Spirit alone is omnipotent; but that anything can be obtained from him by prayer. I exhorted them to have recourse to him, who is always ready to listen to humble and well-disposed hearts, since he says to us himself, " Ask and ye shall receive." I said further, " Let us implore heaven together, and offer our hearts to God. I will say the greatest of prayers (the mass). Let us hope in the infinite mercy of the Great Spirit, who is our Father; he sends help and grants protection to his children on earth, when they try to make themselves worthy." I offered to God the propitiatory victim. The next day, the 13th, the sky clouded up for the first time in a long while, and a gentle and abundant rain fell at intervals for about twenty-four hours. This fortunate circumstance filled all hearts with respect for the word of God, and at the same time with hope and joy. On the 17th we applied to heaven again, and the Lord granted us a second rain, which did much good. These favors from on high made a deep impression on these simple-minded Indians.
They attended willingly, and with great assiduity, at all the instructions. A large number of adults, together with all the old men and old widows, the sick and the blind, prepared to receive baptism worthily. I find them really admirably disposed, and already the chiefs have taken it upon themselves to devise a remedy for the pagan vices and superstitions which have hitherto desolated the three tribes.
I shall never forget the assistance so generously furnished me at the time of my arrival at the fort by the worthy Mr. Gerard, in charge of the establishment; Mr. Pierre Garreau, the interpreter; Mr. Gustave Cagnat, clerk, and all the employees. I shall not cease to make vows for their welfare. May the Lord repay them a hundredfold for their kindness and thoughtful charity toward me.
I made an allusion to the eloquence of our Indian orators. This is the textual translation of the address of Little Walker, a Mandan chief, to the President of the United States: