occasion. Ten of the best singers and musicians, each with his peculiar
instrument, squat in the middle of the akkaro. Four of them have dried
calabashes in their hands, from which the seeds have been extracted and
small pebbles placed in their stead, which being shaken by the muscular
arms of these gigantic savages, produce a sound like falling hail. Four
others beat their tekapiroutche—this is a kind of drum of a most mournful
and deafening sound; it is made from the trunk of a tree and is about
three feet long and one-and-a-half broad, covered at both ends with deer
skin. The remaining two have a kind of flute made of reeds, about two
feet long and one inch in diameter, instruments, such as were used by
{361} the ancient shepherds, and which give forth sounds that may be
heard at the distance of half a mile. They fasten to each instrument a
little tewaara, or medicine bag, filled with roots and other materials,
to which, in their superstitious rites, they attach a supernatural power,
that renders their offering more agreeable to the Author of life. Four
sentinels, each armed with a lance, take their position at the four
cardinal points of the lodge, to maintain order among the spectators
and to prevent the entrance of the women, young girls and children.
The guests are seated upon the ground or upon mats on the right and
left of the presiding juggler, turning around from time to time in the
most grotesque and ridiculous dances. Imagine thirty swarthy savages,
with their bodies tattooed; their faces besmeared with paint—white,
black, made of soot and the scrapings of the kettles, yellow, green and
vermilion; and their long and dishevelled hair clotted with mud or clay.
Placing themselves in a circle, they shriek, they leap, and give to
their bodies, their arms, their legs, and their heads a thousand hideous
contortions; while streams of perspiration, pouring down their bodies,
render the horrors of their appearance still more dreadful, by {362} the
confused commingling of the colors with which they are smeared—now they
crowd together pell-mell, then separate, some to the right, some to the
left, one upon one foot, another upon two, while others go on all-fours
without order, and although without appearance of measure, yet, in
perfect harmony with their drums, their calabashes and their flutes.
Near the centre of the hut, at about four feet from the fire-place, are
placed four large buffalo heads, dissected, in order that they may take
the augury. The presiding juggler, the musicians and the dancers have
their heads covered with the down of the swan, which sticks to them by
means of honey, with which they smear their hair—a practice common to all
the tribes of North America in their superstitious rites. The president
or presiding juggler alone is painted with red, the musicians, one half
red and the other half black, while all the others are daubed with all
colors, and in the most fantastic figures.
Each time that the music, the songs and the dances are performed, the
spectators observe the most profound silence, and during the space of
thirty minutes that the extraordinary charivari continues, nothing
is heard but the chants, the cries, the howlings and the music. When
all {363} have figured in the dance, the presiding juggler gives the
signal to stop, crying out with all the force of his lungs. Immediately
all cease, each one takes his place, and the auditory responds: “Néva!
Néva! Néva!” it is well, it is well, it is well! The dancers then fill
the ancient nawishkaro, or religious calumet, which is used only upon
occasions the most important. They offer it to the president, who,
striking with both his hands the long pipe, adorned with pearls and
worked with different figures, goes and squats himself down by the
fire-place. One of the guards places a coal upon the mysterious calumet.
Having lighted it, he rises and gives a puff to each of the musicians
without once slacking his hold from the pipe. He then turns towards the
centre, and raising his eyes towards heaven, he offers the calumet to the
Master of life, resting for a moment in majestic silence: then, offering
three puffs to heaven, he speaks these words: “O, Tirawaat! Thou who
beholdest all things, smoke with thy children, and take pity on us.”
He then offers the calumet to the buffalo heads, their great manitous,
salutes each of them with two puffs, and then goes to empty the bowl of
the pipe in a wooden dish, prepared for that purpose, that the sacred
ashes {364} may be afterwards gathered and preserved in a deer-skin
pouch.[352]
[Illustration: Buffalos discovered]
After the dance, the master of ceremonies serves up the repast to the
guests, seated in a circle. The food consists of dried buffalo meat and
boiled maize, served in wooden plates, filled to the brim. Each one is
bound to empty his plate, even should he expose himself to the danger of
death from indigestion. The president offers a portion of the meat and
maize to the Great Spirit, and places it accordingly upon the ground, and
he then makes a similar offering to one of the buffalo heads, which is
supposed to be a party to the feast. At length, while each one occupies
himself with doing honor to his plate, one of the chiefs of the band
rises up and announces to all the guests that the Master of life dances
with him, and that he accepts the calumet and the feasting. All the band
reply: “Néva! Néva! Néva!” This is the first condemnation.
{365} The repast ended, they again dance, after which the calumet is
lighted the second time; and, as in the former instance, is offered to
the Master of life and to the buffalo heads, upon which, the lodge again
resounds with the triple cry, “Néva!” This last dance condemns, without
appeal, the unfortunate victim whose immolation is invoked.
After all their grotesque dances, their cries, their chants and their
vociferations, the savages, preceded by the musicians, go out of the
lodge, to present the sacred calumet to the buffalo heads placed on
the tops of the lodges of the village, each of which is ornamented
with from two to eight heads, preserved as the trophies of their skill
in the chase. At each puff the multitude raise a furious cry, for now
the whole village joins in the extraordinary procession. They stop
before the lodge of the Sioux girl, and make the air resound with the
horrible imprecations against their enemies and against the unfortunate
and innocent victim, who represents them on the present occasion. From
this moment she is guarded by two old satellites, whose office it is
to beguile her from the least suspicion that she is the victim for the
coming sacrifice; and whose duty it also is to entertain {366} her upon
the great feast, they prepare on the occasion in her honor, and that she
may be well fed in order to appear more beautiful and fat, and thereby
more agreeable to the Master of life. This ends the first day of the
ceremonies.
On the second day, two old female savages, with dishevelled hair, their
faces wrinkled and daubed with black and red paint, their naked arms
and legs tattooed, barefooted, and with no other dress than a deer-skin
petticoat, extending down to the knee—in a word, two miserable-looking
beldams, capable of striking terror in any beholder,—issue from their
huts with pipes in their hands, ornamented with the scalps which their
husbands have taken from their unhappy enemies. Passing through the
village, they dance around each akkaro, solemnly announcing, “that the
Sioux girl has been given to the Master of life by wise and just men,
that the offering is acceptable to him, and that each one should prepare
to celebrate the day with festivity and mirth.” At this announcement, the
idlers and children of the village move about and shout with joy. They
then, still dancing, re-conduct the two old squaws to their huts, before
which they place their pikes as trophies, and enter.—All then {367}
return to their own lodge, to partake of the feasts of their relatives.
About ten o’clock in the morning of the third day, all the young women
and girls of the village, armed with hatchets, repair to the lodge of
their young and unhappy captive, and invite her to go into the forest
with them to cut wood.—The simple-hearted, confiding child, accepts their
malicious invitation with eagerness and joy, happy to breathe once more
the pure air.—They then give her a hatchet, and the female troop advance
towards the place marked out in the dance, making the forest resound with
shouts of joy. Atipaat, an old squaw who conducted them, designates, by
a blow of the hatchet, the tree which is to be cut down. Each then gives
it one blow, after which the victim approaches to complete the work. As
soon as she commences what seems to her but pastime, the whole crowd of
young furies surround her, howling and dancing. Unconscious that the
tree is to supply the wood for her own sacrifice, the poor child pursues
her work as if a great honor had been reserved for her.—Atipaat, the old
woman, then fastens to her the ashki[353] with which to draw the wood.
{368} The troop then lead the way towards the village, dancing as they
pass along, but giving the hapless victim almost no assistance in
dragging her load. An innumerable multitude attend them to the place of
sacrifice, and receive them with loud acclamations. They there relieve
her of her burden and again place her in the hands of the guards,
who, with voices harsh and quivering, chant the great deeds of their
younger days and re-conduct her to her lodge. In the meantime the whole
band assist to arrange the wood between two trees, after which they
immediately disperse.
On the morning of the fourth day, before sunrise, a savage visits all the
lodges to announce to each family, in the name of the Master of life,
that they must furnish two billets of wood about three feet long for the
sacrifice.
Then thirty warriors issue from their lodges, decked in all sorts of
accoutrements; their heads adorned with deer and buffalo horns, with the
tails of horses and the plumes of the {369} eagle and heron, interwoven
with their scalp-locks, while the tails of wolves and wild cats stream
from various parts behind, as the wings of Mercury are represented, with
pendants hanging from their noses and ears, so elongated by the weight of
the ornaments suspended to them, that they float about and strike against
their shoulders.—Glass beads, or necklaces of brass or steel adorn their
necks, while highly-ornamented deer-skin leggins and curiously-painted
buffalo-skins, negligently thrown over their shoulders, complete their
grotesque habiliments. Thus accoutred they present themselves at the
hut of their captive, who is already adorned with the most beautiful
dress their fancy can devise, or the materials at their command produce.
Her head-dress is composed of the feathers of the eagle and swan, and
descends behind in gracefully waving curves, even to the ground. Her
person is properly painted with red and black lines. A frock of deer-skin
descends to the knee, while a beautiful pair of leggins extend from
thence to the ankle. A pair of moccasins garnished with porcupine quills,
pearl and glass beads, are on her feet. Pendants hang from her ears
and nose, a necklace ornaments her neck, and bracelets her arms; {370}
nothing was spared that could add to her beauty.
Tranquillity and joy distinguishes her as she approaches the grand feast,
which she has been made to believe her kind guardians have prepared to
honor her. At the first cry of the warriors, the poor child comes out of
the hut and walks at the head of her executioners, who follow in single
file. As they pass along they enter into all the huts, where the most
profound silence and the utmost propriety reign. The Sioux girl walks
around the fire-place, her followers do the same, and, just as she leaves
the lodge, the principal squaw gives her two billets of wood, which the
unconscious victim gives in her turn to each of the savages. In this
manner, when she has been made to collect all the wood to serve for her
immolation, she takes her place in the rear of the band, joyous and
content that she has had the happiness to contribute to the pleasure of
her executioners; after which they again restore her to her two guards,
to be presented with her last repast, which consists of a large plate of
maize.
All now wait in anxious expectation to witness the last scene of the
bloody drama. The whole village is in commotion. Everywhere {371} the
warriors, old and young, may be seen preparing their murderous arrow,
as upon the eve of a battle. Some practice shooting at a mark; the
more barbarous, thirsting for the blood of their enemies, encourage
and instruct their children in the use of the bow and arrow, and what
part of the body they ought to strike.—The young women and girls devote
themselves to clearing away the brushes and preparing the place of
sacrifice, after the accomplishment of which, they employ themselves
during the rest of that day and night in polishing their necklaces,
pendants and bracelets, and all the other ornaments in which they wish to
appear at the great feast.
On the fifth day, an aid-de-camp of Lechartetewarouchte, or the chief
of sacrifice, ran through the village to announce, in the name of his
master, the necessity of preparing the red and black paint, which is
to serve for the grand ceremony. It is vain to attempt to give you, my
dear sir, an adequate description of this personage, either as regards
his costume, his figure, or his manner; it is everything that a savage
can invent of the fantastic, the ridiculous and the frightful, united in
one person. The collector of colors himself scarcely yields {372} to his
comrade in monstrosity. He has the appearance of one, truly, just escaped
from the infernal regions. His body is painted black, which, contrasted
with the whiteness of his teeth and of his huge eyes, and with his hair
besmeared with white clay, and bristling like the mane of a lion, gives
him an aspect terrible and ferocious in the extreme. At each heel is
fastened the tail of a wolf, and on his feet a pair of moccasins made
of buffalo skin, with the long shaggy hair on the outside. He passes
through the whole village with a measured step, holding a wooden plate
in each hand. He enters the huts successively, and, as he approaches
the fire-place, he cries aloud: “The Master of life sends me here.”
Immediately, a woman comes and empties into one of his plates either some
red or some black paint, which she had prepared. Upon the reception of
which, he raises his eyes to heaven, and with a loud voice says: “Regard
the love of thy children, O Tirawaat! However poor, all that they possess
is thine, and they give it to thee. Grant us an abundant harvest. Fill
our hunting-grounds with buffaloes, deer, stags and antelopes. Make us
powerful against our enemies, so that we may again renew this great
sacrifice.” {373} Each one replies by the usual exclamation: “Néva! Néva!
Néva!”
After the return of the collector of colors, and before sunrise, the last
scene commences. Men and women, boys and girls, daub themselves in all
the colors and forms imaginable. They deck themselves in whatever they
possess which in their estimation is either beautiful or precious—pearls,
beads, porcelain collars, the claws of the white bear, (this is in their
view the most costly and valuable decoration) bracelets and pendants;
nothing is forgotten on this occasion. They ornament their hair with the
feathers of the heron, and of the gray eagle, a bird superstitiously
venerated by them. Thus equipped for their sortie, they listen
attentively for the first signal to the sacrifice.
While these preparations are in progress, the Tewaarouchte, a religious
band of distinguished warriors, known in the procession by the down of
swans upon their hair or upon the tops of their heads, and by their naked
bodies painted in red and black lines, follow the braves of the nation
armed with their bows and arrows, which are sedulously concealed beneath
their buffalo robes. Thus they approach the lodge where the unconscious
victim awaits, as she thinks, {374} the happy moment for the festivities
given in her honor, to commence. She is now delivered into the hands
of her executioners, dressed in the beautiful costume of the previous
day, with the addition of a cord tied to each ankle. The poor child is
all interest and in a kind of impatience to participate in the grand
festivities. She smiles as she looks round upon the most cruel and the
most revengeful enemies of her race. Not the slightest agitation, fear,
or suspicion, is visible in her manner. She walks with joy and confidence
in the midst of her executioners. Arrived at the fatal spot, a frightful
presentiment flashes across her mind. There is no one of her own sex
present. In vain do her eyes wander from place to place, in order to
find the evidences of a feast. Why that solitary fire? And those three
posts, which she herself drew from the forest, and which she saw fastened
between two trees, and those swarthy figures of the warriors, what can
they mean? All, all indicate some dreadful project. They order her to
mount the three posts. She hesitates, she trembles as an innocent lamb
prepared for the slaughter. She weeps most bitterly and with a voice
the most touching, such as must have broken any other hearts than those
of these {375} savage men, she implores them not to kill her. With a
persuasive tone they endeavor to convince her that their intention is
not to injure her, but that the ceremonies in which she participates
are indispensable before the grand feast. One of the most active of the
savages unrolls the cords tied to her wrists and assists her to mount to
the post. He passes the cords over the branches of the two trees, between
which the sacrifice is to be made.
These are rendered firm by the powerful arms of the other savages, and
her feet immediately fastened to the topmost of the three posts, which
she had unconsciously cut and drawn to the fatal spot. On the instant all
doubt of their intentions vanishes from her mind. The savages no longer
conceal from her their frightful project. She cries aloud, she weeps, she
prays; but her supplications, her tears and her prayers are alike drowned
in the melée, and cry of their horrible imprecations against her nation.
Upon her innocent and devoted head they concentrate the full measure of
their vengeance, of all the cruelties, of all the crimes, of all the
injustice and cruelty of the Sioux, which may have taken place in their
most cruel and protracted {376} wars, and which from time immemorial had
been transmitted from father to son, as a precious heritage of vengeance
and resentment. In a manner the most furious and most triumphant they
exult with leaping and howling, like wild beasts, around their trembling
victim. They then despoil her of all her ornaments and of her dress,
when the chief of the sacrifice approaches and paints one-half of her
body black and the other half red, the colours of their victims. He
then scorches her armpits and sides with a pine-knot torch. After these
preparatory rites, he gives the signal to the whole tribe, who make the
air resound with the terrible war-cry of the Sassaskwi. At this piercing
cry, which freezes the heart with terror, which paralyzes the timid and
rouses the ardor of the brave, which confounds the buffalo in his course,
and fills the bear with such fear as to take from him all the power of
resisting or fleeing from his enemies, the savages, impatient and greedy
for blood, issue from their dark lodges. Like a terrific hurricane they
rush headlong to the fatal spot. Their cries, mingled with the noise
of their feet, resemble the roar of thunder, increasing as the storm
approaches. As a swarm of bees surround their queen, these Pawnee savages
{377} encompass the Sioux child—their trembling victim. In the twinkling
of an eye, their bows are bent and their arrows adjusted to the cords.
The arrow of Lecharitetewarouchte, or chief of the sacrifice, is the
only one which is barbed with iron. With this, it is his province to
pierce the heart of the innocent Dakotha. A profound silence reigns for
an instant among the ferocious band. No sound breaks the awful stillness
save the sobs and piteous moans of the victim, who hangs trembling in the
air, while the chief of the sacrifice makes a last offering of her to
the Master of the universe. At that moment he transfixes her through the
heart—upon the instant a thousand murderous arrows quiver in the body of
the poor child. Her whole body is one shapeless mass, riddled with arrows
as numerous as are the quills upon the back of the porcupine.
While the howling and the dancing continue, the great chief of the
nation, mounting the three posts in triumph, plucks the arrows from the
dead body and casts them into the fire. The iron-barbed arrow being the
only one preserved for future sacrifices. He then squeezes the blood from
the mangled flesh, upon the maize and other seeds, which stand around
in baskets ready {378} to be planted; and then, as the last act of this
cruel and bloody sacrifice, he plucks the still palpitating heart from
the body, and, heaping the fiercest imprecations upon the enemies of his
race, devours it amidst the shouts and screams of his people. The rite
is finished. The haughty and satisfied savages move away from the scene
of their awful tragedy; they pass the remainder of the day in feasts and
merriment. The murdered and deformed body hangs where it was immolated, a
prey to wolves and carnivorous birds. I will end this painful tragedy, by
giving you an extract of a former letter.
“Such horrid cruelties could not but bring down the wrath of Heaven upon
their nation. As soon as the report of the sacrifice reached the Sioux,
they burned with the desire to avenge their honor, and bound themselves
by oaths that they would not rest until they had killed as many Pawnees
as their innocent victim had bones or joints in her body. More than a
hundred Pawnees have at length fallen under their tomahawks, and their
oaths have since been still more amply fulfilled in the massacre of their
wives and children.
“In view of so much cruelty, who could mistake the agency of the arch
enemy of mankind, {379} and who could refuse to exert himself to bring
these benighted nations to the knowledge of the One only true Mediator
between God and man, and of the only true sacrifice without which it is
impossible to appease the Divine justice?”
With sentiments of respect and esteem,
I remain, my dear sir, yours, &c.
_Peter J. De Smet, S. J._
No. XXVII
A. M. D. G.
EXTRACT FROM THE MISSIONARY’S JOURNAL
To-day, 17th August, we pitched our tents upon the borders of a winding
stream, in the heart of a wild, mountainous country, whose deep ravines
and gloomy caverns are well suited for the dens of wild animals. Great
as our expectations were of finding here abundance of game, they were
not deceived. In less than an hour our hunters killed as many as twelve
bears. During the night, an event of a far more serious nature occurred.
The sudden firing of a gun roused us from slumber. Every warrior was on
the alert; that shot could have proceeded from no hand save that of a
“Black-Foot!” We looked at one another in silent anticipation. Who, then,
had been the sufferer? The painful question was quickly answered. It was
the {381} poor widow Camilla, one of the Sinpoil tribe.[354] The ball had
passed through her throat, and she expired without a groan! Happily, her
soul was ripe for Heaven. From the period of her first communion, she
had never passed a Sunday without approaching the holy table, nor was
her baptismal robe sullied by the slightest stain. The funeral obsequies
were performed on the banks of Yellow-Rock River,[355] because that
spot was better suited than any other to conceal her sepulchre from the
avaricious Black-Foot assassin. All things work together for good to them
that love God; this death, terrible, indeed, in the sight of men, but
precious in the eyes of the Lord, became the source of a good work. The
murdered woman left two daughters, both very young; had her life been
spared, she would not, perhaps, have been able to shield their innocence
from the dangers to which it would have been exposed; but, now, they were
immediately adopted by Ambrose, chief of the Flat-Heads, and father of a
numerous family; in his noble heart, charity, piety, and confidence in
God, go hand-in-hand with his courage.
At the distance of a few gun-shots from Yellow-Rock, the buffaloes made
their appearance. {382} One of them plunged into the river to avoid the
death which threatened him, swam rapidly down the current, then suddenly
tacked about to escape his pursuers; and, finally, exhausted by his
efforts, unable longer to contend with his fate, came out of the river,
and stretched himself upon the turf at the entrance of our camp, where
his presence caused no other mischief than that of exciting the mirth of
the women and children.
Farther on, two bears were seen making their way through the bushes.
The young people, who were the first to perceive them, announced their
discovery by loud yells. Immediately, a Black-Foot, a friend of the
Flat-Heads, sprang forward with the intention of giving the first blow
to the common enemy; but the sagacious animal, anticipating his design,
rushed from his lair, and fastened his enormous claws on the uplifted arm
of the young Indian, whose situation would have been desperate, had not
a Flat-Head come to his assistance. A few days after, another converted
Black-Foot, finding himself in the same circumstances, and wishing to
show that he knew better than his comrade how to kill bears, went {383}
about it in the same manner, and shared the same fate; a punishment which
his temerity richly deserved.
[Illustration: A Prayer for success in hunting.]
Whilst we were encamped in this place, several chiefs of the Corbeaux
tribe came to visit the Flat-Heads, accompanied by the flower of their
young warriors. They spoke with enthusiasm of the visit their nation had
received from a Black-gown in 1842, and expressed great desire for the
time to come when they, like the Flat-Heads, would enjoy the privilege
of having Black-gowns always with them, to instruct them in heavenly
things. They still observe the superstitious practices of the calumet.
To render the odor of the pacific incense agreeable to their gods, it is
necessary that the tobacco and the herb (skwiltz), the usual ingredients,
should be mixed with a small quantity of buffalo’s dung, and that the
_great pipe_, after having gone round the lodge, should re-commence the
circuit as soon as it arrives at the opening, without which ceremony they
imagine it would be useless to smoke with their brethren, or incense,
as they do, the heavens, earth, four cardinal points, and medals of
Washington and Jackson.
Nothing but misfortunes could await them. {384} Whilst they remained
with us, we buried a Pend-d’Oreille Indian, who had died shortly
after baptism, strengthened by all the sacraments of the church. This
ceremony, which was performed with more than ordinary pomp in honor of
the visitors, was concluded by the solemn erection of the cross on the
grave of the deceased. May the remembrance of these last duties paid to
a departed child of the church, increase in the hearts of the Corbeaux
the desire of knowing Him, without the knowledge of whom there is no
salvation. The following day they returned to their own camp.
The Pierced-Noses were now on their way to their own country; the
Flat-Heads, on the contrary, were still in pursuit of game; for, although
the season was far advanced, they had not yet commenced to lay in their
winter provisions. Early the following morning, we struck our tents and
resumed our march. We had not proceeded far, when our attention was
attracted by a herd of buffaloes quietly feeding in the beautiful valley
at our feet. They were so numerous, that each of the hunters killed
several. The slaughter of these animals was but the prelude of that
which was to take place on the following days. Our hunters brought in
{385} game in abundance. On one occasion, they returned laden with the
spoils of 344 fat cows. We encamped in the very heart of the Black-Foot
territory, yet the howling of wolves and bears, calling one another to
their nocturnal repast, was the only sound that disturbed our repose.
The hunting season is a time of rest for the missionary, of intimate
union with his God, of renovation for his soul! It was in this spirit
I received, with humble gratitude, the short but severe illness with
which I was visited at this period. I regarded it, likewise, as sent
me in punishment for the too natural pleasure I felt in contemplating
the strange and varied scenes by which I was surrounded. During our
encampment in this spot, I had the consolation of baptizing ten adults.
An unexpected fall of snow warned us that it was time to think of our
return. The chief accordingly gave orders for all to be in readiness to
set out the following day. The weather was clear, but intensely cold;
and, suffering as I still was, from the effects of my recent illness, I
had great difficulty in supporting its severity. We were, however, soon
cheered by milder days, and warmer sunshine. Our young hunters were, once
more, all animation. The pleasures {386} of the chase were resumed as far
as the good order necessary for the homeward march would permit. Even the
children caught the general spirit, and bounded off in pursuit of some
smaller animal, which the elated winner of the race never failed to bring
back on his shoulder.
We were now entering the defile where we had before met with such
brilliant success. At almost every step we fell in with some straggler.
At one time, an old decrepit buffalo; at another, a fat cow, and
sometimes a playful calf, whose dam had already fallen a victim. These
animals were an easy prey, and their capture was a new source of sport
for the boys.
On the 28th I retired to the summit of a neighboring mountain, to read
the vespers of St. Michael. The atmosphere was unusually serene; not
a sound disturbed the silence of nature. I gazed on the quiet beauty
of the scene, hushed, as it were, in the presence of God, and my heart
dilated at the thought of the thousands of unconverted Indians, buried
in the darkness of idolatry. Full of these thoughts, I raised my eyes,
and, excited as my imagination was, it seemed to me that I beheld the
archangel, Michael, standing on the opposite mountain, exclaiming,
“Deluded nations! Who is {387} like unto God?” The voice resounded
through the forests—it was echoed by the deep ravines. I fancied it was
heard and understood by the wild children of the woods; their responding
shouts rung in my ear. Yielding to the enthusiasm of my feelings, I
hastily quitted my elevated position, and erected a wooden cross on the
summit of a neighboring eminence. Some days after, a hunter discovered,
near the half-consumed embers of an extinguished fire, a similar cross,
to which a banner was attached. My first thought was, that it had been
planted there by some Catholic, who had lost his way in the forest, and
been devoured by the wolves. The Flat-Heads, however, well acquainted
with the practices of their ancient foes, the Black-Feet, informed me
that it was a custom among them to erect these crosses to the moon, in
order to render her favorable to the robbery or chase, in which they were
about to engage. This information dispelled the pleasing fancies in which
I had indulged; and painfully reminded me that the God-Saviour is yet far
from being adored in these wild abodes. May we not hope that the time
will yet come, when the banner of the true cross will wave triumphant
o’er this benighted land!
{388} The obstacles which have hitherto prevented the missionaries from
penetrating into the Black-Feet territory are now beginning to disappear,
and there is every prospect of our soon being able to commence the
glorious work of their conversion.
The next day we entered a mountain pass, where the foot of man had seldom
trodden, as was proved by the fact, that fifteen beavers were taken in
one night by three hunters. After following for some time the circuitous
windings of the ravine, we came to an ascent so slippery, that at every
instant I was in anticipation of some sad catastrophe. Presently a
sumpter-horse missed his footing and fell, rolling down the precipice.
Who, that had seen him fall from rock to rock, would ever have thought,
that in a few minutes he would be journeying on, laden as before! Without
uttering a single word, the guide made her way through the deep snow to
the spot where the poor animal lay, unloaded him, raised him from the
ground, replaced his burden, and brought him back to the rear of the
troop.
We continued our route until sunset, along the mountain’s summit; at
length, after a forced march of ten hours, we pitched our tents on a
{389} beautiful island, where we enjoyed both security and repose.
Surrounded by the waters of the Missouri, and abounding in rich pastures,
this charming spot seems, as it were, destined by nature as a place of
rest for the wearied traveller.
It would have been impossible to contemplate without admiring the
loveliness of the landscape. From the southern coast of the river arose a
ridge of mountains, whose varied colors of blue, red, green, and yellow,
gave them a striking appearance; the effect of which was heightened by
a small stream, leaping from rock to rock, in the form of a cascade,
cooling the parched ground, insinuating itself into the crevices of the
rocks, and giving birth to an infinite variety of creeping plants, and
flowering shrubs.—The island itself is beautiful beyond description. The
scenery is diversified by groups of the majestic buttonball, which, in
this country, is the giant of the vegetable kingdom. It was under the
shade of one of these noble trees that our hunters prepared to celebrate
the feast of the Maternity. The sun’s last rays had long disappeared
beneath the horizon, ere all was ready for the evening prayer. After
which, notwithstanding the fatigues of the day, a large {390} fire was
kindled before my tent, and the greater part of the night consecrated by
these fervent children of the woods, to the reconciliation of their souls
with God. The following day the Holy Sacrifice was celebrated with as
much solemnity as the circumstances would permit. Of the ninety persons
who then approached the table of the Lord, there was not one, who, since
the departure from St. Mary’s, had not communicated every month. Several
had enjoyed that happiness each week. During the evening office nothing
particular occurred. The eve of my departure the mothers brought their
young children to receive my blessing; and the chiefs erected a cross
in token of their gratitude for the favors received during the hunting
season. To this latter circumstance the island is indebted for the
beautiful name of St. Croix.
The following day I bade farewell to my dear neophytes; and, after
joining in prayer with them for the last time, I set out on my return to
St. Mary’s.
_N. Point, S. J._
No. XXVIII
“HENCEFORWARD THE PRAYER OF THE FLAT-HEADS SHALL BE OURS”
BY REV. P. N. POINT
We shall see what gave occasion to these remarkable words uttered by
thirty-seven Black-Feet, who had fallen into the hands of the Flat-Heads.
It is rare, at present, to find any Black-Feet, even among the most
vicious tribes, who are not convinced that the _Black-gowns_ desire their
happiness.
The following observations clearly prove my proposition: 1, the kind
reception they gave the Black Robe who was taken by sixty of their
warriors: 2, the attention with which they listened to the Rev. Mr.
Thibault, a Canadian priest, who fell in with a large company of them
at Fort Augusta,[356] on the River Sascatshawin: 3, sending back to St.
Mary’s, a horse belonging to a Flat-Head missionary; a circumstance
{392} hitherto unheard of, in the relations of the Black-Feet with the
Flat-Heads; 4, the confidence which several have manifested in the
missionaries, on many remarkable occasions; 5, the smoking of the calumet
in the plain of the Great Valley, with a small number of Flat-Heads whom
they might have killed without difficulty; 6, the amicable visits they
have paid the Flat-Heads by the persuasion of the hoary chief Nicholas,
(baptized,) and the habitual residence of several of the tribe at the
village of St. Mary’s; 7, the plunder of horses is incomparably more rare
than during the preceding years; 8, the four years’ cessation of any
serious attack; though, formerly, not a hunting party passed without a
sanguinary battle with the Flat-Heads. In proof of this, remember the
sixty-five battles of old Paulin. If we add to all this, the providential
and admirable circumstance which occurred during the chase, and which
we purpose relating, surely, it may be permitted to form the brightest
prospects relative to the religious conquest of this numerous tribe;
and I sincerely hope that an occurrence, which lately took place at St.
Mary’s, will contribute much to realize my desires.
{393} The 2d or 3d February, during the night, the dogs barked—a
pistol-shot was heard—a mournful silence ensues! A thief, doubtless,
had been wounded. The following morning, marks of blood could be traced
as far as the river, which led to the conclusion that the robber had
perished in the waves; but, three days since, George Sapime, whilst
duck-shooting, found the suffering being among some bushes, so exhausted
by loss of blood that he could scarcely stand. George might easily have
despatched him on the spot, according to the savage custom; but he
thought it better to return to the village and take counsel as to what
seemed most expedient to be done with the hapless desperado. At this
intelligence, numbers of Indians mount their horses and gallop off,
full armed, to the spot indicated. Whilst this was being transacted,
the incident was related to Father Mengarini. Pelchimo and Ambrose, two
really brave Flat-Heads,[357] who communicated the intelligence, thought
it base to kill a dying man. The zealous missionary conceived an ardent
desire to secure the salvation of the culprit, by pouring on his soul the
saving waters of regeneration. Pelchimo, seconding the good design, flies
to the place, and arrives at the very instant when the {394} pistols
were cocked to terminate the prisoner’s existence. “Stop!” vociferates
the feeling Pelchimo. At this word the execution is suspended, and an
hour after, the Black-Foot enemy and robber is tended, in the chieftain’s
lodge, with all the kindness that could be lavished on a noble and
much-loved sufferer.
Father Mengarini, after having dressed his wounds, spoke to him of God,
and his judgments: the sick man answered, that it was the first time
he had heard these great truths. Such a reply, made the father cherish
the hope of saving his soul; and, also, of contributing, by means of
this man, to the designs of mercy, which, it seemed, the Almighty God
had towards this terrible nation. “Brethren,” said he, addressing the
assembled chiefs, “during four years the Black-gowns have been among
you, and each day have they spoken to you of God. You know well that His
divine Son not only died on the cross for all men, but even pardoned his
enemies, and prayed for his executioners, to teach us how we should act
in the like occasions. An enemy has fallen into your hands—remember,
he has a soul like yours, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and
destined to sing eternally the divine mercy of your Saviour! {395} What
shall be done with this man? Is he to live, or must he die?” “Let him
live,” answered every tongue. Overjoyed to find their hearts so replete
with compassion, the Black-gown was expressing his satisfaction to
the assembled tribe, when he was told that some obscure savages, of a
different tribe, were not of the same opinion as the generous chieftains
who surrounded him. This information induced the father to take a
different tone; and addressing the murmurers, he thus spoke: “Brethren!
when we pardon a foe, we imitate the ordinary conduct of God towards
men. Who, among you, has not sinned during his life? And how often has
God forgiven you? If, instead of forgetting your multiplied offences,
the Almighty had placed your souls in the power of your infernal enemy,
what would now be your fate? But no; God has not treated you thus; he
has sent his ministers among you,—numbered you among his children, and
promised heaven to your fidelity and compassion for the unfortunate; and
who knows, if this signal favor may not depend on the generosity you
exercise towards your enemy? The blood of Jesus Christ pleads for mercy
in his behalf. Already have your chiefs pronounced his pardon. Will you
imitate their {396} noble conduct? Ah! if you refuse, take your knives
and bury them in your enemy’s heart! But, from that instant, call not
God your Father; cease saying to Him: ‘forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us;’ for, our Common Father might
hear your prayer, but, it would be for your eternal reprobation.” This
brief but energetic appeal caused such sensation throughout the auditory,
that every one approved the first decision. From that moment the entire
village of St. Mary’s, with the exception of a few malicious hearts,
shared in the generous sentiments of the Flat-Head chiefs. Selpisto,
a chieftain of the Pends-d’Oreilles, happened to be, at this time, at
St. Mary’s. He took the Black-Foot under his protection, and when he
recovered from his wounds, loaned him a horse to return to his country;
and he even redoubled his attention at the moment when he received the
news that one of his sons had fallen a sacrifice to the Black-Feet. When
the youth was met by his enemies, he was returning in triumph to St.
Mary’s, with the horses recently stolen from the village. His bravery
had forced the robbers to return them; this circumstance rendered
his loss a still greater affliction to his family. The return of the
Black-Foot, so {397} honorably dismissed, and the relation he gave the
tribe of the mercy exercised towards him, caused his nation to look upon
the Flat-Heads in a different light. “I am very glad,” wrote Father
Mengarini, “that this affair terminated amicably. I trust that the future
will prove, that the Almighty, after having exercised mercy towards
this unfortunate sinner, has also particular graces in reserve for this
perfidious and benighted nation, which I hope, is destined to receive
the light of the gospel. Should any fathers be named to this mission, I
should be too happy to be of their number.”
To whom are the Black-Feet indebted for a change so consoling, both to
religion and humanity? Next to Almighty God, we may safely say, they
owe it to the admirable conduct of the Flat-Heads, especially since the
residence of the missionaries among the tribe. Some remarkable instances
of virtue were exhibited during the hunting season.
On quitting St. Mary’s our pious neophytes added some short invocations
to their morning and evening prayers; 1, to the Heart of Jesus, as
protector of the men’s confraternity; 2, to the blessed Virgin, patroness
of the women’s sodality; 3, to St. Michael, model of the brave; {398} 4,
to St. Raphael, the guide of travellers; 5, to St. Hubert, the patron of
hunters; 6, to St. Francis Xavier, for the conversion of idolaters. We
shall see, that these pious aspirations were not addressed to Heaven in
vain.
The eve preceding the anniversary of St. Francis Xavier’s canonization,
the missionary administered baptism to a Black-Foot, whose example
induced many others to solicit the like favor. The reception of the
holy sacraments of penance and eucharist, was very frequent. There were
430 confessions, (children included), 350 communions, 103 of which took
place the last Sunday. Only one person was left, in the camp; he having
recently made his first communion, did not renew it during the chase;
whereas, his companions approached two or three times, and some, even
more frequently. The pious practice of saying the Angelus, reciting the
Rosary, and singing canticles, was maintained throughout the camp. The
chiefs displayed their zeal for every species of good; an unalterable
patience was the distinguishing virtue of all, and this is saying much,
if we consider the trials attending the hunting season. Their resignation
to the Divine will, was strongly manifested. During twenty-four days
they had {399} been toiling onwards, undergoing much suffering from a
rigorous abstinence, when the news was spread that a herd of buffaloes
had been seen in the environs. The Indians repaired thither, but it was
to encounter a keen disappointment. Thus, the poor Flat-Heads found
themselves constrained either to fast or seek food in the country of the
Black-Feet. As their horses were in a better condition than those of
the other tribes, they resolved to risk the dangerous expedient. Four
days they traversed heights and floods: the weather was cold and snow
lay on the ground; no animals were to be seen. At last, on Wednesday in
Ember-week the missionary warned his little flock that the moment was
propitious for addressing Heaven to implore the goods of earth; but, he
added: “if you wish the Divine bounty to shed on you His gifts, you must
promise not to abuse them.” His words were attended to with deep emotion,
and each savage, according to the Indian expression, “Arranged his heart
and began to pray.” The next morning, (Thursday), herds of cattle were
seen in the neighborhood; and on Friday and Saturday so many were killed
that their great number encumbered the lodges.
Already was the camp on its homeward {400} march, when, 12th March, the
chief, reaching the top of a mountain which commanded an extensive view
of the plain, suddenly stopped—and after gazing fixedly for some time,
discovered moving objects at the verge of the horizon. At first, those
around him imagined they saw buffaloes; next, they fancied they could
discover a herd of deer; the final conclusion was, that an armed party
of Black-Feet rapidly approached them. What was to be done? Victor, the
chief, lost nothing of his usual presence of mind. He calmly quitted the
head of the camp, mounted his horse, and making the animal perform a few
evolutions, he was instantly surrounded by the bravest of his band. Isaac
proposed prayer.—Victor exclaimed: “Let us wait until the Black-Feet show
themselves yonder.” Saying these words, he pointed out a second mountain
which concealed us. Never had any position offered more advantages. The
Black-Feet were climbing the opposite side—they were already fatigued.
Between the mountain and the chain which crowned the horizon extended
an immense plain, without either tree, ravine or river that could offer
them the least rampart. They were but thirty-seven in number, newly
exercised in arms, and on foot. The Flat-Heads, on {401} the contrary,
were on horseback, numbered fifty, in the flower of age, all well armed
and conducted by chieftains whose shadow would put to flight more enemies
than were now approaching. Besides, Victor was at their head; he who had
never been conquered, and what is more, not even wounded, though six
different times he had been encompassed by the Black-Feet. The marked
protection of Heaven had thus manifested itself in his favor!
The enemy, then, could not escape them. All eyes were strained towards
the spot indicated by the chief, expecting the approach of the foe.
Victor judges that there is “periculum in mora;” he casts a smiling look
on the missionary, raises his fire-arms, utters a yell, urges on his
steed, and flies to the combat, followed by the bravest of the land.
Perceiving their approach, the Black-Feet took to flight, casting
away all that embarrassed them; but beholding themselves hemmed in on
all sides, they endeavoured to rally; the Flat-Heads hasten towards
them; Victor’s horse having been lately wounded, Fidele, Ambrose,
Isaac, Ferdinand, and Emanuel, passed their chief, and arrived first in
front of the enemy. Fidele spoke not; but his warrior name, signifying
_Thunderbolt_, sufficiently {402} declared his courage. Ambrose announced
him by that title, which causes the Black-Feet to turn pale, and added,
in a terrible voice: “Fire not! If you fire you are dead men!” God
spoke by his lips. Instead of firing, one of the Black-Feet threw down
his gun, whilst several others extended their arms, in a supplicating
attitude. The brave Ambrose refused not the pardon his enemies solicited;
for true courage will never bathe itself in the blood of a conquered
foe, who appeals for mercy, and whose conversion has been begged of
Heaven. The generous warrior willingly extends his hand to the foe; and
_all_, imitating his example, show that clemency has conquered. At this
happy moment, when such Christian sentiments pervaded every heart, the
_Black-gown_ advanced, and the conquered foes offered him their hands,
and, spreading a buffalo-skin on the snow, invited him to seat himself,
and receive the honors of the calumet. Whilst the smoke of peace ascended
towards heaven, presents were offered, and received, on both sides. The
oldest of the Black-Feet band, seated on the left of the missionary,
presented him a pair of Indian moccasins, and, strange to say, they were
embroidered, with a blue cross standing out conspicuously {403} from the
surrounding work. The poor idolater! did he, at that moment, think of the
“quam speciosi pedes?” Most probably not; but, it is certain, he remarked
the pleasure caused by his present, and felt an assurance, from the
manner in which it was received, that, henceforward, all hearts would be
united.
The Flat-Head camp set out on their return. The thirty-seven Black-Feet
followed them. The thawing of the snow rendered the roads exceedingly
bad, and the kind-hearted Flat-Heads, compassionating the fate of
their new friends, did all they could to help them on their journey.
Before separating, Victor conducted the principal Black-Feet into the
missionary’s lodge, that he might witness their parting good friends;
and, during half an hour, every thing was said that could strengthen the
new-formed friendship between the tribes. The Black-Feet told us, that
for some time past they had been expecting a Black-gown, and that, when
he should come among them, he would be well received; that, henceforth,
they and the Flat-Heads would live like brothers; “that the prayer of
the Flat-Heads should be theirs.” And, although the sun had set, they
assisted at prayers; after which, {404} they exchanged some tokens of
friendship, and left, declaring that they were going to persuade their
village to act as they had done.
The 19th March, feast of St. Joseph, seven days after the pardon so
generously granted the Black-Feet, Heaven bestowed on us the fruit of
our forbearance in the amicable visit of the grand chief of the “Petite
Robe, Itchetles Melakas—or the three crows.” All the chiefs smoked with
him under the missionary’s tent. Ambrose explained to him the Catholic
Tree; Victor invited him to pass the night in his lodge. Such attention
completely gained his heart; and the next morning the Black-Foot
communicated to the missionary the resolution he had formed of soliciting
the admission of his twenty-eight lodges among the Flat-Head tribe; and
that he would repair to the village of St. Mary’s for that purpose,
towards the decline of the present moon.
During the night of the 19th some of the Black-Feet, belonging to a
distant tribe, stole into the camp of the Flat-Heads and carried off
five horses; but one of the robbers fell, pierced with balls, and two
strokes of the knife. It would be difficult to describe the horrors of
that night! the {405} savage yells, mingled with the sound of thunder,
and report of musketry. The miserable desperado, by the lightning’s
glare, could be perceived on the ground, streaming torrents of blood from
his wounds, and his unhappy soul about to quit the agonizing body, to
find in eternity the chastisement due to its crimes. What else could the
minister of God do, in such a circumstance, but pray the Father of Mercy
to perform a miracle of grace in favor of the criminal.
The Flat-Heads have abolished the barbarous custom of reeking their
vengeance on the mutilated body of their enemy. They even carry their
generosity so far, as to give sepulture to all who die among them. The
robber owed his grave to the bravest of the Flat-Heads, the chief of
a numerous family, and the adopted father of two children, whom the
Black-Feet have rendered orphans.
The following day offered nothing remarkable, if I except the many proofs
of solid virtue displayed by the camp. To afford them pleasure, the
missionary amused himself in his leisure hours tracing with a pen several
historical facts, drawn from their annals, and suited to {406} their
tastes; such as, march of the camp, divers occupations, labors of the
chase, feats of arms, singular tragic scenes, religious ceremonies, &c.,
&c. It would be difficult to relate the pleasure this little collection
gave them; and, what is still better, it contributed powerfully to raise
the authority of the chieftains in the estimation of the young men,
and to excite in them a noble emulation in the practice of good; for
experience has clearly proved, both in civilized and uncivilized society,
that this quality is not only a stimulus to noble actions, but a greater
preventive of evil, than all chastisements united.
Human ingenuity is useful, but it can do little towards the salvation of
souls, if it be not joined to fervent prayer. Every missionary should
be convinced of this truth. Our pious neophytes have experienced the
efficacy of frequent recourse to Heaven. Each day they had invoked the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Holy Heart of Mary; and the first Friday
and Saturday of March proved the most successful hunting days. We had
invoked the patron of hunters, and our chase was relatively fortunate.
We had implored the protection of the glorious St. Michael, and never
did our chiefs display greater valor {407} in the presence of the enemy.
We had entreated the Apostle of the Indies to obtain the conversion of
the Indians, and one party of Black-Feet falls under our power, whilst
the other amicably visits us, and departs, exclaiming, “The prayer of
the Flat-Heads shall be ours.” In fine, we had taken St. Raphael as our
guide; our journey was long, fatiguing, and perilous, nevertheless, no
serious accident occurred, though we often fell on the ice and rocks.
Not a hunter in our camp was there who did not remark this manifest
protection; and nearly all testified their gratitude to God by a fervent
communion.
On Passion Sunday one hundred and three approached the holy table. The
evening of so happy a day was crowned by the erection of a cross, to
which they gave the name of Eugene, because the previous evening a quiver
of that excellent Flat-Head, and a letter written on a piece of skin,
after the Indian fashion, apprised us that he had been massacred in the
neighborhood by a party of Banax. We then remembered, with consolation,
that, on Ash Wednesday, a few days before his death, he came to see us,
and during his stay received the holy communion. {408} Thus, all seemed
to concur, even this death, in causing us to bless the Divine Bounty
which ever watches with paternal care, to supply the necessities of his
confiding children.
AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM
OUR FATHER, IN THE FLAT-HEAD AND PEND-D’OREILLE LANGUAGE
THE SIGN OF + THE CROSS
Skwest kyle-e-ou, Ouls kezees, Ouls Saint Pagpagt.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Komieetzegail.
May it be so.
Kyle-e-ou Itchitchemask, askwest kowâkshamenshem, a-i-letzemilkou
Our Father of heaven, may thy name be respected every where
ye-elskyloog. Entziezie telletzia spoe-oez.
on the earth. May thou be master of all hearts.
Assintails ye-elstoloog etzageél
May thy will be done on earth as it is
Itchitchemask. Kóogwitzelt yettilgwa lokaitsiapetzinem.
in heaven. Give us this day all our wants.
Kowaeksméemillem klotaiye kloistskwen etzageel kaitskolgwélem
Forgive us the evil we have done as we forgive
klotaye kloistskwen klielskyloeg koayalokshilem takaekskwentem
the evil done unto us by others. Grant us thy help to avoid
klotaye kowaeksgwéeltem klotaye. Komieêtzegail.
evil but deliver us from evil. May it be so.
OUR FATHER, IN THE FLAT-BOW AND KOETENAY LANGUAGE
Akikliai Stailoe, Akaltes, Saint Kilkiltlui.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Schaeykiakakaaike.
May it be so.
Katitoe naitle naite, akiklinais zedabitskinne wilkane.
Our Father, who art in heaven, may thy name be great and honoured.
Ninshalinne oshemake kapaik akaitlainam.
Be thou the master of all hearts.
Inshazetluité younoamake yekakaekinaitte
May thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Komnakaike logenie niggenawaishne naiosaem miaitéke
Grant us this day all our wants.
Kekepaime nekoetjekoetleaitle ixzeai,
Forgive us all the evil we have done,
Iyakiakakaaike iyazeaikinawash kokakipaimenaitle.
as we forgive all the evil done unto us.
Amatikezawês itchkestshimmekakkowêlle akatakzen.
Strengthen us against all evil, and deliver us from it.
Shaeykiakakaaike.
May it be so.
OUR FATHER, IN THE ASSINIBOIN LANGUAGE
Tnchiachttoobe machpiachta yaeoenshi ba-eninshi
Our Father heaven who art there let it
nabishi nietshalzilzi, Nitanwiadezi, ektyyaegnizi,
be great, thy name, thy kingdom come,
yetshoeszizi aittshaiszi lenmachkoetzizi asêettshaiszi machtpiachta
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Tnkoem nangaah oezoezandie innimbechain,
give us this day the means of life,
ezieyakink taniôzeni etchoengoebezie sinkimbishnitshaa ektaes
look over our evil doings as we look over those who do
etchoengoebezie.
evil unto us.
Youoechtontjen tanniaesni etchoem goebishniet tchain,
Guide us that we not fall into evil,
napéen giettshioenn ingninnaegé. Eetchees.
and drive off all evil from us. Amen.
OUR FATHER, IN THE CREE LANGUAGE
Eokosisit mina, ewiotawit mina, emiosit manito, owigowionik.
Him who has a Son, him who has a Father, him who is the beautiful
Spirit, in his name.
Pitone Ekeesiikik.
May it be so.
Notanan kitsi kijikok epian pitone mewaitsikatek kiwigowin, pitone
Our Father in the great heaven being seated, may it be honoured thy
name, may it
otitamomakad kitibeitsikewin, ispits enatota kawigan kitsi kisikok,
arrive thy kingdom (reign) like thee being followed in the great
heaven,
pitone ekusi iji waskitaskamik. Anots kakijikak miinânipakweji
may it be the same on earth. Now in this day give us our
ganiminan mina latwaw kigigake. Canisi kaiji kasenamawayakik
bread and in every day. As we have remitted to those
ka ki matsitota koyankik ekusi iji kasinamawinan eki
who to us have done evil so likewise remit unto us what we
matsitotamank. Pisiskeiminan kitsi eka matsi mamitoueitamank
have done evil. Be merciful to us that we fall not into evil,
iekatenamawinan kamayatok. Pitone Ekeesiikik.
keep away from us all what is evil. May it be so.
OUR FATHER, IN THE BLACK-FOOT LANGUAGE
Kikanâtzeniekasin ochkoeye tokakisint
Of the Father in his name, of the Son, of the Holy Spirit.
Kamoemanigtoep.
May it be so.
Kinanâ spoegsts tzittâpigpi, kitzinnekazen kagkakomimokzin.
Our Father in heaven who art, thy name, may it be holy.
Nagkitapiwatog neto kinyokizip.
Thy reign may it arrive.
Kitzizigtaen nejakapestoeta tzagkom, nietziewae spoegsts.
Thy will, may it be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Ikogkiowa ennoch matogkwitapi.
All we need, this day unto us grant.
Istapikistomokit nagzikamoót komonetziewae nistowâ
Forgive the evil we have done as we pardon the wrong we have received,
Nagkezis tapi kestemoóg.
Help us against sin.
Spemmoók matéakoziep makapi Kamoemanigtoep.
From all what is evil deliver us. May it be so.
OUR FATHER, IN THE POTAWOTOMIE LANGUAGE
+ TCHIBIATIKONIKEWIN—sign of the Cross.
Olinosowinig Weosimit, ipi Wekwissimit, ipi menojuwepisit Mennito.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Ape iw nomikug.
Amen.
NOSINAN—OUR FATHER.
Nosinan Wakwik ebiyin ape kitchitwa kitchilwa wenitamag
kitinosowin, enakosiyin ape piyak kitewetako tipu wakwig, ape
tepwetakon chote kig. Ngom ekijikiwog michinag mamitchiyak
ponigetedwichinag kego kachi kichiinakineyi ponigeledwoiket
woye kego kachi kichiimidgin, kinamochinag wapatadiyak.
Chitchiikwan nenimochinag meyanek waotichkakoyakin.
Ape iw nomikug.
VOCABULARY
ENGLISH. FLAT-HEAD. BLACK-FOOT. CREE.
Hair Komike Notakane Nistika-â
Forehead Tchilchemaiche Nonissi Miskatek
Nose Spezâeks Nopisis Niskiwen
Mouth Spelimetzim Naoji Tapisken
Teeth Galaig Nogpikiêt Nepita
Tongue Taigoetzetze Naetzinni Daini
Cheeks Shilkzemoos Nozippinain Nanawai
Ears Caine Nogtokie Nigtawake
Chin Koiaipaits Nogpiskinny Gwaeskonêou
Neck Tchesspin Nogkokinne Nikwayo
Arms Stitchewagen Notezisê Nespiton
Elbow Zintchenposka Nogkinnetsis Dossken
Shoulder Lintchemilkoy Nogkazikkiê Digtiman
Hand Tchails Nogkiziaiks Tzigtshie
Fingers Stagtig Tommakiotketzis Nemezittzischân
Belly Olin Nokoen
Backbone Zintshametchin Nogtazistkin
Thighs Zintzemoostche Noketokezinnen
Knees Tcoemmekaisne Noketokeziss
Legs Titchemaekshen Nieziekzinnen
Feet Tzotchin Nietzigzip
Lips Speliêmetzin Notoinish Ndon
Eyes Stitchekoetkoltloest Nowaaps Niskisick
CREE.
1 Péak
2 Nizo
3 Nisto
4 Nêou
5 Nianen
6 Koutonazek
7 Têpeko
8 Enanéo
9 Tégametata
10 Mitâtat
ASSINIBOIN.
1 Kâtcheêt
2 Num
3 Yamine
4 Tonza
5 Zapita
6 Shâgape
7 Shayoen
8 Shagnoge
9 Namtchoeank
10 Wi-ink Chemine
PLANTS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS IN FLOWER IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER,
_Of which the botanical names follow_:
1. Helenium
2. Sabbatia Angularis
3. Spigelia Marylandica
4. Geum Geniculatum
5. Rudbeckia Comentosa
6. Euchroma Coccinea
7. Astet Coccinnus
8. Ilex Ligustrifolia
9. Convallaria Stellata
10. Chrysanthunum Arcticum
11. Aronia Amifolia
12. Polymnia Uvedelia
13. Frasera Caroliniensis
14. Ophrys, Malaxis
15. Sedum Stenopetalum
16. Prunus Duerinckii
17. Cantua Aggregata
18. Rudbeckia Purpurea
19. Actinomeris Squarrosa
20. Cardamine Bellidifolia
21. Houstonia Longiflora
22. Melanthium Monoicum
23. Liatris Brachystachya
24. Rhexia Mariana
25. Claytonia Spathulata
26. Aquilegia Formosa
27. Campanula Divarica
FOOTNOTES
[1] Chapter v of volume ii of the original edition.—ED.
[2] For this island, now called Sauvie’s, see our volume xxi, p. 300,
notes 85, 86. The root is described in our volume vi, p. 278, note 87.—ED.
[3] The Clackamas River, for which see our volume xxi, p. 320, note
105.—ED.
[4] The land at the Falls of the Willamette was a private possession
of Dr. John McLoughlin, who took up the claim in 1829, making some
improvements. His rights were first contested by members of the Methodist
mission. Later, after he had become a naturalized American citizen, he
was deprived thereof by legislative act—an injustice which was corrected
in 1862, when the land was restored to the heirs of the estate. The town
site at this place was platted as Oregon City (a name still retained),
and for some years was the seat of government and metropolis of
Oregon.—ED.
[5] Tualatin River, draining the present Washington County, was a fertile
valley early settled. About 1852 the river was by private enterprise made
navigable for some distance.—ED.
[6] William Johnson, an English sailor who had deserted to the Americans,
and served on the “Constitution” in the fight with the “Guerrière.” He
afterwards became a trapper in the Hudson’s Bay service, and came to
Oregon (1839) to settle with his native wife and family. He served as
sheriff in the first provisional government. He appears later to have
removed his claim to the lower Willamette, in the neighborhood of South
Portland. According to Dr. McLoughlin’s statement, Oregon Historical
Society _Quarterly_ i, p. 197, he “left by sea and never returned to
Oregon.”—ED.
[7] For Thomas McKay consult our volume xxi, p. 201, note 46. His father
is noted in Franchère’s _Narrative_, our volume vi, p. 186, note 9.—ED.
[8] Townsend was at Fort Vancouver when Bailey was brought in wounded,
after his contest with the Rogue River Indians. See his _Narrative_ in
our volume xxi, pp. 328-330.
Mrs. Bailey was a Miss Margaret Smith, who came out in 1837 to reinforce
the Methodist mission.—ED.
[9] The blacksmith and tinker were apparently Thomas J. Hubbard and
Calvin Tibbitts, who came to Oregon with Wyeth. See for the former, W. H.
Gray, _History of Oregon_ (Portland, Oregon, 1870), pp. 191, 198; for the
latter our volume xxi, p. 73, note 50. Both were instrumental in laying
the foundations of the Oregon provisional government.—ED.
[10] This mission was under the care of Father Blanchet, and was founded
the year of Farnham’s visit. It was located twelve miles above Champoeg,
on the east bank of the river. See De Smet’s _Letters_ in our volume
xxvii, p. 320, note 164.—ED.
[11] For the founding and site of this mission see our volume xxi, p.
299, note 84. The school was later (about 1842) removed to Salem, and the
headquarters established there.—ED.
[12] Dr. Elijah White, a native of New York state, came out as missionary
physician in 1837. After serving about four years at the mission, he had
some disagreement with its superintendent, and returned to the states.
He then received the appointment at Washington of “sub-Indian agent for
Oregon,” an office with indeterminate duties, anomalous in character.
Once more in Oregon, Dr. White was zealous in execution of the business
of his office as he conceived it, but antagonized many of the settlers
thereby and found himself in disfavor; so that upon visiting Washington
in 1845 he was not able to secure the renewal of his appointment. He
returned to Oregon, however, and in 1861 was employed as special Indian
agent. In later life he removed to San Francisco, where he died in March,
1879.—ED.
[13] Rev. David (not Daniel) Leslie came to the Methodist mission with
the second reinforcement of 1837. His ability was at once recognized,
and during Jason Lee’s absence he acted as superintendent. In 1838 at
the request of the American settlers he served them as justice of the
peace. The first meeting for a provisional government was held under
his presidency (1841). Upon the dissolution of the mission he became
a Methodist preacher, making his home in and about Salem, where he
was chaplain of the first territorial legislature, and for many years
president of the board of trustees of Willamette University. With the
exception of a few months in the Sandwich Islands (1842-43), his life
was practically spent in Oregon, where he was highly respected for the
probity and purity of his character.—ED.
[14] J. L. Whitcomb came out in 1837 as a lay member of the mission. His
duties were the superintendence of the farms. In 1842 he married the
widow of Cyrus Shepard, and the same year, because of broken health,
returned to the United States.
Alanson Beers, from Connecticut, also came (1837) as a lay member of the
mission, and remained in Oregon until his death in 1853. He was one of
the executive committee of three appointed by the provisional government,
and treasurer of the board of trustees of Oregon Institute.—ED.
[15] Farnham forwarded the petition to Congress from Honolulu, in
January, 1840, accompanied by a letter of his own in which he sharply
criticized the conduct of the Hudson’s Bay Company—see _Senate Docs._,
27 Cong., 3 sess., 102. The petition or memorial, which is largely the
work of Farnham, was presented to the senate June 4, 1840, by Senator
Lewis Linn of Missouri. It may be found in _Senate Docs._, 26 Cong., 1
sess., 514, signed “David Leslie and others;” _Cong. Globe_, 26 Cong.,
1 sess., 440, reports seventy signers. The memorial requests Congress
to establish a territorial government, notes that the British are,
through the Hudson’s Bay Company, granting lands, surveying harbors,
bays, and rivers, cutting and shipping timber, and preparing to hold
all the territory north of the Columbia. It describes the country south
of that river as “of unequalled beauty and fertility,” “a delightful
and healthy climate,” and “one of the most favored portions of the
globe;” and concludes by praying for the “civil institutions of the
American Republic,” “the high privileges of American citizenship; the
peaceful enjoyment of life; the right of acquiring, possessing, and using
property; and the unrestrained pursuit of rational happiness.”—ED.
[16] An act of parliament was passed (about 1837) at the instigation of
Dr. McLoughlin, extending the jurisdiction and civil laws of Canada over
the British subjects of Oregon territory. Under this law James Douglas
was commissioned justice of the peace for criminal matters and for civil
suits under £200 in value. Imprisonment was possible either in the forts
of the Hudson’s Bay Company or the jails of Canada.—ED.
[17] W. H. Wilson had in early life been a cooper on a whaling vessel.
Having been converted to Methodism, he came out to Oregon in 1837 as
a lay helper, and studied medicine with Dr. Elijah White. In 1840 he
married Chloe A. Clark of the mission, who afterwards became first
teacher of the Oregon Institute, of which her husband was for some
time agent. They made their home in Salem, where he died suddenly of
apoplexy. Wilson was the treasurer of the first provisional government of
Oregon.—ED.
[18] For Ewing Young see our volume xx, p. 23, note 2.—ED.
[19] The reader will take notice that this is an ex-parte
statement.—ENGLISH EDITOR.
[20] For the origin of this northern boundary, see our volume xxviii,
note 1.—ED.
[21] For David Thompson, a former North West explorer, see Franchère’s
_Narrative_ in our volume vi, p. 253, note 61. Exclusive of the Alaskan
mountains, there have been no peaks measured in the Rocky Mountain system
exceeding 14,500 feet in height.—ED.
[22] Mount Brown is in British Columbia, about latitude 52° 28′ north,
not far from Athabasca Pass. It was formerly thought to be above 15,000
feet in height, but recent measurements have reduced it to less than
10,000.—ED.
[23] This is Athabasca Pass, first discovered by David Thompson in
1811—see Elliott Coues, _Henry-Thompson Journals_ (New York, 1897), ii,
pp. 668, 669. Mount Hooker lay south of the pass, and Mount Brown to the
north; the former is about 10,500 feet above sea level (once supposed to
be more than 15,000 feet). For a description of the passage of this gap
see Franchère’s _Narrative_ in our volume vi, pp. 352-357.—ED.
[24] The first of these passes is now known as Maria’s, and is that taken
by the Great Northern Railway in crossing from Missouri waters to those
of the Columbia. The second pass is probably intended to designate that
taken by Lewis and Clark, who used not one, but several passes through
the network of mountains in western Montana and eastern Idaho. The third
is the pass from Henry’s Lake to Red Rock, the source of the Jefferson
(not of the Big Horn), over which De Smet went with the Indians—see his
_Letters_ in our volume xxvii, pp. 252, 253, notes 128, 130. The last is
South Pass, for which see Wyeth’s _Oregon_ in our volume xxi, p. 58, note
37.—ED.
[25] These spurs from the mountains are not definable. Farnham simply
implies them from the watersheds. Upon many of the older maps the
Kooskooskee (modern Clearwater) is also called Salmon—leaving to the
modern Salmon River the name of Wapiacakoos (Waptacaca, Waptiacoos).—ED.
[26] Mount St. Elias and Mount Fairweather belong to the Alaskan system,
not to that of the Cascade or Presidents’ Range, which properly ends at
Puget Sound. Mount St. Elias, the highest mountain save one in North
America (18,090 feet) was discovered by Vitus Behring in 1741. Its ascent
was accomplished in the summer of 1897 by the Italian explorer, the Duke
of Abruzzi.
Mount Fairweather, so named by the whalers, who predicted fair weather
when the summit of this peak was free from clouds, has an altitude of
15,050 feet; it is located near Sitka, on the Alaskan coast.—ED.
[27] For Hall J. Kelley see our volume xxi, p. 24, note 6. In his
“Memoir” to Congress, _House Reports_, 25 Cong., 3 sess., 101, he
says: “The eastern section of the district referred to is bordered by
a mountain range, running nearly parallel to the spine of the Rocky
mountains and to the coast, and which, from the number of its elevated
peaks, I am inclined to call the Presidents’ range.”—ED.
[28] The reader will remember that our Author is an American.—ENGLISH ED.
[29] By Mount Tyler Farnham evidently intends Mount Baker, an extinct
volcano in Whatcom County, Washington (altitude 10,827 feet), supposed
to have shown symptoms of eruption as late as 1875. This peak was named
by Vancouver (1792) for one of his officers. J. Q. Thornton, _Oregon
and California_ (New York, 1849), i, p. 256, calls this Mount Polk, and
assigns the name of Tyler to “an elevation on the peninsula between
Hood’s Canal and the ocean.”—ED.
[30] Evidently Mount Rainier, although incorrectly located, its distance
and direction being somewhat deceptive. It is southeast (not northeast)
of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington, the highest of the Cascade
Range (14,526 feet). It was first noted by Vancouver in 1792, and named
for a rear-admiral in the British navy. Its Indian name was Ta-ko-man,
the white peak, hence its alternate name of Mount Tacoma.—ED.
[31] Mount Olympus, in Jefferson County, Washington (latitude 47° 50′
north, altitude 8,150 feet), was discovered originally by Perez (see our
volume xxviii, p. 32, note 8), who named it Santa Rosalia. Captain John
Meares (1785) bestowed its present appellation (see our volume vii, p.
112, note 17).—ED.
[32] In re-naming the Presidents’ Range there appears to have been
considerable confusion in assigning the name of the first executive.
Kelley intended the name to be given to Mount St. Helens, which at first
Farnham adopted (see _ante_, our volume xxviii, p. 353, note 221). C. G.
Nicolay, _Oregon Territory_ (London, 1846), p. 209, says that St. Helens
was called Mount Washington. Nevertheless, Farnham here applies the name
of Adams to Mount St. Helens, and that of Washington to Mount Hood,
for which latter see Franchère’s _Narrative_ in our volume vi, p. 248,
note 54. Franchère applied the title Washington to Mount Jefferson; it
has been finally attached to a peak south of Jefferson, in Linn County,
Oregon.—ED.
