and respectful. The names of Messrs. Edward Mi-
chel, commander ; Justius Wm. Luning, first mate ; Louis
Delmer, second mate ; Julius Nyssens, third mate ; Leopold
Grosfels, fourth mate ; Augustus Themonl, surgeon, and
Edward Kremer, engineer, will always be dear to us. We
also pay a tribute of respectful thanks to Messrs. Posno and
Spillaerdts, of Antwerp, for their assiduous attentions to us
before embarking, and for all the precautions which they so
kindly took to render this long voyage pleasant. Most
cheerfully we wish the happiest success to the great and
noble enterprise of the "Atlantic Steamship Company of
Antwerp."

On arriving in New York, our dear brethren of St. Xavier's
College, New York, and of St. John's College, at Fordham,
near the city, gave us a most hearty reception, pleased at
seeing a new reinforcement to the apostolic woik in America.
Beautiful and vast America, so superb in all its natural fea-
tures, is in pressing need of fervent, holy, and zealous mis-
sionaries ! The thousands of Catholic emigrants who seek a
home on her shores from year to year, render her penury, in
this respect, more afflicting and melancholy. Ah ! may the
generous hearts of Catholics in Holland and in Belgium
continue to be moved with an increasing compassion for so
many thousands of souls, redeemed by the blood of Jesus
Christ, who are deprived of pastoi*s and of the consolations
of religion. May they not cease sending new troops of

AND MISSIONABIBB.

423

young missionaries, filled with a thirst for the salvation of
their neighbor. The harvest is great ; the Father of the
family only waits for the harvesters. No country in the
world has in prospect so magnificent a future. How happy,
if she cau be induced to acknowledge the true Church, which
alone can make us happy here below and secure us a happy
eternity, for which we have all been created and redeemed.

Time presses, I must close. Be so kind as to recall me to
the kind souvenirs of, etc., etc. Continue to pray for me, and
accept my esteem and gratitude for all your deeds of kind-
ness to me ; we retain them with unfading gratitude.
I have the honor to bo,

Most worthy and respected sir,

Your very humble and ob't serv't,
P. J. Db Smet, S. J.

424

WESTEEN MISSIONS

Letter XXXVII.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Rev. Charles Nerinckx^
Pastor of Everberg-Meerbeek and Missionary in America.

Univeksity of St. Louis, August 29, 1857.
Rev. and dear Father :

During my last visit to Belgium I heard you express a
wish to publish in your Precis Historiques a sketch of the
life of the venerablo and holy missionary, Rev. Charles
Nerinckx, the apostle of Kentucky.

One of our best Catholic periodicals, the Metropolitan^ of
Baltimore, has just given a sketch of the Very Rev. Charles
Nerinckx. I hasten to send you a copy. In a note, the
author of the sketch refers to the Life of Bishop Flaget, by
Dr. Spalding, the learned bishop of Louisville ; the United
States Catholic Miscellany^ vol. v. 1825 ; the Catholic Al-
manac for 1854, etc.

I propose adding some lines on the same subject, in grati-
tude to the memory of our zealous and holy countryman, in
the thought that they will, perhaps, be agreeable to the
readers of the Precis Historiques.

University of St. Louis, November, 1857.
Rev. and dear Father :

In your letter of October 20th, acknowledging receipt
of the Memoir of Charles Nerinckx, taken from the Metro-

AND MISSIONARIES.

425

politan of July 16th, and the translation, you say that you
have already received from me a sketch of the same mission-
ary, published by Bishop Spulding, now bishop of Louisville,
in his Sketches of Kentucky. I remember, in fact, my send-
ing it. As the Memoir relies on the authority of the same
worthy prelate, as the substance of the two notices is the
same, and as an old missionary in America had already
translated that in the Sketches, I think you will do well to
publish the latter.*

MEMOIR.
Charles Nerinckxf was born on the 2d of October, 1761,
at HerfFelinger, a rural commune of the province of Bra-
bant, arrondissement of Brussels. His parents were distin-
guished for their virtues and their strong attachment to

* At all times the Belgians have distingiahed themselves in the greai
work of the propagation of the faith. No region bo distant that it does
not preserve traces of their footsteps ; no people, infldel or savage, which
does not recall and bless the name of some missionary who quitted his
native Belgium. The great St. Francis Xavier admired their virtues
and their devotedness. " Mitte Belgas'^ (send me Belgians), was his pe-
tition from the depths of India.

How inierestiug would be a work to retrace the :' >. rs of our princi-
pal missionaries 1 But while biographies of other Belgian celebrities
abound, we find few of those apostolic men, who expended their sweat
and blood in a work which a saint calls the divinest of all divine works.

While this gap remains unfilled we are happy to recall a name well
known in Belgium. Charles Nerinckx, one of the most celebrated Bel-
gian missionaries, was, in the beginning of this century, one of the
glories of the rising Church of the United Slates. — Trans.

We have some letters of this worthy missionary of Kentucky, which
we will publish. Many others must be iii existence. Persons commu-
nicating them to us will contribute to the good these edifying pieces
may do. — A^ote of Father Terwecoreu.

t The Nerinckx family is known by the many pious and zealous eccle-
Biastics it has pro"!uced. One of them, early in the present century,
repaired to Loudon, where he atill directs the Church of St. Aloy^ius,

36»

426

WF^TERN MISSIONS

Hi ui

religion. His father was a pliysician of some eminence in
tlie profession ; and his motlier seems to have been a woman
of great piety. The tender mind of Ctiarles was imbued
with a deep and abiding religious feeling. At an early age,
he was placed in the elementary school at Ninove, where he
commenced his studies. At the age of thirteen, he was re-
moved to the college of Geel, in the province of Kempen ;
whence he was afterwards sent to the university of Louvain,
where he entered on the study of philosophy. His parents
determined to spare no expense which might be necessary to
give him a thoroVj^li education ; and they were highly grati-
fied to find that Charles corresponded so well with their
parental solicitude, and that he more than fulfilled their
liighest expectations.

Having completed his academic course, and duly consulted
God in prayer, the young Charles resolved to study for the
Church. Accordingly, in the yea/ 1*781, he was sent by his
parents to the seminary of Mechlin, where he entered on
the study of theology. Here he was still more remarkable
for tender and solid piety, than he was for the rapid advance-
ment he made in his studies. Though he far outstripped
his companions, yet he did not permit himself to be elated
with his success. He referred all his a* tions to God, to
whom he was united by an habitual spirit of prayer. He
concealed his success, even from his own eyes, under the
garb of a deep irii,ernal humility; and from those of his
companions, under the veil of an unaffected inodesty. He
feared the praises of men more than others usua ly seek them.

whicli he erected, and the orphan asylum annexed to it, also founded
by him, and plnced under the direction of Sisters called the Faithful
companions 0/ Jesus. Another religious of the family labors in the toil-
Bome niissif/n of Missouri. The Beljrian clergy count several mem-
bera of the same family. — Note of Belgian translator.

AND MISSIONARIES.

427

His studies completed, he was ordained priest in 1785 :
and in the following year was appointed cure^ or pastor, of
Mechlin, the arcliiepiscopal city. He filled this important
post for eight years, and gathered there the abundant first-
fruits of his ministry. The good people of Mechlin yet
remember his piety and laborious zeal, the effects of which
they still feel. The rectory of Everberg-Meerbeek, half way
between Mechlin and Brussels, having become vacant by the
death of the aged incumbent, M. Nerinckx was appointed to
fill it, by the general suffrage of a board of examiners, who,
after the searching examination, or concursus^ recommended
by the Holy Council of Trent for such cases, unanimously
awarded him the palm over all other candidates. Though
loth to leave Mechlin, where the people were much attached
to him, yet he hesitated not to enter upon the new field of
labor thus opened to him by Providence.

The extensive parish of Everberg-Meerbeek was in a neg-
lected and deplorable condition. The parish church was in
a dilapidated state, and the people had been much neglected,
in consequence of the age and infirmities of his predecessor
in his pastoral olBBce. M. Nerinckx immediately set about
remedying all these evils ; he repaired the church, and was
assiduous in his efforts to revive piety among his new parish-
ioners. Believing that the hearts of the parents could be
most effectually reached through their children, he spared
no pains to instruct the latter, and to rear them up in the
most tender sentiments of piety. He gave them catechetical
instructions on every Sunday evening after vespers. To do
this the more successfully, he divided the parish into sections,
and distributed the children into regular classes, which he
taught himself, or through pious catechists whom he had
selected ; and he had the names of all the children of his
parish carefully registered. He soon won the heaits of the

428

WESTERN MISSIONS

'it

children, and was able easily to obtain their regular attend-
ance at catechism. He tVequeiitly inculcated on tliein a ten-
der devotion to the Holy Virgin, and taught tiiem to sing
canti'iles, which he had composed in her honor.

The eftects of this discipline were soon discernable. The
children were prepared for their first communion, and soon
became models of piety for the whole parish. The hearts
of the parents were touched ; and the most neglectful or
obdurate among them, were gradually brought to a sense of
duty. Piety was seen to flourish in a parish before distin-
guished only for its coldness and negligence. Numerous
pious confraternities in honor of the Blessed Virgin were
established, as well as associations for visiting the sick, and
for other charitable objects. Thus, by the zeal of one man,
aided by the Divine blessing, a total reformation was effected
in a short time ; and the parish of Everberg-Meerbeek be-
came a model for all others.

M. Nerinckx, though kind and polite to all, was rather
austere in his manners, as well as rigid in his discipline. He
was, however, always much more rigid with himself than
with others. He never lost a moment, nor allowed himself
any recreation. He paid no idle visits for mere pastime ; he
visited the different families of his parish only on duty, and
generally on Sunday evenings. He knew well that a priest who
does his duty has little time to spare for idle conversation.
Wherever good was to be done, or a soul to be saved, there
was he found, by day or by night, in rain or in sunshine, in
winter or in summer. When not actually engaged in the
ministry, he was always found at home, employed in prayer
or in study. He was an enemy of promiscuous dances, and
he succeeded in abolishing them throughout his parish.

It was natural that a man of so much zeal, and one who
had done so much good, should be viewed with an evil eye

;ii a

AND MISSIONARIKS.

429

by the infidel leaders of the French revolutionary movement,
wlio had recently taken possession of Belgium. An order
for his apprehension was accordingly issued ; and M. Nerinckx
was compelled to fly from his dear parish, which he left a
prey to the devouring wolves. In 1797 he secreted himself
in the hospital at Termonde, which was under the charge
of twelve or fifteen hospitaller nuns, of whom his aunt was
superior. Here he remained for seven years, during all of
which time he carried his life in his hands. He acted as
chaplain to the hospital, the former incumbent having been
banished to the Isle of Rhe. He bore his persecutions with
entire resignation to the holy will of God, and edified all by
the practice of every virtue. He encouraged the good nuns
to persevere in their heavenly calling of mercy. He said
mass for them every morning at two o'clock, and then re-
tired to his hiding-place before the dawn.

In his retreat he had full leisure to apply to study, and he
lost not a moment of his precious time. He wrote treatises
on theology, on Church history, and on canon law ; and his
manuscripts would have filled eight or ten printed octavo
volumes. These he was often afterwards solicited to publish ;
but his modesty took the alarm, and he was inflexible in his re-
fusal. In the hospital of Termonde were shut up many of the
prisoners who had been made in the revolutionary battles
fought in Belgium. Some rf these were horribly maimed.
M. Nerinckx did all he could, in his dangerous situation, to
assuage their sufferings, and to impart to them spiritual suc-
cor. At the dead hour of night, he often stole to their cells,
at imminent hazard of his life, and administered to them
the holy sacraments ; and when they were hurried to execu-
tion, he viewed them from his hiding-place, and imparted to
them the last absolution. Often, too, he visited by stealth
his dear parish of Everberg-Meerbeek, administering the

P>?^»s?:^'^^;ip^?«Wi:^gpW|T^:<

430

WESTERN MISSIONS

!•!;

ill

KfrH-

sacraments to his people, consoling them in their suflferings,
and strengthening them in the hour of danger.

Beset with dangers, and uncertain as to the duration of
the dreadful storm which was then 8weepiro|' over Europe,
M. Newnckx at length determined to bid adieu to his unhap-
py country, and to emigrate to the United States. Here
" the harvest was great, and the laborers few ;" and no im-
pediment was placed in the way of a free exercise of religion,
according to each one's conscientious convictions. He accord-
ingly made his escape, in a vessel which sailed from Amster-
dam to the United States, on the 14th of August, 1804.

He had a long and dangerous passage of ninety days. The
old and rickety vessel was often in imminent danger of foun-
dering a't, sea ; and, to add to the distress, a contagious dis-
order carried off many of the passengers and crew. Still
they were not chastened under the rod of aflfliction ; the
heiirt of M. Nerinckx often bled over their wickedness^ which
he was wholly unable to check; and he afterwards was in
the habit c^ styling this ill-fated ship " a floating hell." The
captain, in paiticular, was a very profane and wicked man.
M. Nerinckx was wont to ascribe his preservation from ship-
wreck, to a special interposition of Divine Providence.

He reached Baltimore about the middle of November,
and immediately offered his services to the Patriarch of the
American Church — Bishop Carroll* — for whatever mission

I- ? M

* Bishop Carroll was an illustrious scion of one of thb two hundred
Enjflisli Catholic families, who, in 1633, flying from the religious oppres-
sion to ^hich they were subjected in their ''.alive U.nd, crossed the
Atlantic, nnd settled Maryland, under the guidance of Lord Baltimore.
He was a member of the Society of Jesus till the suppression of the
order, in 1778. He continued to cultivate that ))ortion of the Lord's
vineyard, with his old fellow-religious, till his promotion to the episco-
pate, in 1789. Pope Pius VI. confided to him the new See of Baltimore,
and placed under his jurisdiction the whole extent of the United States.

AND MISSIONARIES.

431

in the United States he might think proper to assign him.
Bishop Carroll received the good exile with open arms, and
immediately sent him to Georgetown,* to prepare himself
for the American mission, by learning English, with which,
as yet, he was wholly unacquainted. M. Neriuckx was then
in his forty-fifth year ; and yet he applied himself with so
much ardor to the study of the English language, as to be
able in a few months to speak and write it with conside lable
facility.

Bishop Carroll was well aware of the forlorn condition of
M. Badin,f who was alone in Kentucky, and he determined
to send the new missionary to his assistance. And had ho
sent us no other, Kentucky would still have ample reason to
be forever grateful to him for the invaluable treasure he sent
in M. Nerinckx.

The good missionary hesitated not a moment to comply
with the wish of his new superior. What cared he for the
dangers, privations, and labors, which he foresaw he would
have to endure on the arduous mission to which he was
hastening ? Had he not been already trained to this severe
discipline of the cross ; and had he come to America to rest

His death, which occurred in 1815, caused extraordinary grief through-
out the country.

* Georgetown Cjllege is the oldest Catholic university in the United
States, and 1ms been at all times a fruitful hive of Miihsionaries. It is
situated on a height, in view of Washington. Ic lias been, since its
origin, under the direction of the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. This
college has acquired new importance by the magnificent observatory
erected there some years since, and by the astronomical observations
made there.

+ The Rev. Mr. Badin, who died recently, after an apostolate of over
half a century, was a native of France. He studied at Baltimore, where
he was ordained in 1793, by Bishop Carroll. He was the first priest or-
dained in the United States, where, so shortly before, the Catholics had
groaned under the English peuul laws.

tii:iiaii

1 1 '

432

WESTERN MISSIONS

on a bed of down, and to dally with luxuries ? From an
early period of his life, labors and sufferings had been his
daily bread ; and nov^ he was too much accustomed to them
any longer to feel any apprehension on their account. He
was, on the contrary, rejoiced to enter on a mission which
no one else wished or was indeed willing to accept.

He left Baltimore in the spring of 1805, and, after a long
and painful journey, reached Kentucky on the 5th of July
'following. He immediately applied himself zealously to the
labors of the mission, which he cheerfully shared with M.
Badin, the vicar-general. For the first seven years he
resided with M. Badin, at St. Stephen's ; afterwards, he took
up his residence chiefly near the church of St. Charles,
which he had erected on Hardin's Creek, and named after
his patron saint. But he was seldom at home : he lived on
his scattered missions, and passed much of his time on horse-
back.

His labors in the arduous field upon which he had now
entered, were as f^^reat as their fruit was abundant. With
his whole soul, he devoted himself to the work of the min-
istry. He even seemed to court labors and sufi^erings for
their own sake. Of a powerful frame, and of herculean con-
stitution, he never spared himself. His rest was brief, and
his food was generally of the coarsest kind. He generally
arose seveial hours before day, which hours he devoted to
prayer and study. In fact, he seemed to be always engaged
in mental prayer, no matter how numerous or distracting
were his employments.

He appeared to live solely for God and for his neighbor.
Performing his duty was his daily bread. And though old
age was fast creeping over him, yet he relaxed in nothing
his exhausting labors. His soul was still fresh and vigorous ;
and God so preserved his health, that, even at the age of

AND MISSIONARIES.

433

sixty, he seemed gifted with all the strength and vigor of
youth.

He seldom missed offering up the holy sacrifice daily, no
matter what had been his previous fatigues or indisposition.
Often was he known to ride twenty-five or thirty miles fast-
ing, in order to be able to say mass. His missionary labors
would be almost incredible, were they not still so well re-
membered by almost all the older Catholics of Kentucky.

His courage was unequalled ; he feared no difficulties, and
was appalled by no dangers. Through rain and storms ;
through snows and ice ; over roads rendered almost impas-
sible hv the mud ; over streams swollen bv the rains, or
frozen by the cold ; by day and by night, in winter and in
summer, he might, be seen traversing all parts of Kentucky
in the discharge of his laborious duties. Far from shunning,
he seemed even to seek after hardships and dangers.

He crossed wilderness districts, swam rivers, slept in the
woods among the wild beasts ; and while undergoing all
this, he was in the habit of fasting, and of voluntarily morti-
fying himself in many other w His courage and vigor
seemed to increase with the labois -nd privations he had to
endure. As his courage, so neither did ^'i cheerfulness ever
abandon him. He seldom laughed, or evf- n smiled but
there was withal an air of contentment and cheerfulneN'4
about him v-'hich greatly qualified the natural austeiity of
his countfnance and manners. He could, like *he great
Apostle, make himself " all to all, to gain all to Christ." He
appeared even more at home in the cabin of the huml 'est
citizen, or in the hut of the poor negro, than in th more
pretending mansions of the wealthy.

He was averse to giving trouble to others, especially to
the poor. Often, when he arrived at a house in the night,
he attended to his own horse, and took a brief repose in the

'^1

m^n

434

WESTERN MISSIONS

stable, or in some out-liouse ; and when the inmates of the
house arose next morning, they frequently perceived him
already up, and saying his office, or making his meditation.
He made it an invariable rule never to miss an appoint muut,
whenever it was at all possible to keep it. He often arrived
at a distant station early in the morning, after having rode
during all of the previous night. On these occasions, he
heard confessions, taught catechism, gave instructions, and
said mass for the people generally after noon ; and he seldom
broke his fast until three or four o'clock in the evening.

In swimming rivers, he was often exposed to great danger.
Once, in going to visit a sick person, he came to a stream
which his companion knew to be impassable. M. Nerinckx
took the saddle of his friend — who refused to venture —
placed it on his own, and then, remounting the horse, placed
himself on his knees on the top of the two saddles, and
thus crossed the flood, which flowed over his horse's back.
On another occasion, he made a still more narrow escape.
He was swept from his horse, which lost its footing and was
carried away by the current ; and the rider barely saved
himself, and reached the other shore, by clinging firmly to
the horse's tail.

On one of his missionary tours, he narrowly escaped
being devoured by the wolves, which then greatly infested
those portions of Kentucky which were not densely settled.
While travelling to visit a <listaiM station, in what is now
called Grayson county, but what was then an almost unre-
claimed wilderness, he lost his way in the night. It was the
(Inad of winter, \nd the darkness was so great that he could
imt hope to extricate himself from his painful sitnation.
Meantime, while he was seeking a slieltered place, where he
could take some repose, the famished wolves scented him,
and came in hundreds, fiercely howling around him. With

AND MISSIONARIES.

435

great presence of mind, he immediately remounted his horse,
knowing that they would scarcely attack him while on
horseback. He hallooed at the top of his vo'^e, and tempo-
rarily frightened them off; but soon they returned to the
charge, and kept hira at bay during the whole night. Once
or tw'ce they seemed ou the point of seizing his horse, and
M. Nerinckx made the sign of the cross, and prepared him-
self for death ; but a mysterious Providence watched over
hira, and he escaped, after sitting his horse the whole night.
With the dawn, the wolves disappeared.

As we have said, he was a man of powerful frame and her-
culean strength. A proof of this will be presented in the
following singular adventure, which is well known to all the
older Catholics of Kentucky.

He was in the habit of rigidly enforcing order in the
church, during the celebration of the divine mysteries. Prot-
estants, and persons of no religion, often attended church,
led thither chiefly by curiosity. These sometimes did not
conform to the rules of propriety ; and M. Nerinckx, who
was little swayed by human respect, was not slow to admon-
ish them of their faults in this particular. As he was not
very well versed in the English language, and was by nature
rather plain and frank, his admonitions were not always well
understood, or well received. Once, especially, a man by
the name of Hardin — a youth of powerful frame and strength,
and somewhat of a bully — took great offence at something
which M. Nerinckx had said, and which it seems he had en-
tirely misunderstood. He openly declared that he would be
avenged on the priest, the first time that he would meet him
alone.

An opportunity soon occurred. M. Nerinckx was going
to the church of St. Charles, from St. Stephen's, when Har-
din waylaid him on the road. Springing from his hiding-

436

WESTERN MISSIONS

place, he seized the bridle-reins of M. Nerinctx's horse, and
bid him stop, "for that he intended to give him a sound
drubbing." At the same time he cut one of the stirrup-
leathers, and ordered the rider to dismount — ar order which
was promptly complied with. M. Nerinckx remonstrated
with him ; told him that he had meant in nowise to offend
or injure him ; and that his profession wholly forbade him
to wrangle or fight. Hardin, however, persisted, and was in
the act of striking the priest, when the latter took hold of
him, and quietly laid him on the ground, as though he had
been the merest child ; observing to him, meantime, with a
smile, "that he would neither strike or injure him, but that
he felt authorized to see that himself received no injury at
his hands." In this position he held him motionless on his
back, until he had obtained from him a promise that no fur-
ther attempt should be made on his person.

After this rencounter, M. Nerinckx quietly remounted his
horse, and proceeded on his journey, Hardin as quietly
moving off in the other direction. On arriving at the
church, one of his friends asked M. Nerinckx, " how it hap-
pened that his stirrup-leather had been cut?" He replied,
by simply stating the adventure in a few words; and observ-
ing, with a smile, " that these young buckskins could not
handle a Dutchman !" After this he never was heard to
^peak of the affair ; but Hardin was wont to say to his
friends, " he often thought before that he had handled men,
but that he really never had hold of one before he met
Priest Nerinckx, who, he verily believed, had something
supernjitural about him."

M. Nerinckx often manifested his great bodily strength in
the course of his laborious life. He erected no less than
ten churches in Kentucky; two of which — those of Holy
Cross and of Lebanon — were of brick, and the rest of hewed

AND MISSIONARIES.

<t37

logs. He was not content with directing the labors of
others ; he was seen intermixing with the workmen, aiding
them in cutting timber, in clearing out the undergrowth,
and in every other species of hard labor. He generally
worked bareheaded under the broiling sun ; and, in removing
heavy timber, or, as it is commonly called, rolling logs, ho
usually lifted against two or three men of ordinary strength.
He built his own house, chiefly with his own hands ; and
was wont to say cheerfully, " that his palace had cost him
just $6.50 in money !"

He had charge of six large congregations, besides a much
greater number of stations, scattered over the whole extent
of Kentucky. Wherever he could learn that there were a
few Catholic settlers, there he established a station, or erected
a church. The labor which he thus voluntarily took on
himself is almost incredible. To visit all his churches and
stations generally required the space of at least six weeks.

He never took any rest or recreation. He seemed always
most happy, when most busily engaged. He seldom talked,
except on business, or on God, on virtue, or on his mission-
ary duties. On reaching a church or station, his confes-
sional was usually thronged by penitents, from the early
dawn until mid-day. Before beginning to hear confessions,
he usually said some prayers with the people, and then
gave them a solid and familiar instruction on the man-
ner of approaching the holy tribunal. If he seemed austere
out of the confessional, he was in it a most kind, patient,
and tender father. He spared no time nor pains to instruct
his penitents, all of whom, without one exception, were deeply
attached to him. To his instructions chiefly, in the confes-
sional, are we to ascribe the piety and regularity of many
among the living Catholics in Kentucky.

But it was on the children and servants that he lavished

37»

438

WESTERN MISSIONS

his labor with the greatest relish. Thoroughly to instruct
them, and prepare them for their first communion, was his
darling employment. He thought no time nor labor, that
was devoted to this favorite object of his heart, too long or
ill-spent. For this purpose, he usually remained a week at
each of the churches and stations. During this time, he
had the children and servants daily assembled, and devoted
his whole time to thera. He thus renewed in Kentucky the
edifying scenes which had been witnessed in his former
parish of Everberg-Meerbeek, in Belgium. The children
were much attached to him ; and he possessed a peculiar
tact in winning their hearts, and stimulating them to learn
their catechism, and to be virtuous. He distributed them in
regular classes, and awarded premiums to the most deserving.
Thus he laid, broad and deep, the foundations of Catholic
piety in Kentucky.

. In Kentucky, also, as in Belgium, he sought to inculcate
a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin. The first church
which he erected he dedicated to God under ^'er invocation,
and called it Holy Mary's, after her. His churches were
generally built in the form of a cross : the two arms of
which, with one half of the body, were occupied respectively
by the men and women, who were always kept separate.

After mass, he was in the habit of practising a devotion,
as beautiful as it was touching and impressive. He went to
the centre of the church, where, surrounded by the little
children, who so dearly loved him, he knelt down, and, with
his arms extended in the form of a cross — the children rais-
ing also their little arms in the same manner — he recited
prayers in honor of the five blessed wounds of our Divine
Saviour. The parents often joined the children in this
moving devotion. After this, he led his little congregation,
composed chiefly of children, into the adjoining graveyard,

mujbiki

AND mtssionarif:s.

439

"wViere he caused them to visit and pray over the graves of
their deceased relatives and friends.

God blessed his labors with fruits so abundant and perma-
nent as to console him for all his toils and p ivations. He
witne&sed a flourishing <*hurch growing up around him, in
what had recently been a wilderness, inhabited only by fierce
wild beasts and untamable savages. He saw in the virtues
of his scattered flock, a revival of those which had rendered
so illustrious the Christians of the first ages of the Church.
M. Badin had laid the foundation ; and, like a skilful archi-
tect, ho reared the superstructure, in that portion of the
flock intrusted to his charge. The results of his labors
prove how much one good man, with the blessing of God,
can achieve by his single effoits, prompted by the lofty mo-
tive of the divine glory, and directed with simplicity of '
heart to one noble end.

Yet, though learned and of solid judgment, he was not
i^markable for brilliancy of talent, for engaging address, or
for pulpit eloquence. His discourses were plain, matter-of-
fact instructions, delivered in broken English, and with little
rhetorical ornament.

Though he had something austere in his manner, and
though he was a foreigner, and spoke English very imper-
fectly, yet it is remarkable that he made^ perhaps, more con-
verts among Protestants, than any other missionary who ever
labored in Kentucky, if we except M. Badin. So true is it,
that conversion is not ordinarily effected by human eloquence
alone, or by any other mere human means, but by the grace
and blessing of God, crowning with success the labors of the
missionary. M. Nerinckx seldom made a missionary tour
without receiving some one into the bosom of the Holy
Catholic Church. In one of these excursions, he made no
fewer than thirteen converts. And those whom he received

440

WK8TKRN MISSIONS

into the Church were well grounded in the faith, and gen
erally proved steadfast.

The tninscendeut merits of M. Nerinckx did not escape
the eye of Bishop Carroll. Besides having charge of the
■whole territory of the United States, this venerable patriarch
of the American Church was also administrator of the dio-
cese of New Orleans, which had been for many years without
a bishop. On the division of his vast charge into five different
dioceses, in 1806, and the erection of his own see into an
archbishopric, he recommended to the Holy See the Rev.
M. Nerinckx, as a suitable person to take charge of the
vacant diocese of New Orleans,* in the character of adminis-
trator. The Sovereign Pontiff acceded to his request, and
dispatched a brief to that effect. The appointment of M.
Nerinckx to this situation was intended as the forerunner of
his consecration as bishop of New Orleans.

The good missionary was with M. Badin when he learned
the news of his appointment. He meekly bowed his head,
and observed to his friend, beginning with the words of the
psalmist : " Bonitavsm et disciplinam et scientiam docendus,
docere non valeo'^ — " Having myself to be taught goodness,
and discipline, and knowledge, I am not able to teach these
things to others." He mildly, but firmly refused the prof-
fered honor. Desirous of retaining him in Kentucky, where
his labors were so fruitful, M. Badin, in conjunction with the
Dominican Fathers of St. Rose, petitioned the Holy See
that he might not be compelled to accept an ofRce which
would tear him from a field of labor in which he had already

m" ■

* Louisiana, of whioh New Orleans is the chief city, was sold to the
United States, by Napoleon, in 1801. The episcopal see of New Orleans,
erected in 1793, was, at the cession, without an incumbent; the first
bishop, a Cuban, having been transferred to another see, and his suc-
cessor having been unable to reach his diocese.

AND MISSI0NARIK8.

441

proved so eminently useful. They also represented, that the
great delicacy of conscience characteristic of M. Nerinckx,
would render him exceedintjiy unhappy in so arduous a situ-
ation, if it would not wholly unfit him for its responsible
duties.

The Pontiff yielded to the entreaties of M. Nerinckx,
thus supported by the suffrage of his brethren in the
ministry ; and he did not insist on his accepting the appoint-
ment.

Among the establishments made by M. Nerinckx, that of
the Sisters of Loretto, or of " the Friends of Mary at the
Foot of the Cross," is the principal, and has proved of the
greatest benefit to the diocese of Kentucky. His objects in
founding this invaluable sisterhood were : to enable pious
females to aspire to the lofty perfection of the religious state,
and to promote, through their means, the Christian education
of youth of their own sex, especially of those whose parents
were needy and too destitute to defray the expenses attend-
ing the education of their offspring.

In the course of his long missionary career, M. Nerinckx
discovered many young females who sought to practise a
more perfect virtue than was co'.npatible with the distractions
of the world. They had caught no little of his own spirit
of prayer, of disengagement from the world, and of lofty
enthusiasm in the path of Christian perfection. He observed,
too, many young girls who were raised in ignorance, and
greatly exposed to temptation. He devised an admirable
means of promoting the spiritual welfare of both these
classes of females, in the establishment of the new Sis-
terhood of Loretto — which name he gave them out of
reverence for the famous shrine of the Virgin, at Loretto^
in Italy.

The foundation of the new society was laid on the 25th of

442

WESTERN MISSIONS

April, 1812 — nearly ayenrafter the arrival of Bishop Flaget*
in Kentucky. The mother establishment was called Loretto,
and was erected on Hardin's Creek, near the church of St.
Charles. The houses were built of wood, and were very
poorly furnished. They were erected on one side of an
oblong inclosure, in the centre of which was reared a large
wooden crobo. The chapel of the sisters occupied a central
position in the buildings which stood on either side.

The number of those who attached themselves to the new
institute increased every year. Soon the buildings were too
small for the number of applicants ; and the pious founder
was under the necessity of erecting new houses,! and of
creating branch establishments of the society. In twelve
years from its commencement, the number of Sisters exceeded
a hundred ; and they had already under their charge six dif-
ferent schools for girls. In the letter above quoted, Bishop

* This great bishop arrived in Kentuclcy, Juno 11, 1811, and died
there, piously, in 1850. Bisliop Porticr, of Mobile, says of him : ♦' The
diocese of Bardstown was the cradle of religion in the West, and its
venerable founder, by his long career, may well be styled the patriarch
of North America, as hig labors and virtues proclaimed him the model
of apostolic life.

+ According to a letter of M. Nerinckx, dated from Loretto, Ky.,
September 11, 1818, addressed to the Superior of the Hospital Nuns of
Vilvorde, the Sisters of Loretto had then four houses, viz: The
Mother house ; that of Olives, four hundred miles from Loretto, where
seven sisters had been sent, at the request of the bishop, to found a
house ; Gethsemane^ and Calvary. Loretto then contained twenty-two
novices and some postulants. During the whole summer they had sup-
ported and, in a great measure, clothed eighty or ninety persons, at tlie
expense of the convent, although it possessed no lucrative property
and no certain income ; the school even, in this respect, was almost
unproductive, as the asylum and loAcr classes paid notliing.

In this letter, M. Nerinckx recalls himself to the kind remembrance of
some persons especially of Vilvorde, who had contributed, by alms, to
the missions. We may be permitted to cite the names of some of our

AND MISSIONARIKS.

443

Flagct, aftor having denuminatc<l the sist«Mliood tlie most
vahiable legacy whicli tliH good M. Nerinckx liud left to his
diocese, speaks as follows ot thti condition of the society, in
1824, immediately afUr the death of the founder:

" Their number is over one hundred ; they have chargt* of
six schools. They give edudtion to upwards of two liuiwl-
red and fifty girls yearly in their houses, and take in some
orphans gratis. The missionaries generally send the chil-
dren whom they wish to prepare for their first communion
to these monasteries, whenever they can, and tliey, as well
as the boarders, are admirably well instmctod in all that may
be useful, both for this world and for eternity."

The assiduous attention to the religious instruction of sfi'ls
constituted, in fact, the principal utility of the pious society.
It is difficult to estimate how nmch it has, by tliis means,
contributed towards fostering and sustaining piety in this
diocese. Within the first ten years of its existence, the Sis-
terhood had already prepared for their first communion eight
hundred young ladies. These afterwards became mothers of
families, and were able to instruct others ; and thus the good
was perpetuated from generation to generation.

M. Nerinckx watched over the new institution with the ten-
der solicitude of a parent. He devoted to the spiritual instruc-
tion of the Sisters and of their scholars, all the time he could
spare from the heavier duties of his missionary life. He en-
deavored to infuse into them his own spirit of prayer and

own place. Tliey are, tlie rector and nuns of tl<j order of St. August-
ine, the Rev. Messrs. Van Haecht, ^''asi Ophe n, Van Ilamine and hU
Bisters, Mile. Van Laethein, and otiiers wliom he indicates without
naming.

He also mentions a printed letter, which the hospital sisters would
soon receive. We do not know this missive of the mis.-^ionary. — Kote
of Fatfier Terwecoren.

iii

444

WKSTKEN MISSIONS

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mortification. He labored assiduously, both by woid and
example, to disengage them entirely from the world, and to
train them to the practice of a sublime Christian perfection.
He ardently sought to keep alive in their hearts the true
spirit of the religious vocation ; to make them despise the
world, trample on its vanities, and devote themselves wholly
to the service of God ind of the neighbor, by a faithful com-
pliance with ths duties growing out of the three simple vows,
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, they had taken.

Especially did he endeavor to impress upon them the obli-
gation of placing implicit reliance upon the good providence
of God, not only in their spiritual, but also in all their tem-
poral concerns. A favorite maxim which he had always in
his heart, and frer^aently on his lips, was embodied in this
golden saying : " Do not abandon Providence ; and he will
never abandon you." How could that good heavenly
Father, who "clothes the lilies of the field, and feeds the
birds of the air," abandon those who had put all their trust
in him, and had devoted themselves entirely, both in body
and soul, to his seivice ?

In fact, this unbounded confidence in the providence of
God, was almost the only legacy he was able to bequeath to
the Lorettines. They had, in the commencement of their
society, but little of this world's goods to depend upon. It
was not difficult for them to practise the poverty which they
had vowed ; they were already extremely poor and desti-
tute ; and in fulfilling their vow, they had but to love and
submit cheerfully to that which was a stern necessity of their
condition. Their houses were poor and badly furnished;
their clothing was of the plainest kind ; and their food was
of the coarsest.

M. Nerinckx himself set them the example of the poverty
and mortification which their institute required the!u to love,

AND MISSIONARIES.

445

as well as to practise. According to the testimony of his
bishop, "he himself led an extremely austere and mortified
life; his dress, his lodging, his food were poor; and he had
filled his monasteries with this holy spirit. Those women
sought for poverty in every thing — in their monasteries,
in the plain simplicity of their chapels. The neatness, the
cleanliness, the simplicity of their dwellings, and of their
chapels, excited the wonder of their visitors."

To keep up the constant practice and spirit of prayer in
their houses, M. Nerinckx inculcated, besides regular and
devout attendance at all the pious exercises of the commu-
nity distributed throughout the day, the utility of raising
their hearts to God by a pious aspiration or ejaculation,
whenever they would hear the clock strike, or would pass
from one occupation to another.

Especially did he enjoin upon them a tender devotion to
the Blessed Virgin, weeping at the foot of the cross, and a
frequent repetition of the pious ejaculation: "0 suffering
Jesus ! O sorrowful Mary !" To fetd and keep alive the
spirit of piety, he recommended to them frequent visits to
the holy sacrament of the altar ; and we have already seen
the provision which he made to keep up the perpetual adora-
tion of Jesus Christ in this, the greatest mystery of his
undying love for mankind.

To foster the spirit of humility and mortification, he recom-
mended manual labor, and the love of being employed in the
most menial ofiices of the house. To encourao;e them to
practise these employments with cheerfulness and love, he
pointed to the lowly life, and the voluntary hardships and
privations of the Blessed Saviour ; and to the great utility of
such mortillciitions, fur the atonement of sin, and the laying
up of abundant merits in heaven.

This austerity was apparent in the body of rules wh'ch he

! i

WESTERN MISSIONS

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drew up for the guidance of the society. They breathed the
purest spirit of Christian perfection ; but experience subse-
quently demonstrated that some of them were too rigid for
health, and ill-suited to the nature of the climate. Of this
character were, the great exposure of the Sisters to every in-
convenience of weather, while laboring hard in the fields, or
forests, and the practice of going barefoot during a gnaxt
portion of the year. As we have said, the poverty of the
society at its commencement compelled hard labor ; the other
practice \7as adopted, with many others of a similar nature,
to . cherish a constant spirit of mortification. But these
more rigid regulations were retrenched from the rule on its
subsequent revision, while its substance and spirit were fully
retained.

The heart of the good founder was consoled by the early
piety and fervor of the Sisterhood. These appeared to enter
into the entire spirit of their state, and to correspond, to the
full, with his instructions. According to the testimony of
the good Bishop Flaget,* " they were the edification of all
who knew them : and their singular piety, and their peni-
tential lives, reminded one of all that we have read of the
ancient monasteries of Palestine and of Thebais."

Thus did the good M. Nerinckx, alone and unaided, except
by Divine Providence, found a society of pious ladies, which
has already done, and will no doubt continue to do, incal-

* Bishop Flaget wrote, in 1884 : " The Lorettines were founded in
Kentucky by a learned and zealous missionary from Flanders, Mr.
Charles Nerinckx, in the second year of my episcopate. Tlie rules of
this pew community were submitted to the Sovereifjn Pontitf, who made
various changes. His Holiness took this new family under his protec-
tion, as I was informed by his emiiience, Cardinal Fesch ; and what ia
Btill more flattering, the Sisters of Loretto, in Kentucky, received from
the Pope all the spiritual privileges enjoyed by the chapel of Loretto,
'in Italy."

AND MISSIONARIES.

447

culable good to religion in this diooese. M. Nerinckx suc-
ceeded iu doing what M. Badin had been unable to accom-
plish. The latter, with intentions and views very similar to
those afterwaids entertained by the former, had constructed
an edifice for a monastery .^.t St. Stephens; but before it
could be completed, it was burned down by accident, and
thus the whole design was frustrated. It was in the order of
Providence, that the exertions of M. Nerinckx should be
crowned with better success. His success, in fact, surpassed
his own most sanguine expectations. The branches of his
institution yearly multiplied, and soon Kentucky was too
narrow a field for the exercise of its charity and zeal.

The good founder had been induced to send a colony of
the Lorettines to Missouri ;* and he had already received
gratifying accounts of the success which had there crowned
their labors. Though almost exhausted with his missionary
toils, and worn down by old age, he yet determined to pay a
visit to this disUnt branch of the society, in order to en-
courage the Sisters iu the path of usefulness on which they
had entered.

Another principal motive of his journey to Missouri, was
an ardent desire for the conversion and civilization of the
Indians, who were there very numerous at that time. He
had formed a plan to induce the heads of families and the
chiefs of the savage tribes to send their children to the
schools of the society, where they might be tauglit the Eng-
lish language, the elements of learning, and especially the
catechism. This he conceived to be the best means of

Mi 'I

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* There are now four convents of the Sisters of Loretto in Kentucky
three in Missouri, one in Nebraska, and one in New Mexico. Kev. D.
A. Deparcq, a BeI|B:iau, the present director-general, resides at the
mother-house of Loretto. — Belg. Trant.

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448

WESTERN MISSIONS

reclaiming the Indian tribes ; and, in fact, it was but a carry-
ing out of a favorite system, which he had found so eminently
successful, both in Europe and in America — that of reaching
the parents through the piety of their children.

This was the last journey that the good missionary ever
performed. He died in the midst of it, on the 12th of
August, 1824, at the house of the Rev. Mr. Dahman, parish
priest of St. Genevieve. He breathed bis last, while closely
engaged in the labors of the mission, and while panting for
new means of promoting the glory of God and the salvation
of souls. His death was worthy of his life. Calm, patient,
collected, and resigned to the will of Heaven; praying to the
last, and longing to be freed from the prison of the body,
and to be with Christ, the good priest bade farewell to this
world, with a confident assurance of a blessed immortality
in the next.

The fever of which he died he had contracted in the dis-
charge of his missionary duties. The chief circumstances
of his death are so well lelated by Bishop Flaget, that we
will give them in his own words :

'* After the arrival of M. Nerinckx at the residence of the
Sisters, in Missouri, he wrote to me a most affecting letter,
describing the good they had accomplished in that diocese,
and the hopes which he entertained of their being one day
useful to the Indians. Thence he went to visit an establish-
ment of Flemish Jesuits, which is pretty numerous, and about
ninety miles distant from the monastery. After spending
some days of edifying fervor in the midst of those holy and
beloved countrymen of his, he set out on his return to the
monastery, and thence intended coining to Kentucky. Near
St. Louis, he had an interview with an Indian chief, who
promised to send him a great number of the young females
of his tribe, to be educated by the Sisters. He made haste

AND MISSIONARIES.

449

to carry this news to the monastery, and his heart burned
within hina, while his imagination pictured to itself the good
prospect which lay open to his hopes.

" On his road, however, was a path to a settlement of eight
or ten Catholic families, who had not seen a priest during
more than two years. Desirous of doing all the good in his
power, he assembled them, heard their confessions, gave them
instructions, and celebrated for them the holy sacrifice of
the mass. He was thus occupied, from a little after day-
break, until towards three o'clock in the evening. Seeing
the good dispositions of those Catholics, he proposed to them
to build a church, in order to encourage priests to come to
them ; a subscription was immediately opened by those
present ; out of his own small means he gave ten dollars ;
and signatures for over nine hundred dollars were instantly
affixed to the sheet.

" After all this exertion, in such broiling weather, he felt
feverish symptoms. These continued next day, but appa-
rently much diminished. He wished to go to St. Genevieve,
which was only fifteen or eighteen miles distant; and though
the journey was short, still the exertion and the burning sun
greatly increased the fever. The pastor of St. Genevieve
(M.. Dahman) received him with great kindness and afiection.
He was obliged to betake himself immediately to bed ; the
physicians came promptly, and paid him every attention ;
but to no purpose.

" M. Nerinckx was, I trust, in the eye of God, ripe for
heaven ; and his Lord saw that it was time to bestow upon
his faithful servant the recompense of his labors. He had
the use of his reason to the last, and edified all who sa.w him
by his piety and patience. On the ninth day of his sickness,
about nine in the morning, he received the holy viaticum
and extreme unction, after having made his confession ; and

38<»

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WESTERN MISSIONS

III

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J:t.l]

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about five in the evening, he breathed out his pure soul to
return to its Creator, with entire resignation, and without a
struggle. The Loiettines in Missouri requested to have his
body, which was accordingly conveyed to their cemetery
from St. Genevieve."

The transfer of his remains to this monastery of Bethle-
hem, Missouri, was made by the direction of Bishop Rosati,
who had arrived at St. Genevieve on the morning after the
death of the good missionary. He assisted at his funeral
service, which was performed with great solemnity.

M. Nerinckx had reached his 63d year ; and, during the
last forty years of his life, he had labored for the glory of
God and the good of his neighbor, with a constancy, an ac-
tivity, and a zeal, seldom equalled, never, perhaps, surpassed.
His whole life had been one continual voluntary martyrdom
and holocaust. He contemned this world, and panted only
for heaven ^ but he ardently wished to go to paradise with a
numerous escort of souls, whom he had been instrumental
in rescuing from perdition, and leading to salvation. This
thought seemed to engross his whole mind and soul ; and his
life was but a carrying of it out. That God, whom he
served so long and so faithfully, has no doubt long since
crowned these lofty aspirations of his humble and heroic
servant.

A little before his death, M. Nerinckx had intended to
found also a religious brotherhood, bound together by the
ordinary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience ; and
wholly devoted, like the Lorettines, to the service of God and
the good of the neighbor. He had even begun this estab-
lishment, and had ah-eady received into it some membeis,
one of whom, James Vanrissalberghe, accompanied him on
his last journey to Missouri, and assisted him in his last
illness. But death cut short his design in this respect ;

.i uU

AND MISSIONARIES.

451

and, deprived of its founder, the brotherhood soon ceased to
exist.

In the year 1833, his remains were translated to Kentucky,
and deposited in a suitable monument erected at Loretto,
the mother-house of the Lorettines. This monument stands
in the centre of the conventual graveyard. The base of it
is a parallelogram, about six feet long, by three wide. It
is built with brick, covered with a plain oak-plank, painted
and sanded in imitation of stone, and surmounted by a large
urn. On each side of the brick-work is a projecting tab-
let, on each of which is engraved one of the inscriptions
that follow :

" In memory of Rev. Charles Nerinckx, a native of Flan-
ders, who died August 12, 1824, in Missouri. His remains
were translated to Kentucky in 1833, by brother Charles
Gilbert, at the request of the Loretto Society, and interred
at this place by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Flaget, and the Rev. G.
I. Chabrat, superior of the Society."

"M. Nerinckx came to Kentucky in 1805, 'and devoted
himself zealously to that laborious mission, during which
time he was nominated to the diocese of New Orleans, but
he refused that dignity ; and in 1812, with the approbation
of the Holy See, instituted the Lorettines, or Friends of Mary,
and died in performing the visitation of the order, at St.
Genevieve, Missouri, aged 63."

One of the end-tablets has ^^ Bequiescat in pace;" and
on the other end-tablet are these words : " Loretto's mite of
esteem and veneration for its founder." " Do not forsake
Providence, and he will never forsake you. C. N ." — this
being a favorite saying of his to the nuns, at a time when
Providence was almost their only dependence for the next
day's dinner.

Such was the life, such the death, and such the establish-

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452

WESTERN MISSIONS

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merits, of the Rev. Charles Nerinckx, one of the very
best priests who ever labored on the arduous missions of
America.*

Letter of the Rev, M. Nerinchx giving an Account of his

Vocation.

St. Mary's (Rolling Fork, Ky.), Jan. 23, 1806.

Rbv. and dear Friend : "*

Not to be wanting to our close friendship, nor deserve
the reproach of delay, or even of negligence, in a cause as
serious as God's honor, the propagation of religion, the sal-
vation of our neighbor and our own, I cannot help writing
letter on letter to call with loud cries vigorous laborers to
one of the most plenteous harvests, and seek in every direc-
tion whatever is needed to labor there. We agreed, when
we took our last farewell, to employ all our zeal to succor
ourselves our brethren in America, who suffer and die of
spiritual hunger; and till that end is obtained, to endeavor
to secure the concurrence of men better fitted than ourselves
in word and prayer. Let us keep our word. Let us not
lose courage, although our first attempts have not answered
our expectations. Persuade the good whom you seek ; send
the generous men whom you may convince. The plan to
adopt, and the means to use, were suggested in my letters
last year. You have, doubtless, received them. If the

* During his stay in Kentucky, Eev. M. Nerinckx made two voyages
to Belgium, in 1816 and 1819, to obtain of his generous countrymen aid
not to be found in America. Among the young men whom he took
over on his last voyage, were several seminarians of Mechlin, most of
whom became members of the Society of Jesus in the United States,
aud continue to labor in the vineyard of the Lord. — Belg, Tram,

AND MTSST0NARIE8.

453

motives and reasons which induced me myself to under-
take this voyage could persuade others to follow, here is
some idea of them.

According to the parable in the Gospel, seated, counting
my resources, using the most considerations of which I was
capable, and repeatedly meditating on my project, I found
the following motives for setting out :

1. The danger of my own defection, of being perverted or
falling into error, if I remained at home, and the almost utter
uselessness of my presence in Belgium in the actual state of
things.

2. Certain hope of propagating the honor of God under
this severe menace : " Woe to me if I have not preached the
Gospel."

3. The tendency of the American people towards the
Catholic religion, and the penury of priests.

4. The urgent opportunity of paying my evangelical debt
of ten thousand talents. A dignified sinner in my own
land, which abounds in advantages, I almost despaired of
doing real penance, and making due satisfaction. Hence I
concluded that I must undertake inevitable toils and sorrows.

6. The favorable advice of competent persons, without
whose council I did not deem it prudent to act.

Such were nearly the principal motives of my resolution,
which I confirmed by the following thoughts well suited to
spur me on :

First. — A lively ardor of vigorous faith in God, and espe-
cially in his ministers. The object of this faith was : 1. The
greatness of God and his majesty, and his domain and rights
over our ministry, and our duty to serve him everywhere.
" I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid. All serve
thee ; how shall I not serve thee ?" and the perfectly incom-
prehensible honor with which, too, he has deigned to honor

I '

454

WKSTERN MISSIONS

\-V i

U8, by introducing us into the holy of holies, and by ranking
us with the princes of his people, which he has certainly not
done for us to stand idle. 2. The labors, sweat, and sorrows
of Jesus, our niaster, so worthy of love in all points of view,
and of his disciples whose sufferings we have seen. 3. The
soldiers of earthly kings serve without choice of country,
and are forced to serve for a ratioa of bread and water ; and
what trials do they not meet, wliat kinds of death do they
not face without any remuneration ? Can it seem equitable,
then, for us to shrink from the sweet yoke or service of the
Lord, which gives hope of so great a recompense, under any
pretext ? • 4. The sea alarms — but merchants expose to the
same and greater dangers their money, their goods, their
body, their soul, their families; ari'^ when they are broken
and extenuated by labors, they stiii nud themselves empty-
handed.

Second. — A firm hope of an eternal personal reward, and
to be obtained by so many others whom we will perhaps
lead back from the ways of error, as also the hope of increas-
ing God's thence resulting glory, and of obtaining season-
able aid from God, our stay and support. The horror of
eternal pains, which, according to the judgment already
written, await the wicked and slothful servant, and which
will torture him.

Third. — The fire, ever burning in the presence of God,
the Blessed Virgin, <fec. St. Ignatius preferred to live uncer-
tain of his own salvation, and labor for his neighbor's soul,
than to die at once* with the certainty of being saved. Aided
by these and like thoughts, I felt arising in me that fortitude
which permitted me to say, when the storms of objections
arose: "What I have resolved, I have resolved."

The objections which I successively answered, and my
replies, were as follows :

r" ';

AND MISSIONARIES.

455

First objection. — You must have a vocation.

Reply. — 1. But it need not be confirmed by miracles.
2. I am already a priest, and it is rather late to raise doubts
as to my vocation. Better examine a vocation before ordi-
nation, tiian hesitate after being initiated into the holy min-
istry. It requires as much divine vocation to be a parish
priest, with cure of souls in Belgium. Neither advantages,
parents, love of home, nor a clinging to one's native soil
and house by puerile affection, give surer testimony in the
choice of a state of life. We have rarely seen an excuse of
non-vocation alleged. When a rich benefice is vacant, no
powerful motives are needed to induce most men to accept ;
but, on the contrary, to prevent them from seizing. So that
when you can get an advantageous post, you find a voca-
tion ; but when there is question of going to undertake
labors elsewhere, vocation is doubtful. Then the vocation is
not wanting to him that is called; but here and there, the
one called is wanting to his vocation. Nun deest vocato
vocatio, sed passim vocatiotii vocatus.

Second objection, — The faithful in Belgium also require
succor.

Reply. — Only those who wish to need succor, need it;
those who do not wish, do not need it. At least, there ia
certainly more need in America, where there are not two
priests to a league, but not even one priest to be found for a
hundred leagues at a time, while Catholics multiply ; and,
moreover, the word sowed produces truit a hundredfold —
that word, now so unpalatable to most Belgians.

Third objection. — The people will perhaps say : If all the
good go, what will become of us ?

Reply. — Who are you that suffer yourself to be called
good ? Trust in your vocation, expecting all from God's
goodness. Yet neither the wicked, who negl<*ci theii* serious

456

WESTERN MISSIONS

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amendment, should leave their country to go to lands white
for the harvest, nor will all the good go. If even this hap-
pened by a just judgment of God, he is the Master — let him
do what is good in his sight ; but, jneauwhile, what evil
hast thou prevented in thy country ? what errors hast thou
faced ? what corruptions hast thou extirpated f what infrac-
tions hast thou not consented to ? etc., etc. Weep, then,
over thyself, and take pity on thy own soul. If apostolic
men had remained in their own lands, and they were few
enough, we should not have been Christians this day.
Should we not, then, pity our brethren ?

Fourth objection. — We need means, money, aptitude.

Reply. — As to means and aptitude, the judgment of them
must be left to prudent men, who do not belong to the
family, and who, although not bound to oblige themselves to
the same, are not zealous towards those whom the thing
concerns. As to money, God will provide it, my son.

Fifth objection. — Our parents, who need help or consola-
tion, will be afflicted.

Reply. — Remember that the priest belongs to the Lord,
and not to his father. Assist your parents as much as you
can, and provide for the future ; but remember, too, that
you must be about your heavenly Father's business. As to
the precept of leaving father and mother for God's sake, ex-
amine the Scriptures, the acts and lives of the apostles, and
the examples of the saints.

You see, then, dear, friend, what induced me to undertake
this voyage. I have never yet repented coming ; and if any
one of these motives can be useful to another, I willingly
permit him to adopt and confirm it by new and better ones.
There are, doubtless, many, stronger and more cogent,
which your zeal and serious considerations may suggest.
But as those I have set forth suffice for me, who am so ob-

AND M18HIONARIE8.

457

tuae, and whose heart is so slow and perverse, I do not see
why I should insist further.

r coramend myself earnestly to your prayers, your holy
sacrifices, and other pious actions, and subscribe myself

Your very devoted servant,

C. Nkrinckx,
Missionary in Americc.

Letter of Archbishop Carroll.

Baltimore, April 1, 1806.

Sir:

Your very estimable friend, Mr. Nerinckx, has sent me,
from Kentucky, an account of his apostolic labors, a large
package of letters addressed to you, which I have the honor
of transmitting by a vessel that is to leave this port to-mor-
row for Amsterdam. While transmitting them I take a
liberty which you will surely pardon me.

From the description given me by Mr. Nerinckx, I am aware
of your zeal for the increase of the true religion in the dioceso
which Providence has confided to me, and of your kindness in
interesting yourself to send ecclesiastics whose life and talents
will edify the faithful and maintain the faith. Ah ! sir, if it
were possible for you to find and persuade five or six priests
like Mr. Nerinckx, it is incredible how much they would ex-
tend in these vast regions the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Although he has but imperfectly acquired our language,
still every account from Kentucky already speaks of him as
a man who has won the respect, attachment, confidence, and
veneration of the whole people. I feel only one anxiety
about him ; it is, that incessantly engaged in the functions
of his apostokte, he will be exhausted by toil.

His friend, Mr. Cuypers, who was to have been his co-

458

WESTERN MISSIONS

adjutor and consolation, sank under the delicacy of his con-
stitution before commencing his career in the mission which
awaited liim. I do not know whether it was in his voyage
to Amsterdam, or a few days after his landing, that he was
attacked with a dysentery. It did not at first seem danger-
ous. I advised him to go to Georgetown College, the health-
iest place in the country, both to recruit and to become
more familiar with our language, before starting to join M.
Nerinckx. Notwithstanding all possible care, his disease
grew worse, and he died a few days before Christmas, in the
arms oi my coadjutor. You will say with me, that his
death, disastrous for my diocese, is only the greatest advan-
tage to him, by advancing the day of his happy entrance
into heaven. His piety made a lively impression on all at
the college, and served to excite all to the exercises of virtue.
Receive, sir, the assurance of my gratitude, respect, and oi
my desire to serve you when in my power.

I have the honor to be, sir,

Your most ob't serv%
■!• John, Bishop of Baltimore.

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Additional Remarks ly Father Be Smef.

Mr. Nerinckx was t^trongly attached to our Society. On
every occasion he testified his high esteem for it. He made
two voyages to Belgium, in 181V and 1821, and each time
obtained several postulants for the Society — cheerfully com-
plying with the request made by Father Anthony Kohlmann,
tlien Provincial of the Society of Jesus in Maryland, who
beo-g-e<l him to obtain, if possible, young men disposed to
labor in iho American inission.

On his first voyage, Mr. Nerinckx was accompanied back
by Mr. Cousin, of the diocese of Ghent, and by four young

AND MISSIONARIES.

459

men, viz. : James Van de Velcle, of Lebeke, near Termoncle,
professor '.. the Petit Seminaire, of Mechlin ; Snnnon, from
near Turnhout ; Verheyen, of Merxplas, who had made tlie
Spanish campaign under Napoleon ; and Tiininernians, of
Turnhout, secretary of the commissary of tlie district. Chris-
tian de Smet, of Marcke, near Audenarde, and Peter de Meyer,
of Segelseni, joined this little band of missionaries, in order to
enter the Society of Jesus as lay-brothers.

Mr. Cousin died at White Maish, at the close of his no-
vitiate. Mr. Van de VelJe died bishop of Natchez, and I
have already given his biography. Father Verheyen, mis-
sionary in Maryland, there ceased to live in 1823. His great
zeal for the salvation of souls, and his solid virtues, attracted
to him the esteem and respect of all who were so nappy as
to know him. Father Tiinmermans, socius of Father Van
Quickenborne, finished his career at St. Stanislaus, Missouri,
in 1824. He was an indefatigable missionary, and one who
rendered jjreat service to relitjiv^n in those districts. Brother
Christian de Smet died at the college of Georgetown, D. C,
after having been a model of a true and holy religious during
the years that he passed in the Society. Brother Pierre de
Meyer is the sole survivor of the party. I obtained from Mr.
Nerinckx some quite interesting particulars concerning their
long and dangerous voyage, which are still fresh in the mem-
ory of our good Brother Pierre,

They embarked on the 16th of May, at the island of
Texel, Holland, on the brig Mars, Captain Hall, of Baltimore.
The voyage was long and dangerous. Scarcely had they
entered the English Channel than a storm suprised them,
and threatened to submerge them. One of the sailors, precip-
itated from the topmast into the sea, was lost. Universal
fea' and consternation reigned on board. It was Whit-Sun-
day. During three days -he vessel, without sails and with

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460

WESTERN MISSIONS

out a helm, beaten by the winds and waves, floated about at
the mercy of the ocean.

In another tempest the ship sprung a leak, — htrge, and
deemed irreparable. During more than three weeks all
the pumps were in action, without interruption, night or
day, and all, passengers and crew, even the venerable mis-
sionaries, were obliged to work. Happily there were on
board about a hundred emisrrants, Swiss and Germans.
Without their aid it would have been impossible to save the
brig. When approaching the Banks of Newfoundland the
Mars fell in with a pinitical vessel, which gave her chase
and suc.^eeded in boarding her, after a long pursuit. The
captain ot the pirates, named Mooiiy, was a native of Balti-
more. Far from manifesting hostile intentions, he appeared
full of joy at meeting a countryman. As the Mai's was fail-
ing in provisions, Captain Hall bought several barrels of bis-
cuit, salt beef, some tuns of fresh water, and a gieat quantity
of dried fruit and wine, which the piiate hid in abundance,
having plundered, three days before, a Spanish merchant-ship,
on its way to Spain.

Neither the captain nor the mate of the Jfars was quali-
fied for his post. Their calculations always varied. After
passing the Azores, they steered straight for the tropics.
Then finding themselves too far south, they turned towards
the Banks of Newfoundland. Sailing thus at random, the
vessel, one fine morning, was on the point of striking on the
dangerous shore of northern Long Island. At last, after a
voyage of sixty-six days, they made Chesajx'ake Bay, July
26th, and on the 28th reached Baltimore in safety.

In 1821, the Very Rev. M. Nerinckx once more visited his
native country, in order to obtain spiritual succor necessary
to his numerous missions in KentiKhy. On this occasion
the Father Provincial of Maryland again renewed with eara-

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AND MISSIONARIES.

461

estness his request to conduct hither a good reinforcement
of young Belgian missionaries.

During the sojourn of the zealous missionary in Belgium,
some professors and students in the Lesser Seminary of Mech-
lin couceived the idea and formed the intention of entering
into the Society of Jesus, to devote themselves to the salva-
tion of souls in the United States. They soon ha<l an oppor-
tunity of realizing their noble design. The Very Rev. M.
Nerinckx appeared in their midst. The picture which he
drew of the abandoned state of the poor Catholics in these
immense countries, in which, for want of priests, thousands
forget or forsake the Faith, excited their fervent sympathy
and zeal. He spoke to them at length of Kentucky, where
the Lord had wrought so many wonders by his ministry, and
painted to them in living colors the abs(-)lute abandonment
in which the Indian tribes of the Great Desert roamed, to
the conversion of whom the Sons of St. Ignatius had, at all
times, devoted themselves. The young candidates at once
presented themselves to the respectable missionary, resolved,
if he would consent, to accompany him to America. This
consent was easily obtained, and he received them with open
arms. They afterwards were forced to overcome numerous
and great obstacles which opposed their departure, arising
from their parents and the government of Holland.

The following are the names of these young candidates
who presented themselves to the Rev. M. Nerinckx, to enter
the Society of Jesus, in America. I commence with the
eldest : Messrs. Felix Verreydt, of Diest ; Josse Van Asscbe,
of St. Amand ; Peter Joseph Verhaegen, of Haecht ; John
Baptist Smedts, of Rotslaer ; John Anthony Elet, of St.
Amand; Peter John de Smet, of Termonde.*

* Father Elet and Father Smodts aro dead, and sketohe.'i of them will

be found in this volume.

39»

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462

WESTERN MISSIONS

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It was agreed with M. Nerinckx thp.'i his six companions
should meet in Amsterdam, in order to make all the prepara-
tions necessary for the long vo3'age over the Atlantic, and also
to make ulterior arrangements for cludmg the vigilance of
government, which had given the authorities strict and severe
orders to arrest them. They succeeded in gaining the ren-
dezvous. On the 26th of July, 1821, they arrived at Am-
sterdam. On the 31st of the month, the Feast of St. Igna-
tius, they quitted the city and embarked in a little boat, in
order to repair to the island of Texel, in the Zuyder-Zee.
The following day they stopped at Wieringen, where they
visited a Catholic church, and, some hours after, they
landed at Texel and took lodging in a Catholic house thai
some friends in Amsterdam had prepared for them before-
hand. At length, on the 15th of August, they got on board
the brig Columbia, after having gained the open sea in a
little pilot-boat, which had passed the Helder without being
observed by the police. The voyage, therefore, commenced
under the auspices of our Holy Mother, on the day of her
glorious assumption into heaven. We experienced, it is
true, some storms and some heavy gales of wind ; but all
passed without the least unfortunate incident.

At the end of forty days we disembarked in the beautiful
city of Philadelphia. The next day we exchanged adieux
with the venerable and worthy M. Nerinckx, a man eminent
for sanctity and learning, and full of zeal for the salvation of
Bouls, justly deserving to be styled one of the principal
apostles of the American Church, as the author of the biog-
raphy which I have recapitulated in this letter has so well
displayed him. We quitted him, filled with reverence and
respect for his person. The sage counsels which he unceas-
ingly gave us, and the example of his eminent virtues that
we had beneath our eyes during the forty days' passage, have

■^WBTP»W^¥"

AND MISSIONARIES.

463

ever remain <! present to the memory of his companions.

We enjoyed the distinguished favor of possessing him some

time at the novitiate of St. Stanislaus, Missouri, a few days

before his death.

In union with your holy sacrifices and prayers, I have the

honor to be,

Reverend Father,

Your devoted servant,

P. J, De Smet, S, J.

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464

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XXXVIII.

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To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Charles Felix Van Quiclcenborne.

New Yobk, May 16, 1857.
Rev. and dear Father:

This notice of the Rev. Charles Van Quickenborne has
been based on a sketch of his hfe, in the archives of the vice-
province of Misse ri, and I have inserted some facts from my
own knowledge.

Father Charles Felix Van Quickenborne was the first
Jesuit who appeared in the great valley of the Mississippi
after the re-establishment of the Society of Jesus. He was a
man full of zeal for the salvation of souls. The conversion
of the Indians was, in particular, the object of his predilec-
tion and of his prayers. Long will his name be held in
benediction, and his memory celebrated in the places which
had the happiness of receiving the fruits of his numerous la-
bors and of his truly apostolic virtues.

He was born in the diocese of Ghent, at Peteghem, near
Peynze, on the 21st of January, 1788. Having commenced
his studies at Deynze, he went to Ghent to complete them,
and there he embraced the ecclesiastical state. Van Quick-
enborne constantly distinguished himself by his talents and
his application. Ordained priest, he was sent to Roulers, to
teach belles lettres. He remained there four years ; that is
to say, until the moment that the ecclesiastical seminary was
closed. A short time after his return to Ghent he was sent

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AND MISSlONAKTEfl.

465

as vicar into a parish where he had the singular happiness,
as he fre q 110 ntly said with pleasure, of finding Mr. Corselis
as Dean, The friendship and the distinguished virtue of this
venerated priest exerted a very salutary influence over the
mind of the young vicar, and made an impression which was
never obliterated.

About this time the Society of Jesus, in the expectation of
its approaching re-establishment, had prepared a novitiate
at Rumbeke, near Roulers. There, yielding to the impulse
of his zeal, Van Quickenborne presented himself, on the 14th
of April, 1815. From that moment he sighed for the mis-
sion of America.

Scarcely had he finished his novitiate than he obtained
from Father Thaddeus Brzozowski, then general, the per-
mission to consecrate himself entirely to the desired mission.
He embarked at Amsterdam. After a navigation fraught
with perils, he had the happiness of reaching America, near
the close of the year 1817.

At the opening of the year 1819 he was placed at the
head of the novitiate of Maryland, at White Marsh. He
displayed, in this responsible position, all the means which it
furnished him for the salvation of souls. Superior and master
of novices, he became, at the same time, farmer, carpenter,
and mason. He erected a handsome stone church on the
novitiate grounds, and built a brick one at Annapolis. At the
same time he attended, as a missionary, a vast district, which,
during several years, he was to evangelize alone, before a
companion could second his charitable toil.

His labors were precious for Maryland ; but the poverty
of that mission was extretne. This led the Rt. Rev. Wm. du
Bourg, bishop of both Louisianas, to request that the novi-
tiate be transferred to Missouri. The superior of the mission
consented to it. Father Van Quickenborne, therefore, set

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WESTERN MISSIONS

out vvitli two Fathers, seven scholastic novices, and three co-
a<ljutor brotliei's. After a journey of 1000 miles, amid the
heat of summer, with continual fatigues and privations, he
arrived near Florissant, where he conmienced the novitiate
of Saint Stanislaus. To form this new establishment, he
found no other materials than those he drew himself fiom the
forests and the rocky bed of the river. But his ardor for
labor was daunted by no difficulty ; his inflexible courage
was not to be arrested by any obstacle. He was always the
first at work. He seemed to multiply himself, going from
one workman to another, exciting and encouraging every one
by his example far more thaii by his words. Endowed with
an admirable patience, and with a great spirit of mortifica-
tion, he was never exacting to any one but himself, listened
only to the enthusiasm which inspired him to spend himself
without reserve, and never knew what it was to spare his
o-wn health or strength. He was near becoming a victim to
this self-forgetfulness. One day he was working at the
squaring f a timber, aided in this labor by a young novice.
The latter, not yet versed in the work, used his axe with an
eagerness of which he was far from imagining the conse-
quences. Right glad to perceive the wood yielding under
his blows, he only thought of multiplying them. One of
them, ill-directed, struck the Father on the foot. Notwith-
standing this wound, and the loss of blood, the Father did
not give up his labor until he found himself fainting, then
only would he take a seat and allow the cut to be bound up
with a handkerchief. The laborers, meanwhile, were three
miles from the farm, which served them as a common resi-
dence. The Father endeavored to return there on foot; but,
oa the way, the pain an.- x from the wound became so vio-
lent that he was constrained to yield and sutler himself to be
put on the horse that had been sent for him. A burning

AND MISSION ARIES.

467

fever '^bilged liim to keep his bed for several days. As soon
as lie became a little better he desired to return to his work,
but he must use the horse. Thence arose a new accident.

•

The shores of the river are swampy in certain places ; the
horse sunk into one of these mires; the Father needed all his
calm and coolness to legain the solid ground ; but all the
efforts that he made to extricate his ])oor animal proved use-
less ; he was obliged to see him perish. These accidents,
instead of shaking his constancy, had the effect of rendering
him more firndy determined to accomplish his purposes. It
was surrounded by difficulties, which would have appeared
insurmountable to a courage less heroic, that he constructed
the novitiate of Florissant, aided by his Belgian novices. In
1828 he undertook the construction of a university at St.
Louis. He also built, at St. Charles, a stone church and a
convent for the religious of the Sacred Heart, as well as a
residence. These toilsome undertakings, and all the mani-
fold cares arising from them, seemed but to freshen his ac-
tivity : he only finished one enterprise to begin a new one.

Florissant and St. Charles became so many rallying-points
around which little colonies of Catholics and Protestants
formed and multiplied. The missionaries went in every di-
rection to afford spiritual aid for so many abandoned souls,
too often more destitute of the riclies of grace than of those
of earth. Father Van Quickenborne devoted himself to
these apostolic courses with real gladness of heart ; his con-
suming zeal found the sweetest consolation in the conversions
which he effected. The Protestants testified the greatest
respect towards him, although then (in 1824, 1825, etc.), as
at present, their ministers spared no means to fetter his pro-
ceedings and arrest the effects of his zeal. They depicted our
religion as an assemblage of absurd and contemptible doc-
trines ; they drew the most revolting portrait of the mission-

H. t'

4(>8

WKSTKRN MISSIONS

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my. Among certain of the lower classes, they even went sc
far as to make him a monster with cloven feet, horns on his
head, and armed with claws. Ilcncc, when the Father ap-
peared among them for the first time, these poor people
tlo(;ked around, scanned him attentively from head to foot,
and finding him like other men, they immediately listened
to him, and were converted without the least diflSculty.

In one of his rides, there happened to him one of those
singular facts in which he recognized more particularly the
action of divine Providence. Airived at a place where the
road branched, he intended taking the more beaten road,
but his horse resisted. In vain he urged him to obey ; the
animal prevailed over the missionary, and darted rapidly into
the other and less agreeable way. The route crossed a for-
est. Night came on, and he found liimself obliged to stop
at a little cottage, as poor as solitary, and, as it were, lost
by its little dimensions in the towering wood. The Father
met with a cold reception. As they perceived that he was
a missionary priest a great reserve was maintained. Supper
was indeed served for him, but they spoke with him in a
timid and embarrassed manner. He understood the cause.
In a corner of the room lay a child sick with a fever, and in
extremities. The missionary asked the distracted mother
whether her boy had received baptism. On being answered
in the negative, he began to explain the necessity of this
sacrament. " God himself sent me here," added he, '" to
open to your child the portals of heaven ; you must hasten,
for soon he will be no more !" The mother replied disdain-
fully, that she would never suffer a priest to ba))tize her son ;
that she did not believe in baptism. It was in vain to insist.
As the child was consumed with thirst the Father, feigning
to renounce his first idea, very kindly attempted to relieve it
from time to time, by giving it a little water, and at a

AND MISSIONARIES.

469

moment when the mother, occupied with other things,
turned her attention elsewhere, he baptized the child, who
soared to heaven a few moiiients after.

A short time after this, passing near the same cottage, tho
Father called again and asked to see the mother of the
child. This time he found her aftable and obliging. She
evinced a very great desire to have some information con-
cerninix the Catholic reliofion. Soon she avowed tliat all she
had heard on the necessity of ba[>tism troubled her, and that
she deplored it as a misfortune that she had deprived her
son of 80 great a grace. "Console yourself," said the kind
Father, " your son received baptism, and he now enjoys the
beatific vision. He now intercedes for you with God. Re-
ceive baptism, and you will one day share his happiness."
These words produced the desired etiect. The woman was
converted, and, with her whole family, received baptism.
Such were the blessed consequences of the obstinacy of the
horse. Strangely enough, on the day after, he followed the
other road without any show of resistance.

The salvation of souls was, with this apostolic man, an
evei-present thought, desire, and necessity. He had also a
wonderful art in seizing occasions and profiting by circum-
stances. He understood also, by his conversations and nar-
rat ves, how to comnmnicate to others the zeal with which
he was inflamed. They were captivated, so that those who
could not assist him by their labors, pledged themselves, at
least, to assist him by their prayers. Thus, in order to
engage his novices to pray with ardor, he granted them a
little feast each time that the conversions attained a certain
number.

The Protestants, we have already observed, made efforts
to threw obstacles in the path of the man of God, but he
had to struggle especially with the Methodists. One day

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WESTERN MISSI0N8

he gave a severe blow to the influence of these noisy secta-
rians. Being on a mission, he heard tliat they were to liolcl
a meeting in a phtce named to him. For a long time he had
sought an occasion of coming in contact with tliem. He,
therefore, set out for the appointed locality, and endeavored
to attract there all the Protestants that he could And. Ilie
Methodists were holding their meeting in the church. The
Father, on his arrival, found an immense concourse. His
religious habit and his venerable air, at first excited a pro-
found astonishment in men, most of whom saw a priest for
the first time. In their amazement, several cried out:
" What does that queer man want ?" The Father answered
modestly, that he was desirous of hearing from their mouths
some explanations on certain important points which con-
cern religion, and begged they would allow him to propose
a few questions. Then, profiting by the consent which they
gave bira, he began to interrogate them on the essential
points trat distinguish the true from the erroneous doctrines.
The ministers wish to reply, but no two answer in the
same manner. They refute themselves, and contradict each
other. The Father insists; they disagree. The confusion
only increases, to the great scfmdal of the auditors, who thus
have an evidence that those ministers, so habituated to
despise the priests in their absence, are incapable of reply-
ing to them when they meet them. The Father left these
men disputing (to their shame and confusion), and went to
make a discourse in the open air on the unity, sanctity,
catholicity, and apostolicity of the Roman Catholic Church,
which all sects and all their ministers united can never
shake. Such astonisliiYig boldness, the talents of the
preacher, and the solidity of his reasonings, conciliated the
attention and respect of all. He had gained a signal vic-
tory over the ministers of falsehood and calumny. During

AND MISSIONARIES.

471

a long period, their discourses had no echo in that place.
Every time that the Father returned there, they opened the
hotel of the town to him, that he might celebrate mass and
pieach. His sermons, every time, produced numerous con-
versions.

On entering the apostolical career, Father Van Quicken-
borne enjoyed a robust health ; but the severe labors and
inoessant hardships of the apostolate undermined his
strength. However, his infirmities never cooled the ardor
of his zeal. His charity and his confidence in God seemed
to supply the weakness of nature, and God, more than once,
seconded his efforts in a marvellous manner. One day, while
be was' retained in his bed by a severe, and even serious
malady, they came to tell him that a poor Catholic, dying, a
hundred miles off, implored the comforts of religion. To
the amazement of all, he caused a cart to be prepared,
ordered his mattress to- be laid in it, and taking with him
the Blessed Sacrament and the oils he set forth, after giving
to them all his blessing. All received it, as though it would
be the last. They followed their kind Father with fears and
regrets. After a few days he reappeared among them quite
triumphant; he had administered to the sick man, and was
himself perfectly cured.

His apostolical zeal inclined him above all to those places
in which he saw more spiritual privation and more neglect.
He ardently desired to go and evangelize the poor Indians,
wandering in the wilderness. He made several excursions
among the Osages and the lowas, and each time th.e most
precious fruits met his expectation. In 1836, he succecnled,
by soliciting, in collecting some money in the different
States. He at once commenced a fixed residence among
the Kickapoos; already he had built a house and chapel.
He had visited the neighboring tribes, and formed the

c72

WESTfiBN MISSIONS

most extensive and solid designs for their con^rerfion,
when he was suddenly arrested in the midst of his enter-
prises. The Superior of the Missions in Missouri, on paying
the visit to his missionaries, found the Father so feeble in
health that he judged him incapable of continuing his la-
bors. As soon as the Superior returned to St. Louis he re-
called him.

Faithful to the voice ' ." obedience, Father Var Quicken
borne quitted his cherished mission. He reappeared at St.
Louis with a cheerful countenance, reposed there some days,
went to make his annual retreat at the novitiate, and then
set out for St. Charles, so jaa to go thence to the little parish
of St. Francis in the Portage des Sioux. There, he* was to
lead a quiet life, assisted by one coiidjutor brother, and only
bestowing his cares on this little flock. But is there any
hope of limiting his zealous efforts? He set himself at once
to build a church in the neighborhood, and he was de-
sirous of converting a certain number of Protestant families.
These labors were absorbing his whole attention, when he
was attacked by a bilious fever which carried him off in
some days, resisting all the cares of an experienced phy-
sician.

Father Pallaison assisted him in the hour of death. The
man of God was calm until the end, and filled with devout
resignation. He received the last sacraments with a deep
and touching piety, and saw death approaching without fear.
About twenty minutes before expiring, perceiving his last
moment, " Pray for me," said he to the Father and Brother
who were near him. These were his last words. He ex-
pired without agony. His death took place on the I7th of
August, 1867. His body, followed by crowds, was borne
to St. Charles, and interred with much pomp in the mid-
dle of the graveyard, at the foot of the cross. Catholic*

AND MIdSIONABIEB.

473

and Protestants assisted at his funeral, for he was beloved

by all.

The lengthened labors of this apostolic man, and the

churches which he built, suffice to perpetuate his memory,

were it not already deeply engraven in the hearts of all who

knew him.

Accept, etc.,

P. J. Dk Smkt, S. J.

40»

p '

474

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XXXIX.

To THE Editor of the Precis HistoriqueSi Brussels.

Theodore de Theux.

New York, May 16, 1857.
Rev. and very dear Father :

In several of your letters you requested me to give you
some notes concerning the life and character of Father de
Theux, of saintly memory. Will you be so kind as to add
the information which follows to what I have already sent,
and blend them, in form of a biography, in one letter ?

John-Theodore-Mary-Joseph de Theux was born at Li6ge,
on the 25th of January, 1789. His parents, not less dis-
tinguished by their piety +han by their birth, endeavored to
inspire their children betimes with the love and fear of God,
and to form them to the practice of all the virtues, as do
those rare families in which faith is hereditary.

Theodore had not yet terminated his study of the human-
ities, when he felt a strong conviction that God called him
to the ecclesiastical state. Having finished them, he entered
the seminary of Namur in 1808. Devoting himself with
untiring application to the study of philosophy, he distin-
guished himself as much by his success as by his regularity
of conduct, his piety, and gentleness. At the end of the
course he won the first prize for the collective" examinations,"
which lasted several days. He showed, in every circum-
stance, a great soundness of judgment. His success in his

AND MISSIONARIES.

475

theological studies, Holy Scripture, canon-law, and other ec-
clesiastical sciences was equally brilliant.

His former companions preserve a most delightful recollec-
tion of the relations of young De Theux with his class-mates,
whom he assisted with his lights and counsels. The amenity
of his temper gained him every heart ; it reflected his soul,
which was inflamed with the fire of heavenly charity. He
passed four or five years in the seminary of Namur.

He received the tonsure in March, 1810 ; minor orders in
the month of June following ; the sub-deaconship, the 21st of
December, 1811 ; the deaconship, the 22d of February, 1812.
Admitted to the priesthood the 2l8t of June following, feast
of the angelical Saint Aloysius, the Abb6 de Theux, before
the end of the same year, had a fine opportunity of display-
ing the zeal which he never ceased exciting in his heart.
He was named vicar of the parish of St. Nicholas at Liege.

It was the epoch when the imperial government, in the
height of its combat with all Europe, multiplied beyond
measure the prisons of State ; and while the faithful cardinals
mourned in the strongholds of Piedmont and France, the
generous defenders of Spain expiated at Li6ge the fault of
having fought for the liberty of their unhappy country. The
greater number of them languished in the hospitals. In
order to be able to offer them the consolations of the
Church, the new vicar of Saint Nicholas occupied himself
wholly with the study of the Spanish language, and, with
the help of God, in a short time, he was able to hear the
confessions of the imprisoned. It was very beautiful to see
this young priest, a member of one of the first families oi
Liege, braving, at the pillow of the dying, the pestilential in-
fiuences of the epidemic which raged among the prisoners,
particularly at the hospital of St. Laurent. Attacked by the
disease, the Abbe de Theux was received into tlie bosom of

476

WESTERN MISSIONS

his family. God, in order to try him, permitted that the
mahidy sliould be communicated to several of his near rela-
tives, and prove the cause of death to one of his brothers.
Theodore, however, escaped death. God, who had great
designs over him, would not allow that he should so soon
become the victim of his zeal.

In 1816, named by M. Barrett, administrator of the Epis-
copal See of Liege, Professor of Dogmatic Theology and of
Holy Scripture, he presided at the opening of the seminary
and gave the first course of theology. At this epoch there
was only one class in the seminary of Liege. In the exer-
cise of his new functions he conciliated the love and respect
of his pupils, as well by his zeal and his devotedness, as by
his tender and paternal solicitude. But his love for God
and his neighbor demanded labors more painful, sacrifices of
a nobler grade. He embraced, with as much eagerness as
happiness, the occasion that Providence offered him.

The Abb6 Charles Nerinckx, one of the first and most
eflBcient missionaries of Kentucky, after a voyage to Rome,
visited once more the land of his nativity, Belgium. The
picture that he presented of the disastrous state of the mis-
sions of the United States touched the compassionate heart
of the Abb6 de Theux. After assuring himself, by fervent
prayers and other meritorious works, that such was the
good pleasure of God, he resolved to quit his native land, to
renounce the intercourse of a tenderly-loved family, to bid
farewell to numerous and sincere friends, and go into a
strange land to labor for the salvation of souls and spend the
rest of his days.

He left Antwerp for America on the 15th of April, 1816,
with one companion, who, like himself, was desirous of being
enrolled among the followers of St. Ignatius. The two trav-
ellers arrived safely. On the 7th of August, they were ad-

ANT) MISSIONARIKS.

477

niitted to the novitiate of White Marsh, Prince George's
Co., Md. Father de Theux took his first vows on the 18th
of August, 1818.

Being the eldest son, Theodore would have inherited his
father's title. He renounced it in favor of his brother Bar-
tholomew, at present Count de Theux de Meylandt, former
minister of Belgium, member of the Chamber of Represen-
tatives, minister of State, etc.

The fervor of the pnest only augmented in the religions.
All those of his brethren who have had an opportunity of
seeing him and conversing with him, are unanimous in testi-
fying to his distinguished virtue, singular piety, and the rare
prudence of his zeal. For several yeai*s previous to my de-
parture for the Indian missions, I had the happiness of be-
ing his room-mate, in a little wooden cabin. At his cxpiess
petition, I served him as admonitor. He made an agree-
ment with me that he should present himself to me twice
each week, to ask of me the faults and defects that I might
have remarked in him. He besought me with earnestness
and humility not to spare him ; to have no favorable consid-
eration for him ; to warn him openly and frankly of the least
thing that I might discover in him reprehensible. At the
same time he promised me the deepest gratitude, and assured
me that he would often pray for me. In vain I observed
him closely in the accomplishment of his spiritual duties in
his classes of theology, at table, in recreation, so as to prove
to him my desire to oblige him. I often made efforts to sur-
prise hiin in some fault, but never, that I know, was I able to
find him deficient. As I discovered that he seemed to be
disappointed because I did not correct him, so as to tran-
quillize him I had recourse to trifles — to the merest baga-
telles. The more I told him the more he thanked me, and
the more also, uudoubtedly, he prayed for me. He united

!''i|

J!)!

478

WK8TERN MISSIONS

in himself the simplicity of a child with the humility of a
great saint. While I ocoupied the same apartment with
him, I ever remarked that he was scrupulously punctual to
every duty, whether spiritual or otherwise, and each had its
appointed hour. Every day he studied the sacred Scrip-
tures. He read over his breviary with a profound recollec
tion, kneeling before his crucifix or at the foot of the altar,
before the Blessed Sacrament.

These exercises of piety, and the unceasing labors of the
missions, perfected this beautiful soul, and Father de Theuz
was admitted to his solemn profession on the 15th of Au-
gust, 1829. From the second year of his novitiate he had
been named Operarius (that is to say, charged with exercis-
ing the holy ministry in the church of the Holy Trinity).
His great zeal and his exemplary piety, won him the respect
and the "Confidence of all intrusted to his care. Hence,
when 1 ^s obliged to leave this church for Missouri, there
was a general regret.

From 1822, different localities became successively the
scene of the apostolical works of this holy religious. He
was professor of theology, superior of the missions, master
of novices in Louisiana at Grand Coteau, at St. Charles in
Missouri, and at Cincinnati in Ohio. Everywhere he gave
proofs of an indefatigable zeal, of an unlimited devotedness.
Everywhere he gained the esteem and affection of his
brethren, and of all those with whom he was called to treat,
whether Catholic or Protestant. Everywhere he left the
ineffaceable remembrance of his virtues, and the regret
caused at his departure. It was in the exercise of his apos-
tolical functions that he contracted the germ of the malady
of which he died.

When he resided at Grand Coteau, Louisiana, going one
day to visit a sick person, he passed thK'igh a place called

AND MI88IOI7ARIE8,

479

Lafayette. A young Frenchman who was amusing himself
boisterously in an inn, drinking and laughing with several
boon companions, saw ihe Father passing by, and pointing
him out with his finger, he took his cane and shouted that
he was going to show them how to treat tliat " canaille de
prHreaP'' "Til make this Jesuit quake under my blows,"
said he, and ho came out to put his intention into execution.
The braggadocio accosted the Father with cuises and insult-
ing language, and asked him with effrontery on wljat part of
his person he would prefer to receive the caning. The man
of God answered the unjust aggressor with a voice perfectly
calm : " Friend, if God wills that I be beaten I will endeavor
to bear it patiently. Know, however, that I am an Ameri-
can citizen. I desire to know why you attack me with such
insults, and by what right you dare attempt to strike me V
These words intimidated our youthfu boaster. Without
acknowledging his fear he replied, and this time without
swearing, " You are armed, or you would not be so bold."
He alluded to a case which the Father carried under his
arm, and in which he kept the holy oils, his stole, and sur-
plice. " Yes," answered the religious, exhibiting his cruci-
fix, " I am armed, and this is my weapon ; I have no need
of any other." Our bravo returned less impetuous. He
went back to his tavern companions, who received him
with loud and reiterated shouts of insulting laughter.

Another day, Father de Theux was performing in the
church of Grand Coteau the obsequies of an unhappy man,
deceased without the sacraments, and that after a miserable
life. He seized 'the opportunity to address the assistants
some severe words on the misfortune of such a life followed
by a death so sad. Suddenly a man, known as an enemy to
the clergy, and to the Jesuits especially, arose and chal-
lenged the Father in a brusque and insolent manner. " ]

480

WESTERN MISSIONS

will not suffer " said lie, " that the memory of my friend be
publicly insulted." Father de Tlieux, with his ordinary
calmness, turned towards the interlocutor and said : " I am
at home. This is my own church. I have the right to
speak in it, and to say what I please ; but he who now in-
terrupts me has no right to speak here. If he does not like
my sermon let him retire froin the church." The insolent
man immediately went out, to the great satisfaction of the
good Catholics who were present, and Father d'i Theux tran-
quilly continued his sermon.

In 1844, the Bishop of Cincinnati found himself frequently
menaced, as well as the Catholics of his diocese, by tumult-
uous mobs, composed of the enemies of our hply faith. He
asked counsel of Father de Theux. After some moments of
reflection, the Father answered, that he would obtain peace
and security in those difficult times if he would have re-
course to the Sovereign Pontiff, and would encourage the
other bishops of the United States to follow his example, so
as to obtain the favor of adding, in the preface of the mass,
to the word conception the prefix immaculate. The worthy
bishop received the advice with respect, and the request wa»
soon after made at Rome and crowned with success.

In 1845, Father de Theux was attacked with one of those
bilious fevers so common in the southwest of the Union. It
threatened him with speedy death. The physicians pro-
nounced it mortal. However, his constitution triumphed,
the danger ceased, the patient recovered, and, after a few
days of convalescence, he was able to devote^ himself to the
exercises of zeal to which he had consecrated his whole life.

At the opening of the year 1846, Father de Theux de-
sired to provide for the education of children too remote
from St. Charles, Missouri, to come to the catechetical instruc-
tions. He set out to seek and select a suitable position;

AND MISSION AlilES.

481

when returning, he and liis cojnpanion lost their way. Over-
taken by n cold rain, wliich wet liini through, he was at-
tack with a pleurisy. After some days tl»e disease became
more violent, baffling every remedy. The pleurisy soon de-
generated into an inflammation of the bowels. Although
he Father possessed a strong constitution, labor and hard-
ship had exhausted him to such a degree that he could no
longer contend with the malady. He foresaw his approach-
ing end and prepared himself for it with care, convinced
that God would ere long call him. During tlTee weeks he
endured excruciating pains and sufferings, but preserved
every faculty until the end. lie employed a portion of time
in an>,riging all the af)airs of his charge with perfect exacti-
tude ; and preparing himself with red()uble<l fervor for the
passage from time to eternity, he employed the rest in mak-
ing acts of resignation, of patience, and of othc" virtues, by
means of texts drawn from Holy Writ, ejaculatory prayers,
and ardent sighs towards the God of his love. He received
the last sacraments with a piety which edified every one.
He himself directed the priest who was administering them,
and who tremblecfon seeing the anguish which this worthy
religious was enduring. The dying voice of the faithful ser-
vant of Jesus was heard distinctly responding to the prayers
of the agonizing.

Father de Theux desired to be warned of the progress of
his illness, and of the approach of death. Three days before
his demise the physician told him that he could not pass the
following day. " No, doctor," gayly replied the patient, " 1
shall not die to-raorrow ; I shall die on Saturday. Saturday
will be the day." He had always wished to die on a day
consecrated to the Blessed Virgin, and he always cherished
the firm belief that he would not be disappointed in his
hope. Early on Saturday morning he began, repeating fre-

' 1

■Mi

■.II

482

WESTERN MISSIONS

qnently these invocations: "Je'is, have mercy on me! ...
Mary, pray for me !" There remained for him only a few
hours of exile, and it was in the act of repeating these words
that Father de Theux yielded up his last sigh, at seven
o'clock in the morning, on the 28th of February, 1846, on
the day of the week consecrated to the devotion and hom-
age of Mary. His latest petition was heard. It was, no
doubt, one of the recompenses of the Mother of God, who is
also ours. He had also, in the latter period of his life, estab-
lished at St. Charles, in the mission church, the Arch-confra-
ternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to which he had
a tender devotion. Whether God had really manifested to
him the day on which he should give up his soul, or whether
his words were the expression of a strong and inflamed de-
sire, we cannot decide ; but the fact is, that he died on Sat-
urday, the 28th of February, 184-6.

Father de Theux was one of those men whom it is diffi-
cult or impossible to know thoroughly, until after having
long and carefully observed their conduct and habits. He
never spoke of himself unless morally obliged, or when there
was an evident utility ; and ordinarily then, according to the
manner of the gieat apostle, he did it in the third person.
To give you an example, I will cite the following incident :
He was speaking of the necessity of working perseveringly
in the control and subjection of the vicious and rebellious
inclinations of our corrupt nature, and even its infirmities.
To apply his remarks, he indicated that habitual dispo-
sition which inclines to sleep in prayer, and the following
is the substance of what he said on this point: "I know
•I man who conttMuled thirty long years against tins' iiifii ni-
it.v. Still ht^ spared no endeavors to free himself from it.
He stood, he knelt ; he took a step forward or backward
according as circumstances would admit, but often he could

AND MISSIONARIES.

483

not ; then he had recourse to this means. He took a pin or
needle with him, and without allowing others to perceive
him, he tormented his body by piercing it with the sharp
little instrument, in order to render his soul fit for medita-
tion when the rule or inclination demanded it." All those
who were listening to him were interiorly convinced that
he was speaking of himself, and that the eulogium due to
such constant and persevering efforts belonged to none but
himself.

His character inclined him to severity, but it was solely
on himself that he exercised it. No one ever saw him allow
himself the least satisfaction which seemed to flatter sen-
suality. Every thing had its allotted time. Of a healthy
constitution, he believed, correctly, that he ought to contri-
bute to its preservation so far as the rules of religious tem-
perance would permit. Hence no singularity at his repasts
was ever observed in him, either for the quantity or for the
manner, unless we may call singulwity a constant habit of
adhering invariably, for every kind of beverage, to a meas-
ure and quality fixedly determined in accordance with all
the rules of Christian temperance and religious poverty.

His modesty was really angelic. His eyes were generally
cast down. He raised them frequently towards God when
engaged in prayer. It wa? easy to perceive that he had
made a covenant with his eyes, that they were ne7er to look
on any dangerous object. His spirit of prayer was calm,
without pretension, and continual.

Being a little deaf, he often quitted his room for the exer-
cises of the community before the bell gave the signal, lest
he might not hear it. When he arrived too soon, he took
his rosary and prayed until the common notice was given.

Sanctifying himself, he edified all those who knew him by
an exactitude to the practice of our holy rules. His virtue

484

WESTERN MISSIONS

consisted in doing ordinary things with an extraordinary
perfection.

We may resume this edifjring life by saying, that Father
dc Theux was a genuine model of the religious state. With
an inflamed zeal for the salvation of souls, there shone in
him great humility, a burning and expansive charity, and
complete self-renunciation. He joyfully accepted all priva-
tions, all contradictions, without ever seeking to be remarked.
He was prayerful, because he was mortified and obedient. I
speak knowingly of his rare virtues, for I was so happy as lo
pass the early years of my scholasticate under his paternal
guidance, he being my spiritual director and my professor of
theology.

Although there was no ostentation in the practice of his
duties, he could not avoid the observant eye of his brethren,
as well as of strangers. He was known among the people
as the man who performed miracles. And, without doubt,
had he not wrought an^ other than the sublime examples
which he left of the Christian and religious virtues, he
would have already deserved that great and glorious title.

His death is a great loss to the society, to the missions of
the western States, and to the work of civilization. His
obsequies took place on the 2d of May, and his body was
transported to St. Stanislaus, near Florissant, a locality which
the deceased had edifi*»H. as he had so many others, by the
practice of all the virtues. His remains find sepulture near
those of Fathers Van Quickenborne, Timmermans, Van
Lommel, etc. .

The impression that he made on the students of St.
Xavier's college, Cincinnati, was so profound, that some
young Protestants, who had not a very clear idea concern-
mg the canonization of saints, one day mquired seriously of
their professor whether Father de Theua wa» canonized or

AND MISSIONARIES.

485

not? and the professor having explained to them the nature
of this ceremony in the Church (which is only done a long
time after death), they answered : " Well, however that may
be, he deserves it."

Accept, Rev. Father, the assurance of my respect and
affection,

P. J. Da Smet, S. J.

41«

486

WESTERN MISSIONS

Letter XL.

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

FatJier John Anthony Elet.

University of St. Loins.
Reverend Father :

I present a brief biographical notice of our country-
man, the Rev. Father Elet, of the Society of Jesus, a religious
who accomplished much good, and whose memory is held in
benediction.

John Anthony Elet was born at St. Amand, in the prov-
ince of Antwerp, on the 19th of February, 1802. Having
completed his early studies in the college of Mechlin with
much distinction, under the direction of the venerable Mr.
Verloo, he entered the ecclesiastical seminary of the same
town. These two establishments, which have given many
learned men to Belgium, were ever dear to his heart ; to the
hour of his death, it was a consolation and delight to him to
hear and speak of them.

In 1821, at the aj^e of nineteen, he took the generous
resolution of quitting his country, under the guidance of.
the apostle of Kentucky, the very Rev. Mr. Norinckx, in
order to devote himself to the forsaken missions of North
America.

He began his novitiate in Maryland, on the 6th of Octo-
ber, 1828. Before the close of his two years of probation, he
was sent, with several F.thers, brothers, and novices, all
Belgians, but one brother who was an American, to Mis-

AND MTSST0NARIE8.

487

50iin, to establish a mission amid the old French settlements,
the new American ones, and the wandering tribes of Indians,
dispersed throughout this vast territory.

Father Elet finished his course of philosophy and theology
under Fathers Van Quickenborne, bom at Peteghei^lez-
Deyuze, and De Theux, born at Liege, and was ordained
priest in 1827, by Mgr. Rosati, bishop of St. Louis.

He had the consolation of seeing the mission which was
at first so small and weak, erected into a vi<je-province, and
extended into Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, Indian
Territory (now Kansas and Nebraska), and forming beyond
the Rocky Mountains in Oregon, Washington, and Cali-
fornia, the nucleus of a new mission, which promises ere
long to equal the most flourishing. To all this success he had
greatly contributed.

Father Elet, one of the first founders of the university of
St. Louis, was president of this institution for several years.
In 1840, he was sent to Cincinnati, chief town of Ohio, to
take the direction of the college of St. Xavier, which the
Rt. Rev. Bishop of that city, Mgr. Purcell (now archbishop),
had just confided to the Society of Jesus. In a short time
Father Elet erected in addition a free-school, sufficiently
extensive to allow the admission of four or five hundred poor
children.

Mgr. Flaget, the first, and for a long time the sole bishop
of the whole immense valley of the Mississippi, which ex-
tends from the Alleghany mountains on the west, to the
Rocky Mountains on the east, invited the Jesuit Fathers to
Kentucky, and offered them, through his worthy coadjutor
and successor. Bishop Spalding, his beautiful college of St.
Joseph, situated at Bardstown, thirty-nine miles from Louis-
ville, one of the oldest and most renowned of the educa-
tional establishments of this portion of the great American

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488

WESTERN MISSIONS

pfi

confederacy; and which has sent out several illustrious
bishops, and a great number eminent in Church and State.
Fatlier Eiet wiis at that time vice-provincial. A short time
after, he opened a house of education at Louisville.

During his provincialship, he sustained a very painful loss
in the person of his brother, Father Charles Louis Eiet, who
luiving arrived in 1848 to share his labors, died at St,
Joseph's college on the 23d of Miarch, 1849, at the age of
thirty-seven. He felt a deep sorrow at this death, not only
because he lost a brother, but because the province was thus
deprived of a zealous priest — snatched away in the flower of
his age, and from whom such eminent services might have
been expeited. Yet his grief was mingled with great con-
solation. His brother had left in Belgium the remembrance
of an exemplary life wholly devoted to the good oi others —
during his short sojourn in America, he had ever shown
himself the model of a fervent and charitable religious. A
holy death crowned so edifying a life. The Bishop of
Louisville, who visited him in his last hours, announced his
death to the Provincial, in a letter as honorable to the noble-
hearted writer, as to the pious sentiments of him whose loss
it deplores. I insert the letter, it is dated

"Bardstown, 23d of March, 1849.
" My dear Father Elet : — Allow me to unite my voice to
that of those numerous friends, who will offer you their
sympathy on the occasion of the melancholy event, which
this day's post will inform you. I mean the death of your
very holy and amiable brother. Providence permitted me
to be here at the moment. I had the happiness of visiting
him twice. On these occasions, I gave him with my whole
heart the episcopal benediction. He devoutly kissed my
pectoral cross, which contain-^ a relic of the Holy Cross. I

AND MISSION ARIKS.

489

OSS

kvlio
St.
of

cannot tell you how much he edified roe by his mild tran-
quillity under the most painful agony. He showed every
mark of an elect of God — and if God loved him more than
you did, resign him cheerfully inio his adorable hands. Is
it not better to have a brother in heaven than on earth ? I
hope to be able to attend his funeral, and will offer the Holy
Sacrifice for the repose of his soul. In the midst of the
sorrow caused by this mournful and mysteriouB decree of
Providence, I congratulate myself that Kentucky possesses
the mortal remains of your holy brother.

'* Deploring most sincerely your loss, I am <fec.,

" + M. J. Spalding, Bishop."

Father John Anthony Elet did not long survive his wor-
thy brother. He had never enjoyed robust health, and had
passed about thirty years in America in incessant labor.
When still youug, he had discovered alarming symptoms of
a kind of consumption. It manifested itself anew, and with
greater violence, towards the end of the year 1850, during
a journey which he made to Louisiana, for business relative
to the society. He continued, however, to fill the charge of
vice-provincial until about the middle of the following year,
when he. withdrew to the novitiate of St. Stanislaus, to pre-
pare for death. He beheld it rapidly approaching, but far
from fearing, he desired it with his whole heart. Not, that
he wished to be delivered from earthly sufferings, but be-
cause his love for Christ infianied him with a burning desire
to be united to his divine Saviour. His piety, which had
always been distinguished, now seemed to transport him,
and, like the glorious sunset, reflected the virtues he had
practised during life. Some days before his death, although
scarce able to walk, he dragged himself with difficulty to
the domestic chapel, and remained there for a considerable

490

WESTERN MISSIONS

time prostrate before the altar in a profound adoration. On
the Ist of October, eve of the Feast of the Holy Angels, at
the moment when the Holy Viaticum w»s brought to him,
and the words " Domine non sum dignus" were pronounced,
he was heard distinctly repeating, " Non sum dignus^ Domine^
non sum di^nusP'' (I am not worthy, Lord, I am not worthy.)
To a prayer in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary,
he added aloud these words, " Credo, credo, Domine Jesu /*'
(I believe, I believe, Lord Jesus.) He afterwards expressed
a lively wish to die on the Feast of the Holy Angels. God,
whose will he had so faithfully fulfilled, was pleased to hear
tie desires of his servant. On the next day, towards mid-
1 ight, it was proposed to impart the last absolution : " Yes,"
said he, " it is the moment." Some seconds after a beauti-
ful prayer of St. Charles Borromeo was recited. When
they came to the passage where the saint acknowledges that
" he has sinned," but adds, that " he had never denied the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," Father Elet exclaimed *' never!
never !" After having kissed the crucifix for the laist time
with the most touching devotion, at midnight precisely, dur-
ing the renewal of the absolution, he expired, like one fall-
ing into a gentle slumber.

Father Elet had a special devotion to the Holy Angels,
Every year, during his rectorship, on their festival, he re-
quested all the Fathers to offer mass in their honor, so as to
obtain a special protection over the whole house. He had
also introduced in several places, that devotion to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, which is observed on the first Friday of every
month — encouraging the pious practice of receiving com-
mission on that day, and of making an act of reparation to
the Sacred Heart, which a priest recites before the altar,
closing the pious service by the benediction of the Blessed
Sacrament. It was remarked that he expired precisely at

w •

AND MISSIONARIES.

491

the hour in which the Feast of the Holy Angels terminated,
and the first Friday of the month commenced.

Father John Anthony Elet was loved and respected wher-
ever he was known ; he was universally regretted. In tlio
United States, a territory almost as extensive aj the whole
of Europe, where the Catholic clergy are so few that they
would scarcely supply one single diocese of Belgium, the
death of every good priest leaves a gap in the ranks which
all feel. Father Elet's death would shed a gloom over many
zealous hearts, did they not hope that from above he will
intercede for America, more powerfully than he could have

done in our midst.

D. 0. M.,

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

492

WE8TEKN MISSIONS

Letter XLL

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
John Baptist Smedts, S. J.

CiKoiNNATi, February 19, 1856.
Reverend Father :

I think you will give pleasure to the relatives and
friends, as well as to the former acquaintances of Father
Smedts in the seminary of Mechlin, if you would allow
space in your Precis Historiques to the following notice.
His Eminence, the Cardinal was professor in the ecclesiasti-
cal seminary at the lime of the departure of the deceased ;
Mgr. De Ram, the Very Rev. MM. Bosmans, Van Hemel,
etc., were perfectly well acquainted with him. The i ctor
raagnificus, of the university of Louvain, my intimate friend
at college, accompanied Father Smedts and myseh' as far as
Contich or Waelhera.*

Father John Baptist Smedt, of the Society of Jesus, died
in America, at St. Louis, Missouri, February 19, 1855.
Born at Rotselaer, in Brabant, on the 11th of April, 1801,
he formed part of the colony of missionaries, who re-
commenced in 1823, on the banks of the Missouri and
the Mississippi, the labors of the former Jesuits, which had
been interrupted in the last century by the suppression of
the society. He left his country in 1821, with some other

* Mr. De Ram, there asked me for a souvenir, and for want of some-
thing better I bent a piece of money with my teeth, and he had it still
iu 1848.

CM4rl,

AND MISSIONARIES.

493

young Belgians, MM. Felix Verreydt, of Diest; Josse Van
Asche, of St. Amand; Peter Joseph Verhaegen, of Haecht;
John Authony Elet, of St. Aiimnd, and Peter Johu de
Snict, of Tennoiide ; all were under tlio conduct of the
venerable Mr. Neriiickx, a Belgian secular priest, a distin-
guished missionary in America, aud the apostle of Kentucky,
As it was necessary to be cautious with a suspicious govern-
ment, inimical to the Catholic religion, and particularly
hostile to missions, the departure was as secret as possible.
On this account Father Smedts saw himself forced to make
a sensibly painful sacrifice, and to set out (as well as his
comp.iniuns), without proffering a last adieu to all that was
dearest to him on earth, — parents, brothers, sisters, and friends.
They were obliged to beg, for the love of God, and the sal-
vation of souls, the money necessary for a long voyage.
Arrived at Amsterdam, the 27th of July, he repaired from
thence to the isle of Texel, to shelter himself from the gov-
ernment of Holland, which had instituted a pursuit. On
the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he
quitted ilie island, and embarked in an opop fisherman's
bark, which conducted him on board of the American ship
*' Columbia," which was waiting for the missionaries at a
great distance from the coast.

On the 6th of October, in the same year. Father Smedts
began hi.s novitiate at White-Marsh, Prince George's county,
Maryland, where the Jesuits had a mission for many years.
He was yet a novice when the provincial, at the special re-
quest of Mgr. du Bourg, bishop of Louisiana, and of all the
great territories west of the Mississippi, sent him to Mis-
souri, with the five Belgians who came with him, as well as
Father Van Quickenborne, of Peteghem (master of novices),
Father Timmermans, of Turnhout, and three lay brothers,
namely : Peter de Meyer, from the vicinity of Audenarde,

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494

WESTERN MISSIONS

Henri Riesclman, of Amsterdam, and one American. One
can with difficulty imagine the fatigues attendant upon this
journey of 1200 miles, made on foot, and through a country
which was jus yet scarcely inhabited, and in the slow-mov-
ing, uncomfortable flat-boats of the Ohio River.

The early years of his residence in Missouri were passed
in a poor cottage, our novitiate, situated near the village of
St. Ferdinand, about eighteen miles from St. Louis. Ordained
priest in 1826, he passed several years in the missions in the
rising cities and villages of Missouri, constantly distinguish-
ing himself by his great desire for the salvation of souls, and
by an indefatigable zeal, which induced him to surmount
joyfully all the fatigues attached to the missions of a new
country, and almost destitute of priests. Later, he filled
during several years, the important charge of master of
novices, until 1849. He passed the remainder of his hfe,
either in the missions, or in fulfilling the functions of minis-
ter, or of spiritual father in the colleges. He held this
last-named charge in the university of St. Louis, and was
the spiritual director of a great number of pupils, when he
was attacked by the slow consumption of which he died.

His whole life was irreproachable and exemplary. Shun-
ning the world, simple in his manners, patient in sufiferings,
he had, besides, exhausted his strength in the service of the
Lord. For him death had no terrors, he perceived it ap-
proaching with a holy peace of soul, and with a strong con-
fidence in the divine mercy ; he longed to break the bonds
of earth, and be united to his God. Let us indulge the
hope that he has gone to meet in Laaven the first com
panion of his missionary toils and sacrifices, Father Elet,
and the whole troop of holy pioneers in the laborious mis-
sions of the New World.

P. J. Df Smei, S. J..

AND MISSIONARIES.

495

Letter XLIL

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.
Francis Xavier d'ffoop.

L0CI8VILUS (Kentucky), March 29, 1855.

Reverend Father :*

I am about to fulfil a duty by satisfying the quite spe-
cial request of one of your former disciples, Father Francis
X. d'Hoop. I did not expect, on arriving at Louisville, that
I was about to assist at his last moments. You will remem-
ber that he was one of the band that I conducted to Amer-
ica in 1837.

The Rev. Father d'Hoop died young, and much regretted
by all those who had the happiness of knowing him. He
did much in his short life, and this country loses in him a
fervent and zealous missionary. He leaves in sorrow a great
number of children in Jesus Christ, of Protestants converted
to the faith, of strayed sheep brought back to the sheepfold
of the good pastor. These faithful souls will, 1 trust, con-
tinue to bleas the cherished memory of their spiritual Father,
and he will intercede for them from heaven, that they may
persevere in the faith.

As you are acquainted with the family of Father d'Hoop,

.!'!

:^ ii

* This letter was originally addressed to Rev. Father Vanderhofstadt,
of the college of Tournai.

49«

WESTERN MISSIONS

, "f

. h :

and as 1 have received many proofs of your great charity, I
liave taken Ihe liberty of addressing you, in order to request
you to communicate to them the news of h's decease. The
details which I give in the httle notice which follows, will
contribute to alleviate their grief.

Father Francis Xavier d'Hoop, of the Society of Jesus,
died in America. Born at Meulebeke, in the diocese of
Bruges, in Belgium, on the 4th of January, 1813, ho pur-
sued his studies with success in the college of Thielt, in
West Flanders, and afterwards repaired to the college of
Turnhout, founded by the venerable De Nef, whose name
alone is a eulogium. In this nursery of missionaries, which
has furnished so many worthy priests and so many excellent
subjects to the country. Father d'Hoop, following the exam-
ple of a great many others who had preceded him, took the
generous resolution of devoting himself to American mis-
sions, and of embracing the religious life. In ihe month of
September, 1837, he quitted his country and embarked for
the United States, with four companions. On the 21st of
November, of the same year, he entered the novitiate of the
Jesuits at St. Stanislaus, Missouri. After two years' probation,
he was sent in quality of sub-prefect to the university of St.
Louis, and applied himself at the same time to the acquiring
of the languages most used in the country ; in particular,
the English, German, French, and Spanish. He was after-
wards sent to the college of St. Charles at Grand Coteau,
in Louisiana, where, for several years, he taught rhetoric
and natural, philosophy, with great success. He was or-
dained priest by Mgr. Blanc, archbishop of New Orleans, on
the 29th of August, 1845. From that period until his death,
he faithfully fultilled as a true religious all the charges which
were confided to him by his superiors. The citi'es of St.
Louis, of Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Bardstown, and Louisville,

H ^'

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W /

i.^

■ .*!

AND MISSIONARIES.

497

were successively witnesses of his zeal and labors. Although
suffering, during several years, with a painful disease in both
legs, he'always acquitted himself with fidelity in every duty
of the charges confided to him by his superiors, and his zeal
even appeared to augment with his sufterings.

Father d'Hoop attracted every heart by his religious sim-
plicity, and his charity and zeal.

He contracted the malady, of which he died, on return-
ing- from a mission given in Madison, the capital of Indiana.
Filled with confidence in God, and with proofs of an entire
submission to the divine will, he gave up his soul to his Cre-
ator, at Louisville, Kentucky, on tlie 23d of March, 1855.

The next day, a solemn high mass was celebrated in the
cathedral, at which the bishop and a greater part of the
clergy of the city assisted. Bishop Spalding himself oflS-
ciated at the obsequies, and with his accustomed eloquence
pronounced the eulogium of the departed. His mortal re-
mains repose in the cemetery of S'^. Joseph's college, Bards-

tOWD.

The Very Rev. Mr. du "^ontavice, vicar-general and pastor
of Madison, wrote us a very consoling letter: "I learned,"
says he, " the death of the Rev. Father d'Hoop at the
moment when I was vesting to celebrate the holy sacrifice
on Passion Sunday. I forgot my text ; your letter took its
place. 1 spoke of his death, but I fear not to have edified
as much as I ought to have done, for my voice was inter-
rupted with sobs. I will add, that the whole of my numer-
ous auditory was in tears.

" At the holy altar I recalled the blessed moments of his

presence. Here he celebrated mass. In this chair of truth

his eloquent and most edifying words were heard ; words

which converted so many sinners, imparted tranquillity and

peace to souls hitherto troubled, nnd called forth abundant

42«

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498

WESTERN MISSIONS

tears of holy joy and happiness. My heart was poured forth,
so to speak, from my eyes.

" I shall never forget the moments that he passed with me
at my house. I seem yet to hear the consoling words, so
fraught with heavenly wisdom, which his lips pronounced.
As a man of God, and as a scholar, we found in him an in-
exhaustible treasure of varied and extensive information.
At the first impression of the idea that the last days of his
apostolic life were devoted to me, my heart was over-
whelmed with grief; but on a moment's reflection, calm joy
succeeded to sorrow. Father d'Hoop was ripe for heaven,
and I rejoice that it was in my parish he exerted his last
effort to obtain the crown of immortality, and that my
parishioners received his last adieux. Prostrate before the
high altar he pronounced the words of consecration to the
sacred hearts of Jesus and of Mary, for the pastor and his
flock," etc., etc.

Accept, &c., (fee,

F. J. De Smet, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

499

Letter XLIIL

To THE Editor of thb Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Death of the Right Rev. Dr. Van de Velde, Bishop of Natchez.

St. Louis, December 1, 1855.
Reverend Father:

It is with the deepest sorrow, which will be shared by
all our brethren in Belgium, and by the numerous friends of
the prelate, that we announce the demise of Dr. Van de
Velde, bishop of Natchez.

Although the venerable prelate was far advanced in age,
and notwithstanding the length of an apostolical career, the
uninterrupted labors of which had excited the admiration of
the United States, every thing induced the hope that he
would, during a long period to come, bear the burden of the
episcopate. His unexpected death was a severe blow to all
who knew him. It is an immense, we had almost said an
irreparable, loss to the city of Natchez.

James Oliver Van de Velde was born on the 3d of April, 1Y95,
in the environs of Termonde, Belgium. At this epoch, the
country was strongly agitated by the partisans of the French
revolution. While yet very young, he was confided to the
care of a pious aunt, in the village of St. Amand, in Flan-
ders. A confessor of the faith, a worthy priest from
France, escaped from the persecution which afflicted his
native country, had found a retreat in the same family. It
was he who formed the mind and heart of the youthful

600

WESTERN MISSIONS

James, and directed his education with assiduous care and
unwearied toil. James soon became the favorite child of the
clergy of St. Amand. He manifested from his tender in-
fancy a lively desire to embrace, at a future day, the ecclesi-
astical state. In 1810, he was placed in a boarding-school
near Ghent, where his talents distinguished him among his
school-mates. At the age of eighteen, he taught French
and Flemish, at Puers, for two or three years.

While he was engaged in teaching, the religious and
political situation of the country changed. In consequence
of the battle of Waterloo, the congress of Vienna reunited
Belgium to Holland, under William I., of Orange, a Calvin-
ist, violent against the Catholic religion. Like many others,
the youthful prolessor, impatient of the oppressive yoke un-
der which his native land was bowed, formed the project of
retiring into England, or into Italy. With this intention, he
studied the languages of these two countries. But his former
benefactor and confessor, the Very Rev. M. Verlooy, director
of the seminary of Mechlin, encouraged him, and proposed
to him to accept, in his new institution, a class of Latin, of
French, and of Flemish, and to enter his name at the same
time on the list of the pupils of the great archiepiscopal
seminary. It was there that he perfected himself in the
direction of the Latin classes, and that he studied the ele-
ments of logic, and of speculative theology.

However, as the intention of quitting his country ever
remained present in his mind, his pious and zealous director
counselled him to devote himself to foreign missions. To
this effect, he was presented to the Rev. Charles Nerinckx,
the celebrated missionary of Kentucky, who, on his return
from Rome, and some time before leaving for the United
States, came to Mechlin. After he had informed himself
concerning the state of the missions, and they had deliber-

I'm ■ ■ ,

AND MIS8TONARIKS.

501

ated on the continuation of his theological studies, it was
agreed that he should accompany Mr. Nerinckx, and that,
after terminatinof his theoloiricjil course in the seininarv of
Bishop Flaget, he should devote himself to the exercises of
the sacred ministry. But Providence disposed otherwise.

Mr. Nerinckx quitted Europe on the 16th of May, 1817,
accompanied by several young Belgians, destined to the
novitiate of the Society of Jesus at Georgetown, and among
them was young Van de Velde. But this last named, before
the arrival of the ship in the port of Baltimore, fell, during
a tempest, and burst a blood-vessel. Having lost a great
deal of blood, he was obliged to be transported to St. Mary's ;
even after his convalescence, he was incapable of continuing
his voyage as far as Kentucky. The Rev. Mr. Brute, who
was then president of the seminary, tried to induce him to
remain in Baltimore ; the Rev. Mr. Nerinckx, on the con-
trary, counselled him strongly to follow his travelling com-
panions to Georgetown, and remain with them in the novi-
tiate of the Society of Jesus. He was received with great
kindness and charity by the Rev. Anthony Kohlmann, then
superior of the missions of the Society of Jesus in America.

After two years of novitiate, he was admitted to the sim-
ple vows, according to the custom of the society, and named
prefect of classes. At the same time he applied assiduously
to the study of poetry, of rhetoric, and philosophy. Such
was his progress, that he was named professor of belles-
lettres.

In 1827, at thirty-three years of age, he was ordained
priest, in Baltimore, by Archbishop Mar6chal. During the
two years that he was applying to the study of moral and
polemical theology, he exercised the functions of chaplain of
the Convent and Academy of the Visitat'.on, at Georgetown.
In 1829, he was charged with the missions of Rockville and

602

WESTERN MISSIONS

of Rock Creek, Montgomery county, Maryland. During
the autumn of 1831, his superiors sent him to St. Louis,
where a college had lately been erected and was in full
activity, under the direction of the Society of Jesus, and the
patronage of Bishop Rosati. He was welcomed by his
brethren there with sincere and joyful cordiality. Soon
after, he was named professor of rhetoric and of mathe-
matics. In 1833, he filled the oflSce of vice-president and
of procurator of the college, which had just been elevated
to the rank of university. He retained this post until 1837,
the epoch of his admission to the solemn vows. He was
named procurator of the vice-province of Missouri, with-
out ceasing to be vice-president of the university. In
1840, he became president of the university of St. Louis.*
The year after, being chosen representative of the vice-prov-
ince, in the congregation of Procurators, he set out for
Rome, where he had several audiences with the Sovereign
Pontiff, Gregory XVI. On his return to St. Louis, he con-
tinued his functions as president of the university, until the
month of September, 1843, when he was named vice-provin-
cial of Missouri. Under his administration, several churches
were built, as well as a more spacious house of novitiate ;
the colleges and the missions continued to flourish. In 1848,
he had, anew, the office of procurator of the vice-province
and of socius of the provincial, and accompanied his superior
to the council of Baltimore.

Many prelates had been acquainted with him for years.
His talents, his zeal, and his piety, induced them to propose
him to the Pope for the see of Chicago. In the month of
November of the same year, he received his bulls. It was

.;: !

* An oration, delivered by him on the 4th of July, 1841, was printed
at the time.

AND MISSIONARIES.

503

only on the opinion of the archbishop of St. Louis and of
three theologians, who decided that the documents from
Rome contained a formal command on the part of the Sov-
ereign Pontiff, that he would accept the nomination. He
was consecrated bishop, on Sexagesima Sunday, February
11, 1849, by the Archbishop of St. Louis, the Most Rev.
Peter R. Kenrick, assisted by Bishops Loras and Miles. The
Right Rev. Dr. Spalding pronounced a discourse adapted to
the consecration. This ceremony took place in the church
of St. Francis Xavier, attached to the university.

Bishop Van de Velde first visited the country contained
in his extensive diocese, which is in the vicinity of St. Louis.
He only reached Chicago on Palm Sunday, the day on which
he took possession of his episcopal see.

Bishop Van de Velde had suffered during many years
with rheumatic pains ; he soon perceived that the cold and
damp climate of Chicago was extremely injurious to him.
The Roman revolution hindered the prelate from addressing
himself to the Sovereign PontiflF; as soon as order was re-
established, he wrote to the Holy Father, requesting him to
accept his resignation, and permit him to return to his for-
mer companions of the Society of Jesus. He received a
reply from Cardinal Fransoni, which encouraged him to bear
the burden of the episcopate with patience and resignation.
Some time after, on the occasion of troubles and difficulties
which arose in the diocese, and which had an unhappy in-
fluence on his corporal ailments, Bishop Van de Velde wrote
anew to Rome, imploring the Holy See to accept his resig-
nation. The affair was submitted to the decision of the first
national council which was to be held in Baltimore, in the
spring of the year 1852. This council resolved to create
a new diocese of Quincy, for the southern portion of
Illinois ; but it decided that, for the advantage of Chi-

504

WESTERN MISSIONS

& '']

II f ' i

cago, Bishop Van de Velde, should not be tnansferred
to it.

The bishop intended visiting France and Belgium after
the council ; he resolved to extend his voyage as far as
Rome, and to bear in person his petitions to the throne of
St. Peter. Having been selected to bear the decrees of the
council, he reached Rome on the 22d of June. Pius IX. re-
ceived Bishop Van de Velde with the greatest nfFability.
After two audiences, Dr. Van de Velde received the desired
response, viz., that he should be restored to the Society of
Jesus, even in quality of titular bishop, and that he should
be transferred to a- milder and more favorable climate.
Bishop Van de Velde quitted Rome on the 16th of Septem-
ber. After visiting some parts of France, Germany, and
Belgium, he assisted at Li6ge at the consecration of Mgr.
de Montpellier. He embarked at Liverpool on the iVth of
November, and arrived at New York on the 28th of the
same month.

After his return to Chicago, he repeated his episcopal visit
of the diocese. It was during this circuit that he received
his brief of nomination to the vacant see of Natchez, to
which he had himself asked to be transferred. The majority
of the clergy and of the faithful in Chicago received with
deep regret the news that they were to be deprived of the
presence of their excellent and worthy bishop, who had
labored with so much zeal and ardor for their well-being,
and had done so much for the propagation of our holy re-
ligion in Illinois. Under his administration seventy churches
had been commenced, and the greater number of them com-
pleted. He had constructed two Orphan Asylums, without
mentioning other establishments and important works.

Mgr. Van de Velde was obliged to remain some time in
the place as administrator of Chicago and Quincy, because

AND MISSION A KI lis.

505

the Rev. Mr. Melcher, named bishop of Quincy and adminis-
trator of Chicago, had not accepted his nomination. It was
only on the 3d of November, 1853, after having purchased
a beautiful piece of land as a site for the future cathedral of
Quincy, that Bishop Van de Velde quitted his numerous
friends in Chicago and set out for Natchez. He arrived
there on the 23d of the same month, and was most joyfully
received by the clergy and all the people. His great reputa-
tion had preceded him. On the 18th of December, after
having assisted at the consecration of the Rt. Rev. A. Mar-
tin at New Orleans, and after making a spiritual retreat at
Spring Hill College, near Mobile, he assumed possession of
his new diocese.

The bishop undertook, with fresh zeal, the administration
of his new charge, and exerted himself to extend the cause
of religion in the State of Mississippi. He immediately
visited the different congregations, in order to become ac-
quainted with all the necessities of his diocese, made efforts
to procure apostolical laborers in this section of the Master's
vineyard, founded two schools, and took measures for com-
pleting the cathedral of Natchez, and of erecting a college
in it. For this purpose he purchased a beautiful site in the
suburbs of the city. But God, in his impenetrable, designs,
called the good bishop to himself, before he could realize all
the plans he had conceived for the well-being of religion, and
the instruction of the flock confided to him.

His death had, in its causes, a most afflicting character;
he was so unfortunate on the 23d of last October, as to fall
on the stairway and break his leg in two places. This dis-
tressing jjews spread rapidly among the Catholic population.
The faithful hastened in crowds to the episcopal residence,
in order^to express their sorrow to their beloved pastor, and
tender him all the consolations and assistance of which they

■Li

ill-* ■ '? ■

- iif -' ■'•

506

WESTERN MISSIONS

The inflammation of the leg, excited at first

were capable.

a slight fever, which soon assumed the type of yellow-fever,
and provoked agonizing convulsions during several days.
During all his illness, the bishop evinced an astonishing
patience, a perfect resignation to the will of God, a truly
Christian calm, and that amid the severest trials and most
painful suflTerings. Having received the last consolations of
the Church with great devotion, he committed his soul into
the hands of his Maker on the 13th of November, the feast
of St. Stanislaus, in whose honor he had just finished a
novena.

The exposition of the body of the venerable deceased
offered a solemn and very imposing spectacle. The corpse,
covered with the episcopal vestments, deposited in a rich
sarcophagus of metal, was placed in the episcopal abode, on
a catafalque in the form of a cross, to which they had given
an inclination so as to give the corpse the appearance of be-
ing partly erect. He remained thus exposed during the
whole night which succeeded his death. A great number
of persons of all grades of society and of diflferent religious
creeds, visited the mortal remains of the venerable prelate.
These visits were prolonged until late in the night. A sweet
smile seemed to animate the features of the deceased ; to see
his eyes partly opened, one would have supposed that he was
attentively listening, and with pleasure to those who sur-
rounded him, and that he was preparing to answer their
questions. The spectators could scarcely credit that he was
no more. Efforts had to be made, especially by the Catholics,
to tear themselves from their respected pastor and father.

The obsequies took place on the 14lh, at nine o^clock, in St.
Miiry's cathedral, in the midst of an immense concourse of
people, gathered to pay their last tribute of respect and af-
fection to their venerated bishop.

AND MISSIONARIES.

607

The solemn mass was sung by the Most Rev. Anthony
Blanc, archbishop of New Orleans, assisted by the Rever-
end MM. Francis X. Leroy, Grignon, and Pont. The
Rev. Father Tchieder, of the society, pronounced the funeral
discourse. After the service, the coffin was deposited in a
vault prepared expressly under the sanctuary of the cathedral.
We commend the soul of Bishop Van de Velde, our
venerable brother in Christ, to the sacrifices and prayers of
our dear fathers and brothers in Belgium, and to the devout
remembrance of the numerous friends of the deceased.
I have the honor to be with the deepest respect,
Reverend Father,

Your most humble

and devoted servant,

P. J. De SmeTj S. J.

508

WESTERN MISSIONS

ii«i
*'-ii

ill;:

Letter XL IV.

To THE Editor of the Precis IIistoriques, Brussels.

John Nohili.
Univkusity or St. Louis, Jan. 18th, 1858.

Rev. and dear Father :

You published a sliort notice of J'atlier Nobili in the
Precis Hiatoriques for 1867, j)age 284. Moreover, our very
Rev. Father General has given you a token of his paternal
kindness, by sending you a letter and copy of a correspond-
ence with Father Congiato, the new superior of the mission,
on the death of his predecessor, also published by you, page
293.

I send you as a complement to these data, an extract
from the San Francisco Herald of March 20, 1856, which
consists in a biographical notice of Father Nobili. Will
you be so good as to translate it if you find it sufficiently
interesting.

On Monday, March 3d, funeral rites were rendered to
Father John Nobili, of the Society of Jesus, superior of the
college of Santa Clara.

The news of his death spread with great rapidity, in all
the country around. This religious was generally known in
the whole State, and all those who enjoyed his acquaintance
could not refrain from entertaining the highest esteem for
him, and, very often, a very profound attachment. It can,

AND MISSIONARIES.

609

therefore, be easily iinderstood what lively sorrow this mel-
ancholy news cxcitcfl. At San Francisco, in particular, when
the telograph transmitted this sad announcement, an inde-
scribable mourning covered, so to speak, tlie whole city.
The sadness and dejection manifested on every side, made
known that all had lost an excellent friend, and that Cali-
fornia had experienced a great, a public loss. Only a short
time before, this worthy religious had been seen in the
streets of San Francisco, and it was with great difficulty that
we could be persuaded that he was no more, and that hence-
forth he would never appear in our midst.

Father Nobili was born in Rome, on the 8th of April,
1812. His parents, distinguished for their piety, educated
their children in accordance with the correct principles of
Christian morality. His mother, of whom he ever spoke
with the most affectionate respect, was a model of all those
virtues that form the ornament of a mother. His father was
a lawyer.

John, while yet young, \va3 confided to excellent masters.
His progress, in the diflferent studies to which he applied,
could easily presage much that is elevated in riper years.
Endowed with natural talents, of a superior order, he em-
ployed his efforts in developing them, and his masters found
the task of adorning his faculties and increasing his informa-
tion, easy and agreeable. But, at the same time that his
understanding acquired maturity, his heart, that port'.on
which is so neglected in our day in the plans of education,
was not left to itself in order to be overrun, like an untilled
soil, by noxious weeds. Tiie seeds of virtue were planted
betimes. They cast deep roots, and acquired a great strength
long before the passions and a corrupt world could turn
them aside with evil principles, or even give them a bad
tendency. The pious counsels of his mother were always

43*

510

WESTERN MISSIONS

i-.

for John Nobili an efficacious stimulant to virtue, and he
took care never to forget them. The pious wishes of his
parents were realized, and all their tender cares fully recom-
pensed by the progress of their son in fervor and in devotion,
as well as in profane sciences.

But their joy was complete when he told them, at an age
still tender, the generous resolution that be had taken of
consecrating himself entirely to the service of Gci. He was
then only sixteen years of age. Having finished his first
course of studies in the Roman college, he entered the Soci
ety of Jesus on the 14th of November, 1828.

During his novitiate (a period of probation destined tc
show whether the candidate possesses the qualities necessary
for Jiving in accordance with the rules of the society), he was
distinguished for his regularity and his punctuality. Hii»
dispositions were noble. His superiors named him Prefer;/
of the Novices.

Later, his talents proved so brilliant that when he wa*
studying humanities and rhetoric, his compositions in Lati?
poetry ana other verse, were read in all the public sittingp
without beir.g subjected to any previous correction. Ir
1831, he commenced the tudy of philosophy. In 1834*
appointed to teach the humanities, he taught them in th«
Roman college, and in the colleges of Loretto, Piaoenza, and
T'ermo. The superiors had so exalted an opinion of his ac-
qi isiuions in rhetoric, that he was appointed to preside over
the public exercises of five colleges of his order in Italy.
He began his theological studies in 1840, and was ordained
priest in 1843.

A short time after, he asked and obtained the permission
to go and preach the Gospel to the savages of North Amer-
ica. In company with Father De Smet, he sailed to Ore-
gon, by Cape Horn, towards the end (f the year 1843.

V'i .

A.ND MISSIONARIES.

511

During this irksome passage, which lasted nearly eight
months, he was subjected to great privations, and was at-
tacked by a disease of the pericardium. On airiving at
Fort Vancouver, he was intrusted with the spiritual care of
the Canadians, who are employed by the Hudson Bay
Compan}^ as well as of the Indians, the number of whom
is very considerable along the shores of the Columbia. The
ship in which he ascended was near perishing on the bar or
the Columbia. The captain was three days in discovering
the mouth of the river. At last it was indicated to liim by
the sight of a vessel which was coming out of it.

On arriving with his companions in Oregon, Father No-
bili found himself in presence of an epidemic. It was a vir-
ulent type of dysentery, and it was considered contagious.
The physicians attributed it to the deletv-rious qualities cf the
river water. A great number of savages died of it, espe-
cially among the Tchiuooks, and the Indians of the Cas-
cades. They were, for the most part, encamped along the
rivers, in order to be able to go to Fort Vancouver and ob--
tain the advice of a physician. This was a favorable oppor-
tunity of exercising the holy ministry, and Father Nobili
seized it with the greatest zeal.

He applied carefully to the study of the language of the
Indians, and, after a short time, he was capable of speaking
several dialects. In the month of June, 1845, the Father
fiet forth for Willamett<^, accompanied by a brother novice,
to visit the tribes of New Caledonia, among which he made
several apostolical excursions.

It would be impossible to give any other (in this notice)
than a feeble idea of the miseries, privations, and sufferings
of good Father Nobili during his sojourn among the savage
tribes. The following description will furnish us with soma
information concernmg the country. We extract it from the

t--

612

Wi:STERN MISSIONS

work of Father de Smet, entitled, " Oregon Missions," No.
VII., p. 122. "We traversed waving forests of pine and cedar,
in which daylight scarcely penetrated. Ere iong we entered
sombre forests in which we were obliged to clear a road, axe
in hand, in order to avoid those collections of trees over-
thrown and piled up by the tempests of autumn. Some of
these forests are so dense, that at the distance of twelve Ceet
I was unable to distinguish ray guide. The safest means of
extricating one's self from these labyrinths, is for the rider
to trust to the sagacity of his horse. If the reins are aban-
doned to him. he will follow the foot-prints of other beasts
of burden. This expedient has served me a hundred times.

" Whatever the imagination can depict as frightful, ap-
pears to be aggregated here, to inspire dread. Precipices
and ravines ready to swallow the traveller; gigantic sum-
mits and elevations of different hues ; inaccessible peaks ;
fearful and impenetrable depths, in which noisy waters are
continually precipitating- ; oblique and narrow paths, by which
it becomes necessary to ascend ; several times, indeed, I was
obliged to take the attitude of a quadruped and walk on my
hands.

"The natural pyramids of the Rocky Mountains, seem to
challenge the eflforts of human invention. They serve as a
resting place for the clouds which, descending, surround their
gigantic summits in sublime repose. The hand of Omnipo-
tence laid their foundations, and suffers the elements to
form them, and from age to age they proclaim his glory."

On whatever side Father Nobill turned his steps among
these Indian tribes, he was received with open arms, and
they brought him infants to be baptized. An extract from
the Journal of Father Nobili, dated Fort Colville, June, 1856,
and published in the Oregon Missions, No. XVII., reveals
the zeal of the missionary.

AND MISSIONARIES.

613

"While I remained at Fort Vancouver, I baptized upwards
of sixty persons, during a dangerous sickness which raged
in the country. Tiie majoritj- of those who received bap-
tism, died with all the marks of sincere conversion. On the
2'7th of July, I baptlz<id nine children at Fort Okinagane —
the children of the chief of the Sioushwaps were of the
number. He appeared full of joy at seeing a Black-gown
direct his course towards their country. On the 29th I left
Okinagane, and followed the company. Every night I
prayed with the whites and Indians. On the road, three
old men came to me, and earnestly begged me to ' take
pity on them, and prepare them for heaven /' Having in-
structed them in the duties and principles of religion, and
the necessity of baptism, I administered to them, and to
forty-six children of the same tribe, what seemed to be the
height of their desires, the holy sacrament of regeneration.

"On the 11th of August, a tribe of Indians, residing about
the Upper Lake on Thompson's River, came to meet me.
They exhibited towards nie all the marL.s of sincere and
filial attachment. They followed me several days to hear
my instructions, and only departed after having exacted a
promise that I would return in the course of the following
autumn or winter, and make known to them the glad tidings
of salvation.

" At the Fort of the Sioushwaps, I received a visit from
all the chiefs, who congratulated me on my happy arrival
among them. They raised a great cabin to serve as a church,
and as a place to teach them during my stay. I baptized
twelve of their children. I was obliged, when the salmon
fishing commenced, to separate for some months from these
dear Indians, and continue my route to New Caledonia.

"I arrived at Fort Alexandria on the 25th. All the
tribes I met manifested towards me the same emotions of

r. ■.■\

11^^

514

WESTERN MISSIONS

joy and friendship. To my surprise I found at the Fort a
frame church. I returned in the fall and remained there a
month, engaged in all the exercises of our holy ministry.
The Canadians performed their religious duties — I joinea
several in marriage, and administered to many the holy
communion. Twenty-four children and forty-seven adults
received baptism.

" On the 2d of September, I ascended the River Frazer,
and after a dangerous trip, arrived, on tho 12th. at Fort
George, where i*" p'>me joy and affection on the part of
the Indians atteu*. me. Fifty Indians had come down
from the Rocky Mountains, and patiently awaited my arrival
for nineteen days, in order to have the consolation of wit-
nessing the ceremony of baptism. I baptized twelve of their
children, and twenty-seven others, of whom six were adults
advanced in age. I performed there the ceremonies of the
planting of the cross.

"On the 14th, the feast of the exaltation of the holy
cross, I ascended the River Nesqually, and on the 24th,
arrived at the Fort of Lake Stuart. I spent eleven days in
giving instructions to the Indians, and had the happiness
of abolishing the custom of burning the dead, and that
of inflicting torments upon the bodies of the surviving
wives or husbands. They solemnly renounced all their
juggling and idolatries. Their great medicine-hall, where
they used to practise their superstitious rites, was changed
into a church. It was blessed and dedicated to God under
the patronage of St. Francis Xavier. The planting of the
cross was solemnly performed with all the ceremonies proper
to such occasions. Sixteen children and five old men re-
ceived baptism.

" The 24th October, I visited the village of the Chilcotins.
This mission lasted twelve days, during which time I bap-

AND MISSIONARIES.

515

tized eighteen childi-yn and twenty-four adults, and per-
formed eight marriages. I blessed here the first cemetery,
f nd buried, with all the ceremonies of the ritual, an Indian
woman, the first converted to Christianity. I next visite.l
two other villages of the same tribe— in the first I bap-
tized twenty persons, of whom three were adults. In the
second, two chiefs with thirty of their nation received bap-
tism, and two were united in matrimony. Poiygamv pre-
vailed everywhere, and everywhere I succeeded in abolishing
it. In a neighboring tribe I baptized fifty-seven persons,
of whom thirty-one were adults. I also celebrated nine mar-
riages.

"After my return to the Sioushwaps, I baptized forty-one
persons, of whom eleven were adults. I visited five more
villages among the neighboring tribes, among whom I
baptized about two hundred persons. I performed the
ceremony of the planting of the cross, in eight different
places, and founded four frame churches which were con-
structed by the savages.

" On an average, each village or tribe consists of about two
hundred souls.

*'I- the neighborhood of Fort Alexandria the

number of souls amounts to i255

About Fort George 343

In iae neighborhood of Frazer's Lake 258

" Stuart's Lake 211

" McLeod's Lake 80

** " Fort Rabine 1 190

** " Bear Lake 801

Total number of souls 4133

516

WESTERN MISSIONS

" Population on Thompson's River, or on the land of the
Sioushwaps or Atnass.

"The number of Sioushwaps, so called, is 583

" of Okinjiganes 685

Population on the North Branch 525

" on Lake Superior 322

" at the Fountain of Frazer Lake 1127

Number of Knife Indians 1530

Total number of souls 4772."

During his sojourn in New Caledonia, Father Nobili
had to endure great privations. Through the course of one
whole year, his only subsistence was a sort of moss or grass
and roots. His chief food was horse-flesh, and often he was
reduced to eating the flesh of dogs and wolves. What he
suflered from cold, hunger, and other piivations is only-
known to God. To man, the reality would seem incredible.

After having dwelt among the savage tribes six years,
during which he showed himself a worthy disciple of Jesus
Christ, in bringing back souls to God, and in eradicating the
vices which predominate in them, in obedience to the orders
of his superiors, he forsook his dear Indians and came to
California, in 1849, with his health greatly enfeebled.

He remained some time iu San Francisco, and afterwards
went to San-Jose, in which place he tarried until the spring
of 1851. The whole period of his residence there, he ex-
cited the admiration of that city, with its inhabitants of
various religious denominations, by his indefatigable labors.
When the cholera broke out iu 1850, the horse of the man
of God was saddled day and night, so as not to lose a minute
of time, and to be able to visit without delay those who

AND MISSIONARIES.

517

ex-

might ca'l for his services. The labors of Father Nobili are
well known in that place — they will live forever in the
memory of those who received his assistance, or who wit-
nessed his consuming charity.

In the spring of 1851, His Grace Archbishop Alemany
appointed him to a mission in Santa Clara. As soon as ho
entered on this new charge, he commenced founding the
college of Santa Clara. This college succeeded so well,
that it is known as the first educational institution in the
State.

It is unnecessary to speak of his trials and his labors since
the establishment of this college — the whole State knows
and appreciates them. It is not an unmeaning phrase when
we say that the " greater glory of God," device of the society,
was the primum mobile of all has actions. How shall we
express the deep solitude with which he watched over the
college ? He applied earnestly with an incessant attention
to its increase, to the direction of its progress, to the pro-
motion of its interests, and to the augmentation of its ma-
terial resources. He exercised a paternal kindness and care
towards the pupils intrusted to him. He was aflfable and
comj)laisant towards those who visited him, and displayed a
ready religious hospitality. His conduct towards all was
polite and agreeable, but full of a certain dignity which con-
ciliated the respect and admiration, not only of Catholic
laymen, but even of those who did not acknowledge his
clerical character. He was scrupulously exact in fulfilling the
minor obsci vances of the religious rule. Divine service had
peculiar charms for him ; he loved its offices and its liturgy,
and he paid extreme attention to ail that concerns the beauty
of the sanctuary, for all that regards in any manner the ex-
terior glory of the mysterious Daughter of the King of
heaven. In fine, his strong faith, his irreproachable mau-

.'T'

518

WESTERN MISSIONS

ners, his pure life, his zeal, his charity, and his other count-
less virtues, caused him to sliine as a burniog light before his
own people, and before " those without."

All these traits, and a great number of others not less re-
mai'kable, are precious in the sight of God, full of edification
for men, and do honor to the memory of the deceased. It
is unnecessaiy that we should dwell longer upon them, or
develop them more at length ; the radiance which already
surrounds them, has bestowed a lustre to which no words of
GUI'S can add. However, we cannot refrain from relating one
more circumstance : it is the exemplary patience with which
he supported troubles and endured sufferings, especially the
pains of his last malady. The illness that snatched him
away (the lock-jaw) is extremely painful. The sufferings
that it ordinarily causes, were augmented by the irritability
CI the nervous constitution of the patient ; nevertheless the
Father endured the whole courageously, and with an en-
tire resignation to the divine will. He requested the
prayerful assistance of others, so tliMt he might be favored
with the grace of perfect resignation. In his last hour,
during the moments that preceded his departure, when his
eyes wandered from object to object as if to seek some
aid, every time that they fell upon the crucifix they rested
there, relieved and comforted by that image of the divine
Redeemer, and by the recollection of the passion of Jesus.
It was in the act of kissing this sacred emblem, that
Father Nobili closed his eyes, and his spirit returned to
its Creator.

After the death of this lamented Father, nothing was
omitted that the Catholic worship prescribes, or that the
respect and affection of his religious companions could sug-
gest, to honor his mortal remains. His body was directly
carried to the church of the mission, and placed upon a

AND MISSIONARIES.

619

catafalque before the grand altar. His Grace Archbishop
Alemany celebrated the solemn mass of requiem, assisted
by the Rev. Father Llebarra, vicar-general, Rev. Mr. Gal-
lagher, pastor of St. Mary^s cathedral, San Francisco, and
some other Jesuit Fathers. The Rev. Mr. Gallagher pro-
nounced the funeral oration, and gave an eloquent and
touching abridgment of the religious and estimable career
of Father Nobili. It is to him that we are particularly
indebted for the more important facts that we have pre-
sented in this imperfect notice of this illustrious apostle of
California, who devoted himself without reserve to religion,
and to the edu'^ation of youth.

Accept, Rev. and dear Father, with this biographical
notice of one of my Oregon companions, the assurance of
my aflfectionate respect.

P. J. De Smet, S. J.

520

WESTERN MISSIONS

?'ii

Letter XLV.

To THB Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

Anthony EystogeU.

University of St. Louis, July 16, 1857.
Rev. and dear F/ :..er:

I have few details as to the life and death of Father
Eysvogels, yet I send what I find.

Anthony Eysvogels was born in the little village of Oss,
situated in North Brabant, Holland, Jan. 13, 1809. After
finishing his divinity course in his native land, he came to
America and began his novitiate in Missouri, Dec. 31, 1835.

On the 1st of May, 1838, Father Eysvogels set out with
Fathers Verhaegen and Claessens for the Kickapoo mission.
Thence, his superiors sent him to Washington, Mo., and from
this place to Westphalia in the Osage district. There a holy
death closed an exemplary life. The good Father, resigning
himself entirely into the hands of the Lord, p.epared for his
great passage by prayer and the reception of the last sacra-
ments, which but little preceded his death. His illness was
brought on by the care lavished by the holy reli^rious on a
patient suffering with small-pox, which disease he h mself took.
Father Eysvogels was only forty-eight and a half years old.
The interment was made with solemnity by Father Ferdinand
Helias, and his parishioners raised a subscription to erect a
monument to the zealous director of iheir souls.

Accept, Re /.Father, the assurance of my regard and esteem

P. J. Db Smbt, S. J.

AND MISSIONARIES.

521

Letter ILVL

To THE Editor of the Precis Historiques, Brussels.

John B. Duerinc\ Missionary of the Potawatomies^ America.

Universitt of St. Louis, Deo. 28, 1S57.
Reverend Father :

A fatal and most deplorable accident has just deprived
us of one of our most zealous and indefatigable missionaries.
Father John B. Duerinck, superior of the mission of St.
Mary's, among the Potawatomies, in the Territory of Kansas,
perished on the 9th of this month, while descending the
Missouri river in a small boat. This is an irreparable loss to
this fine mission.

I cannot describe to you how deep is the affliction which
this mournful news has caused us. The first report reached
us on Sunday, the 18th instant. We were expecting him at
St. Louis, whither he had been summoned by his superiors,
in order to prepare himself for his last vows in the society.
A letter dated November 24th, in which he announced his
departure from the mission, had arrived some days before.
The following is an extract :

" I intend to repair to the town of Leavenworth and
thence to St. Louis, in the course of this week. The chiefs
of the tribe, the warriors, sages, seniors, and young men,
have all decreed to send a deputation to Washington, or
rather two, one composed of Indians of the prairie, Pota-

44«

522

WESTERN MISSIONS

fit:':' ■

if in

watomies not converted, and the other of Indians of the mis-
sion. These latter have put me on their list, in order that I
raay accompany them to Washington to advance the inter-
ests of the mission, and aid tliem in attaining with more
certainty the object of their proceedings with the gov-
ernment. It will belong to the superior to decide on
what I shall do. Whatsoever be his decision, I shall be
content."

The earliest news of the death of the zealoiis missionary,
although still not very precise, was accompanied by circum-
stances which hardly left any doubt concerning his fate. Two
or three days after, we learned certain details of his loss.
He went from the mission of St. Mary's to Leavenworth, on
horseback, a distance of about eighty miles. Thence he
went, in a stage-coach, fifty miles further, to the town of
Kansas. He afterwards set out from Kansas, in a boat, with
four other travellers, intending to descend the Missouri river
as far as a place where steamboats would be met, which, on
account of the lowness of the waters in this season of the
year, cannot go up the river as high as Fort Leavenworth.
Descending the river is a very perilous enterprise, considering
the rapidity of the current, and the numerous forest-trees,
detached from the shores and buried in the bed of the river.
To strike against one of these " sawyers" is enough to cap-
size the boat, and every year a number of boats are lost in
this manner. The danger was certainly not unknown to
Father Duerinck : but, a son of obedience, and a man of
zeal, he thought, without doubt, that he ought not to recoil
before a danger which so mnny travellers encounter every
day. This devotedness cost him his life. Twenty-five miles
below Kansas city, the point of their departure, between the
towns of Wayne and Liberty, the boat, striking against a
snag, capsized. All the passengers were thrown into the

AND MISSIONARIES.

523

mis-

water, except two, who managed to cling to the sides of the
boat, and holding on to it until the current brought them to
a sand-bank. The three others, among whom was Father
Duerinck, perished.

Such a death has, without doubt, its melancholy side ; but
it appears glorious when we reflect on the cause which oc-
casioned it, and on the example of so many holy mission-
aries and illustrious apostles who, adventuring with courage
into dangers, in the keeping of God alone, have perished, far
from all human aid, but so much the more protected in their
last moments by him for whose honor they had exposed
their lives.

John Baptist Duerinck was born at St. Gilles, near Ter-
monde, on the 8th of May, 1809. f'ormed to piety from his
infancy, by the lessons and examples of his pious parents, he
cast, from that time, the foundation of those Christian and
religious virtues, of which he ofiered, in after years, so beau-
tiful an example. When a college student, his excellent
conduct, and his success, attracted to him the esteem and af-
fection of his professors and class-mates ; and the president
of the episcopal seminary of Ghent remembers him still as
one of those who had afforded him most pleasure during
their studies in philosophy.

He had long experienced a desire to devote himself to the
conversion of the savages of I^orth America. After obtain-
ing the consent of his worthy parents, he embarked at Ant-
werp, on the 27th of October, 1833, and entered the Society
of Jesus, in Missouri, in which he commenced his novitiate
at St. Stanislaus, near the village of Florissant, in the open-
ing of the year following, the 16th of January, 1834.
Having finished his novitiate, he passed several years in
different colleges. His talents for financial affairs caused
him to be intrusted successively with the charge of

524

WESTERN MISSIONS

, r,A,

■ ' <■■■;>■ ■-'

treasurer in our colleges at Cincinnati, St. Louis, and
Biirdstown.

Every where, the Father Duerinck showed an exemplary
exactitude in fulfilling his duties, and constantly gave proofs
of the virtues which characterize the true religious. Ilis
zeal, his devotedne&s, as well as the frankness of his temper,
gained him friends, not only among ourselves, but also with
strangers and Protestants.

A great admirer of nature, he consecrated his hours of
leisure to the study of its wonders and secrets, and to the
contemplation in them of the beauty and omnipotence of
God. He was attached especially to the study of botany,
and he acquired a vast and thorough knowledge of this
branch of Latural science. He traversed a great portion of
Ohio and Illinois, in search of curious flowers and all kinds
of rare plants, and made a beautiful and exquisite collection
of them, which is preserved in the college of St. Francis
Xavicf, in Cincinnati. The botanical society of that city
elected Fathtx' Duerinck a perpetual member, and oflferej
him the chair of professor of botany ; but his modesty .'in<f
his numerous duties would not suffer him to accept tha
charge. A new plant that he discovered, i;nd which received,
in his honor, the name Frunus Duerinckiana, shows how
they esteemed his researches in the science.

The distivicti/e trait of his character was, a great natural
er.ergy, joined to an ardent zeal for the glory of God and
the salvation of souls. When there was question of gaining
his neighbor to God, no obstacle seemed to be able to arrest
him. He ir.ade himself all to all, according to the example
of St. Paul, in order to win them to Jesus Christ. He
had admirably adapted his manners to the customs and
ideas of that section of country, and if he could not convert
the numerous Protestants with whom he was in relation, he

AND MISSIONARIEE.

625

and

iMivlj^ failed gaining tlieir good will; and it is a great step
towards their convwsion, to induce them to esteem the
Catholic priest.

In 1849, Father Duerinck was sent among tho Indians,
This was the accomplishment of that desire which had con-
ducted him to Attjerica. He employed all his energy and
all his talents, in this difficult work. The mission of the
Potawatomies, of which he became the superior, owes to
him, in great part, its actual prosperity. The greater num-
ber of the savages of this tribe had been converted for several
years; hence it was necessary to consolidate the work of
their conversion, by attaching them to the civilized life, and
leading them to prefer agriculture, and the crther useful arts,
to the pleasui'es of the chase and the indolence so character-
istic of the barbarous life. Already, previous to his arrival,
the missionaries had persuaded them to cultivate some little
fields, animating them by their example, and by motives of
faith. It had been discovered, that when there was question
of labor, the motives of religion were the only ones which
had any empire over the hearts of the Indians, and they
succeeded in inducing them to work in a spirit of penance.
Profiting by this strong and simple faith, Father Duerinck
endeavored to excite them to more extensive labors, and, by
causing them to discover a certain plenty in the culture of
their fields, he allured them into a forgetfulness of the danger-
ous life of the plains and forests. With the purpose of
forming youth to an intelligent h»bor, schools of arts and
trades had been established ibr the youth of the tribe% He
made two journeys to Washington, to interest the govern-
ment in this work, and to obtain assistance in it. These
schools have obtained a permanent existence.

During these latter years, the mission of St. Mary's has
been exposed to great danger of demoralization ; first, in

■

526

WESTERN MISSIONS

" '■!'. .

consequence of the great number of caravans which have
passed by the mission since the discovery of the gold mines
of California, and, secondly, on account of the immense tide
of emigration which has taken place since Kansas became a
Territory. Amid these dangers, the neophytes, thanks to
the care of the missionaries, have preserved their ancient
regularity and their early fervor.

At the sound of the bell, the savages assemble, with the
same piety as formerly, either in the church or in their
dwellings. The confessions and communions are not less
numerous. All, not excepting the Protestants, admire their
zeal and their piety.

So far, the neophytes have maintained peace with the
whites. Rare occurrence ; for ordinarily the approach of
the whites is the signal of a war of extermination, if they
cannot force the savages to quit their cabins and emigrate
into new and more remote deserts. HoT'ever, the danger of
their present situation cannot be dissembled. They are
already surrounded by whites, eager to take possession of
19,200 acres of land, that the government has solemnly
granted them by treaty. It is especially in such a situation
that the death of Father Duerinck, their father and bene-
factor, who was tenderly devoted to them, and whom they
consulted in all their important enterprises and in all their
difficulties, will be keenly felt. It is undeniably a real
calamity for the whole tribe.

Father Duerinck was superintendent of the Catholic
schools among the Potawatomies. Several of his letters
have been published in the annual documents which accom-
pany the message of the President of the United States.
They are found in the report of the Secretary of the Interior,
vol. i., and all bear the date of "St. Mary's Potawatomie
Mission, Kansas Territory." They are as follows: 1862,

AND MISSIONARIES.

527

September 24, pp. 379-381 ; 1853, August 31, pp. 325-32Y ;
1854, September 25, pp. 317-319; 1855, October 1, pp.
422-425 ; 1856, October 20, pp. 666-669 ; 1857, October 17.
The last one (the 6th September, 1857,) was published on
the I7th of last October, in the Boston Pilot^ and will ap-
pear, like the others, in the next report of the Secretary of
the Interior.

The officers or agents of the government of the United
States have always rendered the most honorable testimony
to the zeal and success of Father Duerinck. In 1855, Major
G. W. Clarke, agent of government for the Potawatomies,
speaking, in his annual report to the commissary of Indian
affairs, concerning the two schools established in the mission,
one under the direction of the Fathers, the other under the
direction of the Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, thus
expressed himself: " I cannot speak in terms too favorable
of the condition of these two establishments. Besides the
ordinary course of literary education for girls, they learn
sewing, knitting, embroidery, and all the other labors of a
well-understood domestic trainint \n industrial school is
attached to this institution. In it the youth are taught use-
ful and practical arts, such as agriculture, iiorticulture, etc.
Father Duerinck is a man endowed with great energy, .ind
understands business well. He is entirely devoted to the
welfare of the Potawatomies, of whom he has shown him-
self the friend and father, and who, on their side, entertain
the highest esteem for him. I have no hesitation in express-
ing my conviction of the utility of this establishment as
effects are visible in the neatly-kept houses, and the little-
well-cultivated fields of the Indians of the mission, and in
the spirit of order which reigns in the environs."

In his report of 1856, Major Clarke renews these approving
expressions. " Since last year," says he, " the Indians of this

628

WESTERN MISSIONS

fil, J.

agency have made rapid progress. They have cultivated
more extensive fields, and manifested, in different ways, their
desire to conform to the customs of civilized life. Thf school
of St. Mary's mission occupies the first rank among the
schools of the missions, and merits my most sincere praises.
The labors of Father Duerinck, and of the ' Religious of
the Sacred Heart,' serve not only to ameliorate the rising
generation, and form it to the customs of civilized life, but
their good examples, and their counsels, evidently have a
great influence on the well-being of the adult population."

The numerous emigrants who are settled in the neighbor-
hood of the mission, have ever displayed the highest esteem
for Father Duerinck.

The public journals have announced his death as a calam-
ity, which not only will leave a great void in the Indian
mission, but will excite lively regret among his numerous
friends in the different States, and, above all, in the inhabi-
tants of the new territory who have had the happiness of
knowing him. He enjoyed universal esteem.

The following is the homage paid to the memory of Father
Duerinck, by all his religious brethren in the Potawatomie
mission :

" Rev. Father Duerinck, whom we all regret with tears,
arrived at the mission of St. Mary's in the beginning of
November, 1849, in circumstaiK or the most critical and em-
barrassing, in the judgment of all persons versed in business
matters. The mission had just accepted a school of boys,
and one of gir's, on conditions so onerous that good sense
pronounced ttiem intolerable. They were obliged to nothing
less than to support annually about one hundred and twenty
children, as boarders, for the small sum of fifty dollars each :
that is to say, for fourteen cents a day, lod2:ing, food, clothing,
books, paper, etc., must be furnished to each child ; while no

AND MISSIONARIES.

529

jultivated
ays, their
'he school
nong the
e praises,
ligious of
;he rising
[ life, but
y have a
lation."
neighbor-
Bst esteem

5 a calam-
he Indian
numerous
he iuhabi-
ppiuess of

^ of Father
tawatomie

;vith tears,
oinning of
a,l and em-
n business
d1 of boys,
irood sense
to nothing
md twenty
liars each :
i, clothing,
; while no

hotel-keeper in the place wouldhave consented to board and
lodge any person for less than five dollars per w <'k. Fm-
ther : the United States Government had allowed a cert>iin
sum for the furnishing or the construction of edifices, and,
by an addition of unfortunate circumstances, the task had
scarcely been begun, when the money was already expended.
Well, thanks to the intelligence and activity of Father
Duerinck, the mission met all these expenses, and triunij)1ied
over all the obstacles. But how many trials and fatigues
were necessary to shelter his dear Indian family from indi-
gence ! Crossing immense deserts, to buy animals at a low
price, and conduct them to St. Mary's ; descending and
ascending the Missouri, a distance of several hundreds of
miles ; continually on the watch, in order to discover an op-
portunity favorable for the arrangement and disposition of
the products of the farm ; exerting himself in every way to
find means of subsistence ; ever imagining new resources,
forming new plans, and executing new projects, to nu^et the
■wants of the great family which had been intrusted to him,
is what Father Duerinck nobly undertook for the good of
the mission, and in which he succeeded perfectly.

" The Father had a strongly-marked character, or rather
a soul virtuously courageous. The infirmities to which he
was subject, never drew from him a plaint, nor produced the
least alteration in his manners. For him^ winter seemed to
have lost its frosty rigors, and summer its stifling heats, Jle
continually braved the inclemency of the seasons. We have
seen him undertake a long journey in the extreme cold, and
continue it in defiance of the icy breath of the north wind,
and on arriving at the house where he proposed to lodge,
perceive that some of his limbs had become as hard as stjne
by the cold which had stiffened them ; so that, in order not
to lose the use of them, it became necessary to bathe them

630

WESTERN MISSIONS

)i'

!■,•

■K^Bv '

^9ia ■

WmJs'

f^M

, j

xOEl

1 '

}

'■^Wt"

(

H^M

■

in ice water. He neglected his sleep, he forgot his meals ;
he was ready for every sacrifice in the interest of his beloved
Indians. Amid all these many labors and hardships, his
humor was always equable, his brow serene, his temper
patient, his manner affable. Neither the pecuniary difficul-
ties, nor the embarrassments of every kind which sprung up
at every instant, could trouble the peace of his soul. The
practice of humility was, so to speak, natural. Never any
thing savoring of pretension ; nothing affected was ever re-
marked in his air ; never a word, which, even remotely,
breathed vanity. He was completely ignorant of those re-
fined allusions by which self-love seeks sometimes to give
importance to personality. Although superior, and highly
esteemed by all those who know how to appreciate good
manners, his great delight was to apply, like the last of the
domestics, to the most menial works. He was so dead to all
that is called ' pride of life,' that he never opposed but an im-
perturbable brow to the bitter reproaches, to the outrages
which he sometimes received from people of little education.
Very often, on the earliest occasion, he would avenge him-
self for these insults by rendering some striking service to
the person who had insulted him. When he was reproached
with being too kind in regard to certain people who were
known to be enemies to the Catholics, *Wel!,' replied he,
' we will force them to like us.' Father Duerinck was char-
itable, but his charity was prudent and enlightened. In
short, no one ever did more good among the Indians of these
sections. He assisted the poor and infirm liberally. He
comprehended better than any one, by what way to procure
the savages the benefit of civilization. He aided them in
every way, exciting them to labor, and recompensing their
industry. This, in his case, succeeded so well that the Pot-
awatomies of St. Mary's excel greatly those of the other vil

AND MISSIONARIES.

631

their
vil

es, in those qualities which constitute good citizens.
Those who have had the most intimate relations with the
Father, kuow how far his liberalities extended, and their
prayers, inspired by the most sincere gratitude, will never be
wanting to call down upon our good Potawatomies the ben-
edictions of the God of mercy.

"The death of good Father Duerinck is* an incomparable
loss. In him, St. Mary's has lost him who was its soul and
life; the Indians, a signal benefactor; the widows and or-
phans, an experienced counsellor ; the mission, an excellent
superior ; and we, the best of Fathers, This blow (as fatal
as unexpected) has thrown every one into mourning — bitter
mourning. Nothing could console us for so sudden a loss,
did we not know that nine years of trials and abnegation, of
•continual combats against his own inclinations, undertaken
and sustained for the greater glory of God, are the best
preparations for a holy death."

To this fraternal token of respectful affection I will add.
Rev. Father, the homage which the ngent of government
(Colonel Murphy) paid Father Duerinck. When he was
apprised of his death, he wrote in these terms to Major
Haverty, superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis ;

"The model school of the mission of St. Mary's continues
without intermission, under its ancient preceptors, its salu-
tary operations, with its habitual and regular system. At
this moment (December 2d), the mission and the whole
vicinity are plunged in profound grief, caused by the death,
sudden and unexpected, of its superior, the Father Duerinck.
I consider this loss as one of the greatest calamities which
could happen to the Potawatomies, of whom he was the
devoted friend and the Father. It is one of those decrees of
Providence, infinitely wise, to which we must submit in all
humility Happily for the mission school at St. Mary's, the

532

WBBTRRK inSSIONB Ain> MISSIONARIES.

vacancy left by Father Duerinck can be filled. The chil-
dren will continue to receive the same kindness and the
same instruction. It is especially the parents and young
men who lose the most in being deprived of his good advice
and his example."

This letter is, no doubt, very consoling, Rev. Father, for
the missionaries,' and very encouraging to those whom God
calls to become so. May generous Belgium send us other
zealous missionaries, as well to respond to our ever-increas-
ing wants, as to replace those whom death, alas ! too rapidly
mows down.

I commend to your holy sacrifices, and to your prayers,
and to the pious souvenirs of all our dear brethren in Bel-
gium, the soul of the Rev. Father Duerinck.
I have the honor to be.

Rev. and dear Father,

Revae V» in Cto,

P. J. Da Smet, S. J.

THE BNt).

1^ '

..«i..

chil-
id the

id vice

er, for
I God
other
creas-
ipidly

ayere,
1 Bel-