BOOK I

Dies venit, dies tua

In qua reflorent omnia,

Lætemur et nos in viam,

Tua reducti dex-tera.

The days of spring are drawing near

When all thy flowers will re-appear,

And we redeemed by thy right hand,

Shall walk in gladness thro' the land.

LETTER I

St. Louis University, Feb. 4, 1841.

TO THE REV. F. J. B.

Rev. and Dear Sir:

I presume you are aware, that in the beginning of last Spring, I was

sent by the Right Rev. Bishop of St. Louis,[82] and my Provincial, on

an exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains, in order to ascertain

the dispositions of the Indians, and the prospects of success we might

have if we were to establish a mission among them. It is truly

gratifying to me to have so favorable a report to make.--My

occupations do not allow me to enter into all the details; I shall

therefore be satisfied at present with giving you a brief sketch of my

journey and its result.

I started from Westport on the 30th of April, in company with the

Annual Expedition of the American Fur Company, which for this year had

appointed the rendezvous on Green River, a tributary of the Rio

Colorado of the West.[83] Captain Dripps, who commanded the caravan,

treated me on all occasions with the most polite attention.[84] On the

6th day of our journey I was seized with the fever and ague, and have

been subject to it for nearly five months. Nothing particularly worth

noticing, occurred during the journey, except, when we halted in the

village of the Sheyennes.[85] I was introduced to the Chiefs as a

minister of the Great [XIV] Spirit: they showed me great deference,

and I was invited to a feast. I had to pass at first through all the

ceremonies of the calumet; the great chief approached me to shake

hands, and gave me a heartfelt "How do you do."--"Blackgown," said he,

"my heart was filled with joy when I learned who you were. My lodge

never received a visitor for whom I feel a greater esteem. As soon as

I was apprised of your coming, I ordered my great kettle to be filled,

and in your honor, I commanded that my three fattest dogs should be

served up." The bravest warriors of the nation partook of the repast,

and I availed myself of the opportunity to explain to them the most

important tenets of Christianity. I told them the object of my visit,

and enquired whether they would not be satisfied to have also

Black-gowns among them, who would teach them to love and serve the

Great Spirit, as he wished. "Oh yes," they eagerly answered, "we will

gladly provide for every thing that they stand in need of; they will

not die of hunger amongst us." I have no doubt but a zealous

missionary would do a great deal of good among them. They are about

two thousand in number. Their language, it is said, is very difficult.

On the 30th of June we arrived at the rendezvous.[86] An escort of

warriors had been provided for me by the Flat-heads. Our meeting was

that of children who come to meet their parent, and in the effusion of

their heart, they bestowed upon me the fondest names with a simplicity

truly patriarchal. They told me of all the interesting particulars of

their nation, and of the wonderful preservation of sixty of their men,

in a battle against two hundred Black-feet, which lasted five whole

days, and in which they killed fifty of their enemies, without losing

a single man of their number. "The Great Spirit watched over them;"

they said, "he knew that we were to guide you to [XV] our camp, and he

wanted to clear the road of all the obstacles that you might have

found on your way. We trust we will not be annoyed any more by the

Black-feet; they went off weeping like women." We thanked heaven for

the signal preservation, and implored its assistance for the new and

perilous journey we were on the point of undertaking. The Indians of

different nations and the trappers, had assembled at the rendezvous in

great numbers, for the sake of the trade. On Sunday, the fifth of

July, I had the consolation of celebrating the holy sacrifice of Mass

_sub dio_. The altar was placed on an elevation, and surrounded with

boughs and garlands of flowers; I addressed the congregation in French

and in English, and spoke also by an interpreter to the Flat-head and

Snake Indians. It was a spectacle truly moving for the heart of a

Missionary, to behold an assembly composed of so many different

nations, who all assisted at our holy mysteries with great

satisfaction.--The Canadians sung hymns in French and Latin, and the

Indians in their native tongue. It was truly a Catholic worship....

This place has been called since that time, by the French Canadians,

_la prairie de la Messe_.

About thirty of the principal chiefs of the Snake Indians invited me

to a council.[87] I explained to them the Christian doctrine in a

compendious manner--they were all very attentive--they then

deliberated among themselves for about half an hour, and one of the

chiefs, addressing me in the name of the others, said: "Black-gown,

the words of thy mouth have found their way to our hearts; they never

will be forgotten. Our country is open for thee; come to teach us what

we have to do, to please the Great Spirit, and we will do according to

thy words." I advised them to select among themselves a wise and

prudent man, who, every morning and evening, should assemble them to

offer [XVI] to Almighty God their prayers and supplications; that

there the good chiefs should have an opportunity of exhorting their

warriors to behave as they ought. The meeting was held the very same

evening, and the great chief promulgated a law, that for the future,

the one who would be guilty of theft, or of any other disorderly act,

should receive a public castigation. On Monday, 6th, we proceeded on

our journey.[88] A dozen Canadians wished to accompany me, to have an

opportunity, as they said, to practise their religion. Eight days

afterwards we arrived safely in the camp of the Flat-heads, and

Ponderas, or Pends d'oreilles.[89]

[Illustration: Worship in the Desert]

Immediately the whole village was in commotion; men, women and

children, all came to meet me, and shake hands, and I was conducted in

triumph to the lodge of the great chief Tjolizhitzay, (the Big face.)

He has the appearance of an old patriarch. Surrounded by the principal

chiefs of the two tribes, and the most renowned warriors, he thus

addressed me: "This day Kaikolinzosten (the Great Spirit) has

accomplished our wishes, and our hearts are swelled with joy. Our

desire to be instructed was so great, that three times had we deputed

our people to the Great Black-gown[90] in St. Louis, to obtain a

father. Now, Father, speak, and we will comply with all you will tell

us. Show us the road we have to follow, to come to the place where the

Great Spirit resides." Then he resigned his authority to me; but I

replied that he mistook the object of my coming among them; that I had

no other object in view, but their spiritual welfare; that with

respect to temporal affairs, they should remain as they were, till

circumstances should allow them to settle in a permanent

spot.--Afterwards we deliberated on the hours proper for their [XVII]

spiritual exercises and instructions. One of the chiefs brought me a

bell, with which I might give the signal.

The same evening about 2,000 persons were assembled before my lodge to

recite night prayers in common. I told them the result of my

conference with the chiefs; of the plan of instructions which I

intended to pursue; and with what disposition they ought to assist at

them, etc. Night prayers having been said, a solemn canticle of praise

of their own composition, was sung by these children of the mountains,

to the Author of their being. It would be impossible for me to

describe the emotions I felt at this moment; I wept for joy, and

admired the marvellous ways of that kind Providence, who, in his

infinite mercy, had deigned to depute me to this poor people, to

announce to them the glad tidings of salvation. The next day I

assembled the council, and with the assistance of an intelligent

interpreter, I translated into their language the Lord's Prayer, the

Hail Mary, the Apostles' Creed, the ten Commandments, and four Acts.

As I was in the habit of reciting these prayers, morning and evening,

and before instructions, about a fortnight after, I promised a

beautiful silver medal to the one who would recite them first. One of

the chiefs rising immediately, "Father," said he, smiling, "that medal

is mine," and he recited all the prayers without missing a word. I

embraced him, praised the eagerness which he had evinced of being

instructed, and appointed him my Cathecist. This good Indian set to

work with so much zeal and perseverance, that in less than a fortnight

all knew their prayers.

Every morning, at the break of day, the old chief is the first on

horseback, and goes round the camp from lodge to lodge. "Now my

children," he exclaims, "it is time to rise; let the first thoughts of

your hearts be for the Great [XVIII] Spirit; say that you love him, and

beg of him to be merciful unto you. Make haste, our Father will soon

ring the bell, open your ears to listen, and your hearts to receive the

words of his mouth." Then, if he has perceived any disorderly act on the

preceding day, or if he has received unfavorable reports from the other

chiefs, he gives them a fatherly admonition. Who would not think, that

this could only be found in a well ordered and religious community, and

yet it is among Indians in the defiles and vallies of the Rocky

Mountains!!! You have no idea of the eagerness they showed to receive

religious instruction. I explained the Christian doctrine four times a

day, and nevertheless my lodge was filled, the whole day, with people

eager to hear more. At night I related those histories of the Holy

Scriptures that were best calculated to promote their piety and

edification, and as I happened to observe, that I was afraid of tiring

them, "oh no," they replied, "if we were not afraid of tiring you, we

would gladly spend here the whole night."

I conferred the holy sacrament of Baptism on six hundred of them, and

if I thought it prudent to postpone the baptism of others till my

return, it was not for want of desire on their part, but chiefly to

impress upon their minds a greater idea of the holiness of the

sacrament, and of the dispositions that are required to receive it

worthily. Among those baptised, were the two great chiefs of the

Flat-heads and of the Ponderas. As I excited the catechumens to a

heartfelt contrition of their sins, the _Walking Bear_, chief of the

Ponderas, answered: "Father, I have been plunged for a number of years

in profound ignorance of good and evil, and no doubt, during that

time, I have often greatly displeased the Great Spirit, and therefore

I must humbly beseech his pardon. But when I afterwards conceived

[XIX] that a thing was bad, I banished it from my heart, and I do not

recollect to have since deliberately offended the Great Spirit."

Truly, where such dispositions are found, we may well conclude that a

rich harvest is to be gathered.

I remained two months among these good people, and every day they were

adding to my consolations, by their fervor in prayer, by their

assiduity in coming to my instructions, and by their docility in

putting into practice what they had been taught.

The season being far advanced, and as I had waited in vain for a safe

opportunity to return to St. Louis, I resolved to commit myself entirely

to Providence, and on the 7th of August,[91] I took leave of my dear

Neophytes. I appointed one of the chiefs to replace me during my

absence, who should preside in their evening and morning devotions, and

on the Sabbath exhort them to virtue, baptize the little children, and

those who were dangerously ill. Grief was depicted on the features of

all, and tears were glistening in every eye. The old chief addressed me,

saying, "Father, the Great Spirit accompany thee in thy long and

dangerous voyage; every day, morning and evening, we will address to him

our humble supplications, that thou mayest arrive safely among thy

brethren. And we will continue to do so, till thou be again among thy

children of the mountains. We are now like the trees that have been

spoiled of their verdure by winter's blast. When the snow will have

disappeared from these vallies, and the grass begins to grow, our hearts

will begin to rejoice; when the plants will spring forth our joy will

increase; when they blossom, it will still be greater, and then we will

set out to meet you. Farewell, Father, farewell."

The Chiefs would not suffer me to depart by myself--[XX] thirty of the

bravest warriors were deputed as a safeguard to traverse the country

of the Black-feet, who are very hostile to the whites, and they were

instructed to accompany me, as far as need would be of their

assistance. I resolved to take on my return a different route from the

one I had taken in coming. I was induced to do so, in order to visit

the Forts of the American Fur Company on the Missouri, and on the

Yellow Stone, to baptize the children. After five or six days

travelling, we fell in with a war party of the Crow Indians, who

received us very kindly, and we travelled together for two days. Then

we directed our course to the Big Horn,[92] the most considerable of

the tributary streams of the Yellow Stone. There we met another party

of the same nation, who were also amicably disposed towards us. As

there was question about religion, I availed myself of the opportunity

to express to them the main articles of the Christian faith, and as I

was depicting in lively colors the torments of hell, and had told them

that the Great Spirit had kindled this fire of his wrath, for those

who did not keep the commandments I had explained to them, one of the

Chiefs uttered a horrid shriek. "If this be the case," said he, "then

I believe there are but two in the whole nation who will not go to

that place; it is the Beaver and the Mink; they are the only Crows who

never stole, who never killed, nor committed all the excesses which

your law prohibits. Perhaps I am deceived, and then we must all go

together." When I left them on the next day, the Chief put a fine bell

on my horse's neck, and invited me to take a turn round the village.

Next, he accompanied me for six miles.

After several days of a painful journey over rocks and cliffs, we

arrived at last at the fort of the Crows.[93] It is the first the

American Fur Company possessed in that country. [XXI] My dear

Flat-heads edified all the inhabitants by their fervor and their

piety. As well in the fort, as on the road, we never missed performing

in common, our evening and morning devotions, and singing canticles in

honor of the Almighty. Frequently, during my stay with them, they had

given me abundant proofs of their trust in Providence. I cannot

forbear mentioning one instance that occurred during my travels in

this place. One day as dinner was preparing and provisions scarce, a

countryman of mine, who accompanied me, suggested the propriety of

keeping something in reserve for supper. "Be not uneasy," said the

chief, called Ensyla,[94] "I never missed my supper in my life. I

trust in the mercy of the Great Spirit, he will provide for all our

wants." We had just camped at night, when the chief killed two stags.

"Did I not tell you right?" he remarked, smilingly, to my companion.

"You see the Great Spirit does not only provide for our wants of this

evening, but he gives us also a supply for to-morrow."

Now began the most difficult and most perilous part of our journey. I

had to pass through a country supposed to be overrun by war parties, of

the Black-feet, Assineboins, Gros Ventres, Arikaras, and Scioux.[95] All

these nations entertained the most hostile dispositions towards the

Flat-heads. I therefore dispensed with their services any farther. I

again excited them to continue the good work they had begun; to be

steadfast in their faith; regular in their devotions; charitable towards

one another. I embraced them all and took my leave. Mr. John de

Velder,[96] a native of Ghent in Belgium, had volunteered his services

to me at the Rendezvous. In consideration of the bad state of my health,

I deemed myself very happy to accept of them; he has never left me

since. He was now to be my only travelling companion. As there is no

road, we followed the direction of the river; at intervals we were

[XXII] obliged to make immense circuits to avoid the steep and craggy

hills that defied our passage. For two hundred miles, we had continually

death before our eyes. On the second day, I discovered before daylight a

large smoke at a distance of about a quarter of a mile. We hastily

saddled our horses and following up a ravine we gained a high bluff

unperceived. At night we did not dare to make fire for fear of

attracting notice. Again about dinner time, we found on the road the

carcase of a Buffalo, killed only two hours before; the tongue and the

marrow bones with some other dainty pieces had been taken away. Thus the

kind providence of our God took care to supply our wants.

We took a direction contrary to the tracks of the Indians, and spent a

safe night in the cliffs of the rocks. The next day we struck upon a

spot where forty lodges had been encamped, the fires were yet in full

blaze.

Finally, we crossed the Missouri at the same place where, only an

hour before, a hundred lodges of ill-minded Assineboins had passed,

and we arrived safe and unmolested at Fort Union, situated a few miles

above the mouth of the Yellow Stone. In all these Forts great harmony

and union prevail; Mr. Kipps, the present administrator of them, is a

gentleman well worthy of his station.[97] Every where I was treated by

these gentlemen with the greatest politeness and kindness, and all my

wants were liberally supplied. As I was relating the particulars of

this dangerous trip to an Indian Chief, he answered: "The Great Spirit

has his Manitoos; he has sent them to take care of your steps and to

trouble the enemies that would have been a nuisance to you." A

Christian would have said: Angelis suis mandavit de te, ut custodiant

te in omnibus viis tuis.[98] [XXIII] On 23d of September we set out

for the village of the Mandans, in company with three men of the fort,

who had the same destination. We met on the road a party of 19

Assineboins, who were returning to their country from an unsuccessful

expedition against the Gros Ventres. Their looks indicated their bad

intentions: although we were but five in number, we showed a

determined countenance, and we passed unmolested. Next day we crossed

a forest, the winter quarters of the Gros Ventres, and Arikaras, in

1835. It was there that those unfortunate tribes were nearly

exterminated by the small pox. We saw their bodies wrapped up in

Buffalo robes, tied to the branches of the largest trees. It was truly

a sad and mournful spectacle. Two days later we met the miserable

survivors of these unhappy tribes. Only ten families of the Mandans,

once such a powerful nation, now remain. They have united with the

Gros Ventres and Arikaras. They received me with great demonstrations

of friendship; I spent that night in their camp, and the next day

crossed the Missouri in their canoe, made of a buffalo skin.[99] The

next day we came to the first village of the Arikaras, and on the

following day to their great village, consisting of about a hundred

earthen wigwams.[100] This tribe also received me very kindly. On the

6th of October we started from the Mandan village, for Fort Pierre, on

the little Missouri;[101] a Canadian, whose destination lay in the

same direction, accompanied us. The Commandant of the Fort had

recommended to us in a special manner to be on our guard against the

Jantonnois, the Santees, Jantous, Ankepatines, Ampapas, Ogallallas,

and Black-feet Scioux, who have often proved very troublesome to white

strangers.[102] On the third day of our journey we fell in with an

ambuscade of the Jantonnois and Santees; they did not do us any harm,

but on the contrary [XXIV] treated us very kindly, and at our

departure loaded us with provisions. The next day we fell in with

several other parties, who showed us much kindness. On the ninth day

we were on the lands of the Black-feet Scioux; this country is

undulating and intersected with numberless little streams. For greater

caution we travelled in ravines. Towards dinner time, a fine

landscape, near a delicious spring, seemed to invite us to take some

repose. We had scarcely alighted, when all on a sudden a tremendous

yell alarmed us, and from the top of the hill under which we were, the

Black-feet darted upon us like lightning. "Why do you hide

yourselves?" asked the Chief, in a stern voice. "Are you afraid of

us?" Dressed in my cassock with a crucifix on my breast,--a costume I

always wear in the Indian country,--it appeared to me that I was the

subject of his particular enquiry. He asked the Canadian what kind of

a man I was. The Frenchman said I was a Chief, a Black-gown, the man

who spoke to the Great Spirit. He assumed immediately a milder

countenance, ordered his men to lay down their arms, and we performed

the ceremonies of shaking hands and smoking the calumet of peace. He

then invited me to accompany them to the village, situated only at a

short distance. It consisted of about a thousand souls. I pitched my

tent at some distance, in a beautiful pasture, on the margin of a fine

stream, and invited the great chief to partake of a supper with me. As

I said grace before meal, he enquired of the Canadian what I was

about. He is addressing the Great Spirit, was the reply, in gratitude

for the food he has granted us. The chief nodded a sign of

approbation. Shortly after, twelve warriors, in full costume,

stretched a large buffalo robe before the place where I sat. The

chief, taking me by the arm, invited me to sit down. I was under the

impression that there was [XXV] question again of smoking the calumet.

Judge of my astonishment, when the twelve warriors, seizing each a

piece of the robe, took me up, and headed by their chief, carried me

in triumph to their village. In the lodge of the great chief the most

conspicuous place was assigned me, and he addressed me thus: "This day

is the happiest of my life. For the first time do we behold among us a

man who is so closely united with the Great Spirit. Black-gown, you

see before you the chief warriors of my tribe; I have invited them to

this feast, in order that they may keep the remembrance of your coming

among us as long as they shall live." Then he invited me to speak

again to the Great Spirit, (to say grace), I began in the name of the

Father and of the Son, etc., and immediately all present lifted up

their hands towards heaven; when I had concluded they all struck the

ground. I asked the chief what they meant by this ceremony. "When we

lift up our hands," said he, "we signify that all our dependence is on

the Great Spirit, and that he in his fatherly care provides for all

our wants: we strike the ground to signify that we are only worms and

miserable creeping beings in his sight." He asked me in his turn, what

I had told to the Great Spirit. Unhappily, the Canadian was a poor

interpreter, still I endeavored to make them understand, as well as I

could, the Lord's Prayer. The chief showed great eagerness to know

what I said.--He ordered his son and two other very intelligent young

men to accompany me to the fort, in order to learn the principles of

the Christian doctrine, and to be at the same time a safeguard against

the Indians who might be inimically disposed towards us. Two days

afterwards we met an Indian, whose horse was bending under a load of

buffalo meat. Seeing us without provisions, he requested us to accept

what we might stand in need of, advising us to take [XXVI] the whole,

for, said he, in the vicinity of the fort, game is very scarce. Five

days afterwards we arrived at Fort Pierre. Thence I travelled through

prairies for nineteen days successively. We were often obliged to cook

our victuals with dried herbs--not a stick was to be found. When I

arrived at Fort Vermillion,[103] I was apprised that the Santees had

been on a warlike expedition against the Pottawatomies, of the Council

Bluffs, among whom I had labored the two preceding years.[104]

I invited them to a council, and gave them a severe reprimand for

violating the solemn promise they had made me the preceding year, of

living with their neighbors on amicable terms. I showed them the

injustice of attacking a peaceable nation without being provoked; the

dreadful consequences of the Pottawatomies' revenge, that might end in

the extinction of their tribe. I was requested to be once more the

mediator, and they told me that they had resolved to bury the tomahawk

forever.[105]

I had lost two horses on the road; the one I was riding could hardly

support me any longer, and I was yet three hundred miles distance from

the Council Bluffs. I resolved of course to embark on the Missouri,

and engaged a native Iroquois to be my pilot. At first we were favored

with fine weather, but this lasted only a few days. Very soon

inclement weather set in with frost and snow; and several times as we

drifted down the rapid stream, our frail canoe was on the point of

being dashed to pieces against the numberless snags that obstruct its

navigation. This dangerous trip lasted ten days. We generally spent

the night on a sand bar. We had only a few frozen potatoes left when

we perceived a beautiful deer gazing at us, and apparently waiting to

receive its mortal blow. We shot at it. [XXVII] At last we arrived

safe at the bluffs, and on the same night the river was closed by ice.

So many escapes from the midst of so many dangers thoroughly convinced

me that this undertaking is the work of God--omnia disponens fortiter

et ad finem suam conducens suaviter. (Who reacheth from end to end

mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly.) I am now preparing for my

return, and will start early in Spring, accompanied by three Fathers

and as many Brothers. You are aware such expeditions cannot be

undertaken without the necessary means, and the fact is, I have no

other reliance than Providence and the kindness of my friends. I hope

they will not be wanting. I know that you must feel deeply interested

in this meritorious good work, I therefore take the liberty of

recommending it to your generosity, and that of your friends--every

little contribution will help. I will be very grateful to you, if you

have the kindness to forward to my address at the St. Louis

University, Mo., before the end of March, or middle of April, the

amount you have collected.

I recommend myself and my dear Neophytes to your good prayers and holy

sacrifices, and rest assured that we shall not forget our benefactors.

P. J. DE SMET, S. J.

FOOTNOTES:

[82] Father de Smet was sent on the mission to the Flathead Indians by

Joseph Rosati. For an account of the latter, see Flagg's _Far West_,

in our volume xxvi, p. 164, note 115.--ED.

[83] In 1821, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., of the American Fur Company,

established a general agency in the bottom opposite Randolph Bluffs,

about three miles below the present site of Kansas City. His buildings

having been destroyed by a flood in 1826, he erected others on higher

ground, in the present Guinott addition, near the foot of Walnut

street. The place was called Chouteau's Warehouse, and soon became a

favorite shipping point for the Indian trade. In 1831 John McCoy built

a trading house at the crossing of the roads from Chouteau's Warehouse

and Independence. Two years later he platted a town at this point and

named it Westport. Westport first used Chouteau's Warehouse as a

landing place, but later built a wharf on the high rocky bank of the

river, at the present foot of Grand Avenue, Walnut, Main, and Delaware

streets. Because of superior natural advantages, this latter place

soon became the principal landing, and in 1838 a company purchased the

site, platted a town, and named it Kansas City. Westport thus became

the starting point for the caravans to the Western country.

Prior to 1822, the overland expeditions seem to have been composed of

men on foot carrying their wares in packs. Later, pack horses were

substituted, and by 1830 wagons were used almost exclusively. Owing to

the dangers from hostile Indians, the traders going to Santa Fé or

points in the Rocky Mountains formed themselves into caravans for

mutual protection, with an organized system of guards and camps. See

Gregg's _Commerce of the Prairies_, in our volume xix, pp. 198-201,

for a description of these caravans.--ED.

[84] Andrew Drips was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

(1789), went west, and with eight other St. Louis men formed the

Missouri Fur Company (1820). He was later a member of the independent

firm of Fontenelle and Drips. When the American Fur Company began

their westward expansion, Drips entered into their employ, having

charge after 1836 of annual expeditions to the mountains. In 1842, the

company having encountered strong opposition, the federal government

was prevailed upon to revive the office of Indian agent. Drips served

four years as agent to the Sioux of the upper Missouri, with an annual

salary of $1500. In this capacity, Drips rendered valuable service to

the company. Upon the expiration of his term of office, he re-entered

the company's employment, in which he continued until his death at

Kansas City, Missouri (1860). He married a woman of the Oto Indian

nation. Their daughter, Mrs. William Mulkey of Kansas City, has in her

possession many of her father's valuable papers. See H. M. Chittenden,

_American Fur-Trade of the Far West_ (New York, 1902).--ED.

[85] For a sketch of the Cheyenne, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our

volume v, p. 140, note 88.--ED.

[86] The rendezvous in 1840 was held in the upper valley of Green

River, near Fort Bonneville, in western Wyoming. Near the headwaters

of the Missouri, Columbia, and Colorado rivers, this place was a

natural and well-known meeting point. For a description of Green

River, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 60, note 38; for

the rendezvous at this place in 1834, see Townsend's _Narrative_, in

the same volume, p. 192, note 40.--ED.

[87] For a sketch of the Snake Indians, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in

our volume v, p. 227, note 123.--ED.

[88] In the _Voyages aux Montagnes Rocheuses_, De Smet says, "on the

4th of July, I resumed my travels, with my Flatheads."--ED.

[89] Flathead was a term applied to various tribes of Indians who were

supposed to practice the custom of flattening the heads of their

infants. A division of the Choctaw was known by this name. The tribe

here referred to belonged to the Salishan stock; see Franchère's

_Narrative_, in our volume vi, p. 340, note 145. They were not in the

habit of flattening the head, and the origin of their cognomen is

unknown. The specific tribe visited by De Smet dwelt along the lake

and river which bear their name, with their chief centre in the

Bitterroot Valley. By the treaty of 1855 they ceded to the government

an extensive tract of land in this region, being nearly two degrees in

width and extending from near the forty-second parallel to the British

line. In November, 1871, the president issued an order for their

removal from Bitterroot Valley to the Jocko reservation. Arrangements

were further completed by the article of agreement of August 27, 1872.

After considerable delay they removed thither, and together with the

Pend d'Oreille and Kutenai, kindred tribes, still inhabit the

reservation. See Peter Ronan, _Historical Sketch of the Flathead

Indian Nation_ (Helena, 1890).

The Pend d'Oreille (Ear-ring) Indians, whose native name was Kalispel,

were kindred to the Flathead, speaking a similar dialect. Their

habitat lay northwest of the Flathead proper, upon the Idaho lake and

its tributary river bearing their name.--ED.

[90] The Bishop.--DE SMET.

[91] Evidently a misprint for 27th of August. Consult the succeeding

letter.--ED.

[92] For sketches of the Blackfeet and the Crows, see Bradbury's

_Travels_, in our volume v, pp. 225 and 226, notes 120, 121

respectively. In _Voyages aux Montagnes Rocheuses_, De Smet says that

this camp of Crows consisted of one thousand souls.

The Big Horn River, so called from the Rocky Mountain sheep, rises in

the Wind River range, near the centre of Wyoming, flows north through

the Big Horn Mountains into Montana, and bending toward the northeast

joins the Yellowstone as its principal tributary. South of the Big

Horn Mountains, the stream is usually called Wind River. The Big Horn

Valley, the home of the Crows, was a rich fur-bearing region and

frequently visited by trappers and traders.--ED.

[93] The post visited by Father de Smet was Fort Van Buren, located on

the south bank of the Yellowstone, at the mouth of the Rosebud. It was

built in 1835 by A. J. Tulloch for the American Fur Company, and stood

until 1842, when it was burned by instructions from Charles J.

Larpenteur, who at once ordered the erection of Fort Alexander, on the

north side of the Yellowstone, twenty miles higher up. De Smet was

mistaken when he said that Fort Van Buren was the first fort of the

Yellowstone erected by the American Fur Company. Fort Cass was built

by A. J. Tulloch in 1832 at the mouth of the Big Horn, but three years

later was abandoned. The fourth and last fort erected in this region

by the American Fur Company was Fort Sarpy, on the south side of this

river, twenty-five miles below the old site of Fort Cass. Consult

Major Frederick T. Wilson, "Old Fort Pierre and its Neighbors," with

editorial notes by Charles E. De Land, in _South Dakota Hist. Colls._

(Aberdeen, S. D., 1902), i, pp. 259-379.--ED.

[94] Ensyla (Insula), sometimes called Little Chief because of his

station, also named Red Feather from his official emblem, and christened

Michael because of his faithfulness, was one of the most influential of

the Flathead chiefs, and figures prominently in De Smet's work among the

Indians of his tribe. In 1835 he had visited the rendezvous in Green

River Valley, in the hope of securing missionary aid, and there met

Samuel Parker and Marcus Whitman. See Samuel Parker, _Journal of an

Exploring Tour among the Rocky Mountains_ (Ithaca, 1838), p. 77.

According to L. B. Palladino, _Indian and White in the Northwest_

(Baltimore, 1894), Insula was disappointed not to find a "black robe,"

and preserved his tribe for Catholic missionaries. His integrity,

judgment, and bravery made him highly esteemed.--ED.

[95] For sketches of the Arikara and Sioux, see Bradbury's _Travels_,

in our volume v, pp. 113 and 90, notes 76 and 55 respectively; for the

Assiniboin, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 370,

note 346; for the Gros Ventres, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our

volume v, p. 114, note 76.--ED.

[96] For a more complete account of John de Velder, see succeeding

letter.--ED.

[97] For sketches of Fort Union and James Kipp (not Kipps), see

Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, pp. 373, 345, notes 349,

319 respectively.--ED.

[98] "He has given his angels charge of thee, that they guard thee in

all thy ways."--DE SMET.

[99] For a sketch of the Mandan Indians, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in

our volume v, p. 114, note 76; for an account of their burial customs,

see p. 160, in the same volume; and for the location of their

villages, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxiii, p. 234,

note 192. The smallpox scourge occurred in 1837.

In reference to buffalo-boats or skin-boats, see Maximilian's

_Travels_, in our volume xxiii, p. 279, note 246.--ED.

[100] For the original location of the Arikara villages, see our volume

xxii, pp. 335, 336, notes 299, 300. At the time of the great small-pox

scourge (1837), the Arikara were encamped near the Mandan village. The

latter tribe abandoned their villages, and the small remnant moved some

three miles up the Missouri, where they erected fifteen or twenty new

huts; while the Arikara took possession of their old villages, where De

Smet found them. For their location see our volume xxiii, pp. 254, 255.

When the missionary in the succeeding sentence speaks of starting from

the "Mandan village," he means the former Mandan village, now inhabited

by the Arikara. The latter tribe remained at this site until their

removal to Fort Berthold, about 1862.--ED.

[101] In reference to Fort Pierre, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our

volume xxii, p. 315, note 277. For a description of the Little

Missouri River, more frequently known as Teton or Bad, see our volume

xxiii, p. 94, note 81.--ED.

[102] The reference is to the various divisions of the Dakota or

Sioux; but the classification is unsatisfactory. For recent

classification, see J. W. Powell, U. S. Bureau of Ethnology _Report_,

1885-86, pp. 111-113; also Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii,

p. 326, note 287. By the "Jantonnais" and "Jantons," De Smet intends

the modern Yanktonai and Yankton.--ED.

[103] Vermillion Post, established for trading with the lower Sioux

tribes, was located on the east bank of the Missouri, ten miles below

the mouth of the Vermillion. The shifting of the stream has since 1881

rendered difficult the locating of the old post, which was described

by Audubon, who passed there in 1843; see M. R. Audubon, _Audubon and

his Journals_ (New York, 1897), i, pp. 493, 494. Also consult _South

Dakota Historical Collections_, i, pp. 376, 377. Dickson's post, also

called Fort Vermillion, was some miles above the river of that name.

See our volume xxiv, p. 97, note 73. It is uncertain which post is

intended.--ED.

[104] By the treaty made at Chicago in September, 1833, the

Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa ceded to the United States government

about five million acres of land, whereupon the Potawatomi were

assigned to a reservation between the western borders of the state of

Missouri and the Missouri River, in what was later known as the Platte

purchase. This tract was incorporated with Missouri in 1836, and the

Indian tribe was transferred to a reservation in southwestern Iowa,

with Council Bluffs as their chief village. Here in 1838 Father

Verreydt, with Father de Smet and two lay brothers, laid the

foundation of a mission dedicated to the "Blessed Virgin and St.

Joseph," where De Smet served until his departure for the Flathead

country (1840). Father Christian Hoecken succeeded him. By the treaty

of 1846 the Potawatomi were transferred from Iowa to Kansas, where

another Catholic mission was begun among them, frequently visited by

De Smet in his later life.--ED.

[105] In 1839 Father de Smet undertook a journey from St. Joseph's

mission, at Council Bluffs, into the Sioux territory for the purpose

of effecting a treaty between these tribes and the Potawatomi. He

ascended the Missouri in the steamer of the American Fur Company, on

which J. N. Nicollet, the famous geographer, was likewise a passenger.

See Chittenden and Richardson, _De Smet_, i, pp. 179-192.--ED.

LETTER II

TO THE REV. FATHER ROOTHAAN, GENERAL OF THE

SOCIETY OF JESUS[106]

University of St. Louis, 7th Feb. 1841.

Very Rev. Father:

In a letter, which I suppose has been communicated to you, I informed

the Bishop of St. Louis of the results, as far as they bear on

religion, of my journey to the _Rocky Mountains_. But that letter,

though lengthy, could give you but a very imperfect idea of the desert

which I passed six months in traversing, and of the tribes who make it

the scene of their perpetual and sanguinary rivalship. It will,

therefore, I think, be useful to resume the history of my mission; and

I repeat it the more willingly, since I am called to penetrate again

into those deep solitudes, from which, I may, perhaps, never return.

To my brethren, who take an interest in my dear Indians, I owe an

account of all my observations upon their character and customs, upon

the aspect and resources of the country they inhabit, and upon their

dispositions, that they may know how far they are favorable to the

propagation of the Gospel.[107]

We arrived the 18th of May upon the banks of the _Nebraska_, or _Big

Horn_, which is called by the French by the less suitable name of the

_Flat River_.[108] It is one of the most magnificent rivers of North

America. From its source, which is hidden among the remotest mountains

of this vast continent, to the river Missouri, of which it is a

tributary, it receives a number of torrents descending from the [XXIX]

Rocky Mountains; it refreshes and fertilizes immense vallies, and

forms at its mouth the two great geographical divisions of the upper

and lower Missouri. As we proceeded up this river, scenes more or

less picturesque opened upon our view. In the middle of the Nebraska,

thousands of islands, under various aspects, presented nearly every

form of lovely scenery. I have seen some of those isles, which, at a

distance, might be taken for flotillas, mingling their full sails with

verdant garlands, or festoons of flowers; and as the current flowed

rapidly around them, they seemed, as it were, flying on the waters,

thus completing the charming illusion, by this apparent motion. The

tree which the soil of these islands produces in the greatest

abundance, is a species of white poplar, called cotton tree; the

savages cut it in winter, and make of the bark, which appears to have

a good taste, food for their horses.

Along the banks of the river, vast plains extend, where we saw, from

time to time, innumerable herds of wild Antelopes. Further on, we met

with a quantity of buffaloes' skulls and bones, regularly arranged in

a semicircular form, and painted in different colors. It was a

monument raised by superstition, for the Pawnees never undertake an

expedition against the savages who may be hostile to their tribe, or

against the wild beasts of the forest, without commencing the chase,

or war, by some religious ceremony, performed amidst these heaps of

bones. At the sight of them our huntsmen raised a cry of joy; they

well knew that the plain of the buffaloes was not far off, and they

expressed by these shouts the anticipated pleasure of spreading havoc

among the peaceful herds.

Wishing to obtain a commanding view of the hunt, I got up early in the

morning and quitted the camp alone, in order to ascend a hillock near

our tents, from which I might [XXX] fully view the widely extended

pasturages. After crossing some ravines, I reached an eminence, whence

I descried a plain, whose radius was about twelve miles, entirely

covered with wild oxen. You could not form, from any thing in your

European markets, an idea of their movement and multitude. Just as I

was beginning to view them, I heard shouts near me; it was our

huntsmen, who rapidly rushed down upon the affrighted herd--the

buffalos fell in great numbers beneath their weapons. When they were

tired with killing them, each cut up his prey, put behind him his

favorite part, and retired, leaving the rest for the voracity of the

wolves, which are exceedingly numerous in these places, and they did

not fail to enjoy the repast. On the following night I was awakened by

a confused noise, which, in the fear of the moment, I mistook for

impending danger. I imagined, in my first terror, that the Pawnees,

conspiring to dispute with us the passage over their lands, had

assembled around our camp, and that these lugubrious cries were their

signal of attack.--"Where are we," said I, abruptly, to my guide.

"Hark ye!--Rest easy," he replied, laying down again in his bed; "we

have nothing to fear; it is the wolves that are howling with joy,

after their long winter's hunger: they are making a great meal

to-night on the carcasses of the buffalos, which our huntsmen have

left after them on the plain."

On the 28th, we forded the southern arm of the river Platte.[109] All

the land lying between this river and the great mountains is only a

heath, almost universally covered with lava and other volcanic

substances. This sterile country, says a modern traveller,[110]

resembles, in nakedness and the monotonous undulations of its soil, the

sandy deserts of Asia. Here no permanent dwelling has ever been erected,

and even the huntsman seldom appears in the best seasons of the year. At

all other times the grass is withered, the [XXXI] streams dried up; the

buffalo, the stag, and the antelope, desert these dreary plains, and

retire with the expiring verdure, leaving behind them a vast solitude

completely uninhabited. Deep ravines formerly the beds of impetuous

torrents, intersect it in every direction, but now-a-days the sight of

them only adds to the painful thirst which tortures the traveller. Here

and there are heaps of stones, piled confusedly like ruins; ridges of

rock, which rise up before you like impassible barriers, and which

interrupt, without embellishing, the wearisome sameness of these

solitudes. Such are the Black Hills; beyond these rise the Rocky

Mountains, the imposing land-marks of the Atlantic world. The passes and

vallies of this vast chain of mountains afford an asylum to a great

number of savage tribes, many of whom are only the miserable remnants of

different people, who were formerly in the peaceable possession of the

land, but are now driven back by war into almost inaccessible defiles,

where spoliation can pursue them no further.

This desert of the West, such as I have just described it, seems to

defy the industry of civilized man. Some lands, more advantageously

situated upon the banks of rivers, might, perhaps, be successfully

reduced to cultivation; others might be turned into pastures as

fertile as those of the East--but it is to be feared that this immense

region forms a limit between civilization and barbarism, and that

bands of malefactors, organised like the Caravans of the Arabs, may

here practise their depredations with impunity. This country will,

perhaps, one day, be the cradle of a new people, composed of the

ancient savage races, and of that class of adventurers, fugitives and

exiles, that society has cast forth from its bosom--a heterogeneous

and dangerous population, which the American Union has collected like

a [XXXII] portentous cloud upon its frontiers, and whose force and

irritation it is constantly increasing, by transporting entire tribes

of Indians from the banks of the Mississippi, where they were born,

into the solitudes of the West, which are assigned as their place of

exile. These savages carry with them an implacable hatred towards the

whites, for having, they say, unjustly driven them from their country,

far from the tombs of their fathers, in order to take possession of

their inheritance. Should some of these tribes hereafter form

themselves into hordes, similar to the wandering people, partly

shepherds, and partly warriors, who traverse with their flocks the

plains of Upper Asia, is there not reason to fear, that in process of

time, they with others, may organize themselves into bands of

pillagers and assassins, having the fleet horses of the prairies to

carry them; with the desert as the scene of their outrages, and

inaccessible rocks to secure their lives and plunder?

On the 4th of June we crossed the Ramee, a tributary river of the

Platte.[111] About forty tents erected on its banks, served as

dwellings for a part of the tribe of the Sheyennes. These Indians are

distinguishable for their civility, their cleanly and decent habits.

The men, in general, are of good stature, and of great strength; their

nose is aquiline, and their chin strongly developed. The neighboring

nations consider them the most courageous warriors of the prairies.

Their history is the same as that of all the savages who have been

driven back into the West--they are only the shadow of the once

powerful nation of the Shaways, who formerly lived upon the banks of

the Red River. The Scioux, their irreconcilable enemies, forced them,

after a dreadful war, to pass over the Missouri, and to retreat behind

the Warrican, where they fortified themselves; but the conquerors

again attacked them, and drove them from [XXXIII] post to post, into

the midst of the Black Coasts, situate upon the waters of the Great

Sheyenne River.[112] In consequence of these reverses, their tribe,

reduced to two thousand souls, has lost even its name, being now

called Sheyennes, from the name of the river that protects the remnant

of the tribe. The Sheyennes have not since sought to form any fixed

establishment, lest the Scioux should come again to dispute with them

the lands which they might have chosen for their country. They live by

hunting, and follow the buffalo in his various migrations.

The principal warriors of the nation invited me to a solemn banquet,

in which three of the great chief's best dogs were served up to do me

honor. I had half a one for my share. You may judge of my

embarrassment, when I tell you that I attended one of those feasts at

which every one is to eat all that is offered to him. Fortunately, one

may call to his aid another guest, provided that the request to

perform the kind office be accompanied by a present of tobacco.

In our way from Ramee, the sojourn of the Sheyennes, to the Green

River, where the Flat Heads were waiting for me, we successively

passed the Black Hills, which owe this name not to the color of the

soil and rocks that form them, but to the sombre verdure of the cedars

and pines that shadow their sides; the Red Bute,[113] a central point

by which the savages are continually crossing, when emigrating to the

West, or going up towards the North; and the famous rock,

Independence, which is detached, like an outwork, from the immense

chain of mountains that divide North America. It might be called the

great registry of the desert, for on it may be read in large

characters the names of the several travellers who have visited the

Rocky Mountains. My name figures amongst so many others, as [XXXIV]

that of the first priest who has visited these solitary regions.[114]

These mountains have been designated the _back-bone_ of the world. In

fact a fitter appellation could not be given to these enormous masses

of granite, whose summit is elevated nearly twenty-four thousand feet

above the level of the sea; they are but rocks piled upon rocks. One

might think that he beheld the ruins of a world covered, if I may so

speak, with a winding-sheet of everlasting snow.

I shall here interrupt the recital of my journey, to give a short

account of the different tribes of the mountains, and of the territory

they inhabit. I will join with my own personal observations the most

correct information that I could possibly obtain.

The Soshonees, or Root-diggers, appeared in great numbers at the

common rendezvous, where the deputations from all the tribes assemble

every year, to exchange the products of their rude industry. They

inhabit the southern part of the Oregon, in the vicinity of

California. Their population, consisting of about ten thousand souls,

is divided into several parties, scattered up and down in the most

uncultivated quarter of the West. They are called Snakes, because in

their indigence they are reduced, like such reptiles, to burrow in the

earth and live upon roots. They would have no other food if some

hunting parties did not occasionally pass beyond the mountains in

pursuit of the buffalo, while a part of the tribe proceeds along the

banks of the Salmon River, to make provision for the winter, at the

season when the fish come up from the sea.[115] Three hundred of their

warriors wished, in honor of the whites, to go through a sort of

military parade: they were hideously painted, armed with their clubs,

and covered over with feathers, pearls, wolves' tails, the teeth and

claws of animals and similar strange ornaments, with which each of

them [XXXV] had decked himself, according to his caprice. Such as had

received wounds in battle, or slain the enemies of their tribe, showed

ostentatiously their scars, and had floating, in the form of a

standard, the scalps which they won from the conquered. After having

rushed in good order, and at full gallop, upon our camp, as if to take

it by assault, they went several times round it, uttering at

intervals cries of joy. They at length dismounted, and came and gave

their hands to all the whites in token of union and friendship.

Whilst I was at the rendezvous, the Snakes were preparing for an

expedition against the Black-Feet. When a chief is about to wage war,

he announces his intention to his young warriors in the following

manner. On the evening before his departure, he makes his farewell

dance before each cabin; and everywhere receives tobacco, or some

other present. His friends wish him great success, scalps, horses, and

a speedy return. If he brings back women as prisoners, he delivers

them as a prey to the wives, mothers, and sisters of his soldiers, who

kill them with the hatchet or knife, after having vented against their

unhappy captives the most outrageous insults: "Why are we unable,"

howl these furies, "to devour the heart of thy children, and bathe in

the blood of thy nation!"

At the death of a chief, or other warrior, renowned for his bravery,

his wives, children, and relatives cut off their hair: this is a great

mourning with the savages. The loss of a parent would seem but little

felt, if it only caused his family to shed tears; it must be deplored

with blood; and the deeper the incisions, the more sincere is the

affection for the deceased. "An overwhelming sorrow," they say,

"cannot be vented unless through large wounds." I know not how to

reconcile these sentiments respecting the dead with their conduct

towards the living. Would you believe [XXXVI] that these men, so

inconsolable in their mourning, abandon, without pity, to the

ferocious beasts of the desert, the old men, the sick, and all those

whose existence would be a burden to them?

The funeral of a Snake warrior is always performed by the destruction of

whatever he possessed; nothing, it seems, should survive him but the

recollection of his exploits. After piling up in his hut all the

articles he made use of, they cut away the props of the cabin, and set

the whole on fire. The Youts, who form a separate people, although they

belong to the tribe of the Soshonees,[116] throw the body of the

deceased upon the funeral pile, together with a hecatomb of his best

horses. The moment that the smoke rises in thick clouds, they think that

the soul of the savage is flying towards the region of spirits, borne by

the _manes_ of his faithful coursers; and, in order to quicken their

flight, they, all together, raise up frightful yells. But in general,

instead of burning the body, they fasten it upon his favourite charger,

as on a day of battle; the animal is then led to the edge of a

neighboring river, the warriors are drawn up in a semicircular form, in

order to prevent his escape; and then, with a shower of arrows, and a

universal hurra, they force him to plunge into the current which is to

engulf him. They next, with redoubled shouts, recommend him to transport

his master without delay to the land of spirits.[117]

[XXXVII] The Sampeetches are the next neighbours of the Snakes.[118]

There is not, perhaps, in the whole world, a people in a [XXXVIII]

deeper state of wretchedness and corruption; the French commonly

designate them "_the people deserving of pity_," and this appellation is

most appropriate.[119] Their lands are uncultivated heaths; their

habitations are holes in the rocks, or the natural crevices of the

ground, and their only arms, arrows and sharp-pointed sticks. Two,

three, or at most four of them may be seen in company, roving over their

sterile plains in quest of ants and grasshoppers, on which they feed.

When they find some insipid root, or a few nauseous seeds, they make, as

they imagine, a delicious repast. They are so timid, that it is

difficult to get near them; the appearance of a stranger alarms them;

and conventional signs quickly spread the news amongst them. Every one,

thereupon, hides himself in a hole; and in an instant this miserable

people disappear and vanish like a shadow. Sometimes, however, they

venture out of their hiding places, and offer their newly born infants

to the whites in exchange for some trifling articles.

I have had the consolation of baptizing some of these unfortunate

beings, who have related to me the sad circumstances which I have just

mentioned. It would be easy to find guides among these new converts,

and be introduced [XXXIX] by them to their fellow countrymen, to

announce to them the Gospel, and thus to render their condition, if

not happy, at least supportable through the hope of a better futurity.

If God allows me to return to the Rocky Mountains, and my superiors

approve of it, I shall feel happy to devote myself to the instruction

of these _pitiable people_.

The country of the Utaws is situated to the east and south east of the

Soshonees, at the sources of the Rio Colorado. The population consists

of about 4,000 souls. Mildness, affability, simplicity of manners,

hospitality towards strangers, constant union amongst themselves, form

the happy traits in their character. They subsist by hunting and

fishing, and on fruits and roots; the climate is warm, and the land

very fit for cultivation.

I shall join to this account a brief exposition of the belief of the

savages.[120] Their religious tenets are composed of a few primitive

truths and of gross errors: they believe in the existence of a Supreme

Being, the source of every good, and consequently that he alone is

adorable; they believe that he created whatever exists, and that his

providence over-rules the principal events of life, and that the

calamities which befall the human race are chastisements inflicted by

his justice on our perversity. They suppose, that with this, their

God, whom they call the _Great Spirit_, there exists an evil genius,

who so far abuses his power as to oppress the innocent with

calamities. They also believe in a future life, where every one shall

be treated according to his works; that the happiness reserved for the

virtuous will consist in the enjoyment of such goods as they most

anxiously desired upon earth; and that the wicked shall be punished by

suffering, without consolation, the torments invented by the spirit of

evil. According to their opinion, [XL] the soul, upon its entry into

the other world, resumes the form which our bodies have had in the

present life.[121]

[XLI] What I am going to add applies chiefly to the tribe that I have

been lately instructing. Besides my escort of Flat Heads, I had also

with me an intrepid Fleming, John Baptist de Velder, who formerly

served as a grenadier under Napoleon. From the battle fields of Europe

he betook himself to the forests of the New World, where he has passed

thirty years of his life in pursuit of beavers and bears. During the

Missionary's journey, he was his devoted friend, and the faithful

companion of his dangers. He has now taken the resolution to traverse

the desert only as a guide to the apostles of the Gospel. He had

almost forgotten his native language, except his prayers, and a hymn

in honour of Mary, which his mother taught him when a child, and which

he daily recited, when engaged in the adventurous chase.

I found the Flat Heads and the Ponderas assembled, to the number of

sixteen hundred, in the beautiful Peters' Valley. You know already the

reception they gave me, and I shall never forget it. The enthusiastic

joy with which they welcomed my arrival--the exulting shouts of the

young warriors--the tears of the aged, returning thanks to the Great

Spirit, for having granted them the favour to see and hear a

Black-Gown before their death--that scene, I repeat it, I can never

forget. I shall not recount the religious exercises of my mission, as

the consoling results of them have been already communicated to you.

You will, [XLII] perhaps, take an interest in reading the notes I have

collected regarding the character and habits of my neophytes, during a

sojourn of three months amongst them; living like them, by the chase

and on roots, having only a buffalo's hide for my bed, passing my

nights under the canopy of heaven, when the weather was calm, or

taking shelter under a small tent against the fury of the tempest.

With regard to the character of these Indians, it is entirely pacific.

They never fight, except in circumstances of lawful defence; but they

are, unfortunately, often reduced to this said necessity, in consequence

of the warlike temper of the Black Feet tribe, who are their neighbours

and implacable enemies. That marauding people appear to live only for

murder and pillage.[122] They are the terror of the savages of the

west, who endeavour, as much as possible, to avoid their fatal

encounter. But should the Flat Heads, notwithstanding such precaution,

be forced to fight, their courage is as conspicuous as their love of

peace; for they rush impetuously on their adversaries, whom they prevent

from escaping, and generally make them pay dear for their cruel attacks.

It is a truth which has become proverbial in the mountains, that one

Flat Head, or one of the Ear Rings, is worth four Black Feet. If the

band of the latter meets a detachment of Flat Heads, of equal or

superior numbers, they forthwith appear disposed for peace, unfurl a

standard, and present a pipe, in token of friendship. The Flat Heads

always accept these tokens of amity; but they take care to make their

enemies sensible that the motives which influence their conduct on

such occasions are fully understood. "Black Foot," they say, "I take

your pipe, but be assured that I am aware that your heart is disposed

for war, and that your hands are stained with murder. Let us smoke

[XLIII] together, as you desire it, though I am convinced that blood

will soon be made to flow."

The greatest reproach that could be made to the Flat Heads was their

excessive love for games of chance, in which they often risked all

they possessed. The Indians of Colombia carried this passion to an

almost inconceivable degree; for, after losing their goods, they would

stake their own persons, at first playing for one hand, then for the

other; and if the game continued unfavorable to them, they played

successively for every one of their limbs, and, lastly, for their

head, which, if they lost, they, together with their wives and

children, became slaves for life.

The government of the nation is confided to chiefs, who have merited

this title by their experience and exploits, and who possess more or

less influence, according to the degree of wisdom and courage they have

displayed in council or battle. The chief does not command, but seeks to

persuade; no tribute is paid to him, but, on the contrary, it is one of

the appendages of his dignity to contribute more than any other to the

public expense. He is generally one of the poorest in the village, in

consequence of giving away his goods for the relief of his indigent

brethren, or for the general interests of his tribe. Although his power

has nothing imperious in it, his authority is not the less absolute; and

it may, without exaggeration, be asserted, that his wishes are complied

with as soon as known. Should any mutinous individual be deaf to his

personal command, the public voice would soon call him to account for

his obstinacy. I know not of any government where so much personal

liberty is united with greater subordination and devotedness.

All the mountain tribes differ somewhat from each other in their

dress. The men wear a long robe, made of the [XLIV] skins of the

antelope or sheep, with shoes and gaiters of doe or dog's skin, and a

buffalo hide cloak, covered with woollen cloth, painted in various

colours. The Indian loves to add ornament to ornament: his long hair

is decked with various kinds of feathers, and a great number of

ribbands, rings, and shells. In order to give suppleness to his limbs,

he rubs his body with bear's grease, over which he spreads a thick

layer of vermillion. Children under seven years of age are scarcely

ever clothed, except in winter; they are afterwards dressed in a sort

of tunic, made of skins, which is open under the arms. They spend

whole days amusing themselves in the water, and sometimes even in the

mire. The women wear a large pelerine, adorned with elks' teeth and

several rows of pearls. Amongst the Arikaras, their grand dress

consists of a fine chemise, with doe-skin shoes and gaiters,

embroidered in brilliant colours. A quiver filled with arrows is

suspended from the left shoulder; and a cap of eagles' feathers adorns

the brow of warriors and huntsmen. He that has killed an enemy on his

own land is distinguished by having the tails of wolves tied on his

legs; the bear-killer wears, for a trophy, the claws of that animal as

a necklace; the privilege of a savage who has taken in battle one or

more scalps, is to have a red hand painted on his mouth, to show that

he has drunk the blood of his enemies. The Indian is not less proud of

his horse, the companion of all his excursions and of all his dangers,

and the friend to which he becomes extremely attached. The head,

breast, and the flanks of the noble animal are covered with scarlet

cloth, adorned with pearls and fringes, to which are attached a

multitude of little round bells. Cleanliness is a quality not

possessed by the savage, nor are the women more particular in this

respect than the men; for they never wash their pots or saucepans; and

at [XLV] their meals they often make use of their straw hats, which

have no leaf, instead of bowls.[123]

As I before mentioned, the only prevailing vice that I found amongst

the Flat Heads was a passion for games of chance--it has since been

unanimously abolished. On the other hand, they are scrupulously honest

in buying and selling. They have never been accused of stealing.

Whenever any lost article is found, it is immediately given to the

chief, who informs the tribe of the fact, and restores it to the

lawful owner. Detraction is a vice unknown even amongst the women; and

falsehood is particularly odious to them. A forked-tongued (a liar)

they say, is the scourge of a people. Quarrels and violent anger are

severely punished. Whenever any one happens to fall into trouble, his

neighbors hasten to his aid. The gaiety of their disposition adds a

charm to their union. Even the stranger is received as a friend; every

tent is open to him, and that which he prefers is considered the most

honored. In the Rocky Mountains they know not the use of locks or

bolts.[124]

In looking at this picture, which is in nowise overdrawn, you will

perhaps ask, are these the people whom civilized men call barbarians?

We have been too long erroneously accustomed to judge of all the

savages by the Indians on the frontiers, who have learned the vices of

the whites. And even with respect to the latter, instead of treating

them with disdain, it would perhaps be more just not to reproach them

with a degradation, of which the example has been given them, and

which has been promoted by selfish and deplorable cupidity.

The country inhabited by the Flat Heads is as picturesque as their lives

are innocent. We often met in the neighborhood of the several

encampments of the tribe, majestic torrents, forests with trees that

have been growing for ages, [XLVI] and pastures covered with the

_traveller's tea_, which, although trampled by numberless horses,

embalms the air with its delightful fragrance.[125] We continually

beheld a grand succession of lofty mountains; some delighted the sight

by their blooming verdure and the imposing appearance of the woods that

crowned their summits, while others, as red as brick, bore the

impressions of some great convulsion of nature. At the base of the

latter may be seen piled up layers of lava, and at their tops the

ancient craters are easily distinguished. One day, as the tribe was

proceeding towards the banks of the lake Henry,[126] I felt a desire to

ascend to the top of a mountain, situate between the waters of the

Colombia and the Missouri, in the hope of discovering the exact place

where those two great rivers rise, and the distance between them. I

succeeded in finding one of their sources: they form two torrents,

which, being divided where they rise, by the distance of scarce a

hundred paces, continually diverge as they descend towards the

plain.[127] Their course over the rocks presents an enchanting sight:

they do not flow along, but roll from cascade to cascade; and nothing is

comparable to the beauty of their bounding waters, except the distant

noise of their fall, repeated by the echoes of the solitary mountains.

Finding it impossible to get to the highest top of the mountain that

overlooks these sources, I stopped when I had reached an elevation of

5,000 feet.[128] I then cast my eyes upon the immense region that lay

extended at my feet; I contemplated to myself all the tribes upon the

banks of the Missouri, as far as Council Bluffs: I thought on my dear

colleagues, who are sent by Providence, like angels of salvation,

amongst these savages hordes; and I considered, with mixed feelings of

joy and grief, their labors, consolations, and hopes, and how

disproportionate is their number [XLVII] to the people requiring the

aid of their ministry. Kind people, what futurity awaits thee? Holy

Missioners, what recompense is reserved for your self-devotion? I

remembered that they and I have in heaven a powerful intercessor, in

the illustrious founder of our Society; and in order to interest him

in our dear missions, from the summit of that mountain from which I

could nearly view them all, I placed them under his protection. I

would fain persuade myself that he will not prove forgetful of his

followers, who are endeavoring to plant the Gospel in these countries

where it has hitherto been unknown. Additional apostolic teachers will

come hither to assist us by their zeal, before the vices of

civilization and the proselytism of error have multiplied the

obstacles to the propagation of that faith which all the savages so

anxiously desire to know, and which, like the Flat Heads and the

Ponderas, they would practise with gratitude and fidelity.

