The present work is an outgrowth of the interest which the editors have long taken in the pioneer history of the West. Explorers of this attractive field are constantly running across the trail of Father De Smet, which interlaces the whole Northwest from St. Louis to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Wherever encountered, it is a tempting trail to follow, for it is marked in all its course by episodes romantic and interesting and frequently of weighty importance. A devout and zealous missionary, Father De Smet filled the Oregon country with religious establishments, some of which, in spite of the vast changes of later years, survive to the present day. He was acquainted with most of the native tribes of the Northwest and with many of them he was on terms of intimate friendship. Their trust in him was so complete and his influence over them so great that the government repeatedly besought his aid in paving the way for its negotiations with them. He assisted at the great Indian council of 1851 near Fort Laramie. In 1858 and 1859 he accompanied the Utah and Oregon expeditions under General Harney in the nominal capacity of Chaplain, but in the actual role of pacificator and intermediary between the military and the Indians. In 1864 he was sent by the government to pacify the Indians of the Upper Missouri, and again on a similar errand in 1867. In 1868, it was alone through his great influence that the hostile Sioux, who had declared war to the death with the white race and were spreading terror over the whole region of the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone valleys, were induced to meet commissioners of the government and enter into a treaty of peace.
Father De Smet's travels were not confined to the western country. He visited many parts of the United States east of the Mississippi, crossed the Atlantic nineteen times and made one voyage around Cape Horn and two by way of Panama in the interest of his work. He was well known in both Europe and America, and on one occasion was made the bearer of dispatches from this government to several European courts. He took an active interest in public affairs and watched them with an eagerness which one would hardly expect from his exclusive order of life.
Wherever he went, whatever he did and much of what he saw were carefully recorded in letters to his superiors or to his personal friends. Many of these letters were published in his lifetime; many others were never published and are accessible only in the original letter-books. Altogether they constitute a rich fund of material upon the early history of the West, particularly during the critical period of our Indian wars. Unfortunately these writings are practically inaccessible to the general public. The unpublished letters are, of course, wholly so. The published works are nearly all out of print and some of them were published only in French. There has never been written a satisfactory biography of Father De Smet.
To supply these deficiencies and make the life-work of this great missionary and public man familiar to students of our country's history, the editors have prepared the present work - LIFE AND LETTERS of FATHER DE SMET - comprising a complete biography, all his important letters both published and unpublished, illustrations characteristic of his missionary career, and a map showing the wide range of his travels west of the Mississippi.
The original arrangement in the published works has been discarded entirely and the letters have been reclassified according to periods and subjects. Even the English texts have not been literally followed, for they are nearly all translations, and the editors have felt at liberty to substitute their own rendering wherever they have thought it desirable. The English of the published texts is almost throughout a translation from Father De Smet's French letters, and none of it apparently is his own work. It is full of renderings of French phrases, and more particularly of geographical names, which show a lack of familiarity on the part of the translator with the subjects treated. No record has been kept of the pagination of the published letters for the reason that much of the matter was duplicated in different texts and in the present edition is extensively interspersed with new letters treating of the same subjects.
The narrative letters are classified under five chronological periods, each of which is prefaced with an itinerary of Father De Smet's travels during that period. Following the narrative portion are the letters containing observations upon Indian affairs, missionary work, public questions, etc.; personal letters to his friends in Europe and America which show the inner life and character of the man; and finally many of the letters received in the course of a long and active correspondence. The new matter in the present edition is about equal in volume to all heretofore published; and contains everything which, in the opinion of the editors, would be of general interest. It omits several of the published letters relating solely to church matters.
The editors are under particular obligation to the Jesuit authorities of the St. Louis University for access to the old letter-books of Father De Smet, and for other valuable assistance. Thanks are also due the Reverend J. D'Aste, S. J., of St. Ignatius Mission, Montana; W. R. Logan, U. S. Indian Agent at Fort Belknap Agency, and James H. Monteath, U. S. Indian Agent at Blackfeet Agency, Montana, for information furnished. Among the published works consulted, Shea's Catholic Missions in the United States, History o f the St. Louis University, by Father Walter H. Hill, S. J., and Palladino's Indian and White in the Northwest, are the most important.
(pages vii, vii and ix)