[33] Mount Jefferson, on the eastern borders of Linn County, a height
crowned with perpetual snow, was first sighted by Lewis and Clark
on March 30, 1806, from the mouth of Willamette River. In _Original
Journals_, iv, p. 223, Clark says: “discovered a high mountain, S. E.
covered with snow which we call Mt. Jefferson.”—ED.
[34] Mount McLoughlin (Madison) is now called Diamond Peak; it is in the
southeastern extremity of Lane County, and has an altitude of 8,807 feet.
The mountain named for Monroe cannot now be definitely determined,
because of confusion of nomenclature. It would seem from the latitude
given by Kelley to have been intended for the present Mount Scott.
Mount John Quincy Adams is the present Mount Pitt, which name was
first assigned by the English to Mount Shasta; this, according to
Thornton (_op. cit._ in note 29, _ante_), was also the Mount Monroe of
the Americans. The term Mount Pitt is now applied to a volcanic peak
(altitude 9,760 feet) on the borders of Jackson County, Oregon, eight
miles west of Klamath Lake.—ED.
[35] Mount Shasta, of Siskiyou County, California, in latitude 41° 25′
north. Next to Rainier, Shasta is the highest peak of the Cascades,
attaining 14,380 feet in altitude, and being perpetually capped with
snow.—ED.
[36] For Cape Disappointment see our volume vi, p. 233, note 36.—ED.
[37] Boat Encampment, a noted place on the route to Canada, is described
by Franchère in our volume vi, pp. 351, 352.—ED.
[38] For a brief history of Fort Okanagan see our volume vi, p. 260, note
71. Alexander Ross had charge of this post for several years; see his
descriptions in our volume vii, pp. 151-159, 198-207, 272-319. Afterward
it became a Hudson’s Bay post (in 1821, not 1819). See De Smet’s visit to
this region in our volume xxvii, p. 372, note 193.—ED.
[39] For Spokane River, Lake Cœur d’Alène (Pointed Heart), and Spokane
House, see De Smet’s _Letters_ in our volume xxvii, p. 366, note 185.
See also Ross’s _Oregon Settlers_, our volume vii, pp. 207-222; also his
_Fur-Hunters of the Far West_, i, pp. 137-139.—ED.
[40] For H. H. Spaulding see our volume xxi, p. 352, note 125. Fort
Colville is described in De Smet’s _Letters_, our volume xxvii, p. 330,
note 166.—ED.
[41] For Kettle Falls see our volume vi, p. 346, note 153.—ED.
[42] For Archibald McDonald, see our volume xxi, p. 344, note 119.—ED.
[43] Now known as Lower Arrow Lake, an expansion of the Columbia many
miles in length, between 49° and 50° of north latitude.—ED.
[44] For the Flathead River, as here intended (now known as Clark’s Fork
of the Columbia), see our volume vi, p. 348, note 155. Its sources are
near those of the Missouri, not the Saskatchewan.—ED.
[45] For Lake Pend d’Oreille (Kalispel, Kullerspelm) see De Smet’s
_Letters_ in our volume xxvii, p. 339, note 175.
Flathead House was built (November, 1809) by David Thompson, of the North
West Company, and was maintained throughout the regime of the British
fur-trade on the Northwest Coast. In 1824-25 Alexander Ross passed the
winter there. It was a small fort tributary to Colville, and in charge
usually of a trusted Canadian hunter or trapper. According to the report
of 1854 it was situated east of Flathead Lake, on one of its smaller
tributaries—_Senate Docs._, 33 Cong., 2 sess., vii, no. 37.—ED.
[46] This is the stream now known as Kootenai River, for which see our
volume vi, p. 348, note 156. For the post of that name see our volume
vii, p. 210, note 71. The small post was maintained on Kootenai River for
nearly half a century. In 1854 it was reported as an inferior station, in
charge of a Canadian as trader and postmaster.—ED.
[47] For the passage of these straits and Upper Arrow Lake, see
Franchère’s _Narrative_ in our volume vi, pp. 348, 349.—ED.
[48] The Canadian Pacific Railway crosses the Columbia at Revelstoke just
above the Lower Dalles of the river. The Upper or Little Dalles shut in
the river for about a mile; these narrows are now navigated by local
steamers.—ED.
[49] The “few miles” is about one hundred and fifty, in which the river
passes through an almost continuous cañon—navigable by canoes, however,
save at Dalles des Morts (Narrows of the Dead), so named for the number
of accidents occurring therein. The canoe voyage ended at the upper bend
of the Columbia, where Canoe River enters from the north, the Columbia
coming from the southeast.—ED.
[50] The trail follows an affluent of the Columbia known as Little
Canoe (or Portage) River, leading to Athabasca Pass. See Franchère’s
description of the difficulties of the passage in our volume vi, pp.
352-354.—ED.
[51] For these lakes see our volume vi, p. 353, note 163.—ED.
[52] Fraser’s River, the largest stream wholly within the limits of
British Columbia, rises near the source of the upper branch (Canoe River)
of the Columbia, flows northwest for a hundred and ninety miles, and
then turns abruptly south until at about latitude 49° 20′ north it bends
west into the Strait of Georgia. Sir Alexander Mackenzie was upon its
upper waters in 1793. The whole course of the river was explored by Simon
Fraser (1808), who until he reached the river’s mouth supposed that he
was upon the Columbia. See his “Journal” in L. R. Masson, _Bourgeois de
la Compagnie du Nord Ouest_ (Quebec, 1889), i, pp. 155-221.—ED.
[53] Probably Joseph McGillivray, for whom see our volume vi, p. 346,
note 152. Fort Alexandria, on Fraser River, was built (1821) on the east
bank of the stream to serve as a supply post, transmitting goods from
the Columbia country. It was placed at the point where Sir Alexander
Mackenzie turned back (1793), and was named in his honor. In 1836 the
fort was removed to the west bank of the river. With varying fortunes the
post has ever since been maintained; in 1863 a wagon road was opened as
far as Alexandria to accommodate the inrush of miners.—ED.
[54] For the Similkameen River see our volume vii, p. 206, note 67.—ED.
[55] For the Luhon (Lowhum, now Des Chutes) and John Day rivers see our
volume vii, p. 133, notes 32, 33; for the Umatilla and Walla Walla,
volume vi, p. 338, notes 141, 142.—ED.
[56] Klamath River rises in southern Oregon, in the county of the same
name, flows through Klamath lakes and breaks through the barrier of
the Cascades about on the California boundary line. Thence flowing in
a somewhat irregular course, it receives tributaries from Shasta and
Siskiyou mountains, and enters the ocean in Del Norte County, California.
It is about two hundred and seventy-five miles long, and navigable for
about forty miles from its mouth. Gold and timber are found on its
banks.—ED.
[57] For the Cowlitz River see our volume vi, p. 245, note 49. For Juan
de Fuca Strait, _ibid._, p. 256, note 64.—ED.
[58] The Umpqua is noted in our volume vii, p. 231, note 82.—ED.
[59] This appears extravagant, but the fact cannot be disputed. It may be
observed, however, that the wood, from its rapid growth, has but little
weight—half that of the common pine or deal.—ENGLISH ED.
[60] The Coquille River, which rises in several branches among the
Coast Mountains and enters the ocean at Coos Bay, in the county of that
name. It is navigable for small steamers for over thirty miles from its
mouth.—ED.
[61] Coal was first exported from Washington in 1854; no more was mined
until 1870, when the Seattle shafts were opened. Washington is known as
the “Pennsylvania of the West” for the number and extent of its coal
fields.—ED.
[62] On the organization and career of the North West Company see J.
Long’s _Voyages_ in our volume ii, preface, pp. 15, 16. The difficulties
with the Hudson’s Bay Company are briefly recounted by Franchère in our
volume vi, pp. 379-381, particularly notes 195, 199.—ED.
[63] This lease was the result of a protest from Great Britain to the
government of Russia for the attack by the latter upon a British brig
entering the Stikeen River to found a fort. The Hudson’s Bay Company
waived its claim for damages in virtue of this lease of the mainland of
Russian America between Cape Spencer and 54° 40′ north latitude. After
being several times renewed, the lease expired in 1868 upon the purchase
of Alaska by the United States.—ED.
[64] See our volume vi, p. 377, note 191, for a description of York
Factory.—ED.
[65] For further details of the system of the Hudson’s Bay Company see
A. G. Morice, _History of the Northern Interior of British Columbia,
formerly New Caledonia_ (Toronto, 1904), pp. 99-116; also George Bryce,
_Remarkable History of Hudson’s Bay Company_ (Toronto, 1900).—ED.
[66] Henry Bliss, _The Colonial System: Statistics of the trade, industry
and resources of Canada and other Plantations in British America_
(London, 1833, not 1831).—ED.
[67] Andrew Henry, one of the partners of the Missouri Fur Company, in
the autumn of 1818 built a post on the north fork of Lewis or Snake
(Saptin) River. This was maintained only until the following spring,
but is renowned for being the first American trading post on Columbian
waters. The site was supposedly near Egin, Idaho, and the stream has
since been known as Henry’s Fork.—ED.
[68] The North West Company decided (1805) to explore the region west
of the Rockies and commissioned Simon Fraser to undertake it. In 1805
he built Fort McLeod, the first post in British Columbia. The next
summer saw the establishment of two posts—St. James on Stuart Lake, and
Fraser on Lake Fraser. Fort Fraser was begun by John Stuart and has been
maintained until the present time.—ED.
[69] For the Astorian enterprise see our volumes v-vii.—ED.
[70] David Thompson, for whose arrival at Astoria see Franchère’s
_Narrative_ in our volume vi, pp. 252-255.—ED.
[71] See Ross’s _Oregon Settlers_ in our volume vii, pp. 244-249.—ED.
[72] See our volume xxviii, p. 38, note 18.—ED.
[73] The joint occupancy of Oregon was not determined by the provisions
of the Treaty of Ghent, but by a separate convention made (1818) at
London. The renewal occurred as Farnham states, by the convention of 1827
signed at London by Albert Gallatin on the part of the United States, and
Charles Grant and Henry U. Addington for Great Britain; see _Treaties
and Conventions between the United States and Other Powers_ (Washington,
1889), pp. 415-418, 426, 427.—ED.
[74] For Fort Vancouver see our volume xxi, p. 297, note 82; the early
history of Fort George is narrated in our volume vi, p. 241, note 42.
After the headquarters of the fur company were withdrawn from Fort
George, it was maintained chiefly as a post of observation to report
incoming vessels; a single clerk lived at this place, raised vegetables
and flowers in his garden, and welcomed travellers. The foundations of
Fort George were visible at Astoria as late as 1870, but are now entirely
built over.—ED.
[75] For Fort Nisqually see De Smet’s _Letters_ in our volume xxvii,
p. 386, note 203. Fort Langley was founded in 1827 upon the north bank
of the Fraser, not far from the mouth; it was an important dépôt for
supplying the interior posts. While James Yale was factor in charge the
buildings were totally destroyed by fire (1840), but a new stockade was
immediately erected. In 1858 Langley was the prospective capital of the
newly-erected province of British Columbia, and a town site was surveyed
about the fort; but being considered indefensible from a military point
of view, and on the wrong side of the river, New Westminster was chosen
instead and Fort Langley was abandoned.
Fort McLoughlin was erected upon the seacoast in 1833, and placed in
charge of Dr. Tolmie; but the location was insecure because of the
hostility of the neighboring Indians, and it was therefore abandoned in
1843, the effects being removed to the newly-established Fort Camosum at
Victoria.—ED.
[76] Fort Simpson, named in honor of Sir George, the Hudson’s Bay
Company’s governor, was not upon Dundas Island, but on the mainland
opposite. Its first site was six miles above the mouth of Nass River
(1831). Three years later it was removed to the Chimsyan Peninsula, below
Nass River—one of the finest harbors on the coast. It is still maintained
as a Hudson’s Bay post, being known as Port Simpson; recent efforts have
been made to make this a port of entry for Pacific Ocean traffic.—ED.
[77] For Fort Fraser see _ante_, p. 56, note 68. Fort St. James, at
the outlet of Stuart Lake (latitude 54° 26′ north), was built in 1806
by Simon Fraser amid a large population of Indians, and has been
maintained continuously to the present. After the advent of the Hudson’s
Bay Company, Fort St. James was made the emporium of New Caledonia,
the residence of a chief factor. In 1828 it was visited by Sir George
Simpson, who entered in proper state with buglers and bagpipers, the
governor and his suite mounted, amid the welcoming discharge of cannon
and musketry (A. McDonald, _Peace River_, pp. 24, 25). For two views of
this post see Morice, _Northern Interior of British Columbia_, pp. 102,
110.
Fort McLeod is the oldest permanent post west of the Rocky Mountains.
Founded in 1805 by Simon Fraser, it has maintained a continuous existence
to the present. It was named for Archibald Norman McLeod, a colleague
of its founder in the North West Company. Located on a lake of the same
name, near the source of Finlay River, in latitude 55° north, it was
chiefly useful as a supply post on the route from Canada via Peace River.
Chilcotin was founded (about 1828) on a river of the same name tributary
to the upper Fraser, about latitude 52° as an outpost for Fort Alexandria
(see _ante_, p. 44, note 53). Difficult of maintenance because of the
troublesome character of the Chilcotin Indians, it was abandoned before
1850.
In addition to the posts mentioned, the Hudson’s Bay Company had in
Farnham’s time within New Caledonia, Forts Babine, Connolly, and
George—the latter on the upper Fraser, the two former on lakes of the
same name in the far north.—ED.
[78] All these posts have been before noted: Fort Thompson (Kamloops) in
our volume vii, p. 199, note 64; Kootenay and Flathead in notes 45, 46,
_ante_; Fort Hall in our volume xxi, p. 210, note 51; Fort Boise, in our
volume xxviii, p. 321, note 199; Fort Colville in De Smet’s _Letters_,
our volume xxvii, p. 330, note 166; Okanagan in our volume vi, p. 260,
note 71; Walla Walla in our volume xxi, p. 278, note 73.—ED.
[79] Usually known as Fort Umpqua, this post was founded in 1832 by John
McLeod, being situated about forty miles up the Umpqua River, on the
south bank, on a small prairie of about two hundred acres. It was usually
in charge of a French Canadian clerk, who needed to be vigilant because
of the treacherous nature of the savages. The post was attacked in 1840
by ten times the number of defenders, but the assault was repulsed. The
stockade having been burned (1851), the Hudson’s Bay Company declined to
rebuild, leasing the land to an American settler, W. W. Chapman.—ED.
[80] The idea of a transcontinental railway had not yet dawned. Farnham’s
plan shows, however, boldness of conception for these early days of
railway building.—ED.
[81] Alexander Simpson, a relation of Sir George, and brother of
the Arctic explorer Thomas Simpson, whose early death was a loss to
geographical science. Alexander Simpson was on his way to the Sandwich
Islands, to investigate the trade conditions therein. See his _Life and
Travels of Thomas Simpson_ (London, 1845), pp. 345, 351.—ED.
[82] For the history of Fort Vancouver see our volume xxi, p. 297, note
82.—ED.
[83] The site of the present St. Helens, a small town, the seat of
Columbia County, Oregon.—ED.
[84] This epidemic began in 1829, and wrought great mortality among the
natives. By 1832 it was particularly severe around Fort Vancouver. One
village visited contained but two infants living—the remainder of the
inhabitants having died of the plague. Various causes have been given,
some regarding the disease as scarlet fever, others as some form of
malaria due to putrid food, others thinking it attributable to immoral
habits, etc. By its ravages nearly three-fourths of the native population
was swept from the lower Columbia before the advent of American
immigrants.—ED.
[85] For Tongue Point see our volume vi, p. 242, note 44.—ED.
[86] For James Birnie, the clerk in charge, see Townsend’s _Narrative_ in
our volume xxi, p. 361, note 130.—ED.
[87] For Baker’s Bay see our volume vi, p. 234, note 38.—ED.
[88] Charles Wilkes (1798-1877) entered the navy as a midshipman (1818).
He rose to a lieutenancy, and in 1838 was placed in charge of an
expedition composed of five vessels dispatched to explore Southern seas.
After visiting the Pacific islands, the squadron (1841) explored the
Northwest Coast, Wilkes personally visiting the Columbia and Willamette.
Appointed to the rank of captain (1835), Wilkes was commander of the
vessel that in the War of Secession stopped the steamer “Trent,” and took
therefrom the Confederate envoys Mason and Slidell. During the remainder
of the war he was in charge of the West India squadron. Retiring in
1864, two years later he attained the rank of rear-admiral. The report
of the Wilkes Exploring Expedition was not published until 1845, when
five volumes were issued; later, other editions brought the number up
to eighteen. In 1842, however, a _Synopsis of the Cruise of the United
States Exploring Expedition during the years 1838, ’39, ’40, ’41 and ’42_
was published at Washington. From this version Farnham evidently made his
extracts.—ED.
[89] What are now known as the Olympic Mountains, in northwest
Washington. The term “Claset” was first employed by Vancouver (1792), who
bestowed upon what Cook had called Cape Flattery, the name Point Classet,
from an adjacent Indian village of that name; see George Vancouver,
_Voyage of Discovery_ (London, 1801), ii, pp. 46-48.—ED.
[90] By the Klameth (Klamath) is intended the present Siskiyou Mountains,
which branch off from Sierra Nevada toward the coast in about latitude
42°, the boundary between California and Oregon. The country between
the Rockies and California had not then been explored, but there was an
erroneous idea of a transverse chain of mountains which was confused with
the Sierra Nevada; see our volume xxviii, p. 305, note 182.—ED.
[91] Vancouver Island was long supposed to be a portion of the mainland.
Its insularity was not proved until 1792, when both Vancouver and the
Spanish ships circumnavigated it. At the request of the Spanish envoy, it
received the name Quadra and Vancouver Island (see Vancouver, _Voyage_,
ii, p. 357); but the length of the appellation has caused the first part
to be dropped. See our volume xxviii, p. 33, note 10.
Queen Charlotte Islands (now proved to be two) were first visited by the
Spaniards in 1774. Dixon, an English navigator, named the group in 1787,
giving his own name to the channel north of the island. The Americans,
in ignorance of Dixon’s prior discovery, named the island for Washington
(1789); see our volume xxviii, p. 38, note 16.—ED.
[92] Johnstone Straits, named for one of Vancouver’s lieutenants who
first discovered the passage thence to Queen Charlotte Sound, are on the
northeast coast of Vancouver Island, separating it from the mainland.—ED.
[93] Gonsalez Lopez de Haro was pilot of two expeditions dispatched by
the Spaniards (1788, 1789) to watch their interests on the Northwest
Coast. An expedition of discovery passing from Juan de Fuca Straits
into the Gulf of Georgia (1790), gave to the channel the name of Lopez
de Haro. This appears on Vancouver’s map as “Canal de Arro.” During the
boundary dispute (1858) between the United States and British Columbia
concerning the islands at the entrance of Juan de Fuca Straits, the Canal
de Haro acquired much prominence as a limit to the United States claim.
The matter was submitted to the decision of the German emperor, who gave
the award in favor of the United States (1872), hence Canal de Haro
became an international boundary.—ED.
[94] The three largest islands off the mainland east of Hecata Strait and
Queen Charlotte are Princess Royal, Pitt, and Banks.—ED.
[95] The fort upon Vancouver Island was founded at its southern
extremity—not at Nootka, or at Clayoquot Sound just below. Built in 1843,
the aboriginal name Camosun was soon changed to Victoria, in honor of
the British sovereign. When Oregon passed to the United States, Victoria
became the presumptive capital of British territory, and thither James
Douglas, chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, removed. In 1849 the
island of Vancouver was ceded to the fur company on condition that a
colony of British subjects be established thereon. Accordingly Victoria
was platted in 1851, and two years later had a population of three
hundred. The place was incorporated in 1862, and is now the capital
of British Columbia. It is a substantially built town, picturesquely
situated by the seashore, and possesses a mild climate.—ED.
[96] Probably Athabasca Pass, for which see _ante_, p. 30, note 23.
McGillivray’s Portage is the route less than two miles in length between
the headwaters of Kootenai River and those of the Columbia. See De Smet’s
_Oregon Missions_, _post_, p. 209, note 109.—ED.
[97] For the Yakima, Pisquow, and Entiatqua rivers see our volume vii,
pp. 141, 147, 148, notes 40, 44, 45, respectively.—ED.
[98] This is an error, for both the Kooskooske (Clearwater) and Salmon
are eastern affluents of the Lewis. The former rises in the Bitter Root
Mountains in several branches, which flowing westward unite in a large
stream entering the Lewis at Lewiston. It was down this stream that Lewis
and Clark made their way to Columbian waters; see _Original Journals_,
iii, pp. 97-102.
For the Salmon see our volume xxi, p. 69, note 45.—ED.
[99] Three of these rivers are alluded to in note 55, p. 45, _ante_.
Wilkes reported them from hearsay information, for his own journey did
not extend above Fort Vancouver. Quisnel’s (Quesnel) River, an affluent
of the Fraser in New Caledonia, was named for Jules Maurice Quesnel,
Fraser’s lieutenant on his voyage of 1808. As here placed, “Quisnel’s”
would seem to denote a Columbia affluent between Umatilla and John Day’s;
for such a branch see our volume vii, p. 135, note 34.
Cathlatate River is found on the map of Charles Preuss, drawn from
the surveys of Frémont (published in 1848), as a northern affluent of
the Columbia, between the Cascades and the Dalles; it would appear to
correspond, therefore, either to Klickitat or White Salmon River.—ED.
[100] See on these streams our volumes vi, p. 245, note 49; and xxi, p.
320, note 105.—ED.