tribe he was admitted into the "Fold of the Lord," of which he has ever been a bright example.
An extract from the " Explorations and Surveys," etc. (of Governor Stevens), from the Mississippi river to thg Pacific ocean (vol. I, p. 3o8) calls to mind the " religious element " of Victor and of his people. Captain Mullan says " When the guide and myself had reached the Flathead camp, three or four men met us at the entrance, and invited us to enter the lodge of the chief, Victor. They very kindly took care of our horses, unsaddling and watering them. As soon as the camp had heard of the arrival of a white man among them, the principal men of the tribe congregated in the lodge of the chief. When they had all assembled by a signal from their chief they offered up a prayer. This astonished me; it was something for which I had not been prepared. Every one was upon his knees and in the most solemn and reverential manner offered up a prayer to God. For a moment I asked myself, was I among Indians? Was I among those termed by every one savages? I could scarcely realize it. To think that these men should be thus imbued and so deeply too with the principles of religion, was to me overwhelming."
(Page 3 II, Mullan continues) "I cannot say too much in favor of these noble men; they were pious, firm, upright and reliable men; in addition thereto they entertained a religious belief which they never violated. They partook not of a meal without asking a blessing of God; they never rose in the morning or retired at night without offering a prayer to God. These Flatheads have always been held in the highest estimation and this I can fully confirm from actual observation."
In the summer of last year (1870) the Montana newspapers announced as a public calamity the death of Victor, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, great chief of the Flatheads. The above quoted captain, on learning the death of his old friend, addressed to all the Flatheads the following tribute in commemoration of their illustrious and old