The 27th of August was the day I fixed upon for my departure.[129]

Seventeen warriors, chosen from amongst the bravest of the two

nations, and under the command of three chiefs, arrived early in the

morning, before the entrance of my cabin.[130] The council of the

ancients appointed them to [XLVIII] serve as my escort while I should

be in the country of the Black Feet and of the Crows.[131] Of these

two tribes, so hostile to the whites, the former never gives them

quarter, and the latter will sometimes spare their lives only to leave

them, after having robbed them of every thing, to die of hunger in the

desert. As we were liable, every instant, to fall into some ambush, we

had scouts sent in all directions to reconnoitre the place and examine

the defiles; and the smallest trace of a man having passed before us,

was minutely examined. And here we cannot sufficiently admire the

wonderful sagacity with which Providence has endowed the savage: he

will tell you, from the mere footmarks, the exact day on which the

Indian had erected his tent on the spot, and how many men and horses

had been there; whether it was a detachment of warriors or a company

of hunters, and the nation to which they belong. We selected, every

evening, a favorable site for our camp, and raised around it a little

fort with the trunks of dry trees, in order to protect ourselves

against any surprise during the night.

[XLIX] This region is the retreat of grizzly bears, the most terrible

animals of the desert, whose strength equals their daring and

voracity. I have been assured that by a single stroke of his paw, one

of these animals tore away four ribs of a buffalo, which fell dead at

his feet. He seldom attacks man, unless when he has been surprised and

wounded.--An Indian, however, belonging to my escort, in passing by a

thick wood of sallow trees, was assailed by one of these ferocious

beasts, that sprung furiously upon his horse, fixed his formidable

claws in his back, and brought him to the ground. The horseman

fortunately was not mounted at the time, and having his gun in his

hand, the bear instantly disappeared in the depths of the forest.

On the 5th of September we crossed a defile, which had been passed

shortly before by a numerous troop of horsemen. Whether they were

allies or enemies, we had no means to discover. I will here observe,

that in these immense solitudes, although the howling of wolves, the

hissing of venomous serpents, the roaring of the tiger and the bear be

calculated to affright, yet this terror is nothing in comparison with

the dread excited in the traveller's soul, upon seeing the fresh

tracks of men and horses, or columns of smoke rising in the

neighborhood. At such a sight, the escort at once assembles and

deliberates; each one examines his fire-arms, sharpens his knife and

the point of his arrow, and makes, in a word, every preparation for a

resistance, even to death; for, to surrender, in such circumstances,

would be to expose one's-self to perish in the most frightful

torments. The path that we were following led us to a heap of stones,

piled upon a small eminence; they were stained with blood, lately

spilt; my escort examined them with a mournful attention. The

principal chief, a man possessed of much sense, said to me, in a

solemn [L] tone, "Father, I think I ought to give you an explanation

of what we are looking at. The Crows are not far off: in two hours we

shall see them. If I be not mistaken, we are upon one of their fields

of battle; and here their nation must have met with some great loss.

This monument has been erected to the memory of the warriors, who fell

beneath the blows of their enemies. Here the mothers, wives and

daughters of them that died, have been weeping over their tombs. It is

customary for the women to tear their faces, to make deep cuts in

their legs and arms, and to water these tumulary piles with streams of

blood. Had we arrived sooner, we should have heard their cries and

funeral lamentations." He was not mistaken, as we immediately

perceived a considerable troop of savages at a league's distance. They

were the Crows, who were returning to their camp, after having paid

the tribute of blood to forty of their warriors, who were massacred

two years before by the tribe of the Black Feet. Being at present the

allies of the Flat Heads, they received us with transports of joy.

There were groups of women with them, and so disfigured as to excite

both pity and horror. This scene of grief is renewed every year, when

they pass near the tombs of their relations.[132]

The chiefs of the Crows wished to cement, by a great feast, their

alliance with the tribe of our neophytes. As the language of the two

nations is very different, the conversation was made by signs.[133] I

shall endeavor to describe this dumb language, by mentioning to you

how a bargain, at which I was present, was concluded. A young Crow, of

gigantic size, and clad in his best garments, advanced into the midst

of the assembly, leading his horse by the bridle, and placed him

before the Flat Head, with whose horse he offered to make an exchange.

The Flat Head took no notice of him, and kept in an immovable

attitude. The [LI] Crow then placed, successively, at the feet of the

seller, his gun, his scarlet mantle, his ornaments, his gaiters, and,

lastly, his shoes. The Flat Head then took the horse by the bridle,

picked up the clothes, &c., and the sale was concluded without saying

a word. The Crow, though so divested, joyfully mounted his new

courser, and rode several times round the camp, shouting in triumph,

and putting his horse through all his paces.

The principal wealth of the savages of the west consists in horses, of

which each chief and warrior possesses a great number, that may be

seen grazing about their camp. The horses of the Crows are principally

of the Maroon race of the prairies.[134] They have also many horses

which they have stolen from the Scioux, the Sheyennes, and other

Indians of the south-west, which they had in their turn stolen from

the Spaniards of Mexico. The Crows are considered the most

indefatigable marauders of the desert; they traverse the mountains in

all directions, bringing to one side what they have taken at the

other. The name of Atsharoke, or Crow, has been given to them on

account of their robberies.[135] They are practised from their

infancy in this sort of larceny, and they acquire a surprising

dexterity in it; their glory augments with the number of their

captures, so that a finished robber is in their eyes a hero. I

accompanied for two days, these savages, who, I think, were the finest

Indians I had met in all my travels. They passed the whole time in

rejoicings and feasting. You will not be scandalized, I trust, when I

tell you that I was present at twenty different banquets. I was

scarcely seated in one cabin, when I was called to partake of the

festive entertainment in another.

We arrived, at last, at the first fort belonging to the Fur Company.

The Americans, who have here a trading post, received us most

cordially. At this place I was to part with [LII] my faithful Flat

Heads. I therefore told them, that, having before me a country still

more exposed to the incursions of the Black Feet, the Assiniboins, the

Big Bellies, the Arikaras, and Scioux, all of whom are declared

enemies of their tribe, I would no longer peril their lives, on

account of my personal safety; that as for my life, I placed it in the

hands of God, and that I felt a persuasion it would be preserved, in

order that, accompanied by new Missionaries, I might immediately

return to them. I exhorted them for the last time to remain faithful

to the Great Spirit. We embraced each other, wishing, mutually, a

happy return; and shortly after, accompanied by my faithful Fleming, I

disappeared from their sight amidst the solitary defiles. We were to

pass over several hundred miles of country, where no road is yet

traced, and, like the navigator on the boundless ocean, with no other

guide than the compass. For a long time we followed the course of the

Yellow Stone, except when perpendicular rocks arrested our progress

and obliged us to take a circuit. In many places we discovered forts

which the savages are in the habit of raising for defence, or for

concealing themselves, when they are at war, or waiting for their

prey. Perhaps, at the moment of our passing, they were not without

enemies. What a solitude, with its horrors and dangers! but it

possesses one real advantage: with death constantly before our eyes,

we irresistibly feel, without the possibility of illusion, that we are

entirely in the hands of God, without any support but Him, without any

other refuge than his paternal providence; it is then easy to make to

Him the sacrifice of a life which belongs less to us than to the first

savage who wishes to take it, and to form the most generous

resolutions of which man is capable. It was really the best spiritual

retreat that I made in my life.

The second day of the journey, on awaking, I perceived, at the

distance of a quarter of a mile, the smoke of a great [LIII] fire--a

point of a rock was all that separated us from a detachment of

Indians. Without a moment's delay we saddled our horses and set off,

galloping with all speed along the ravines and beds of dried up

torrents. We rode that day, without resting, more than fifteen

leagues, and we did not encamp until two hours after sunset, lest the

savages, having observed our track, should think of pursuing us.--The

same fear prevented us from lighting a fire, which obliged us to

dispense with supper. I wrapped myself in my blanket, stretched myself

on the grass beside my companion, and having recommended myself to

God, I endeavored to beguile hunger by sleep. My grenadier, more

courageous than I, soon snored like a steam engine in full play.

The next morning we were on our way at day-break; we advanced with

caution, for the country appeared full of danger. Towards mid-day we

met a new subject of alarm--we found a buffalo, which had been killed

about two hours previously. We thrilled at the sight, when we thought

that the enemy was not far off; and yet we had reason to thank the

Lord for having prepared the food for our evening meal. The following

night we encamped among rocks, which are the retreat of tigers and

bears. I have already said that the dens of the wild beasts inspire

incomparably less terror to the traveller than the hut of the savage.

I this time slept heavily and well. We always commenced our journey

early in the morning, and each day had new dangers to face, and to

meet occasionally the fresh traces of men and horses. One day we had

to cross a field of tents, which had been recently abandoned; the

fires were not quite extinguished; but happily we met no one. At

length we saw again the Missouri at the very place, where an hour

before, a hundred families of the Assiniboins had passed over it. The

foregoing is only a sketch of the [LIV] long and perilous journey

which we made from the fort of the Crows to fort Union, situated at

the mouth of the Yellow Stone river.[136]

All the country watered by this river abounds in game; I do not think

that there is in all America another place better suited for hunting:

we were continually amidst vast herds of buffalos; we frequently

discovered groups of majestic elks bounding over the plains, whilst

clouds, if I may say so, of antelopes were flying before us with the

swiftness of the wind. The Ashata, or Big Horn, alone appeared not to

be disturbed at our presence: we saw them in groups, reposing on the

edges of the precipices, or sporting on the points of the steep rocks.

The black-tailed roebuck, so richly dressed in its brown coat,

frequently excited our admiration, by its elegant shape, and abrupt,

animated movements, in which it appears scarcely to touch the earth

with its feet.[137] I have already spoken of the grizzly bears, which

are here to be met with in abundance, as well as the wolves, panthers,

badgers and wild cats. Often the traveller sees the prairie hen and

the cock of the mountain start up from the midst of the heath. The

lakes and rivers are covered with swans, geese and ducks: the

industrious beaver, the otter, and the muskrat, together with the

fishes, are in peaceable possession of their solitary waters.

The Arikaras and the Big Bellies, who had been described to us as most

dangerous, received us as friends, whenever we met them on our way.

Before setting out for war, they observe a strict fast, or rather they

abstain from all food for four days. During this interval their

imagination is excited to madness; and, either from the effect of

weakness, or the warlike projects which fill their minds, they pretend

that they have extraordinary visions. The elders and sages of the tribe

are called upon to interpret these reveries; [LV] and they pronounce

them to be more or less favorable to the undertaking. Their explanations

are received as oracles, according to which the expedition is

scrupulously regulated. Whilst the preparatory fast endures, the

warriors make incisions in their bodies, and bury in the flesh, under

the shoulder-blade, pieces of wood, to which they attach leather thongs,

by which they are suspended from a stake, fixed horizontally over the

brink of a chasm a hundred and fifty feet deep. They even sometimes cut

off one or two fingers, which they offer as a sacrifice to the Great

Spirit, in order that they may return loaded with scalps.[138]

In a recent expedition against the Scioux, the Arikaras killed twenty

warriors of the hostile tribe, and piled up the corpses in the middle

of their village. The solemn dance of victory then commenced, at which

men, women, the aged, and children assisted. After having celebrated,

at length, the exploits of the brave, they rushed, like wild beasts,

upon the mangled and bloody bodies of the Scioux, parcelled them

amongst themselves, and fixed the hideous trophies to the end of long

poles, which they carried in proud triumph around the village.

It is impossible to form an idea of the cruelty that presides over the

barbarous revenge of those tribes, who are constantly occupied in

mutual destruction. As soon as the savages learn that the warriors of

a rival nation have set out for the chase, they unexpectedly attack

the enemy's defenceless camp, and massacre the women, old men, and

children in the cradle. Wo to the men who are spared; their agony is

deferred in order to render it more terrible. At other times they lie

in wait in their enemy's path, and allow the detachment to pass on,

until they have in their power such a portion of it as must infallibly

become their [LVI] prey; whereupon they raise the death cry, and pour

upon the enemy a shower of balls, arrows, and pieces of rock; this

movement is the signal of extermination: the battle becomes a

massacre: the sights of horror which would freeze the heart of any

civilized man, serve only to inflame the fury of the savage: he

outrages his prostrate rival, tramples on his mangled carcass, tears

off his hair, wallows in his blood with the delight of a tiger, and

often devours the quivering limbs of the fallen, while they have

scarcely ceased to exist.

Such of the vanquished as have not fallen in the combat are reserved to

adorn the triumph, and are conducted prisoners to the village of the

conquerors. The women come to meet the returning warriors, amongst whom

they seek with anxious looks their husbands and brothers: if they

discover them not, they express their grief by terrific howling. One of

the warriors soon commands silence; he then gives the details of the

fortunate expedition; describes the place selected for the ambuscade,

the consternation of the waylaid tribe, the bravery of the assailants,

and recounts the number of the dead and of the captives. To this

recital, which is made with all the intoxication of victory, succeeds

the calling over the names of the warriors: their absence tells they are

no more. The piercing cries of the women are then renewed; and their

despair presents a scene of frenzy and grief, which exceeds all

imagination. The last ceremony is the proclaiming of victory. Every one

instantly forgets his own misfortunes; the glory of the nation becomes

the happiness of all; by an inconceivable transition, they pass in a

moment from frantic grief to the most extravagant joy.

I know not what terms to use in order to describe the torments which

they inflict on the wretched prisoners: one [LVII] plucks off their

nails, another tears away their flesh; red hot irons are applied to

every part of their bodies; they are flayed alive, and their palpitating

flesh is devoured as food.[139] The women, who, in other nations, are

more accessible to the feelings of pity than the men, here shew

themselves more thirsty for revenge, and more ingenious in the barbarous

refinement of cruelty. Whilst this horrible drama goes on, the chiefs

are gravely seated about the stake at which the victim is writhing. The

latter appears to be only intent on conquering his anguish: often has

the prisoner been seen to brave his executioners, and with a stoic

coolness exclaim, "I fear not death; those who are afraid of your

torments are cowards; a woman of my tribe would despise them. Shame upon

my enemies; they have not even the power to force from me a tear. In

order to take me, they supplied their weakness by strategy; and now, to

revenge themselves, they have assembled an entire people against one

man, and they are unable to triumph over him--the cowards! Oh, if they

were in my place, how I would devour them, how I would sip from their

accursed skulls the last drop of their blood!"

The great village of the Arikaras is only ten miles distant from that of

the Mandans. I was surprised to see around their habitations large and

well cultivated fields of maiz. The latter Indians still manufacture

earthen vases,[140] similar to those which are found in the ancient

tombs of the savages of the United States, and which, according to

antiquaries, are presumed to have belonged to a race much more ancient

than that which now peoples the desert of the west. The jugglers of the

Arikaras enjoy a good reputation, and exercise considerable influence

over their credulous countrymen; they pretend to have communication with

the spirit [LVIII] of darkness.[141] They will fearlessly plunge their

arm into boiling water, having previously rubbed it with a certain root;

they also swallow, without any ill effect, substances on fire, as well

as shoot arrows against themselves. The following is one of the most

singular of their tricks, and one which the Indian sorcerer was

unwilling to perform in my presence, because _my medicine_ (meaning my

religion) _was superior to his_. He had his hands, arms, legs, and feet,

tied with well-knotted cords; he was then enclosed in a net, and again

in a buffalo's skin. The person who tied him had promised him a horse if

he extricated himself from his bonds. In a minute after, the savage, to

the amazement of the spectators, stood before him perfectly free. The

commandant of the neighbouring fort offered him another horse, if he

would reveal to him his secret. The sorcerer consented, saying, "Have

thyself tied; I have at my command ten invisible spirits: I will detach

three of them and put them at thy service: fear them not, they will

accompany thee everywhere, and be thy tutelary genii." The commandant

was disconcerted, or unwilling to make the trial, and thus the matter

terminated.[142]

The last observation which I have to make concerns the redoubtable

tribe of the Scioux. Whoever, amongst these savages, dies in a quarrel

provoked by drunkenness, or as [LIX] the victim of the revenge of a

fellow countryman, receives not the ordinary honours of burial; he is

interred without ceremony and without provisions. The most glorious

death for them is to expire in fighting the enemies of their nation.

Their bodies are, in that case, rolled in buffaloes' skins and placed

upon a raised platform, near their camps or highways.[143] From some

conversations I have had with the chiefs of this tribe, I have every

reason to believe that a mission would produce amongst them the most

consoling effects.

I arrived, at length, at Council Bluffs. It would be vain for me to

attempt to express what I felt, on finding myself again in the midst of

my brethren: I had travelled two thousand Flemish leagues amongst the

most barbarous nations, where I had no sooner escaped one danger than I

met with another. From Council Bluffs to Westport, a frontier city of

the Missouri, I pursued my journey without obstacle or accident. At

Independence,[144] I took the public conveyance, and on the eve of the

new year, I embraced my dear Fathers of the University of St. Louis.

Recommending myself to your prayers,

I am yours, &c.

P. J. DE SMET.

FOOTNOTES:

[106] Jean Philip von Roothan, born in Amsterdam (1785) of Catholic

parents, entered a Jesuit novitiate in Russia (1804) and was educated at

the college of Polotsk. He conducted a mission in Switzerland, and was

the first superior of the province of Turin, when in 1829 he was elected

twenty-first general of the order of Jesuits, an office in which he

continued until his death in 1853. He was much interested in the

over-seas missions, in 1833 issuing an encyclical on their behalf.--ED.

[107] The reader will note that this letter concerns itself with the

same journey as that described in the previous epistle--the first

visit to the Flatheads and return (1840). De Smet wrote several

descriptions of this journey; that contained in his _Voyages aux

Montagnes Rocheuses_ is more detailed than either presented herein. A

translation of the latter is given in Chittenden and Richardson, who

do not reprint this letter to Roothan.--ED.

[108] For a brief description of Nebraska or Platte (flat or shallow)

River, see our volume xiv, p. 219, note 170. It is the common belief

that Nebraska is the aboriginal term for Platte, signifying "Shallow."

De Smet's alternative, "Bighorn," is not found elsewhere. See also

Nebraska Historical Society _Transactions_, i, p. 73--ED.

[109] For the route of the first portion of the Oregon trail, over which

De Smet went out, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 49, note

30. There were several fording places for the South Platte, depending

upon the state of the river. In subsequent pages, De Smet gives a vivid

description of the difficulties and dangers of crossing this stream. See

also Frémont's account in _Senate Docs._, 28 Cong., 2 sess., ii.--ED.

[110] See Washington Irving, _Astoria_ (Philadelphia, 1841), chapter

xxii.--ED.

[111] Laramie River, one of the principal tributaries of the North

Platte, rises in northern Colorado, flows north through Alba County,

Wyoming, and breaking through the Laramie Mountains turns northeast

into the Platte. The name is derived from a French Canadian trapper,

Jacques Laramie, who about 1820 was killed upon its upper waters, by

the Arapaho.--ED.

[112] This information as to the origin of the Cheyenne is derived from

Lewis's _Statistical View_ (London, 1807). See _Original Journals of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition_, vi, p. 100. It is now conceded that the

Cheyenne, with their kindred tribe the Arapaho, probably once dwelt

about the waters of the St. Croix River, in Wisconsin. Their tribal name

(according to Lewis) was Sharha (Shaway), possibly a variant of the

Sioux form Shaiela or Shaiena, whence their present name. Apparently

they were driven northwestward from their Wisconsin habitat, and first

settled upon Cheyenne River, North Dakota--a tributary of Red River of

the North. It is conjectured that they were forced southwest by the

Sioux. The Warreconne, where they made their final stand, is the present

Big Beaver, in Emmons County, North Dakota. According to Cheyenne

tradition, they were formerly an agricultural people, forced into

nomadic habits by these various removals.

The term "Black Coasts" is an incorrect translation of "Côtes Noirs,"

Black Hills. See our volume xxiii, p. 244, note 204.--ED.

[113] For Red Buttes see Townsend's _Narrative_, in our volume xxi, p.

183, including note 31.--ED.

[114] For Independence Rock see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi,

p. 53, note 34.--ED.

[115] For a sketch of this river see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume

xxi, p. 69, note 45.--ED.

[116] The Ute belong, as De Smet says, to the Shoshonean stock, and

originally occupied the country directly south of the habitat of the

Snake Indians, or Shoshoni proper, which extended from the Rocky

Mountains to California. The Ute were divided into numerous bands,

differently classified by various authorities, and when first known to

the whites numbered about four thousand souls. There are now over two

thousand on two reservations--the Southern Ute in southwestern Colorado,

and the other bands on the Unita reservation, in northeastern Utah.--ED.

[117] Although this mode of funeral exists amongst the Snakes, it is

not, however, common to all the Indian tribes. Amongst the people who

live on the borders of lake Abbitibbi, in Lower Canada, as soon as a

warrior happens to die, they wrap the body in a shroud, lower it into

a grave about a foot and a half deep, and place alongside it a pot, a

knife, a gun, and such other articles as are of prime necessity to the

savages. Some days after the burial, the relations of the deceased

assemble to smoke over his grave. They then hang presents upon the

nearest tree, particularly tobacco for the soul of the deceased, which

is to come occasionally and smoke upon the grave, where the body is

laid. They suppose that the poor soul is wandering not far from

thence, until the body becomes putrified; after which it flies up to

heaven. The body of a wicked man, they say, takes a longer time to

corrupt than that of a good man; which prolongs his punishment. Such,

in their opinion, is the only punishment of a bad life.

In Columbia we find that a different custom prevails. There, so soon

as the person expires, his eyes are bound with a necklace of glass

beads; his nostrils filled with aiqua (a shell used by the Indians in

place of money), and he is clothed in his best suit and wrapped in a

winding-sheet. Four posts, fixed in the ground, and joined by cross

beams, support the ærial tomb of the savage: the tomb itself is a

canoe, placed at a certain height from the ground, upon the beams I

have just mentioned. The body is deposited therein, with the face

downwards, and the head turned in the same direction as the course of

the river. Some mats thrown upon the canoe finish the ceremony.

Offerings, of which the value varies with the rank of the deceased,

are next presented to him; and his gun, powder-horn and shot-bag are

placed at his sides.

Articles of less value, such as a wooden bowl, a large pot, a hatchet,

arrows, &c. are hung upon poles fixed around the canoe. Next comes the

tribute of wailing, which husbands and wives owe to each other, and to

their deceased parents, and also to their children: for a month, and

often longer, they continually shed, night and day, tears, accompanied

with cries and groans, that are heard at a great distance. If the

canoe happen to fall down in course of time, the remains of the

deceased are collected, covered again with a winding-sheet, and

deposited in another canoe.--_Extract of a letter from M. Demers,

Missionary among the Savages._

Some individuals of other tribes, seen by Father de Smet on his tour,

are the following: The Kootenays and the Carriers, with a population

of 4,000 souls, the Savages of the Lake, who are computed at about

500, the Cauldrons 600, the Okinaganes 1,100, the Jantons and Santees

300, the Jantonnees 4,500, the Black-Feet Scioux 1,500, the

Two-Cauldrons 800, the Ampapas 2,000, the Burned 2,500, the Lack-Bows

1,000, the Minikomjoos 2,000, the Ogallallees 1,500, the Saoynes

2,000, the Unkepatines 2,000, the Mandans, Big-Bellies, and Arikaras,

who have formed of their remnants one tribe, 3,000, the Pierced-Noses,

2,500, the Kayuses 2,000, the Walla-Wallas 500, the Palooses 300, the

Spokanes 800, the Pointed-Hearts 700, the Crows, the Assinboins, the

Ottos, the Pawnees, the Santees, the Renards, the Aonays, the

Kikapoux, the Delawares, and the Shawanons, whose numbers are unknown.

The following are the names of the principal chiefs, who received the

Missionary in their tents: The Big-Face and Walking-Bear, the

Patriarchs of the Flat-Heads and Ponderas; the Iron-Crow, the

Good-Heart, the Dog's-Hand, the Black-Eyes, the Man that does not eat

cow's flesh, and the Warrior who walks barefooted; the last named is

chief of the Black-Feet Scioux.--DE SMET.

[118] "Sampeetch" was a term applied to a small band of Ute dwelling in

central Utah along the river now known as San Pitch, with a valley and

mountain ranges of the same designation. The name was frequently used in

descriptions of Ute bands until about 1870, when these Indians, reduced

in number to less than two hundred, were segregated upon the Unita

reservation and lost their distinctive appellation.--ED.

[119] In _Voyages aux Montagnes Rocheuses_, containing the French

original of this letter, Father de Smet classes the Paiute and Yampah

Ute with the Sampeetches as the tribes called by the French _les

Dignes de pitié_.--ED.

[120] The following account of the religious beliefs relates to the

mountain tribes with whom De Smet was most familiar, chiefly those of

the Salishan stock.--ED.

[121] A Canadian Missionary, who lived for a long time among the

savages, gives the following account of the popular tradition of the

Indians respecting the creation of the world:--"Water, they say, was

every where formerly; and Wiskain, a spirit, or subordinate deity,

commanded the castor to dive into it, in order to procure some earth.

The castor obeyed the order, but he was so fat that he could not

possibly descend to the bottom, and he had to return without any

earth. Wiskain, nothing discouraged, charged the musk-rat with the

commission which the castor was unable to perform. The new messenger

having remained a long while under water, and with as little success

as the castor, returned almost drowned. The rat expected that he

should not be required a second time, as he had already nearly lost

his life. But Wiskain, who was not discouraged by obstacles, directed

the rat to dive again, promising him, that if he should happen to be

drowned, he (Wiskain) would restore him to life. The rat dived a

second time, and made the greatest efforts to comply with Wiskain's

orders. After remaining a considerable while under the water, he arose

to the surface, but so exhausted by fatigue that he was insensible.

Wiskain, upon a careful and minute examination, finds at length in the

claws of the poor animal a little earth, upon which he breathes with

such effect, that it begins to augment rapidly. When he had thus blown

for a long time, feeling anxious to know if the earth was large

enough, he ordered the crow, which at that period was as white as the

swan, to fly round it, and take its dimensions. The crow did

accordingly, and returned, saying that the work was too small. Wiskain

set about blowing upon the earth with renewed ardour, and directed the

crow to make a second tour round it, cautioning him, at the same time,

not to feed upon any carcass that he might see on the way. The crow

set off again without complaint, and found, at the place which had

been pointed out, the carcass which he was forbidden to touch. But,

having grown hungry on the way, and being also, perhaps, excited by

gluttony, he filled himself with the infected meat, and on his return

to Wiskain, informed him that the earth was large enough, and that he

need not, therefore, resume his work. But the unfaithful messenger, at

his return, found himself as black as he had been white at his setting

out, and was thus punished for his disobedience, and the black colour

communicated to his descendants." The above tradition, which bears

some striking vestiges of the tradition respecting original sin, and

several circumstances of the deluge, makes no mention whatever of the

creation of man and woman; and, however illogical it may be, it is,

perhaps, not more ridiculous than the systems of certain pretended

philosophers of the last century, who, in hatred of revelation, have

endeavoured to explain the formation of the earth, by substituting

their extravagant reveries for the Mosaic account.--DE SMET.

[122] For Pierre's Hole (Peter's Valley) see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our

volume xxi, p. 63, note 41. Concerning the hostile and implacable

character of the Blackfeet tribes consult Bradbury's _Travels_, in our

volume v, p. 220, note 120; also Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume

xxiii, pp. 90-92.--ED.

[123] For a description of these hats, woven chiefly by the Pacific

coast Indians, and an article of traffic with the interior, see

_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, iii, pp. 294,

296, 359-361.--ED.

[124] Compare with this the description of the Flatheads given in 1814

by Ross Cox, _Adventures on the Columbia River_ (New York, 1832), pp.

121-127.--ED.

[125] Probably our author here refers to the sage-brush of the Western

plains, _Artemisia tridentata_.--ED.

[126] De Smet had accompanied the Indians in their journey from

Pierre's Hole westward and then northward along the Teton River to its

junction with the Henry; thence they proceeded up that stream to its

source in Henry Lake, the northeastern corner of Idaho. As the source

of a chief fork of the Snake, this is one of the mountain origins of

the Columbia. It was named for Andrew Henry, an adventurous trader,

for whom see our volume xv, p. 246, note 107.--ED.

[127] Probably the stream that runs into Red Rock Lake, in

southwestern Montana, the source of Jefferson River, the main branch

of the Missouri.--ED.

[128] This was the main chain of the Rockies, on the boundary between

Idaho and Montana, just above the present Reynolds Pass.--ED.

[129] In this letter, Father de Smet does not describe his movements

with the Flatheads, who having crossed to Red Rock Lake advanced

slowly down the Jefferson until August 21, where they camped at the

Three Forks of Missouri, and prepared to lay in their winter's supply

of buffalo meat. There he left them for his return to St. Louis.--ED.

[130] As a beautiful specimen of an affecting farewell address, we take

from the journal of a Canadian Missionary the following discourse spoken

by one of the savages of the Red River, to the Black-Gown who had

converted them, when he was about leaving them. After expressing, in the

name of all the Indians of his locality, the grief which they felt at

the Missionary's departure, he added the following words, which prove

their gratitude to the worthy Priest, who had brought to them the truths

of salvation, and to the members of the Society for the Propagation of

the Faith, whose charity had procured them so great a benefit:--

"Dear Father, you are going to leave us, but we hope to see you again.

We are quite sensible that you naturally wish to see your relations

and friends, your towns and country--we shall find the time of your

absence very long, but the winter is soon over.--We conceived it to be

our duty to assemble before your departure, and to express our

feelings. We shall only say these few words: we formerly led very

wicked lives, and we know this day to what destruction we were

hastening. There was a thick cloud before our eyes; you have dispersed

it; we see the sun. We shall never forget what you have done and

suffered for us.--Go now, go and tell the Prayers, those kind Prayers,

who take pity on us; who love us without knowing us; and who send us

priests; go and tell them that savages know how to remember a benefit;

go and tell them that we also pray for them, in the desire which we

feel to know them, one day, in the abode of our common Father. Set

out, but return and instruct those whom you have baptized: leave us

not forever in affliction; depart, and in the meanwhile remember that

we are counting the days."--DE SMET.

[131] De Smet thus describes his route: "For two days we were going up

the Gallatin, the southern fork of the Missouri; thence we crossed by a

narrow pass (Bozeman's) thirty miles in length to the Yellowstone river,

the second of the great tributaries of the Missouri."--Chittenden and

Richardson, _De Smet_, i, p. 234.--ED.

[132] On the mourning habits of the Western Indians, see our volume

xxiii, p. 362, note 331.--ED.

[133] For references on the Indian sign language see our volume xix,

p. 221, note 56 (Gregg); also our volume xxiv, pp. 300-312.--ED.

[134] In prehistoric times, the horse was indigenous in America.

Evidence thereof was collected by Professor O. C. Marsh, and has

recently been corroborated by the results of the Whitney Exploring

Expedition; see H. F. Osborn, "Evolution of the Horse in America," in

_Century Magazine_, lxix, pp. 3-17. Why this animal became extinct on

the western continent is unknown; but it seems certain that the Spanish

discoverers found no trace thereof among the American Indians, and that

the horses of the plains Indians were derived from those lost or

abandoned by or stolen from the Spanish conquerors of Mexico. These soon

reverted to a wild state and became what De Smet calls "the Maroon race

of the prairies." Upon the changes in the economy of life among American

aborigines, brought about by their possession of the horse, consult A.

F. Bandelier, "Investigations in the Southwest," in Archæological

Institute of America _Papers_, American Series, iii, p. 211.--ED.

[135] Absaroka (Upsahroku) is the name by which the Crows know

themselves, although according to Lewis and Clark it designated but one

band of the tribe. Its significance is uncertain, although usually

thought to be a certain species of hawk. The name "Crow"--literally

raven, but translated "Corbeaux" by the French--is an Anglicized form of

the name given to this tribe by the surrounding Indians, and may refer

to their pilfering tendencies. See our volume v, p. 226, note 121.--ED.

[136] For a sketch of this fort see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our

volume xxii, p. 373, note 349.--ED.

[137] For these two animals, the latter of which is commonly known as

the black-tailed or mule deer, see our volume xix, p. 327, note 137

(Gregg).--ED.

[138] On these ceremonies, see our volume xxiii, p. 324, note 292, and

p. 378, note 350.--ED.

[139] On the subject of cannibalism see our volume xxiii, p. 278, note

242.--ED.

[140] Consult references cited in our volume xxiii, p. 279, note

245.--ED.

[141] See the brief account of Arikara jugglers in Maximilian's

_Travels_, our volume xxiii, pp. 393, 394--ED.

[142] Juggleries are much practised among the savages, although many

of them consider them as so many impostures. Mr. Belcourt, who

witnessed a great many of them, always succeeded in discovering the

deception. One of the most celebrated jugglers acknowledged, after his

conversion to Christianity, that all their delusion consists in their

cleverness in preparing certain tricks, and in the assurance with

which they predict to others what they themselves know not, and, above

all, in the silly credulity of their admirers. They are like our own

calculators of horoscopes.--_Extract from the Journal of a Missionary

in Canada._--DE SMET.

[143] For references on burial customs among the Indians of the

Missouri, see Maximillian's _Travels_, in our volume xxiii, p. 360,

note 329.--ED.

[144] For a sketch of Independence, Missouri, see Gregg's _Commerce of

the Prairies_ in our volume xix, p. 189, note 34.--ED.

LETTER III

Banks of the Platte, 2d June, 1841.

Rev. and Very Dear Father Provincial:

Behold us at last on our way towards the long wished for "Rocky

Mountains," already inured to the fatigues of the journey and full of

the brightest hopes. It is now afternoon and we are sitting on the

banks of a river, which, it is said, has not its equal in the world.

The Indians call it Nebraska or Big Horn; the Canadians give it the

name of la Platte, and Irving designates it as the most wonderful and

useless of rivers. The sequel will show that it deserves these various

affixes. It was to enjoy the freshness and beauty of its scenery that

we travelled more than twenty miles this morning, without breaking

our fast, through a wilderness without a single rivulet to water our

jaded horses, who must therefore rest where they are till to-morrow. I

am far from regretting the delay as it will give me an opportunity of

commencing a letter which, I know, will interest you.

Like all the works of God, our humble beginnings have not been

unattended with trials: our journey had even well nigh been indefinitely

postponed by the unexpected non-arrival of two caravans on which we had

confidently relied; one of hunters, for the American Fur Company; the

other an exploring expedition belonging to the United States, at the

head of which we expected to see the celebrated M. Nicolet.[145] Happily

God inspired two estimable travellers, [LXI] of whom more hereafter, and

afterwards sixty others, to take the same route as ourselves, some for

health, others for science, or pleasure; but the greater number to seek

their fortune in the too highly boasted land of California. This caravan

formed an extraordinary mixture of different nations, every country of

Europe having in it a representative, my own little band of eleven

persons hailing from eight.[146]

The difficulties of setting out once overcome, many others followed

in succession. We had need of provisions, fire-arms, implements of

every kind, waggons, guides, a good hunter, an experienced

captain,--in a word, whatever becomes necessary when one has to

traverse a desert of eight hundred leagues, and expects nothing but

formidable obstacles to surmount, and thieving, and sometimes

murderous, enemies to combat,--and swamps, ravines and rivers to

cross, and mountains to climb, whose craggy and precipitous sides

suddenly arrest our progress, compelling us to drag our beasts of

burden up their steep ascents. These things are not done without toil

and money, but thanks to the generous charity of our friends in

Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Kentucky, St. Louis and New Orleans,[147]

which place I visited in person and which is always at the head of the

others when there is a question of relieving the necessities of the

poor, or showing compassion and munificence to any who may be in need

of assistance, we were enabled by the resources thence supplied, and

by a portion of the funds allowed by the Lyons Association in behalf

of the Indian Missions, to undertake this long journey.